My Spirit Otter posted:

I've only ever worn issued boots. The GPs are the worst wet and the mk IIIs are the best, I don't know why they just are

mdivi posted:

One of you dudes should give me a pair of your old parade boots. They shine and look so much better than the new ones. My friend was just given a pair from someone on my course. It's so easy to shine them and they look amazing.

acumen posted:

During battle school we were made aware that we literally had nothing better to do than to turn our parade boots into glass.

herman391 posted:

Is anybody here an ACS Tech or know anybody who is one? I'm about to finish my 2 year program at Centennial College and I'm thinking of joining up. The program focus's mainly on the AVN side of things but we do have some training with structures.

From what I gather if I were to join up I'd go through BMQ and then get sent to Borden for more training as an ACS and then I'd get posted somewhere to do my on the job type training. Am I off the mark here? Is there any truth that once you graduate BMQ and having already finished the 2 year civilian program that your then promoted to Corporal?

Also what's life like once your past BMQ? My mental picture is something stereotypical like you see in movies. What's on base housing like? I obviously have no idea what any of this is really like, so any help you guys can give would be awesome.

acumen posted:

What the hell is CAP? What the heck is Vimy Exercise? God I've only been in for nearly five years and already I feel out of the loop.

surivdaoreht posted:

My aptitude test is booked...


I DID COCAINE!!

Samu posted:

And it makes it so that everyone takes it is all like "The guy afterwards told me I scored very highly, but couldn't give me my score. "

I know a guy who's like 5'11/300 pounds/not athletic at all, and is joining the Air Force as an air traffic controller. Don't people like that (assuming they pass the fitness test at the beginning of basic) just hold everyone back at BMQ? I mean, poo poo, I've been training pretty intensely for the last couple of months to get ready for my Basic in the summer and I'm still worried about being able to do all the PT on top of everything else. This dude acts like since he meets the laughably low minimum fitness standards he'll be able to breeze by any of the physical parts and then sit on a chair telling airplanes what to do.

Simkin posted:

I haven't had the (dis)pleasure of being to Meaford, but I'm assuming if it's worse than Gagetown, it must be spectacularly awful.

MA-Horus posted:

Nobody. I just felt like saying that I hate Meaford. Because I really, really, really hate Meaford.

Simkin posted:

Any statistics on what the suicide rate is on PAT? Two weeks in, and morale is pretty loving low among the troops. The prospect of sitting around and getting paid to do gently caress all sounded good on paper, but in practice is just the most boring thing ever.

surivdaoreht posted:

Did any of you have any shin splint issues while at basic? Seems like the environment could be perfect for developing them.

Simkin posted:

Speaking as someone inside the training system (still) as an infantry officer, unless you have your heart set on the trade, you're probably going to have an easier time of getting accepted into one of the other combat arms (armoured, artillery, or combat eng). Sure, the camaraderie is great, but they really do work you a lot harder than the other trades, and (as I've been told) while you're in the training system you are a second class citizen, even compared to the friends that you went through basic with.

Lassitude posted:

I've heard people say this a lot, but what exactly is it based on? How do you really compare stuff like whose infantry is better?

Erik Prince, the reclusive owner of the Blackwater empire posted:

Prince spoke disparagingly of some unnamed NATO countries with troops in Afghanistan, saying they do not have the will for the fight. “Some of them do and a lot of them don’t,” he said. “It is such a patchwork of different international commitments as to what some can do and what some can’t. A lot of them should just pack it in and go home.” Canada, however, received praise from Prince. “The Canadians have lost per capita more than America has in Afghanistan. They are fighting and they are doing it and so if you see a Canadian thank them for that. The politicians at home take heavies for doing that,” Prince said. He did not mention the fact that his company was hired by the Canadian government to train its forces.

Mantle posted:

What happens to my rank and my pension if I release before the end of my term? Obviously these are questions that I don't really want to ask my interviewer. Is there a contract completion bonus or any room for negotiation over a signing bonus? Or is working for the CF more like a take it or leave it offer kind of thing?

