Canadian Forces Reserves

[CaptainCrunch]

If your doing it for the pay, then its the wrong kind of job. As you increase in rank there are some nice increases. Most of the earning that you do are during the summers with training excercises, and if you deploy.

[STeeLy]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

If your doing it for the pay, then its the wrong kind of job. As you increase in rank there are some nice increases. Most of the earning that you do are during the summers with training excercises, and if you deploy.

I've already stated what I'm doing it for... the pay to me is just a bonus... and from what it seems... it's quite a nice one...

[CaptainCrunch]

Sorry then, I mis-interpreted your post.

[STeeLy]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Sorry then, I mis-interpreted your post.

no problems CC

[ok, ok,....I get it]

I was in from 89-94, and 96-98.....i long time ago, we still had the FN when I joined.

I would recommend it to anyone. It is far and away the best thing I have ever done, the high point being the deployment overseas.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by ok, ok,....I get it

I was in from 89-94, and 96-98.....i long time ago, we still had the FN when I joined.

I would recommend it to anyone. It is far and away the best thing I have ever done, the high point being the deployment overseas.

Oh man, I loved the FN, and for some reason I was far more accurate with it. On the down side the sucker weighed a ton, but you knew that you had absolute killing power with it over long ranges.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Originally Posted by STeeLy

I was looking up at their site and they had an estimate pay, for the time you're there, it isn't actually bad, it's just that you're not there that often.

What you have to remember is that it isn't an average 8 hour day, it is waking up at 5:30 in the morning and going for a run or a ruckmarch and then get the laid to you until 23:00 at which time you are given the privilege to fall asleep for a brief period of time (never enough time though) until the next day when you do it all again.

[ok, ok,....I get it]

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

What you have to remember is that it isn't an average 8 hour day, it is waking up at 5:30 in the morning and going for a run or a ruckmarch and then get the laid to you until 23:00 at which time you are given the privilege to fall asleep for a brief period of time (never enough time though) until the next day when you do it all again.

MMM, those are not the things I remember.......try they took place, but the good far out weighted the suck.....as I am sure you will agree

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Originally Posted by ok, ok,....I get it

MMM, those are not the things I remember.......try they took place, but the good far out weighted the suck.....as I am sure you will agree

Well during Basic through trades qualification there was a significant amount of associated with the process. Not saying I don't enjoy it or I wouldn't be going to Afghanistan but even in the new army it isn't fun at times.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

What you have to remember is that it isn't an average 8 hour day, it is waking up at 5:30 in the morning and going for a run or a ruckmarch and then get the laid to you until 23:00 at which time you are given the privilege to fall asleep for a brief period of time (never enough time though) until the next day when you do it all again.

I remember doing that in the field during basic training. But when we were in garrison we had a report to time of 7:00 am and a finish time of about 5:00 pm. Reg force was different in that respect.

[STeeLy]

I looked up what the schedule was like for BMQ training, I don't know if it was reservist or regular force, but that schedule... seems kinda like the way I routine my day during school... aside from the physical aspect of it.

I am a person who enjoys challenges, the forces (even if its just reserves) seems to be a good one.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I remember doing that in the field during basic training. But when we were in garrison we had a report to time of 7:00 am and a finish time of about 5:00 pm. Reg force was different in that respect.

I could have just been on a massive train and I didn't know it at the time I guess.... what I am trying to say is that the people who come in expecting it to be easy are those who drop out after the second day

[ok, ok,....I get it]

Originally Posted by STeeLy

I looked up what the schedule was like for BMQ training, I don't know if it was reservist or regular force, but that schedule... seems kinda like the way I routine my day during school... aside from the physical aspect of it.

I am a person who enjoys challenges, the forces (even if its just reserves) seems to be a good one.

Steely, I it taught me a few things that are still useful

1. Nothing lasts for ever
2. You can do whatever you want, as long as you can deal with the consequences
   
3. Don' sweat what you can't control
   

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

I could have just been on a massive train and I didn't know it at the time I guess.... what I am trying to say is that the people who come in expecting it to be easy are those who drop out after the second day

Second day? We pretty much tried to drop out at least a person or two on the first day.

j/k.

