# Recruiting Blues



## N-CK (13 Dec 2007)

Well Hiya (bonjour),

   This happens to be my first post here, though as a frequent lurker I think I have the rules and regs hammered into my brain.  So bare with me, and if I step out of line at any point I will gladly accept constructive criticism.  For the record, this is not intended to be an educational post, just one man's experience thus far.

   *I * began my application process about 2 months ago in the same manner of many young hopefulls.  Regretfully, it wasn't any flashy ad that sold me on the idea, nor was I influenced by some grizzled old vet spinning tales of "back'in Bosnia...things wuz different".  I really don't know how I came upon the idea to finally go through with it and try to sign my life over.  At the time, I was working in a bar in downtown Vancouver and getting increasingly frustrated with the kind of society I found myself around.  The term "functioning alcoholic" was tossed around like a badge of honor and depending on the season my friends would sway to the "fucnctioning" aspect far less than the later.  More to the point, I felt I was going nowhere, and I was frustrated.

   Vancouver, great city that it is, is simply not a military orriented place.  There is a large and beautiful armory there, but when mentioned 90% of the population will have no clue what you are talking about.  It is better known as "that building beside the Molson Brewery".  My decision to join up took my friends quite by surprise, but troopers to the end, they thought about it over a quick drink (ie. Jager-bomb) and wished me luck.  I decided to move back to my hometown of Calgary before going through the full process because I genuinely no idea what an ordeal it was.  So, clicking my heels as I quit my job, I was soon on a plane home.  I spent the next week returning my friends calls to remind them that no, I count not go out tonight, as I am in a totally different province.  Good work guys.

   My first day in Calgary I found my cleanest shirt that was not given to me by a Liquor rep at work to march down and hand in my application papers.  Now as an avid reader, and more importantly a fan of military literature, I have to explain my thought process at the time.  The majority of the books out there about the military experience are American, the prominent ones anyways.  In those a recruit typically walks into the office, or is pulled off his feet outside one and is surrounded by menacing sergeants stuffing brochures in his face.  I've had a friend in michigan tell me it seemed like he barely had time to finish the sentence "I think I wanna join the ar-" before the magic genie behind the desk snapped his fingers and he was at formation in bootcamp.  Obviously, since we lack the necessary thirst to give rifles to teenagers and encourage them to "Go Git'em", things are done much differently.  As you can all probably attest to.

   This dissapointed me to no ends, at first.

   Luckily, I got my vaccination for Rambo Syndrome at an early age and realized that this process was a very smart thing indeed.  This realization was brought upon by a conversation I was lucky enough to find myself in while waiting to take an appitude test.  

Fellow recruit (FR) : "I've been trying this military thing for a while you know, The wouldn't let me in a few years ago.  Then I tried the French Foreign Legion, but they wouldn't have me either...I think this'll be my lucky time though"

Me:  "Oh...wow, yeah good luck man...So, uhh, why didn't they let you in the first time?"

FR:  "Well they said I'd have to stop smoking weed, and I wasn't really ready for that at the time...I think I want to drive a tank."

Me:  "Neat.  So have you ever thought of maybe like...working?"

The conversation ended at that.  He looked really upset after his interview, all 5 minutes of it, and walked out without even saying goodbye.  How rude eh?  I thought we really started to develop a bond.

   The interview was a blast too.  I had a rather large framed French-Canadian greet me with a slew of Franco blah-blahs.  He seemed a little frustrated after recently talking to my new buddy, but it wasn't any of my business to go into it.  I made the mistake of answering in the only French words I know when he asked me how I was.  Which would be "Bien sir, oui, tres bien...sir".  He then proceeded to ramble for what seemed like 10 minutes though i'm sure it wasn't anywhere near in a dialect I wouldn't have any hope of understanding even if I was French.  Actually at that point he was likely speaking English, and I just needed to adjust.  So after we tuned our babblefish's to the same frequency we got along with the business at hand.  This was the easiest part for me, I am young, in great shape having done martial arts my whole life, infrequent drinker, and only have tried drugs in high school.  I came clean about everything, made sure to keep eye contact as much as possible without seeming like I was undressing him in my mind, and gave him an accurate profile of who I was, and what my ambitions really were.  

   Then he started mumbling in French under his breath and I experienced my first minor heart attack.  Of course, this was just me being high strung and nervous on account of having drank 4 cups of coffee to wake up in the morning.  Remember, I am used to working in bars, 8:00am is a very unfamiliar time for me.  In the end, to my relief, he deemed me an excellent candidate.  The interview took close to an hour though I barely remember a word of it I was so nervous.  I had come to revere the man by the end of it, he was like the perfect cross of Samuel de Champlain and Smoky the Bear, in uniform!  At one point I deemed it necessary to learn this man's language and join the Vandoos.  Baptism by fire I thought...we'll see how that goes.