Samu posted:

Our entrance PT standards are really just laughable. I mean, 19 pushups? Really? Come on, anybody could do that with at most [b]a months worth of training[b], no matter how much of a fatty they are. The 6.5 or whatever it is on the beep test is also insanely low.

Attire Irony posted:

Failing the grip component absolutely blows my mind.
The idea that you couldn't suspend 165lbs for even a second

HatSmack posted:

I've been very strongly considering joining the Canadian Forces for the past few months (somehow even after reading a lot of the threads in this forum), and the jobs that seem to interest me the most are armoured infantry and field artillery. If there's anyone here who is currently/has been in one of these careers, what are they actually like, beyond what the recruiter will be telling me?

Samu posted:

What are the standards for the final PT test in Basic? Please don't me they're the same as the entrance PT standards, because that really makes me fear for my country's safety.

Canuck-Errant posted:

Anything I should look at buying before I go?

Canuck-Errant posted:

And I'm desperate enough to try and get laid in Wainwright. Or even the fleshpots of Lloydminster.

Canuck-Errant posted:

Yeah, it's BMQ and BMQ/L or whatever they now call SQ. Apparently "Soldier Qual" made it sound like only Army could take it blah blah so yeah. Will I need to bring sandals or running shoes?

Canuck-Errant posted:

Eight, since I'm doing BMQ and BMQ/L in sequence. But I don't think I'm going to be that desperate. Ever.


Well, I labelled each and every item of my kit already under the advice of my MCpl. Anything I should be looking at doing in the month before? Apart from making sure I have all my poo poo stowed in duffel bags that are readily identifiable, and making sure all of the poo poo I'm supposed to have by the kit list is there, of course.

Simkin posted:

Yeah, seriously, don't overthink basic. It's only people who are really just NOT AT ALL CUT OUT for military life that will fail VR out. I only saw one guy fail out of BMOQ, and that was because he just couldn't read a map to save his life. Yeah, he was (and still is ) an arty officer.

MA-Horus posted:

Here is an idea of why Arty is pretty bad.

I was recently in California on vacation. I was down in San Diego, ran into some Marines, one of which happened to be artillery.

The guns currently in use by CF reservists? Yeah, retired as DRILL guns by the Marines as they were too drat old. That is the CF.

Aidsteen posted:

Ahoy
I'm thinking about enlisting this Friday in the Navy as a boatswain. I got a couple questions/concerns I was hoping someone who's been through the ringer could possibly answer..


-basic training -- is it really as bad as it seems? or an actually useful life experience?

-i've worked in demolition, landscaping and forestry in the past, so I'm used to pretty heavy workloads and whatnot.. i can really push myself when i need to, but I'm definitely not in shape. how beat will I be at the end of the day?

-i'm a smoker. probably gonna quit, but what's the "official" stance on it? is there designated times/whatnot or is it just light up and go whenever?

-when i go in to speak to a recruiter, is he going to say whatever he can to get me to join? do i have to join then and there? I'm quite set on it but you never know.

-how soon after enlisting would I ship out to BT? Is it a separate course from the regular infantry/air force, or are all the forces lumped together?

there's a whole slew of info in the Basic Training 101 thread, but I'm unsure how much is relevant to the Canadian Forces.

Samu posted:

Anybody got any useful financial advice for when I start basic? I'm a dumb kid right out of high school and I have no idea what to do with the money I'll be making since prior to this I've lived at home and drank/clubbed away my lovely grocery store paychecks. I want to avoid making common mistakes that young junior enlisted make, and I was wondering if anyone could impart some wisdom.

I want to set money aside to go back to University when I'm done my enlistment, so I want to save up a good chunk of change that I can use 4 years from now. I don't have a car but I'll probably have to get one once I finish training. What's the smartest way to put money away/get a vehicle?

Samu posted:

After spending $400 on lap dances when I turned 19, I vowed never to spend money at a strip club again (besides cover/drinks). Is it really that easy to blow your checks in Montreal?

I'm not planning to get a car until I finish all my training and get put in my unit, so that's fairly far down the road. I guess I'll just cross that road when I come to it.

