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http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/0...nd-jobs-report/ So how bad is it in Cold Lake anyway? There isn't really any data in the article.
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Jul 10, 2013 21:08
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MA-Horus posted:That's every master bomb. So loving true. I've never seen a gunner yell at a private, but I'm sure there's one out there.
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Jul 10, 2013 21:51
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tuyop posted:http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/0...nd-jobs-report/ I have heard it is pretty difficult if you have a family to support and the article is correct about the high price of housing out that way. Also it is pretty isolated so if you are not the ATV'ing, fishing and hunting kinda person it can be pretty dull. I think the last time I spoke to my career manager the one thing I made clear was that under no circumstances do I want a isolated or semi isolated posting.
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Jul 10, 2013 21:52
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tuyop posted:http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/0...nd-jobs-report/ It's really bad. I live near Cold Lake, and work at 4 Wing through DnD on a casual contract. Have some fun rough numbers. Looking at the local online trading post thing, right now, in the town right beside base(Cold Lake ofc), a nice 1 bedroom basement suite unfurnished with utilities included costs 1800 a month. A 1 year lease on a 2 bedroom 1000 sq foot older house(utilities included) costs 2200 a month unfurnished. To actually go and buy a house, a small ~700 square foot single story house with garage costs ~250k. A decent sized 1200 sq foot home for a family of 5-ish with garage is going for 325 thousand. On top of that, Cold Lake's property's taxes are some of the highest in western Canada, at 7.15%, with property values sky high due to the demand from all the oilfield workers. When I worked at the local pizza joints around here for about a year, about 5 of the 10 drivers were all guys in the military. A healthy portion of the Walmart's workforce are all guys in the military. So, to answer your question, it's pretty bad out here. Also, living here you have to deal with every single person just loving having to own a big jacked up truck with aftermarket mufflers, regardless if they need/could use one, or hell, even afford if they were to miss a paycheque. The local highways are practically terrifying to drive on because of all the 20 somethings driving these vehicles around like idiots, as well as drinking and driving back from the bush parties. If you haven't got the picture yet, I'll state it plainly. If you have the opportunity/are told you're being posted here, do every possible thing you can to make it not happen within reason. Almost everyone I know that are in the Forces hates it out here, and wish they never had to come. Save yourself 
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Jul 10, 2013 23:55
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Huh all that makes me feel bad for bitching about the high cost of living in Halifax.
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Jul 11, 2013 03:18
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scaper exile posted:Huh all that makes me feel bad for bitching about the high cost of living in Halifax. Halifax is a little dumb for costs though. Sure the housing costs less, but we've noticed that every other thing here costs considerably more than in Victoria. But it's still a far cry from what those people in the Pool are paying. Yikes, am I ever glad I got out of there when I did.
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Jul 11, 2013 03:50
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scaper exile posted:I know exactly who you are talking about...Hispanic guy right? He seriously spent half the classes talking about how he had all these university degrees and other delightful stories about how awesome he was... Yeah thats him I was in St. Jean in the summer of 08 and he taught me weapons. gently caress he loved to jack up. He also liked to talk about how many push ups he could do, little man syndrome. I remember that stock market crash, I didnt find out about it till like Oct when I graduated.
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Jul 11, 2013 03:54
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Sir John Eh posted:Halifax is a little dumb for costs though. Sure the housing costs less, but we've noticed that every other thing here costs considerably more than in Victoria. But it's still a far cry from what those people in the Pool are paying. Yikes, am I ever glad I got out of there when I did. Whatever you save in the mortgage you loose in the higher Income and Property taxes in Halifax. Plus the housing market in Victoria is hurting right now so you can find semi-reasonably priced places (especially the condo market...). I'm probably headed to Sea Training on my next posting which means another move to Halifax and I'm not looking forward to the cost.
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Jul 12, 2013 01:22
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MA-Horus posted:So absolutely nothing changes for the Army save for divisions? It's for MORALE GODDAMNIT. Flashy ranks and things will solve all these problems! Nothing to see here! All is well!
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Jul 22, 2013 03:57
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Turns out it was sort of an Honorary Colonel Mafia that lobbied the government for it, no one in the army asked for it nor do they seem to want it. Meanwhile: quote:And we are still waiting for boots (watching a BMQ in Kingston, still have at least a handfull marching in running shoes. Their field portion will be sheer hell....)
