Camp Experiences

[true canadian]

Do you get to choose your tentmates, and how many do you have ?

 

[Burrows]

Do you get to choose your tentmates, and how many do you have ?

You don't get to choose, and you'll usually be in a platoon sized group.

 

[CI L. Phillips]

And Eat All Your Meals. Doesn't matter how terrible it tastes, Dont Get Caught Not Eating.

Please eat!! I had some cadets who felt they were fat and refused to eat for the last 2 weeks of camp. I had to bring in the "eating parade", where cadets from various platoons in my company had to come with me though the line, be forced to get a full and proper meal, and then had to sit with me and my helpers..who were assigned various ranks for this eating parade... and had to eat their meal in front of us. It sounds harsh, but it worked and many cadets "graduated" from the eating parade.  Eating is important. No one cares if you look fat in those gumbis,they dont look good on anyone!!

 

[S.Stewart]

Please eat!! I had some cadets who felt they were fat and refused to eat for the last 2 weeks of camp. I had to bring in the "eating parade", where cadets from various platoons in my company had to come with me though the line, be forced to get a full and proper meal, and then had to sit with me and my helpers..who were assigned various ranks for this eating parade... and had to eat their meal in front of us. It sounds harsh, but it worked and many cadets "graduated" from the eating parade.  Eating is important. No one cares if you look fat in those gumbis,they dont look good on anyone!!

You just couldnt get ahead in life on staff could you?, seems like you got stuck with the same jobs as you did in 2004. I really think Blackdown CTC should change our job description...lol.

My advice eat, I dont care your reason for not, the food is better in the mess now, than when I was a course cadet, and I beg of you course cadets dont make life on your staff any harder, as it is. For one, your not gonna like your staff when you push them over the edge, and two, well when you little course cadets do staff you will compleately understand.

The no eat thing is dangerous, true story, when I was in D&C in 00, I ate and drank water, but not enough, over the first week it was all fine and good, but that didnt last too long, my blood sugar dropped (no i dont have diabeties or anything else), when the MIR finally figured out what was wrong with me, my blood sugar was one,(the calculated that a normal level for me was 5.8) lucky for me, i never passed out, they still dont know why I didnt. I ended up being one sick puppy, it was not fun at all, lucky for me, no trg was missed.

 

[CI L. Phillips]

You just couldnt get ahead in life on staff could you?, seems like you got stuck with the same jobs as you did in 2004. I really think Blackdown CTC should change our job description...lol.

My advice eat, I dont care your reason for not, the food is better in the mess now, than when I was a course cadet, and I beg of you course cadets dont make life on your staff any harder, as it is. For one, your not gonna like your staff when you push them over the edge, and two, well when you little course cadets do staff you will compleately understand.

Apparently they saw that i was the nice one....darn being nice all the time. I get all the sickies, the ones that no one else wil deal with. Argh to be mean. And the food is much better, even from when i was a twinkie.

 

[S.Stewart]

Apparently they saw that i was the nice one....darn being nice all the time. I get all the sickies, the ones that no one else wil deal with. Argh to be mean. And the food is much better, even from when i was a twinkie.

What do you mean you always got stuck with the ones no one else could handle, did you happen to see my plt in 04, I think I had an easier time babysitting my kids than I did certain staff cadets in that company, and my cadets were exactly angels. I figured at least so of my attitude would have rubbed off on you in 2004, what did I tell you about "being nice" to the cadets, I was never "nice" to them, more like tolerant, understanding, all that jazz, but never nice, pie and I played the "guess your section sgts first name" cause yeah none of them knew it...and they still didnt get it, and no me and pie didnt tell them, that would have ruined the game...lol.

 

[bbbb]

Wow, army cadet camp is much more tedious than air cadet camp, granted I did basic air cadet camp in Bagotville back in '99. We were told that if we did not shower at least once a day we would get a black marker mark on our forearm, and if it wasn't gone the next day through a shower we'd get a second black marker mark on our forearm and so on. Everyone showered for the whole 2 weeks, no problem.

Don't bring ANY valuables with you to camp, it's not worth it as things can be stolen at camp as quickly as the flash of a camera. Yes, all you people who haven't gone to summer camp yet, it DOES happen! It never happened to anyone in my room that summer. At Bagotville myself and my 2 roomates had the fortune of being with Cadet Instructors Course (ie CIC, now called ITIC) cadets so all was good for us. We behaved ourselves and they got in HUGE trouble for 'goofing' off. They helped us with our uniforms though and helped us keep the place clean and tidy so they were BIG help.

Be diplomatic with the people on your course. Don't start fights or get into one, remember that it is usually possible to diffuse situations that pop up. It happened on my Basic Air Cadet course. One of my roomates had A.D.D. and couldn't control himself. He required medication to help his condition. He was a decent guy but was prone to emotionalism. That's ok, it happens to the best of us, but this guy did that all the time and it got to some of our flight-mates living in the next building. They were mean to him on that course and he ended up fighting with one of them. He gave the one guy a good punch in the face and the staff intervened. These same people (10-15 from my flight) approached our building one night and started demanding he confront them. I can tell you that would have been ugly knowing the ill feelings between that guy and the mob blocking the entrance to our building. I would say that a large group of people swarming the entrance to a building demanding confrontation constitutes a mob. He refused to confront them and the CIC cadets (who spoke NO English, they were French) demanded that I, the other bilingual Basic cadet in our flight, make them go away. I was surprised to see so many friends from my sqn taking part in this mob. I knew that by the time I exited the building to talk on behalf of my roomate that they were as tired as I was so I was able to diffuse the situation, one that could have taken a very serious turn if not for my diplomacy on behalf of my roomate. My other roomate was unilingual and came outside to support me. The French CIC cadets wasted no time either in coming out to make their opposition to the mob heard.

