# Weekend Pres BMQ 2010-2011 experiences (good and bad)



## readytogo (5 Oct 2010)

Someone on another board mentioned this, seemed like a good idea so let the stories begin.


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## Bluebulldog (5 Oct 2010)

RTG.. Did all your candidates have kit issue this past weekend?


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## Newt (5 Oct 2010)

About a third of our course was without kit for this weekend. Our Course Officer has been on the warpath to get those of us without kit kitted up, even if it's just combats.


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## readytogo (5 Oct 2010)

We had 5 -6 people who had no initial issue of kit, even had a few who hadnt been sworn in yet


RTG


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## Bluebulldog (5 Oct 2010)

There was about 9 candidates on my BMQ out of 39 that didn't have kit ( I was one of them). We wound up wearing coveralls for the whole weekend, which wasn't so bad. Somehow since the coveralls were grey, we got the handle "Ghostbusters" LOL.

Yes, they're scrambling on our end to get us some kit as well.


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## Newt (5 Oct 2010)

I was in coveralls this weekend too. It wasn't so bad once we got the go ahead to wear PT strip under them. 

How was the PT this weekend for the other courses? On Saturday we did a fitness test, Sunday was a modified version of "Cindy" from the Combat Fitness Program. I'm still a little sore in the shoulders, but it's a good sore.


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## readytogo (5 Oct 2010)

We had it ok, Sat we did a the express testing, we had to drop for pushups quite a bit, took a seat on the wall for a while, lots of planking and core work, 3 chinups on entry and exit of the drill hall, everything from my knees up was sore on sunday evening but hey what else can i expect


RTG


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## Newt (5 Oct 2010)

How's the age mix? At 30 years old I was worried that I'd be the oldest person and be surrounded by 16-18 year olds; turns out that about half of the course is 25+.


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## readytogo (5 Oct 2010)

there arent to many of us over 25, I was also worried i would be one of the older ones(at 29).  I would have to say that there are 8-10 of us over 25. Lots of fresh faces on course.

RTG


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## Bluebulldog (5 Oct 2010)

Sat am was pretty brisk. Run of about 5-6 K broken up by sessions of pushups while waiting for the stragglers. Lots of pushups over the course of the day while waiting on the slow candidates to either get a clue, or get squared away on something. Classes on rank, military ethics, etc. and lots of drill.

We do expres testing in two weeks, so no PT on that Saturday ( Yay).

Yes, actually when we got our coveralls, I asked if I could just wear boxers and T shirt under, and it was fine....so actually I was probably more comfortable than the guys that had kit, LOL.

Sunday more PT, big house little house type stuff. Before every meal it's 20 pushups, 30 situps, and as many chinups as you can muster.

Age wise, there's a pretty good mix. Lots of younger ones ( under 25) but a few older people as well. I was worried that I'd be the oldest on on course ( 37), but there are a few in their 40s as well.


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## readytogo (6 Oct 2010)

This may seem a bit preemptive but planning is something that is done in my house to nauseum, Does anyone know how long BMQ-L is, is it run weekends like BMQ and do you get loaded on reasonably close to the BMQ completion??

RTG


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## Flap Jack (6 Oct 2010)

readytogo said:
			
		

> This may seem a bit preemptive but planning is something that is done in my house to nauseum, Does anyone know how long BMQ-L is, is it run weekends like BMQ and do you get loaded on reasonably close to the BMQ completion??
> 
> RTG



To the best of my knowledge, yes. BMQ-L (used to be called SQ) is run on weekends, but it may vary depending on your region. If it is being run shortly after your BMQ it is likely that you will be loaded on. However, take what I say with a grain of salt, as it can vary from unit to unit. Probably your best course of action would be talk to someone back at your home unit and find out from them.


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## Bluebulldog (7 Oct 2010)

RTG.

Check the BNNs distributed out by your regt. I know that our training sched for 2011 has already been set, and BMQ(L) is set to begin on 5 Feb and continue until June on alternate weekends.


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## Flap Jack (7 Oct 2010)

Bluebulldog said:
			
		

> RTG.
> 
> Check the BNNs distributed out by your regt. I know that our training sched for 2011 has already been set, and BMQ(L) is set to begin on 5 Feb and continue until June on alternate weekends.



B*B*N's (Battery Briefing Notes) are rare in most Artillery units, and wouldn't be called the same thing in non-Artillery units. He will most likely have to talk to his chain of command to find out info for courses.


