Infantry, then police? Feedback

[Rowshambow]

OCDT now, but last month was a SGT, you can find out that info quite easily, just lookas some past posts! I spent some time with CSM Scales, some of you older RCR types might rember him! As for bad advice, I was just trying to say do what intrests you, not what you think would look good on a Resume, why is that bad advice!
You are right you can have a gluebag in anytrade, but nowadays as I said they aren't interested in just people with infantry skills, look at how many Reservists and other trades are doing Afghan tours,  and  like I posted prev alot of the so called wogs can go more places. As for the clown comment, my soldering skills speak for them self and I don't need to resort to petty name calling. If you want to send a pm to each other I am willing to bet we know each other!

 

[TheHead]

Ya, see what I mean about some people they have a narrow view on life, I am speaking from experience, I was infantry before I went armoured, so I am well within my lanes, oh yeah my father in law is a Sgt and in the recruiting section of EPS and I know of another person in the CPS recruiting, all I was saying is that if you think only infantry will make you look good to a police recruiter,than you are wrong. In the old days yes they wanted infantry types, but nowadays most recruiters or police have some type, or at least are knowledge about the Forces and they realize what an untapped resource it can be. So what I was trying to say is that do what interests you, not just what you think will look good on a resume because in the end if it's not what you wanted, you will have a bad taste in your mouth and will reflect badly on the forces. That's it, that's all not saying infantry is bad, just make sure it is something you are happy with! yes you will be supervised in most trades, but I was trying to point out the subtle differences, some trades don't have the time to babysit. As for the weapons training stuff, just take a look at 1 Service BN, those poor guys go harder and do more infantry stuff than the infantry!Sorry if that offended you, and I really don't know why some of you were offended by what was posted before, you would think that trying to give some insight would be a good thing, I know lots of people (myself included) that just jumped at the first trade offered to me, and I wished I had researched a little more!

  You are so out to lunch.  1 SV BN doing more Infantry stuff than the Infantry?  That just dis credited your entire post. Why don't you back this up with some proof considering a good portion of the Infantry soldiers on the last two rotos have been in Combat.    As a Private in Afghanistan my section commander gave me little to no supervision due to the fact he knew his section was capable of getting the job done.  Stay in your lanes man, you're talking out of your ass. 

 

[TheHead]

OCDT now, but last month was a SGT, you can find out that info quite easily, just lookas some past posts! I spent some time with CSM Scales, some of you older RCR types might rember him! As for bad advice, I was just trying to say do what intrests you, not what you think would look good on a Resume, why is that bad advice!
You are right you can have a gluebag in anytrade, but nowadays as I said they aren't interested in just people with infantry skills, look at how many Reservists and other trades are doing Afghan tours,  and  like I posted prev alot of the so called wogs can go more places. As for the clown comment, my soldering skills speak for them self and I don't need to resort to petty name calling. If you want to send a pm to each other I am willing to bet we know each other!

    Also OCDT please invest in a spell check.  :

 

[Rowshambow]

My apologies, I was talking about 1 Svc on Ex (yes two different situations) but they do alot of basic soldiering stuff, ie sections in defence etc not just tech stuff! As for spell check, it was a quick post I din't have time to hit the button! thanks Pte! Oh ya I have been to Afghanistan too, but as an Armoured Recce CC! sorry to burst your bubble!

 

[KevinB]

PM inbound so I dont interupt this facinating personal war going on  >

 

[Greymatters]

As for the weapons training stuff, just take a look at 1 Service BN, those poor guys go harder and do more infantry stuff than the infantry!

Hmmmm.... definately the kind of statement that draws adverse attention to your comments... just how would you prove such a statement to be true?

 

[Burrows]

My apologies, I was talking about 1 Svc on Ex (yes two different situations) but they do alot of basic soldiering stuff, ie sections in defence etc not just tech stuff! As for spell check, it was a quick post I din't have time to hit the button! thanks Pte! Oh ya I have been to Afghanistan too, but as an Armoured Recce CC! sorry to burst your bubble!

Use the spell check.  Also, army.ca is an informal website, no rank superiority comments are appreciated.

Failure to comply will result in introduction to the warning system.

The Army.ca Staff

 

[Rowshambow]

Sorry bout that, I wasn't meaning it in a "PTE" I am better than you, I meant in as thanks Pte as that's what he said he was in Afghan. anywho sorry I meant no offence, besides I am an OCDT now I am not superior to anything!! Next time I will use spell check too!

Hey Grey the comment wasn't a "fact" its a saying, kinda like harder than nails, we know someone isn't harder than nails but we compare them to it!

As for the original post, Yes the Infantry will def help you get on, or be something for the resume, but according to 2 different police recruiters, they like any Armed Forces member as they have "skills" that the general public does not get, and to think just Infantry are the only ones doing weapons or tours well, that's just not true, just look at the members who have lost there lives. There have been Armoured, Infantry, Arty, Reservists, MP's. just to name a few. Sorry if I went about it in the wrong way, I was only trying to open up someones eyes to the opportunities that the Forces has to offer.

