# Reserve BMQ



## 7RCA (31 Jan 2009)

Hey everyone
just a quick question... 
I'm am currently residing in Niagara falls, Ontario
just wondering where i would have to go to do my bmq?
like, the closest place where bmq is offered, thanks.


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## facemesser (31 Jan 2009)

hey, I'm in Welland. I'm currently on BMQ for the Linc & Weld Regiment and they have us going *to Hamilton* with other guys from RHLI, Argylls, RCA, etc.

Edit

- We go to the St Catharines armoury where they bus us to Hamilton


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## 7RCA (1 Feb 2009)

Sweet, thanks for the help
yeah, im looking into the 7th toronto regiment (Field Artillery) So id be doing my BMQ/SQ in hamilton on weekends?
and what about my MOC? will that be at the 7th toronto regiment's moss park armoury? or is that in hamilton aswell??


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## Nfld Sapper (1 Feb 2009)

Probably CFB GAGETOWN, NB  LFCA TC MEAFORD for trades training.


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## 7RCA (1 Feb 2009)

im looking into reserves, isnt CFB gagetown for full time training... or am i terribly mistaken lol...


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## Nfld Sapper (1 Feb 2009)

Nope for everyone.

Looking at the National Calendar looks like you will be going to Meaford for your trades course.

EDITED TO ADD

CFB GAGETOWN houses all of the Combat Arms Schools. That is to say the Tactics School, the Infantry School, the Armoured School, the Artillery School, and the Engineer School.


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## 7RCA (1 Feb 2009)

ah kk thanks man
one more question, sorry dude lol... do u know if i'll be getting bused 2 meaford... or i'll have to drive there?


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## Nfld Sapper (1 Feb 2009)

Your unit will make all the arrangments for you to get to and from course.

You do realize that the course is run full time in the summer right?


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## 7RCA (1 Feb 2009)

yep, but i was looking into doing my bmq on the weekends
what do u recomend... weekends... or summer? and if ur a CF reservist , what did u do? summer or weekends?


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## Nfld Sapper (1 Feb 2009)

I meant your trades course is run full time in the summer.


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## 7RCA (1 Feb 2009)

oh ok, sorry for the misunderstanding... no.. i didnt know that.. is it only offerd in the summer or on weekends, too?


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## Nfld Sapper (1 Feb 2009)

7RCA said:
			
		

> oh ok, sorry for the misunderstanding... no.. i didnt know that.. is it only offerd in the summer or on weekends, too?



Trades courses as a rule of thumb are not I say again not run as weekend courses.


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## 7RCA (1 Feb 2009)

k man cool
so will i be going home at nights and have the weekends off then?


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## Nfld Sapper (1 Feb 2009)

Weekends off yes, nights probably not you will be using them to get ready for the next days training.

How far is Niagara to Meaford?


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## 7RCA (1 Feb 2009)

Mapquest is tellin me approx. 3 hours 30 minutes from Niagara to Meaford


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## George Wallace (1 Feb 2009)

7RCA said:
			
		

> ah kk thanks man
> one more question, sorry dude lol... do u know if i'll be getting bused 2 meaford... or i'll have to drive there?





			
				7RCA said:
			
		

> yep, but i was looking into doing my bmq on the weekends
> what do u recomend... weekends... or summer? and if ur a CF reservist , what did u do? summer or weekends?





			
				7RCA said:
			
		

> k man cool
> so will i be going home at nights and have the weekends off then?




*Army.ca Conduct Guidelines*: MUST READ - http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/24937.0.html

MSN and ICQ "short hand" -  http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/33247.0.html

Regarding the use of "MSN speak" versus the employment of prose which is correct in grammar, spelling and punctuation, please see: http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/34015/post-260446.html#msg260446


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## ltmaverick25 (1 Feb 2009)

When you are doing a BMQ full time do not expect to have much time off.  As was mentioned your evenings will be spent getting ready for inspections, and in some cases, more training may occur after dinner time.  If you are doing a weekend BMQ then you are pretty much on the go from 7pm friday night until around 4pm sunday afternoon.  Either way, very little accomodation is made for free time on a BMQ.  The entire purpose of that course is to introduce you to the CF and indoctrinate you.  You cannot be effectively indoctrinated if you are still living your civilian life on the side.  

As  you progress in your career things will get less anal while on course, but that is a long way off yet.