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Jul 22, 2013 05:32
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Now here's where there should NOT be a competition. Lets look at other militaries that have to deal with similar terrain and climate issues and buy what they have. Mainly the Germans. I bet they have great boots.
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Jul 22, 2013 12:37
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MA-Horus posted:Now here's where there should NOT be a competition. Lets look at other militaries that have to deal with similar terrain and climate issues and buy what they have. gently caress it, lets just go native: Mukluks for the winter, moccasins for the summer 
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Jul 22, 2013 17:06
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compressioncut posted:Meanwhile: Haha, did you see the guy with the orange and white runners, stands out a mile? I'm here until Sept on my DP1. At least Stores was able to replace my garbage bag goretex, but...
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Jul 22, 2013 23:57
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MA-Horus posted:Now here's where there should NOT be a competition. Lets look at other militaries that have to deal with similar terrain and climate issues and buy what they have. Probably the Swedes and Norwegians would be good for comparable climates as well.
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Jul 23, 2013 21:47
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swagger like us posted:Probably the Swedes and Norwegians would be good for comparable climates as well. I doubt they're as nasty muggy in the summer.
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Jul 23, 2013 22:19
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Wait, do they not issue boots in BMQ? 
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Jul 23, 2013 22:56
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Blade_of_tyshalle posted:Wait, do they not issue boots in BMQ? Budget cuts, man. *Puts in PPNS order for $35 pens and $70 notebooks, just a drop in the budget for the 1600/month office PPNS fund!*
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Jul 23, 2013 23:24
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Blade_of_tyshalle posted:Wait, do they not issue boots in BMQ? "Your home unit should've taken care of that, and also there's a national shortage because the orders have to be resubmitted every time the guy who enters them gets replaced, which is bimonthly. "
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Jul 23, 2013 23:38
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At my old unit they had extra money one year and somebody decided to buy fake plants for the second floor offices. In the meantime we asked for better working gloves and it was a no no. They have to stop doing "lets save up money all year long and waste it on useless poo poo in march so we don't get a budget cut" thing. Some higher up need to explain that one to me. Frog 1.0 fucked around with this message at 00:05 on Jul 24, 2013 |
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Jul 24, 2013 00:03
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Well I know when I worked in the Tool Crib and was in charge of ordering tools we were told all year to keep orders at a minimum unless something was needed for a project, then at the end of the year I was told to order everything under the sun to meet our budget expectations. The whole troop got brand new $150 leatherman multitools, new mechanix work gloves, all brand new cordless tools and $400 hammers.
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Jul 24, 2013 00:13
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Samu posted:Well I know when I worked in the Tool Crib and was in charge of ordering tools we were told all year to keep orders at a minimum unless something was needed for a project, then at the end of the year I was told to order everything under the sun to meet our budget expectations. The whole troop got brand new $150 leatherman multitools, new mechanix work gloves, all brand new cordless tools and $400 hammers. CAFappropriations.txt
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Jul 24, 2013 00:23
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My release appointment is tomorrow morning, then I start retirement leave! I feel like I should have more feelings at this point. I just turned in my last pair of combats but I still don't really believe that I'm actually getting out. I just have such a small amount of trust in any part of the CF that I think they're going to pull some "Oh we lost your pers file so you have to stay in for another three weeks while we print off the forms again" poo poo. I mean, they lost my loving release date amendment memo of all things.
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Jul 24, 2013 18:37
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Does anyone know how to get a hold of the Brookfield book that tells you everything you're entitled to for a move? I think their website has something different. I just want to know if it's okay to drive through the states to get to the destination.
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Jul 26, 2013 00:43
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You don't have to give them gas receipts and I doubt they are gonna call the US Border Patrol and check. That being said i did it a bunch of times.
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Jul 26, 2013 01:39
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It's not against the rules. In some cases it's faster to drive through the US, and it doesn't cost them any more money.
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Jul 26, 2013 02:31
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Thanks for the info. It's definitely going to be cheaper in gas, and take out 3 hours of the trip.
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Jul 26, 2013 03:21
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I'm almost done filling out the paperwork to become an ACISS with Reserves in the Edmonton Signals Reg. (41st Signals) after spending a little time talking with a recruiter. I'm excited! Man it's a lot of paperwork though. Getting my HS transcript is a pain the rear end. What should I know as a PvtRct? Other then what I got told already, such as the (to a civilian) funny thought that I'll probably be working for a bit before I go into basic, as just a pair of arms that can do manual labour. Also, can anybody clarify what the law is wrt active personnel in the reserves and firearm ownership? As far as I can tell serving members can own a handgun, but that seems to vary by province and, as per usual, it's a clusterfuck trying to pin down exactly what the law is. I would love to be able to own and maintain my own service firearm. SRQ fucked around with this message at 10:07 on Aug 14, 2013 |
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Aug 14, 2013 09:57
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When it comes to firearms ownership, a reservist is no different than a civvy. It's the army, not the police.
