# Cadpat



## Jekup (15 Sep 2015)

Hello everyone. So im im the reserves and have my kit. I got an email saying i need to wear my cadpat uniform for my first day. What does the cadpat invole... beret? Tact vest,helmet etc. I havent gotten a straight answer from my regiment


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## dangerboy (15 Sep 2015)

It usually means combat boots, combat pants, combat shirt and beret.  If you hear full fighting order (FFO) that is when you need tac-vest, and helmet. If you don't know how to wear your uniform yet I suggest going in civilian clothes and let someone show you how to wear the uniform properly.


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## BinRat55 (15 Sep 2015)

dangerboy said:
			
		

> It usually means combat boots, combat pants, combat shirt and beret.  If you hear full fighting order (FFO) that is when you need tac-vest, and helmet. If you don't know how to wear your uniform yet I suggest going in civilian clothes and let someone show you how to wear the uniform properly.



Umm... wow. Ok, so as danger boy put it, I wish to amplify the sentiment - I STRONGLY suggest you bring every piece of your uniform and have someone with experience show you how to put it on. If you put on MY uniform and inadvertently wear it in a disrespectful manner, there are many levels of failure here.

From your feet to your head:

Boots - clean, polished preferred and tied properly. Green / black sock combination.
Cadpat pants - worn with a belt, buttoned on ALL pockets and dust flaps tucked neatly into your boots. Bloused with a set of trouser blowsers. 
Green under shirt. ID discs if you have them.
Cadpat Shirt. ALL buttons done up. Rank flash buttoned properly on the front of your shirt. Nametag (if you have one) on the right velcro strip. If you leave the house wearing your uniform and the red and white is NOT on your left shoulder, aliens had better have abducted you!
Beret fashioned as best as you can ( i will not get into the thousand ways to form a beret...)
At ALL TIMES while wearing MY uniform, you will conduct yourself in the most professional manner possible. Keep your uniform clean and well turned out at all times - wrinkle -free. Collar down (we are not the flying f$#%@^ Elvis')
No earrings or external jewelry (males) and for GAWD sake - make sure your hair is cut, face is shaved and deodorant is applied.

I hope I have been clear.

Can someone in BC please explain to me how soldiers-to-be are getting uniforms, and are being told to wear them without knowing how? I am failing to see the logic here...


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## Pusser (16 Sep 2015)

BinRat55, chill out pal!  The kid just asked a question and a perfectly reasonable one at that (little disappointed his unit didn't give him better instructions.  By the way, there is NO order of dress in the CF called, "CADPAT," but I digress).  I think your answer was a little over the top.  For one thing, it's not YOUR uniform.  You don't own it and as a bin rat, you should know that.  It's the Queen's uniform (which is correct terminology as it is also correctly called property of the Crown).  For another thing, how does one wear combat clothing disrespectfully?  Improperly, maybe, but not disrespectfully.

The best advice given here is to wear civilian clothes to the venue and carry your kit with you.  Arrive early and ask someone to help you.  If they ask why you didn't wear it simply say that you weren't sure how.  No one should give you a hard time for that.  My guess is that unless they told you to bring everything, you will only need a shirt, pair of pants, T-shirt, socks (one black pair, one green pair), boots and beret.  You may want the Gore-Tex jacket too if the weather isn't great.  Hopefully though, your unit will get back to you and give you a better answer. 

Even if you make a mistake and get yelled at, don't worry about it and don't take it personally.  Basic Training is about making mistakes (and learning from them) and everybody gets yelled at, often for things that aren't their fault.  Again, as long as you learn from it, it will have no long term affects on your career and will likely be forgotten shortly after it happens.  The guy yelling at you today, may someday become your best friend.


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## BinRat55 (16 Sep 2015)

Pusser said:
			
		

> BinRat55, chill out pal!  The kid just asked a question and a perfectly reasonable one at that (little disappointed his unit didn't give him better instructions.  By the way, there is NO order of dress in the CF called, "CADPAT," but I digress).  I think your answer was a little over the top.  For one thing, it's not YOUR uniform.  You don't own it and as a bin rat, you should know that.  It's the Queen's uniform (which is correct terminology as it is also correctly called property of the Crown).  For another thing, how does one wear combat clothing disrespectfully?  Improperly, maybe, but not disrespectfully.
> 
> The best advice given here is to wear civilian clothes to the venue and carry your kit with you.  Arrive early and ask someone to help you.  If they ask why you didn't wear it simply say that you weren't sure how.  No one should give you a hard time for that.  My guess is that unless they told you to bring everything, you will only need a shirt, pair of pants, T-shirt, socks (one black pair, one green pair), boots and beret.  You may want the Gore-Tex jacket too if the weather isn't great.  Hopefully though, your unit will get back to you and give you a better answer.
> 
> Even if you make a mistake and get yelled at, don't worry about it and don't take it personally.  Basic Training is about making mistakes (and learning from them) and everybody gets yelled at, often for things that aren't their fault.  Again, as long as you learn from it, it will have no long term affects on your career and will likely be forgotten shortly after it happens.  The guy yelling at you today, may someday become your best friend.



No, I don't believe I was over the top. The idea that the uniform I wear belongs to the Crown is not lost on me, I am not an idiot. I was firing for effect. You see, when it comes to the CAF, everything is mine. I may not have as much time and experience as yourself, but the time and experience I do have has shown me people who can and do wear OUR uniform disrespectfully. Wearing it incorrectly IS disrespectful - to the many who pride themselves in how they look - to their bosses and in the public eye.