Oh, and my buddy told me that since my basic is in July I'll get 2 weeks of summer leave right in the middle of my course. Is that right?

Oh and if anyone has any general advice for regular force basic at St.Jean I'd appreciate it.

Samu posted:

Yeah, I didn't believe him about the leave. That would just be stupid. He's not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer.

And yeah I figure once I wind up in my unit in Pet, Edmonton or wherever I'll get a vehicle. I'm not gonna buy a charger or something stupid like that. I'll probably wind up buying a used late 90's Silverado or F150 and beat the poo poo out of it.

I don't think they've changed basic, or if they have they haven't updated the St.Jean website to reflect the change.

[edit, actually you're right, you do weapons in week 2. theres a day by day schedule here if anyone is curious: http://www.cflrs.forces.gc.ca/menu/ps/rec/es-wt/index-eng.asp

Lassitude posted:

Only 15 minutes of PT? What the gently caress?

Samu posted:

What I think is the craziest thing about BMQ is that you get off at 5 on Fridays to gently caress off to Montreal. That is going to own so hard.

But yeah, some of that stuff is seriously a joke. 15 minutes of PT? 6k ruckmarch? 5k runs? I though basic was supposed to be hard...

OK so tell me if this is right: I'll do my BMQ at St.Jean, then ship out to Gagetown for SQ/Driver Course, then I'll be a "personnel awaiting training" until combat engineer school in Gagetown. After that's finished I'll go to either Gagetown, Edmonton, or Petawawa to join a regular unit.

Samu posted:

I already have my course date/location for Basic, and it's at St.Jean in July.

I was thinking of trying to get on the combat diver course, but I figured that course would be available after I finish my MOC school. What's QL3/QL4?

acumen posted:

Basic training is a joke. Actually if some of my good civilian friends decided to join I'd probably try to do basic with them just because it'd be fun. If you want to be all crazy Full Metal Jacket brainwashing and getting lightly tortured, go through battle school.

HammerOfHope posted:

We have a company called SISIP that's there specifically to help you manage your money. When you start BMQ they'll give you a couple briefs about life insurance and their financial counseling/planning services. Ironically your staff won't let you make appointments until you finish your course (unless people are coming to break your knees, maybe) but you should give them a call when you have a chance.

surivdaoreht posted:

Lassitude posted:

How do regforce view reserve people? Thinking infantry, specifically, as that's my regiment. Watching Generation Kill the other day, and when the reservists showed up they were portrayed very negatively. It's the marines and a TV show, granted, but I still had to wonder. I've never been to Afghanistan myself, but I've always been curious at what sort of prejudices must invariably exist toward part-timers.

Samu posted:

One of the girls I'm doing basic with is really hot and lives in my city.

I take it banging her on a weekend off is a no-no?

Canuck-Errant posted:

Man, I wish I were in JTF2. I bet I would have two pairs of boots. Maybe even four.

edit: and a cool sidearm

ThalidomEid posted:

I'm surprised it's just happening (getting discovered) now. Hell, I'm surprised it didn't happen in Borden with PRETC. And it's not just that they were in WX, they were in WX on PAR (Personnel Awaiting Release), so it's doubly unsurprising.

Also, how long do you think you'd have to go without a room inspection before you were confident and comfortable with setting up a drug lab in your room?

ThalidomEid posted:

For real? I'd have thought you have to be QL3 (is it DP1 now?) qualified to get Cpls. And why bother promoting a guy if he's just waiting around for his release paperwork to get done?

As for PRETC, I heard some horror stories, but never had to take part. NCM-SEP, woo!

MA-Horus posted:

Not gonna lie. Might prefer that over Wainwright again.

Simkin posted:

On the plus side, you do get to shoot a lot of things (even if the majority of the time in training it's just blanks.

40% finished IODP1.1 - I ... I thought I knew what sleep deprivation was, but then I ran into the defensive module, and my mind was bloooooown. Wednesday morning through the next Wednesday afternoon, and in there somewhere was a stretch of six days with less than two hours accumulated sleep (taken at your own peril, no less). Still, I'm kind of pissed off that I didn't have any hallucinations like some of the guys.