Couple Questions

[Zaren]

Hi, I just have a few questions. 

1. What determines the CFs decision to put you in any particular location?  Say I pass all the tests and join the navy, living in Vancouver, BC would they put me in Vancouver itself since im near the water?

2. How many days do you guys get off a week?

 

[Gilligan]

  Well, you would most likely get posted to either Esquimalt or Halifax, I don't think HMCS Discovery is all that large, and wouldn't have much room for that many more.  I don't know for sure, but I'd be pretty certain that you'd be put in Esquimalt.

 

[Zaren]

Thanks, sorry for being so vague.  Im thinking about joining the regular force, but my wife wants to stay here (she just got promoted and is very happy with her job)  She was thinking that I could just live near base then come home on the weekend, thats why I was asking how many days off you get. (Im presuming 2)

 

[*Grunt]

For the reg force it depends on alot of factors, i'm not exactly sure but I think you have to earn leave...anyone willing to elaborate?

 

[Horse_Soldier]

A few realities of RegF life for you.
1.  You'll be spending a lot of time away from home during basic & MOC training, which will be in St-Jean and likely Halifax.
2.  Once you're trained, the CF will post you wherever they need you, not wherever is convenient to you and that can be Halifax as easily as Esquimalt.  Forget about a posting to Vancouver - no naval base there
3.  If you're in a hard sea trade, you'll be spending a lot of time at sea - especially if your ship is sent for a six month deployment to fun and faraway places like the Persian Gulf or the Arabian Sea.

Your wife wants to stay in Vancouver?  Guess what.  If you join the Reg Navy, you won't be seeing much of her.  If you're posted to Halifax, you won't be seeing her on weekends and on an OS rate of pay, you won't be flying the friendly skies back home very often.  If you're posted to Esquimalt, you'll still be driving like an SOB every Friday/Sunday you're in port.

You have a tough decision to make.  If the military wanted you to have a spouse & family, it would have issued you one from QM stores.  ;D
You won't get posted to a location for the convenience of being within driving distance of your family.  If your wife doesn't want to be a camp follower and move around with you, then you can kiss a semi-normal family life goodbye.

Sounds harsh?  That's why the Armed Forces aren't a job, but an adventure.  Good luck.

 

[9nr Domestic]

If the military wanted you to have a spouse & family, it would have issued you one from QM stores.   ;D

lol   ;D How very true.    

 

[Charlie]

I'm guessing I know the answer to this but just to clarify something anyways.  You're saying that the military puts you where they need you,  now is this that completely black and white...or for example.....if i passed my combat engineer training (RegF) , would I be able to put in a request to go to Petawawa, Ontario.  Then if they need people in both Petawawa and Edmonton (or Valcartier or Gagetown) they could help me out and put me in Petawawa.  I know the army does whats best for them and this is probably all wishfull thinking but I thought i'd try anyway.        Anyways thanks in advance.
                                                                                        CHEERS     

 

[Inch]

Charlie, you do put your requests in for postings, but that doesn't mean jack. I joined the CF hoping to be in Cold Lake flying CF-18s, I'm in Halifax flying Sea Kings. If there's a position avail to match your quals then yes you stand a good chance of getting that posting. I think the big mistake new guys make is get the "retirement" posting first, then they spend the rest of their careers trying to get back there. If you're a combat engineer and Edmonton is more undermanned than Pet, you can pretty much bet you're going to Edmonton. A lot of other factors play into the postings as well, if you and another guy want Pet and there's only one spot, they'll decide who gets the spot based on merit and possibly who did better on their phase/MOC training. That's how we got our slots in Portage. I was the only one that wanted Halifax, we had a slot so I got it. If someone else had wanted it that did better on the Basic Helicopter course, they would have got it.

Clear as mud?

Zaren, Horse_soldier hit it bang on. There is no naval base in Vancouver and you will not be posted there. Esquimalt is the best you could hope for and as I said above, there's no guarantee that you'll get it.

Cheers

 

[Zaren]

Ok thanks guys, one last question.

Does the CF pay for travel expenses from home to your working location?

 

[meni0n]

Something interesting I heard is that they'll try to post people now to a base that is close or not too far from family/home town. I don't know if this will be true in all of postings but my guess they could accomodate at least half the people. I had Kingston, Edmonton and Pet as my choices and I got Pet.

 

[Inch]

Zaren, you're entitled to Leave Travel Allowance (LTA) once a year to visit your next of kin. They give you up to 11 cents per km (I think, can't remember exactly but it's around that) for the round trip minus 800km. Example, say it's 4000km round trip, minus 800 and you're left with 3200 X .11 = $352. If your airfare is less than this, you get what you paid for airfare, if your airfare is more you'll get the whole amount. As I said, this is a once a year occurrence and it can only be used to visit your next of kin, ie your wife if you're married or whomever you designate as your next of kin if you're single. So if you're married and your wife is with you, forget about LTA. You can also do a reverse LTA, you can fly them to see you, but the same numbers apply.

Other than that, everybody has to drive to work and we're no exception. Of course the Mob pays for you to go on courses, if I have to go to Winnipeg for a course they'll pay for it.

Meni0n, whoever told you that is right out to lunch. Some MOCs don't have positions avail at all bases. I fly Sea Kings, my only options were Halifax or Victoria and I'm from Ontario. Believe me, you'll get used to being away, I used to go home like 4 or 5 times a year, now I only go twice. I don't miss it anymore and I just can't be bothered to make the trip. I do get LTA so I've got no excuse to not go at least once a year. I have a buddy that lives in Halifax, his brother lives in Victoria and his parents still live in Sarnia. He hasn't seen his brother in 2 years. That's just the way the military works.