Advice for women on BMQ and other courses [MERGED]

[WCST]

Yeah, sorry Geo. I misread your post.

M :brickwall:

 

[Angel]

Hey everyone!!
I am VERY new to this site.. & i am a female woundering about infantry it really excites me, and i am in great physical shape ( well at least i think so ) Is It wrong for a female to be interested in it? I know here there are a few women in it but i am only now hopefully going away as of july for basic traning!! Yay for me I am just a little worried i have no clue what to expect so any insite here or any information on what might be in store for me

Angel

 

[MikeL]

Search around, theres a few threads on females in the Infantry, what BMQ is like for females, etc.

 

[Praying Mantis]

Hi Angel 

Hey everyone!!
I am VERY new to this site.. & i am a female woundering about infantry Smiley it really excites me, and i am in great physical shape ( well at least i think so ) Is It wrong for a female to be interested in it? I know here there are a few women in it but i am only now hopefully going away as of july for basic traning!! Yay for me Smiley I am just a little worried i have no clue what to expect so any insite here or any information on what might be in store for me

It'll be soo fun! BMQ, for females, is no different than what it is for males. Well, I don't know what it's like for a male.. But, I had trouble with my PT, so if you're in good physical shape - don't worry about the PT part. You'll learn about the military way of life, and you'll write tests, you'll learn weapons, navigation, mapping, and drill. Just pay attention, and study for your tests. Look good for inspection! For example, make sure if you have long hair, no loose hairs are hanging out of your bun/braid As long as you pay attention, act like a soldier, and work hard - it'll be fun!

Good Luck!

 

[Amsdell]

I'm female as well.  My BMQ starts soon and I'm only really worried about my height.  Being 5'2", its a source of worry for me and was forever, (especially during gym class back at school where they would lineup everyone by height and I was always last).  The rest is fixable with working out.  To all the future CF women the only thing I can say is stop thinking of yourself as a woman and think of yourself as a soldier only.  It eases things.

 

[NadineR]

hey,

how are women treated in the army...ive heard bad things but i dunno
id love to do this ...just to really show my x boyfriend i can do something with my life
instead of working in boston pizza or something

Nadine

 

[Pea]

Hi,

Welcome to army.ca

The search function is your friend here. Most topics have been discussed many times and can be found by a simple search. I searched using "women" and found two relevant threads right away. For example:

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/27742.0.html
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/25011.0.html

Please take the time to search before posting.

Also, MSN Speak does not fly here. Please use as proper writing skills as you can. It makes it a heck of a lot easier to read and that means more people will be inclined to respond.

Happy Reading. 

 

[camochick]

Pea for mod, pea for mod!!! haha you're a bossy one, but I still wear the pants in this marriage haha!!! >

 

[Pea]

Pea for mod, pea for mod!!! haha you're a bossy one, but I still wear the pants in this marriage haha!!! >

Isn't that what my fancy blue bar under my name means?......oh wait nevermind, I am just a subscriber.  ;D

 

[Centurian1985]

how are women treated in the army...ive heard bad things but i dunno
id love to do this ...just to really show my x boyfriend i can do something with my life
instead of working in boston pizza or something

Women have the same rights as men in this military force, same as on the civilian side of the street.  A lot of how you are treated depends on how you act, the same as with any other soldier.  However, be sure its what you want to do.  Dont join up just to 'show up' your x-boyfriend.  If thats all you want to do, get a richer or bigger boyfriend.  If you want to do something with your life, as part of improving yourself because you want to, the recruiting center cant be too far away...

 

[TMM]

id love to do this ...just to really show my x boyfriend i can do something with my life

The CF, and any employer for that fact, myself included could not care less as to what one's ex thinks of someone. All employers care about is what you can do, not who you do it for.

 

[Michael Dorosh]

Not to denigrate the military, but there are lots of things you can "do" to lead a full and productive life short of signing up.  Working at Boston Pizza can certainly be included - its not necessarily what you do, but how you do it, that counts. The only one that will ultimately be able to make you feel satisfied in what you're doing is you.

As indicated already, a talk to a recruiter would be a good way to start. That is what they are there for - look up Recruiting in the Yellow Pages, then come back here if you still have specific questions that they can't answer for you.

Good luck.

 

[NadineR]

well at least women got rights...and i want this for myself to...displine really..and i want to learn things
and be a better person ...but i also want to show my friends i can do soemthing to...
so ya ...but i dunno
i want to join...

Nadine :threat:

 

[scoutfinch]

You might want to develop a better command of the English language before going to the recruiter.

Given your posts here, you reveal yourself to be an individual who fails to take pride in the message you wish to convey, too lazy to use proper English, and one who professes a dubious motivation for joining.  I am not sure these are the attributes being sought by the CF.

 

[Burrows]

Nadine, you're joining for the wrong reasons.  Joining the armed forces is something that shouldn't be taken up lightly, and should be done for yourself, not to prove yourself to others.  It requires serious long-term work.  Your reason for joining is to prove you can do something in your life, wrong reason.  You shouldn't have to prove yourself to anyone, just be the best you can be, and take a job you really want, not just one that you think can let you prove yourself.