Do you think the soldier I picked up just about to enter a Tim Hortons wearing a Canadian Airborne patch where his flag should have been was incorrect, or just plain disrespectful? He was all of 22 years old and a MCpl to boot. I truly wanted to kick him square in the junk. Instead, he will be disciplined appropriately. 

If this was an isolated incident I could understand not being so... hotheaded. But it's not. Everyday I see soldiers NOT knowing how to wear their uniform, or not caring. This is the disrespectful part. Then you have chains of command who choose to look the other way. We haven't gotten soft, just lazy.

If I seemed harsh to Jekup, I apoligize for the WAY it came across. I applaud the fact that Jekup asked the question - and please - keep doing so. I don't apologize for the sentiment. Learn how to wear MY uniform or or don't wear it at all. Test me and I can definitely assist in making that happen.

Just a sore spot with me... but alas, thank you Pusser for correcting my slack and idle body. I will endeavor to do better.


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## chrisf (16 Sep 2015)

No, you came off as an ***.

Its quite common for reserve recruits to be issued a uniform well before their basic training.

Realistic scenario, a recruit is rushed through the recruiting process, and kitted in an attempt to get them loaded on a summer course. 

Through no fault of their own, either course cancellations, or because the administrative process just wasn't fast enough, they don't make it on to the course.

As a result, in most cases, they are now unemployed after being promised work, and need to find a job for the summer.

On top of that, they have no chain of command to contact, at best they may have a phone number for the recruiter or an email address.

IF that recruiter is full time class b, they're likely tasked out all summer, and maybe part of the fall. If they're a part timer on class a, they're pretty much unreachable, and the recruit will have no contact or information until the fall.

So youve got an untrained recruit, who went from being keen and ready to go, to being screwed out of a job, and practically no means of communications with their unit.

So we've got a disappointed, abandoned and disillusioned recruit who did their best to go looking for answers, and you decided to jump down their throat?

"Just show up in clean civvies and brig your out with you" would have been a perfect answer.

In the mean time it's still not your god damn uniform, it's the uniform of the forces, who've dropped the ball on training and supporting this young man.

If you want to pick up that ball, fine, if you just want to be an *** get the hell off the field.


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## BinRat55 (16 Sep 2015)

Lol!

Do you feel better now Sig Op? I won't rehash my answer to Pusser because you decided to pull my first post apart like string cheese AFTER I was told by Pusser. Pile on!!

I made my point. It isn't about the "poor reserve recruit". Lost, confused, needing direction - this is MY job - I provide direction. How effective would it have been on a recruit (who's CoC apparently abandoned him) for someone to just say "Aww, just go on in in civvies... they'll teach ya sport..." Was anything in my original post incorrect in nature? 

Heck, I even went so far as to apologize in my second post (not in my nature if I strongly believe in something) - not good enough, huh?

Ball now in YOUR court.


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## Gunshark (16 Sep 2015)

If it helps anyone settle this argument, I am an applicant with enough time on these forums, and I thought you were unnecessary aggressive in your post, BinRat55. With all due respect to yourself, your service, and the information that you've provided, I believe the question could have been answered in much more calm and concise fashion, which I imagine is closer to the military's code of conduct than going on an unnecessary rant about "your" uniform. Why add controversy to your posts and invite negative attention? The OP wasn't going to disrespect anyone or the uniform either, hence why he came here with his question in the first place. I hope to join a family of people who welcome and teach each other, and make each other better, not criticize each other like that. There's a fine line between being blunt and being an ass. It isn't about this particular "poor recruit" like you said, I agree, it's more about treating your fellows with the respect. I have not earned mine yet, but we're all people at the end of the day, so I just wanted to chime in, drawing from life experience if nothing else. Just trying to keep the welcoming attitude toward new applicants on these forums. Cheers.


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## BinRat55 (16 Sep 2015)

No argument here and I appreciate your input as well Gunshark.

I was taken out of context, being overly aggressive on a topic that is very touchy (we all have our hot buttons) to me. I tend to forget that aggressiveness is becoming lost in MY army (I am pretty sure no one is getting the reference to "My island...")...

So, I have apologized, reworded, explained (still, all the while thinking that I, like all of you, are entitled to my opinion - which IS mine, not the Queen's...) and I am still called an a**. This is what's wrong with the military today. Gotta be "nicer" and 'gentler" for fear of scaring anyone away. Get that yellow card out, quick. That grouchy WO is coming...

If I had have known that the way I "worded" my post would have offended the delicacies of some people I would not have put it in such a way. Sometimes I make my point with broken glass, but my point still comes out. Once again, it's a sore spot of mine.

Mostly I'm a pretty nice guy though.


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## cupper (16 Sep 2015)

One point which several of you seem to overlook in BinRat's response is that while being somewhat assertive in his tone, he also offered advice on how the various parts of the uniform should be worn.

And frankly, It didn't come off (in my opinion) as over the top as many have expressed. If you want to get caught up in the semantics of MY vs YOUR vs The Crown Vs The Queen, by all means , pile on. But there were two pieces of sound advice given, one advising showing up in civilian attire and asking for help in wearing the uniform properly, the other on how to actually wear the uniform properly.

With respect to tone, it harkens back to my first night of training oh so many centuries ago. It was pretty much the same commentary I got from my father, then a recently retired Navy PO1. It was a demonstration that I should take pride in the uniform I was wearing, and to always hold myself up as an example (although he didn't have a clue about how to blouse work dress trousers with combat boots :facepalm: ).


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## Fishbone Jones (16 Sep 2015)

Time to cool off.


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