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## Stupor (4 Feb 2009)

Are you moving to Toronto for school? The commute to a parade night would be kind of difficult otherwise...if it's artillery you want, both 56th Field Regiment (St Catherines + Brantford) and 11th Field Regiment (Hamilton + Guelph) are closer to Niagara Falls.


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## Zombie (4 Feb 2009)

NFLD Sapper said:
			
		

> I meant your trades course is run full time in the summer.



Just out of curiosity how do people with full-time jobs work in a full-time course in the summer? I always thought reserve courses were on weekends.


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## ltmaverick25 (4 Feb 2009)

A few courses are available on weekends.  The army offers the BMQ and some QL4 type courses on the weekends.  You can also do PLQ MOD 1-5 on weekends.  However to the best of my knowledge you must do SQ and your trades training full time over the summer.

How do people with full time jobs get the time off work?

It is not freaking easy.  I struggled with that myself for years before saying screw it and going back to school.  Now I have all the time in the world for training, but when i was trying to maintain a fulltime career it was very frustrating at times.


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## brihard (4 Feb 2009)

To the best of my knowledge, there are no full time reserve BMQs scheduled for this summer. all BMQ in Ontario reserve units are being run as decentralized weekend courses. Normally several units will get together with enough candidates and instructors to run one, and will then do so.

SQ this summer is being run in Meaford. There are twelve courses being run in Meaford, in three sessions- 19 May to 26 June, 22 June to 31 July, and 27 July to 5 September.

As best as I can determine, reserve Artillery courses are being run in Sault St. Marie this summer. There are four DP1 courses in two sessions, one from 22 June to 31 July, and one from 27 July to 5 September.

This information is drawn from the LFCA reserve summer tasking matrix for instructor and support positions, so courses may actually start a few days later than the start dates listed, and may end a few days sooner. I'm not certain about that. This information is as of about a week ago, and is subject to change.

If you aren't already loaded on a BMQ, you might be screwed for the summer unless the unit you join is getting something together unusually late. Most weekend BMQs start in either September or February. I would talk to them right away.


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## George Wallace (4 Feb 2009)

Brihard said:
			
		

> SQ this summer is being run in Meaford. There are twelve courses being run in Meaford, in three sessions- 19 May to 26 June, 22 June to 31 July, and 27 July to 5 September.
> 
> As best as I can determine, reserve Artillery courses are being run in Sault St. Marie this summer. There are four DP1 courses in two sessions, one from 22 June to 31 July, and one from 27 July to 5 September.
> 
> This information is drawn from the LFCA reserve summer tasking matrix for instructor and support positions, so courses may actually start a few days later than the start dates listed, and may end a few days sooner. I'm not certain about that. This information is as of about a week ago, and is subject to change.



Absolutely BRILLIANT!

Once again someone has pulled dates out of their a__ head without any thought as to when the SCHOOLS and Universities start their classes.  I highly doubt any BMQ or DP1 course ending on 5 Sep will be loaded, let alone staffed.  If one looks at when universities start their Registration Weeks and the other School Systems start their classes, any course that is running much past the middle of August is doomed to failure.  

This will result in many more Recruits taking up to twice as long to get into Trades Trg, and double the time that some Trades require to get trained pers to augment the Reg Force if needed.


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## George Wallace (4 Feb 2009)

Zombie said:
			
		

> Just out of curiosity how do people with full-time jobs work in a full-time course in the summer? I always thought reserve courses were on weekends.



Quite a few actually.  That is why many Reserve courses are scheduled within the 30 day (1 month) timeframe, to accommodate people with full-time employment and a maximum of four weeks annual leave.  Job legislation has helped many to continue in the Reserves and keep their civilian employment.  This doesn't only apply to Recruits and Students on the Crses, but to the Staff.

For the most part, though, Reserve trg is geared around Students.  This is OK if there are still enough "Students" qualified as Instructors to instruct "Students" who are recruits.  Once a student graduates and finds full time employment, problems arise as to their availability to attend Career Crses.  

The Reserve Trg System must improve and plan further ahead, as many Professional people in civilian jobs have to plan their "vacation time" up to a year in advance in order to attend Reserve Trg.  Last minute creation and announcements of courses are not good for morale and causes retention issues.