You sure as hell don't need to prove anything to your EX-Boyfriend.  You aren't together anymore, and his criticism shouldn't affect you.  Do what you want, not what you think others want.

 

[K_Johnston]

I am fully for woman in the services, if they can do the job.  I talked to a armored vehicle mechanic at the local CF Base, and he was pretty mad because a girl got the same job he has, but cant carry all the equipment.  He can carry the wrench for the wheels and his full toolkit in one run.  He said (and I agree) it wasnt fair that she have that job if she had to make three trips to carry all the gear from point A to point B.  He was quite happy with another one though, who could carry everything (and kept singing her praises for the way she did it - adding a sling to the wrench).  If you can do the job, then please join, and ignore or report any jerks you come across, if you cant please pick something else.

Also should mention it since its come up quite a bit, meeting someone isnt a reason to join.  I will be going into the MP's (hopefully) within the next couple of years, because I like the job and feel I will be prepared to do it to the best of my ability.  Simple as that.

 

[Michael OLeary]

Are we really ready for this?
Women are not suited to combat role, Mike Strobel argues

http://www.torontosun.com/News/World/2006/05/26/1598716-sun.html

What a shame our armies are not manned, so to speak, by women.

The world would be at peace. Imagine all the people ...

You're dreaming, man.

Which leaves us with the thorny question of women serving in armies that are hellbent on slaughtering each other.

To me the answer is simple: Do not send women into combat.

Today, in Calgary, is the funeral of Capt. Nichola Goddard. She died last week in a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan. She was the first Canadian woman ever killed in combat.

"A soldier is a soldier," the DND tells me.

Hero-general Lew MacKenzie tells The Canadian Press: "The greatest respect I can pay to (her) is to treat it just like the death of another soldier -- with great respect and certainly no differently."

Fine. Capt. Goddard served and died, aged 26, for her country. She did it willingly and bravely. Nothing can diminish that.

GUT REACTION

But do not tell me your reaction to her face on our front page was the same as it was to the faces of the 16 brave Canadian men killed over there.

If you are human, you had an extra catch in your throat. You were uneasy, disbelieving.

Then, Len Fortune, a colleague and air force vet, shows me a page of photographs.

They are of American women killed in action in Iraq. The youngest is 19, the oldest 43. They are moms, wives, girlfriends, sisters, daughters.

There are 35, all killed by the enemy. Another dozen died in accidents. Four hundred have been wounded, many maimed.

It would be terrible if those faces were of young men.

I'm sorry, but it is even worse that they are of young women.

True, they are little more than 2% of the U.S. toll in Iraq.

But, I am surprised to learn, American women aren't even supposed to be in direct land combat roles.

Their deaths have come in mortar attacks on camps and ambushes of supply convoys.

Not what they call "combat arms" roles, though, of course, dead is dead.

"Should women go into a combat situation? We're already there. It's a moot point," a captain named Carmen tells the Philadelphia Inquirer.

This is new ground for the Yanks, too.

In Vietnam, eight female nurses died, one from hostile gunfire.

In the 1990s, distaff pilots and sailors were allowed. Only after 1994 could army women serve anywhere that put them in danger of capture.

Thus, Jessica Lynch's famous turn as PoW. And she was an unarmed clerk.

But Canada's is the only military in the world that puts females right up front, such as the observation post where Nicky Goddard died.

We can do so because a 1989 human rights ruling opened up all military roles to women.

"Through the '90s, we encouraged them to join 'combat arms,'" says DND spokesman Jay Paxton.

"The introduction of women increases the potential recruiting pool by 100% and provides opportunities for all people to serve their country to the best of their abilities.

"DND does not give any significance to gender in the armed forces."

Good for you. But the rest of us do.

NOT ABOUT EQUALITY

Even some feminists, at least those who are not knee-jerk on gender rights issues.

"We're adamantly opposed," says Janis Alton, co-chairman of Canadian Voice of Women for Peace.

"It gets mixed up with issues of equality, but it is not an enlightened step foward."

No. Women coming home draped in flags is hardly a sign of social enlightenment.

Yet there are 230 women among our troops in Afghanistan.

They aren't all in "combat arms," but they are all surely in harm's way.

Why our gut reaction to those photos of Capt. Goddard and her American comrades-in-arms?

This has naught to do with equal pay or equal rights or equal access or equal anything.

It has to do with the female of our species being kinder, gentler. The nurturer. Mom, for crying out loud.

It doesn't sit right.

We are used to men Killed In Action (KIA) in wars both hated and heroic.

We are not used to women KIA.

Why the hell do we want to get used to that?

 

[couchcommander]

So this gentlemen is arguing that we shouldn't allow someone to fight for their ideals, their beliefs, their values, their fathers, their mothers, their sons and daughters...because they have a pair of ovaries?

 

[rick7475]

If they can do the job, let them.

Police women have been doing an outstanding job on the line for decades and they face the risk of dying on duty. There are fire women, too.

Capt Goddard proved that she was great at what she did. Why deny the CAF such talent?

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Quote,
We are used to men Killed In Action (KIA) in wars both hated and heroic.

Who the @$%* is this jerk-off to tell me I'm [ by means of "we"] "used to it".  I will never get "used to it".......talk about demeaning.