I do know that they really changed the BMQ handbook for instructors between my time getting trained and when I was an instructor.

We weren't allowed to overdue the physical punishment (excercise punshment, not beatdowns). We weren't allowed to yell, and at the time cursing was strongly discouraged. Oh and because I trained an integrated unit, no touchy without permission, which made inspections tough)

[ok, ok,....I get it]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Second day? We pretty much tried to drop out at least a person or two on the first day.

j/k.

I do know that they really changed the BMQ handbook for instructors between my time getting trained and when I was an instructor.

We weren't allowed to overdue the physical punishment (excercise punshment, not beatdowns). We weren't allowed to yell, and at the time cursing was strongly discouraged. Oh and because I trained an integrated unit, no touchy without permission, which made inspections tough)

Wow, It does not sound like my Basic or my time in.....I still remember hold manuals on out streatched arms......no touch or hitting was the norm....it died out a loooong time ago....but we certainly got beasted.....running back and forth in sand with rucks on.....

[worth]

My first day of BMQ was the longest and most stressful day of my life.

There were many "longer" days in the army than that day, but that shock of the first day is something i'll remember. Non stop from 5:30am to 11:00 pm.

We got yelled at plenty. And my 19 year old ears had never heard such swear words. Never got physically touched though. This was in 2003. But we did a lot of physical exercise for messing up. And we got our bunks tossed around and all our kit strewn everywhere if they found something wrong.

I did my BMQ and SQ in Lethbridge, and our bunks were in the community college, so we had a bit of privacy. But inspection took forever to do because they had to go into each living space which had 4 recruits each.

I remember standing in one spot one saturday for about 5 hours waiting for inspection to come. They would have inspection for a certain time and then sneak around and look in the windows to see if anyone was sitting or moving. If they found someone moving they'd ream him out. So we were scared less so we didn't move for hours for an inspection that never came. Ahhh good times.

I had an Master Bombardier as an instructor and he yelled at us pretty much exactly like the Drill Sgt. off Full Metal Jacket. It was unreal. By the third day his voice was totally gone from all the yelling.

[MarchHare]

Yeah, you certainly need a think skin and a tolerance for being chewed out (either individually or collectively) to make it through Basic. Nobody in my group was ever physically touched, but I (and just about everyone else) had to endure instructors being three inches from my face yelling that I was slower than molasses rolling uphill on a cold day -- and many more less polite things that I can't write here because of the profanity filter.

I did Basic right around the same time that SHARP training was being rolled out. SHARP was actually one of the last things we were taught before graduation, so it was funny to see my fellow trainees questioning the words and actions of the our instructors over the previous weeks. I'm sure if we had known about SHARP on the first day, there would have been dozens of harassment complaints filed against our instructors. :P

It's a good thing for the Canadian taxpayers that we weren't paid by the hour. I hope you can stomach 16-18 hour days, seven days a week. Even when you're given "time off", you still need to prepare your bunk for inspection, polish your boots, press your uniform, and many other time-consuming tasks.

[CaptainCrunch]

Did anyone ever try the "Join" rule in your basic training.

A little known rule when I was in was that if an instructor prescribed a physical punishment (ie pushups, running etc) you could request that your instructor join you.

I used it once, just once.

[ok, ok,....I get it]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Did anyone ever try the "Join" rule in your basic training.

A little known rule when I was in was that if an instructor prescribed a physical punishment (ie pushups, running etc) you could request that your instructor join you.

I used it once, just once.

Cc when were you in?

[worth]

Our instructors were decently good at joining in.

Anyone have an instructor say "It's Saturday. On weekends you can call me by my first name which is _____."

And then someone calls them by their first name and i'm pretty sure you all know what happens then.

Don't fall for that trick.

Or the old "Who wants to be a pilot?"

Someone raises hand.

"Then take that and pile it over there."