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## Stupor (4 Feb 2009)

George Wallace said:
			
		

> Absolutely BRILLIANT!
> 
> Once again someone has pulled dates out of their a__ head without any thought as to when the SCHOOLS and Universities start their classes.  I highly doubt any BMQ or DP1 course ending on 5 Sep will be loaded, let alone staffed.  If one looks at when universities start their Registration Weeks and the other School Systems start their classes, any course that is running much past the middle of August is doomed to failure.
> 
> This will result in many more Recruits taking up to twice as long to get into Trades Trg, and double the time that some Trades require to get trained pers to augment the Reg Force if needed.


Sep 1 is on a Tuesday this year, pushing Labour Day to Sep 7 (and schools begin classes after Labour Day), so it won't be a problem. University of Toronto, for one, will begin classes on Sep 9th.

Registration for courses tend to take place online well before September anyway.


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## George Wallace (4 Feb 2009)

Stupor said:
			
		

> Sep 1 is on a Tuesday this year, pushing Labour Day to Sep 7 (and schools begin classes after Labour Day), so it won't be a problem. University of Toronto, for one, will begin classes on Sep 9th.
> 
> Registration for courses tend to take place online well before September anyway.



OK.  Classes start on Wed 9 Sep 2009 at that university.  What about the other universities, colleges and High Schools?  Students just don't start Classes one day out of the blue.  They have to have places to live; then move into those residences.  They have to purchase Course materials.  New Students have an Orientation Week.  

If you look at that crse, it straddles two Stat Holidays.  That alone is a disruptive factor for a crse.  Slow to start and slow to finish.


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## Nfld Sapper (4 Feb 2009)

Brihard said:
			
		

> To the best of my knowledge, there are no full time reserve BMQs scheduled for this summer. all BMQ in Ontario reserve units are being run as decentralized weekend courses. Normally several units will get together with enough candidates and instructors to run one, and will then do so.
> 
> SQ this summer is being run in Meaford. There are twelve courses being run in Meaford, in three sessions- 19 May to 26 June, 22 June to 31 July, and 27 July to 5 September.
> 
> ...



From the National Calendar the actual dates for the DP1 ARTY are:

DP1 Arty  SSMarie 30-Jun-09	24-Jul-09
DP1 Arty  SSMarie 30-Jun-09	24-Jul-09
DP1 Arty  SSMarie 3-Aug-09	28-Aug-09
DP1 Arty  SSMarie 3-Aug-09	28-Aug-09

Each course is 20 training days.

So there _appears_ to be no conflict with schooling.


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## Nfld Sapper (4 Feb 2009)

Again from the Nation Calendar the actual SQ Dates:

PRES SQ	 Meaford 1-Jun-09	30-Jun-09
PRES SQ	 Meaford	 1-Jun-09	30-Jun-09
PRES SQ Meaford	 1-Jun-09	30-Jun-09
PRES SQ	 Meaford 1-Jun-09	30-Jun-09
PRES SQ	 Meaford 2-Jul-09	             31-Jul-09
PRES SQ Meaford	2-Jul-09 	31-Jul-09
PRES SQ Meaford	2-Jul-09 	31-Jul-09
PRES SQ	 Meaford 2-Jul-09	             31-Jul-09
PRES SQ	 Meaford 2-Jul-09	             31-Jul-09
PRES SQ	 Meaford 2-Jul-09 	31-Jul-09
PRES SQ	 Meaford 4-Aug-09	3-Sep-09
PRES SQ	 Meaford	 4-Aug-09	3-Sep-09
PRES SQ	 Meaford 4-Aug-09	3-Sep-09

Each course is 22 training days long


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## TangoTwoBravo (4 Feb 2009)

Task briques for course staff usually include extra time on both ends of the course, so a task brique and a course calendar will not always match up. They are both right, but they deal with different things (one for staff and one for students) and hence will have different dates.

It has been a while since I worked in the reserve summer course scheduling world (last time was 2001), but I imagine that the guys today go through the same process that we did. We looked at school start/end dates and certainly tried to shoehorn the training into the appropriate time blocks. You might not be able to accomodate everybody, but at least it seems that a variety of slots are being offered which demonstrates to me that some thought has gone into it.

This may sound like motherhood, but I recommend that people rely on their unit Ops/Training cell for course and tasking dates when making plans.


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## Nfld Sapper (4 Feb 2009)

T2B you are correct, as a Sect Comd I asked  the fol to my troops:

1. When does your particular school/college/university end for the summer
2. What is the earliest date you can work, also what is the last date you can work
3. What course(s) you want
4. Want any extra work (but Career Course take pri)

When I get all that info, I show them the course brick and tell them based on the dates you gave me I can slot you for the fol course dates. 

