We did, kept us awake, wasn't uncommon for the heat not to be working plus some training does happen outside regardless of the weather.
Key there is does - for about 25 , 30 years. All the years prior we did the funny thing of having paper files, updats issued on paper (how horrible!), did paper administration, kept pers files, we even did pay on paper and here is a real shock - we actually learned how to calculate the pay using math - adding, subtracting, multiplying, deducting taxes, CPP, EI, Mess dues, etc. We even paid members bills for them back then. Whole bunch of other trades operated with out computers too. I attended several courses without computers and instructed on one without a computer. Actually learned more on the courses without computers as the instructors were more engaged with us.
Computers have been a double edged sword. In some ways they have made things worse. Ever been down the rabbit hole of trying to find a regulation or policy that has been cancelled? At least with paper we were able to keep copies of the cancelled ones, now you go online and end up in the "CFAO XXXX replaced in CANFORGEN XXXX which was cancelled in CANFORGEN XXXX". They also have had the undesired side affect that everyone thinks we are all sitting around twiddling our thumbs just waiting for them to send us an email request so we can have something to do and then not understand why they don't get an immediate answer while we are busy answering the other 100 emails. Go on leave, put out of office on stating dates and come back to 10 plus emails from the same person asking the same thing.
Yes computers are here to stay and absolutely have their benefits, I was an early supporter of them at work (started using computers in the 70s, punch cards, dumb terminals, vics/commodores, pet, superpets, etc). But - we could function if needed, especially in the basic training field, without them.