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## Bluebulldog (7 Oct 2010)

Flap Jack said:
			
		

> B*B*N's (Battery Briefing Notes) are rare in most Artillery units, and wouldn't be called the same thing in non-Artillery units. He will most likely have to talk to his chain of command to find out info for courses.



Ah, yes. Forgot that not all regts do BBNs or their equivalent.


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## Flap Jack (7 Oct 2010)

Bluebulldog said:
			
		

> Ah, yes. Forgot that not all regts do BBNs or their equivalent.



More should though. They are a great source of info for every member of the Unit. But I digress! Back to stories from BMQ  ;D


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## Bluebulldog (7 Oct 2010)

Flap Jack, you wouldn't by any chance be with 11th Field?


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## Flap Jack (7 Oct 2010)

Bluebulldog said:
			
		

> Flap Jack, you wouldn't by any chance be with 11th Field?



Hey Bluebulldog, I just shot you a PM. Don't want to let the thread get off topic haha.

Cheers
Flap Jack


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## Newt (15 Oct 2010)

I was getting my kit sorted out for this weekend and I have to admit I was getting a little anxious about the weekend. My worries are around the fact that I've already been in the army once before. I know a lot of the pitfalls that are out there and I want to make sure my course mates know about them. I'm worried about becoming "that guy", the know-it-all who tells everyone what to do and alienates his course mates. Flipside, if I keep that knowledge to myself I feel like I'd be blading my buddies and drawing fire from course staff because they know I should know. 

I know there's a balance to be found and that I'll slip a bit until I find it, I just hope I find it soon.

One thing I'm excited about is that I finally have some kit, so I can be on the parade square and not look and fell like a dirty ghostbuster.


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## Bluebulldog (18 Oct 2010)

OK. so week 2 of 10 down.

Anyone got any good stories to share? Or are we all too exhausted to type?

Expres test Sat night....not too hard to pass that one.

Death by powerpoint all day Sat, learning about Military Law, environmental policy etc.

Drill Sunday, most of the day, last two classes were on service rifle handling, and safety.

Ruck march Sunday am ( about 4k) not too far, hardly broke a sweat. It was however a really nice time. Since we were cooped up inside the armouries all day Sat, getting out at 0600 into the fresh air, and going on a tab along Hamilton harbour was a nice change. Also highlighted how many in our platoon are out of shape. 3 recruits were relieved of their rucks, and other members of the platoon carried them, as well as their own load. Great teamwork, but gee, some folks really need to work on their personal PT in the off hours.

How was everyone elses weekend?


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## RabbitSwiftness (18 Oct 2010)

Getting used to doing Pushup's bluebulldog?

Good luck with your classes!


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## Newt (18 Oct 2010)

Weekend 2. 

A lot of classroom time. Environment, Code of Service Discipline, Alternate Dispute Resolution, Media Relations briefing. 
Saturday PT was two games of capture the flag, to help us build up some aggression and develop some team skills. Sunday was relays, which really highlighted the personal PT areas I need to work on. 

One thing I experimented with this weekend was having my next days combats neatly folded into one of these http://www.cpgear.com/StoreBox/bnc/4059_0.htm. My thinking was that I could grab it and head right for the showers after PT, and toss my PT strip into it as I changed. It worked a lot better than the troops who were heading to the showers with armfuls of uniforms and ablutions kit. Spending a few minutes organizing your kit makes everything go so much smoother.

Last two lecture periods on Sunday were basic rifle drill. Positions of Attention, At Ease, Stand Easy, Order Arms, and Shoulder Arms. These two periods were easily our worst. Personally, I was getting frustrated with myself for forgetting simple things like not lifting my left leg all the way when moving to Stand at Ease, which led to me getting sloppy. When we had the chance to practice the movements individually I took a few seconds to mentally sort myself out and things started to improve. Key point: relax. 

From a team forming perspective things are going really well. The forming and storming stages are over and we're starting on norming and performing. People are encouraging each other to push harder in PT, helping each other with drill during our breaks, filling buddy's water bottle when they're filling their own. The platoon is starting to develop its own internal culture and personality, which is kind of exciting to see.


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## Bluebulldog (18 Oct 2010)

RabbitSwiftness said:
			
		

> Getting used to doing Pushup's bluebulldog?
> 
> Good luck with your classes!



Yes Indeed....


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