Then I send all info off to my Sgt Maj/Trg MWO.


EDITED TO ADD

Like T2B said most of the time we try to tailor the course bricks to work to the advantage of the troops in school/college/university but that is not always the case.

The extra days for staff are for the issue and return of stores and any other course admin they have to do.


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## Stupor (4 Feb 2009)

George Wallace said:
			
		

> OK.  Classes start on Wed 9 Sep 2009 at that university.  What about the other universities, colleges and High Schools?  Students just don't start Classes one day out of the blue.  They have to have places to live; then move into those residences.  They have to purchase Course materials.  New Students have an Orientation Week.
> 
> If you look at that crse, it straddles two Stat Holidays.  That alone is a disruptive factor for a crse.  Slow to start and slow to finish.


Queen's starts on the 14th, Western and Ottawa on the 9th; I didn't bother looking up any other start date, but they are probably after Labour Day as well. You are right that the course dates aren't ideal, but it's not that different from any other year in which courses/Maple Guardian/Vigilant Guardian have ended in late August (and straddled 1 Aug). Student reservist deal with it by moving in late, giving up part/all of orientation, etc, which we are willing to do, as long as we don't have to miss the actual start of class, which in this case we won't.

Anyway, from the looks of the the actual schedule posted by NFLD Sapper, it looks like there will be a few extra days for student to prepare for back-to-school stuff after both the DP1/SQ in August.


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## George Wallace (4 Feb 2009)

I'd like to know where he got his links, as mine lead to a database that has not been updated past 2008, and even access from the Meaford site, I land up with the same outdated info.  Sometimes it really sucks using the DND search engines.............worse than the army.ca one.


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## Nfld Sapper (4 Feb 2009)

There is one on the internet at Useful Links for Training  -> •Army Individual Training Calendar 

*USE THE ABOVE AT YOUR OWN RISK AS CONTENTS MAY CHANGE, CHECK WITH YOUR COC FOR COURSE OFFERINGS*

I will attempt to get you the DIN link tomorrow night if you want George.

And the one from the internet syncs up with the course brick I got from CFSME wrt to Engineer courses


EDITED TO ADD DISCLAIMER


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## Nfld Sapper (4 Feb 2009)

As for the DIN Site  I believe its something like:

Main Gagetown Site -> CTC SCHOOLS -> CALENDARS (or TRG) -> 09/10


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## 7RCA (4 Feb 2009)

Stupor said:
			
		

> Are you moving to Toronto for school? The commute to a parade night would be kind of difficult otherwise...if it's artillery you want, both 56th Field Regiment (St Catherines + Brantford) and 11th Field Regiment (Hamilton + Guelph) are closer to Niagara Falls.



nah, i heard of the 56th regiment, never knew it was that close to me tho, thanks dude
11th is pretty close, too, ill look into them
thanks for the help.


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## brihard (4 Feb 2009)

Thanks for the more precise dates. All I had to go on was the instructors' tasking brique. Hopefully that helps this guy out.


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## ltmaverick25 (4 Feb 2009)

7RCA said:
			
		

> nah, i heard of the 56th regiment, never knew it was that close to me tho, thanks dude
> 11th is pretty close, too, ill look into them
> thanks for the help.



I strongly recomend 11 FD if they are close to you.  Very solid unit.


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## 7RCA (4 Feb 2009)

Yeah, but i was looking into the 56 FD regiment, because the 10 battery is in St.Catharines and thats like 20mins from my house lol


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## ltmaverick25 (4 Feb 2009)

7RCA said:
			
		

> Yeah, but i was looking into the 56 FD regiment, because the 10 battery is in St.Catharines and thats like 20mins from my house lol



Well in that case 11 FD is not very close at all..


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## 7RCA (4 Feb 2009)

hah yeah
do u know of any1 in the 56FD regiment?
if so, do they like it?


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## ltmaverick25 (4 Feb 2009)

7RCA said:
			
		

> hah yeah
> do u know of any1 in the 56FD regiment?
> if so, do they like it?



The only thing I will say in responce to that is 11 FD is a very solid unit.  You will have to infer the rest.


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## Stupor (4 Feb 2009)

I'm not sure what ltmaverick25 wants you to infer. 56th and 11th, like all units, each contains a mix of different personalities, and I've worked with good people from both. Join the one closer to you and find out for yourself if it's the right fit for you.


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## 7RCA (4 Feb 2009)

sweet advice.
Thanks for the help


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