    I was back again the next day, the guy at the desk even looked like there might possibly be the vaguest chance that maybe, at somepoint, he could almost recognize me.  Success!  My medical went great as well.  I work out 6 days a week, and average 30k of running, so I wasn't sweating it.  My eyes are a little off and I don't wear glasses but I was assured that I could be issued a pair of Buddy Holly's at basic.  At this point I decided against getting a regimental tattoo as well, since this guy had a big blue blob on his arm that I first mistake for some type of parasite.  Although, once again this was at 9 in the morning, and I wasn't up to peak performance yet.  My application for the Infantry went through on his end and he congratulated me, saying it should only be a matter of time.  I didn't get a drug test, I have awesome hearing which surprised me after two years of constant boom-tsk boot-tsk at work, and I found out there is no good way to cheat on an eye exam.  Fooled again.  

    So thats me up to date, I have been waiting for a month for a security clearance.  Consoling myself by looking at every thread on here mentioning those two words.  I also make it a point to call my File Manager every week just to make myself known.  Pretty soon i'm going to start leaving interesting factoids about everything I have ever done on the answering machine.  Persistance is key in these situations.  

   All in all I am happy with my progress so far, it went really quickly up until the clearance, but that should come in this week.  I have never been so excited about anything in my life as I am for joining the Canadian Forces.  It's a life long dream coming true (unless they uncover my dad is a closet terrorist, which I swear I never knew about officer), and I am training as hard as ever in preperation.  Covering my six in case something goes wrong, I have just enough saved up to go join the Legion.  I mean hey, I want to be a solider, and I want to learn French.  Mind you that is a last resort, I'm not so sure if I can pull of a Keppi Blanc.

   I'll fill you in as this progresses, If you actually took the time to read this whole thing then we are now best friends.  You are all invited to my birthday party.


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## Albedo (13 Dec 2007)

Thanks for the post.

 I'm about a week or two ahead of you (if there is such thing as being ahead) in the recruiting process, also in Calgary. I caught a bunch of references that made me chuckle. 

Things moved fairly quick for me. 2 weeks between application and merit-list. I think it had something to do with having never left the country and previous government screening. Calgary staff was great compared to some stories I've heard. Seems like they work hard to get folks through painlessly, and at times multiple staff happy to answer questions I had. 

Now I'm playing the waiting game! Hopefully I get news as an early Christmas present. Extra incentive to run in the cold over the holidays.

Hope the process speeds up for you. Good luck!


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## JBoyd (15 Dec 2007)

N-CK said:
			
		

> So after we tuned our babblefish's to the same frequency we got along with the business at hand



Nice Douglas Adams reference  (RIP)


Anyways, sounds like you have a pretty good grip on things, don't worry that it may take a bit of time, the longer it takes the sweeter it will be when you acheive what you want. I believe the CFRC and the Processing clerks go on leave pretty quick here, at least that was what I was told by the officer on the other end of the phone line .  Good luck though, you sound like there is nothing that should prevent you from being recruited and I look forward to seeing how things go for you.


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## N-CK (17 Dec 2007)

Well guys, I've called Madame Cleo, consulted my magic 8-ball and checked my horoscope everyday for a while now.  All signs are pointing to this being a positive week for me.  That could just be wishful thinking, but optimism is all I have at this point.  The idea of the recruiters getting a "vacation" is a bit of a setback though...It would be so much nicer if we could just have robots do this sort of thing.  I'm sure I'm not the first person to suggest this however, and if I brought it up at the CFRC I would probably be politely escorted from the building.  Real quick like...

It's cool to see so many other people sharing their stories and going through the same process.  I can't wait until 3 weeks into bootcamp when we can all starting reminiscing on life "back in my civie days".  This is of course before we inevitably make a hallmark mistake and break everyone else down into laughter.  Only to be reminded of it everyday...for the rest of our careers.

Anyways, I'm sort of just writing here right now to keep myself motivated.  I haven't been working since I moved back home because bartending in Calgary is a little more than I can stand to do right now.  Not only do you have to make drinks, but you are required to:

a)  Politely refrain from laughing at the token cowboy/roid monkey/trendster/diva as the cold weather makes them extra sensitive.
b)  Watch highschool kids throw up every night...anywhere (If you disagree then, well you are smart enough to go to nicer bars)
c)  "so that's 2 buds, a vodka 7, a vodka tonic, your name is what?  Was I supposed to know that?  Screw it, your all getting tequila"
d)  Listen to stampede stories... 'nuff said.