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Aug 14, 2013 10:24
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Aw, while I'm slightly disappointed it's nice to finally have that cleared up. Most places I looked didn't have a distinction for Reserves/Regular Force. That does make sense too, no reason a weekend soldier should be special in the law. Oh well.
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Aug 14, 2013 10:40
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It's the same in the regular force as well. You can be qualified to train people to fire rocket launchers but you can't own a .22 rifle in your private life without whatever permits are required of everyone else.
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Aug 14, 2013 13:00
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Yep, you don't even get a qual granted for a PAL/ARPAL.
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Aug 14, 2013 14:32
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tuyop posted:It's the same in the regular force as well. You can be qualified to train people to fire rocket launchers but you can't own a .22 rifle in your private life without whatever permits are required of everyone else. That never has, and never will make sense to me. The firearms course I took after my time learning and handling CF weapons was so watered down. You're basically taught how to put a weapon on safety and identify different types of ammo. We didn't cover cleaning, stripping, actual information pertaining to firearms, etc. If you're qualified to teach people to shoot automatic weapons, you shouldn't have to go through all that poo poo.
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Aug 15, 2013 23:54
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You don't HAVE to take the course. You can challenge the test. Remember, it's a Firearms SAFETY course that you take, not a firearms handling and maintenance course. It's basically "This is how you carry and store and safety grandpa's hunting rifle/shotgun without blowing your child's head off"
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Aug 16, 2013 01:48
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Okay so, let's assume that lil' ol PvtRCT me wants to own a Browning HiPower, the same as his service firearm (I think?). Is this at all possible, and if so what hoops would I have to dance through?
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Aug 16, 2013 04:58
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If you aren't an officer, aircrew, medic or MP, your primary weapon will be the C-7 and its variants. You'd gain no advantage from pistol practice. If you already have a restricted firearms license, I imagine the only barrier to owning that particular weapon would be finding one. If you don't, read this. For all the misery involved you'd be better off to see if there's a range nearby that can rent you a similar weapon.  Also, your rank is Pte(R).
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Aug 16, 2013 05:14
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So I've just applied for the reserves here in BC, and after speaking with the recruitment officer at Chiliwack, it seems the only trades they are really open for are Clerks and Infantry. Neither of which I'm too keen on, but without leaving BC or commuting to Vancouver I don't have too much of an option. Is that him trying to suggest trades? or will there really be no other openings? Also, I guess its my turn to ask, anything I should know besides "Start hitting the gym now?" (I got it beat by a year)
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Aug 16, 2013 06:24
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flakeloaf posted:If you aren't an officer, aircrew, medic or MP, your primary weapon will be the C-7 and its variants. You'd gain no advantage from pistol practice. I'm already learning things, I figured we would have a side arm while on duty. Ask around at your local armoury guy above me, I did and found out they need ACISS guys hecka bad.
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Aug 16, 2013 06:28
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Ahahahahahaha.... Sorry about that. No, you won't carry around a sidearm, unless you happen to go MP, but then you'll have a Sig P225 to more easily
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Aug 16, 2013 08:49
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Dementedghost posted:So I've just applied for the reserves here in BC, and after speaking with the recruitment officer at Chiliwack, it seems the only trades they are really open for are Clerks and Infantry. Neither of which I'm too keen on, but without leaving BC or commuting to Vancouver I don't have too much of an option. Is that him trying to suggest trades? or will there really be no other openings? It's a bad time to join the CAF right now, there aren't too many options for people just coming off the street. You don't need to be extremely fit, but every bit of fitness that you have will make the stressful parts of your new job and lifestyle easier, pretty much regardless of trade. Just figure out if you want to make more or less of a contribution to your team in pretty much every environment, and how much stress and discomfort that's worth to you. I don't even know if I should be posting in this thread anymore, my last day of retirement leave was August 11th!
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Aug 16, 2013 09:48
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You will never want a BHP after using the ones in the Forces. They are bad.
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Aug 17, 2013 01:46
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