 

[Zombie]

I think we can all agree there are many trades in the CF that would appeal to not only police services but many other employers after release. His question was about infantry, answer is yes, good plan but it really depends on you (attitude, work ethic, etc), not the trade you choose.

 

[ms]

I think that with a diploma in computers and a background in the army (be it infantry or not) the police force would be happy to take on anyone with those qualifications.  Shows that you are educated and disciplined, confident, know how to kick some ***, the list goes on for the attributes one acquires as a member of the CF.

This is very true... but remember, there are a lot of current and ex-military personnel applying to police forces. You need to differentiate yourself from the others. The best advice here so far was to pick a trade you will really enjoy (believe me - any trade will do) and then be dedicated and do very well at what ever trade you chose to do.
Recruiters prefer well rounded, stable people with a variety of experiences. Policing skills are taught later, the personality is being formed now.

 

[agadou]

I got my own experience about it recently, I just finished my police diploma  and on the first year, I went combat engineer reserve.
I absolutely loved this experience because I learnt how to use certain objects that I've never seen in my life before (explosives, assault boat, hand tools). It's a life experience that is very valuable.
Not to sell my trade but I learnt many things from it in a short time that I will remember in the future.

 

[niner domestic]

Ok, here's my take on joining a police force with CF experience.  I taught the Criminal Justice portion of several Police Foundation programs and have spent a fair amount of time with police recruiting pers and sat through many a lecture by them to the students on what their respective forces were looking for in applicants..  As well, my mom was an RCMP for 25 years.  I'm also in the legal biz, and spend most of my days in and around police officers and I'm retired from the CF. 

Bottom line with most forces is they want a candidate that is well rounded in a variety of areas and skill sets.  They want street smart and book smart cops with strong connections in their communities.  They want candidates that are ethical, and problem solvers and who have maintained a balanced life between work and play.  They want candidates that are mature and most importantly, having the ability to remain malleable and willing to learn (read having the ability to not keep saying, "but the CF does it this way or that way...").  Being able to handle a weapon is a nice skill but no matter what force you end up joining, they are going to retrain you on their weapons, and their policies and procedures for their use.  (First thing the Instructor told my mom was forget what you know about handling a firearm).  Keep in mind that like the CF and the limited numbers of assaulters etc,  not all police officers are ETUs or SWATs and there is a plethora of positions and duties that are outside the perceived norm of police work so having a variety of skill sets that are transferable will keep many more doors open for you in either career.  Simply being able to show that you can work without much supervision isn't going to be the end all, skill set and you'll find you will need much more than that.  If you plan on just staying in for three years, whatever trade you have decided upon, it isn't going to be fully developed in that amount of time.  You'll at best in that time period, have acquired some skill but certainly not enough to have a police recruiter going, "wow! we need to hire this guy!".  You certainly won't have advanced enough in the CF to have demonstrated your proficiency that would set you apart from the zillion other applicants (ok, maybe you might but it's not the norm). 

The competition for a position on a police force is brutal.  You have to have something that they want (when they want it).  As others have mentioned if you appear to the recruiting officer to  just be another average candidate, then that's where you will stay, in the average-we'll-have-a-look-at-them-when-all-else-fails pile of applicants.  We had a student who, had a degree in Forensic accounting and had a CMA designation, had done 5 years in the CF as a fin clk, was a marathon runner, spoke 3 languages and had a good grasp on some martial art that I can't recall right now, and he was turned down by the numerous forces he had applied to over the school year. Why? Because they all suggested to him he needed to be more involved at the community level.  One recruiter was kind enough to tell him he needed to do a fair amount of volunteer work before they would look at him again.  He did the volunteer work, and 2 years later, he was accepted to the force of his choice. 

Most of the students in the program I taught, found that they were turned down because of not having sufficient roots within the municipality that they were applying for.  Others found that their age and lack of a degree were also factors (this went to not demonstrating a personal roundness/balance and to be frank, the competition is tough and if the force has a choice between qualified candidates that are degree holders to those who do not hold one and all else being equal, they'll pick the degree holder).
Some found that in certain forces, not being paid for their time during training was a huge hindrance to joining and they needed to work to save up prior to joining in order to see themselves through the training time.  And yup, some students even found they were up against equity hiring recruitment drives.  You have to present to the force, a set of skills and attributes that they need and want, you'll have to figure that out. 

To answer the question of whether you're good to go with a trade choice of infantry, that will depend on how you sell yourself to the CFRC, how you do on the CFAT and meds etc.  First things first as I used to tell my students, "Let's get you past the first exam period before you all start making the mental plans of being the next ETU commander".

Good luck with whatever you attempt.

 

[zipperhead_cop]

My $0.02?  Go infantry.  After you are in, you'll get it.  The popo will still be here when you get out.  Good luck.