I learned through first hand experience that evening that diplomacy and courage go hand in hand. 

You can try talking to the staff but no one on my course succeeded, the staff were really against cadet-staff friendships for conflict of interest reasons. You know, professionalism?

The 'event' I told you about was an isolated one I'm sure, so you have nothing to worry about when you go to camp. Remember to bring a little warm clothing with you. Also note that there is little to no room for storage so pack lightly. Remember to give it your 110% because your behaviour IS being looked at. Goofing around is frowned upon at camp in Bagotville and the standard can be higher than at your local sqn. Don't bring any valuables since you don't have time to listen to a walkman, CD player, Ipod or the like. Such items are swiftly stolen. Bring good locks and know your combo well as this can save you a lot of time. Always keep EVERYTHING LOCKED, I can't stress that enough. People will steal anything they can get their hands on, it's that bad. Make your job easy as well as that of your staff and come prepared. Don't be reckless at camp as injury DOES hinder your ability to finish the course. I knew one guy who got injured, sent to the MIR a few times and that got him sent home. It was unlikely that he got a second shot at Basic Air Cadet camp. Be careful around weapons, you don't know how easy it is to hurt yourself when you're tired with a weapon in your hand. I guess the big message here is USE COMMON SENSE!

 

[Erin-Christine]

camp eh...camp was the greatest time ....last summer i was in D&C and i had the time of my life i was there for the 6 weeks..a CLI coarse..this year i will be staffing but i dont think there was anything i regret doing or forgetting....you alwyas have friends there to help you along, and dont be afraid to try new things..the military offers new and exciting experiances u dont wanna miss out on any!

 

[ouyin2000]

What do you plan on doing for staff?

 

[Erin-Christine]

hopefully D&C...i dont wanna staff the basics cause well ijust dont want to lol it wouldnt end up too well but either D&C or CL..why do u ask

 

[ouyin2000]

So you did the course last year, and you expect to be givin a first year WOs position for the exact same course... :

I highly suggest that you take a Sgt position, in either a clerk/GD role, or a CL/Basic Sec Comd role. From experience, it will defently benefit you more than staffing a course you just completed the year before.

 

[Pea]

So you did the course last year, and you expect to be givin a first year WOs position for the exact same course... :

I highly suggest that you take a Sgt position, in either a clerk/GD role, or a CL/Basic Sec Comd role. From experience, it will defently benefit you more than staffing a course you just completed the year before.

Very good advice. I purposely applied for CL sec sgt because I did not want to be staffing cadets that would be pretty much my age, and in some cases older. They can be pretty cocky, and make things just plain not enjoyable. I ended up being a platton WO for basics that summer. (most rewarding experience I have ever had)

 

[ouyin2000]

My second year of staff, I was working with a WO who was a cadet in the same course the year before. He was obviously much closer to the cadets than I was, and was often favouring some and being buddy-buddy with them. I recommend to everyone that they take a MCpl or Sgt position their first year of staff. It's what I did, and I enjoyed it very much, and learned a great deal about the life of a staff cadet.

 

[Cpl.Banks]

Quick question, I'm applying for staff this summer at Connaught and I don't particularly want to be stuck as a duty M/cpl & doing gate duty for 8 weeks. What effects the decision making when it come to staff positions? Any input would be great.
Thanks

 

[GGHG_Cadet]

Connaught has a weird way of choosing staff, well at least thats the feeling I got from a guy who staffed there last year. He was a M/cpl, gold star qualifed, and he had done CL. He staffed CLI Marksman as a Sgt, which is stupid considering he hadn't even done CLI.

 

[ryanmann356]

just do really well on pre-course and you will get a good position, thats what I was told anyway

 

[sgt.pongo]

I don't really take time to read every respond, so if this has already been said sorry. If you have a red sash and/or a white belt be prepared to take them off. My advice is to leave them at home and ask your commanding officer for a green belt. Also never tell somebody that you aren't going to eat, they will force you to eat and watch you for the rest of the day. So eat every meal and freshie, it gives you energy that you loose while training. I think the most important advice I will be able to give you is have fun, enjoy your stay, make lots of friends, and do you best. If you do all of that, summer camp should be splendid.

Have fun
Cadet. Wo. Pongo

 

[ryanmann356]

if you can get a cookie cutter instead of bringing your original capbrass that would be better, sometimes they get jacked.  Leave your white belt in your bag when it gets taken and anything else.  If you have a medal leave it at home and wear the ribbon so it doesnt get jacked either.  Keep all yuor expensive/valuble stuff inside your locker with a good strong lock and youll be fine

 

[Erin-Christine]

So you did the course last year, and you expect to be givin a first year WOs position for the exact same course... :

I highly suggest that you take a Sgt position, in either a clerk/GD role, or a CL/Basic Sec Comd role. From experience, it will defently benefit you more than staffing a course you just completed the year before.

alls i really wanna do is be a clerk or something like that i dont expect to get a WO position at all....altho it would be nice  haha but yea just a clerk or stg position would be nice

 

[George Wallace]

alls i really wanna do is be a clerk or something like that i dont expect to get a WO position at all....altho it would be nice  haha but yea just a clerk or stg position would be nice

If you really do want to do that, you may want to practice better grammar, sentence structure, and spelling, as those are the Hallmarks of that Trade.