So in lieu of just admitting to people that I am essentially unemployed, I just explain that I am "preparing for the army".  Which is true, I have done 10k a day, everyday this week.  Plus all the pushups, sit-ups and that mumbo jumbo.  Though none of this helps me get anywhere with the one thing I want right now, that phone call!  Oh well, patience is my only allie I guess.  Besides mugging the mail clerk at the Harry Hays Building and stealing his uniform so I can casually stroll by the CFRC every now and then.  Maybe drop in for a chat, "ohhhh heyyy you guys still here, I see you need recruits eh?  Maybe a little quicker on the 'ol security checks then?  Well I'll be seeing you around...wouldn't want to keep you from your jobs".  Just an idea, not trying to give out any pointers here.

That's enough out of me for now.  To all the guys recruiting at this time too, keep your spirits up.  Once the Forces are done with their primary concern for the season (Tracking Santa...duh) they'll get back to us.  

cheers


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## N-CK (18 Dec 2007)

Annnd he's merit listed.  Huzzah.  Job offer in the new year and I didn't even have to resort to scare tactics, which is a good thing.
Time for egg-nog, Christmas cheer, and more jogging in the snow.  Wow, I just replied to my own reply.  That is neat.


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## JAWS228 (18 Dec 2007)

Congratulations on your job offer!  Makes it that much better after all the endless days and hours of waiting does it not?  Good luck on whatever course you get loaded on to!


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## IN HOC SIGNO (18 Dec 2007)

N-CK said:
			
		

> Annnd he's merit listed.  Huzzah.  Job offer in the new year and I didn't even have to resort to scare tactics, which is a good thing.
> Time for egg-nog, Christmas cheer, and more jogging in the snow.  Wow, I just replied to my own reply.  That is neat.



Once you get in the mob you won't have to talk to yourself anymore.  ;D You'll have 10-30 of your closest friends around all the time!! 
Congratulations on your pending job offer. This is the most awesome organisation in the country and I'm saying that after being around for some time.
You are getting an early Christmas present.....enjoy....good luck on BMQ.


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## Albedo (19 Dec 2007)

Congratulations on making the list! 

Glad to know CFRC Calgary is still hard at work this week, that means there is still time for me to get my phone call.

Weather looks good in Calgary until at least next week so no need to worry about running in the snow! Although, I wish it would snow a bit more in the mountains so I could have a few more good snowboarding days!

Keep us updated in the new year!


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## kincanucks (7 Jan 2008)

_Once the Forces are done with their primary concern for the season (Tracking Santa...duh) they'll get back to us.  _ 

Well I know what my primary concern is now.


HH and DA


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## siege (14 Jan 2008)

Im pretty far behind all of you guys at the moment, I am only 17 and just starting my second semester of grade 12.  I had handed my application in a while and finally got that call that im pretty sure my parents dreaded to hear.  They had processed all my application information and are now trying to figure out a time for me to come into the Winnipeg CFRC for a meeting (assuming they tell me when I write my CFAT, take my medical and all that kind of shinanigans).  Im in pretty good shape from playing hockey almost 5 times a week, including dryland and training 7 days a week in the offseason.  I've been reading all these horror stories of people not being able to hack the pressure and stress of BMQ, but ive wanted this since i can remember so im hoping that is enough to keep me banging through all the hard stuff.  Back on topic of recruiting, im not looking forward to the waiting game neither, they said i probably would not get a start on training till well after im graduated which kinda rattled me.  But the one thing that keeps entering my mind is this CFAT, i know there is a million and one threads on CFAT help, but any words of encouragment and personal stories about there tests would help me through my recruitment process a tone.   Thanks


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## Albedo (15 Jan 2008)

Hey Siege,

My advice is enjoy high school for now! Relax, go out, have as much fun as you can! These are your easy years!


The CFAT is an aptitude test, you can't really study. Play video games for spatial awareness (I knew all those hours weren't wasted) brush up on your algebra and remember that you can't use a calculator so you can't 'cheat' when working with decimals, fractions, and the like. Keep an eye on the time, leave no question unanswered and skip tough ones and come back to them. I made the mistake of losing track of time and left 4 or 5 math questions unanswered (although I did well enough anyways)

....and if you bomb it you have a semester worth of time to retake it!

Good luck and keep us updated (although maybe in your own thread   )


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## KJL (17 Jan 2008)

Understand your eagerness to hear the phone ring N-CK, interviewed today and am now awaiting the same thing....was that the phone ringing?


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