MARS Occupation Manager

[MSEng314]

Back pay for what? You need two years in rank to get promoted to LT(N). Soooo... if you pass your board "within" two years, you wouldn't be promoted to Lt(N) yet, so what would you be getting back paid for?

Now lets say you graduated and were promoted to SLT on June 1st 2010, but didn't start training about ship until September 1st. If you pass your NOPQ board on September 1st 2012, the would you get back paid to June 1st 2012? Good question. OM?

No. You get promoted when all the requirements for promotion are met. The only backpay you get is from the time you get eligible for promotion until the paperwork goes through, usually only a couple weeks. Pretty much this exact thing just happened to me.

 

[MMSS]

Hi MARS OM,

Hoping for some info on what I should be expecting in the next few months. I just received a job offer for MARS; I swear in on the 22nd of October. Right now they have me posted to St-Jean on the 27th; however, this is likely to change as I've already done basic. I'm just not sure how often courses run and what I should expect as far as postings go.

Thanks

Just curious, are you an OT/CT or DEO? I was told that MARS was closed earlier in the year for DEO however if they have reopened (at least for 1 position) then perhaps there's hope for further processing before next April.

 

[half-pint]

DEO. I know, I thought the trade was closed as well and had already resigned myself to at least another year of waiting. I imagine there will be many job offers going out.

 

[MMSS]

I had just told my wife I was going to call them when she advised that the phone rang while she was changing a diaper - turns out it was the RC. I called them back and was told that yes, MARS was open (and my medical file had been returned from Ottawa as approved!) I made sure that they had MARS as my first choice and was told that I should be "hearing from them shortly".

 

[half-pint]

Well, it sounds like we may be working together in the near future. 
Congratulations!!

 

[MMSS]

You too. I've been working on this long enough that I am not getting overexcited, but it is nice that at least there is progress. With some luck, we might both get to toast a bloody war or a sickly season some Thursday in the future

 

[Darkstar]

Just selected, MARS DEO, curious as to rough dates/timeline of next round of training.

Much appreciated.

Cheers

M

 

[MMSS]

Just selected, MARS DEO, curious as to rough dates/timeline of next round of training.

Much appreciated.

Cheers

M

There is a BMOQ starting October 29. IF you're not loaded on that, CFLRS website shows the next one starting January 7.

 

[Mike5]

Hi,

Can anyone advise if training for MARS has changed since last year (quote is taken from post in 2011 by MARS OM)? 

"If you're attending a civilian university, upon completion, you should be heading off to Victoria and the Naval Officer Training Centre to take NETPO and then straight off to MARS trg.  Once you've completed your MARS III and MARS IV you'll be sent to your first operational ship to get your Officer of the Day qualification, Bridge Watchkeeping Certificate, Naval Operations Course, complete your OPMEs and Naval Officer Professional Qualification (NOPQ).  This should all take between 2 and 3 years.  Once you've completed your NOPQ you'll head off to your Directors course where you will be instructed in a particular warfare discipline and then be posted to a ship for your sea tour.  Upon completion of your sea tour (usually about two years) you may then have some time for SLT."

Regards,

iper:

 

[Navy_Pete]

That quote assumes you've completed basic training, probably referred to someone in the ROTP program (going to a civvie university instead of RMC).  But other then doing basic training first in St. Jean QC first, basically the same.

Of course, that's the ideal path, sometimes there are waits for getting loaded on career courses, so you can find yourself attached to a unit doing some on the job training (OJT) or maybe second language training (SLT).

As a lot of it is dependent on sea time, which is pretty limited, seems to be taking between 3-5 years for most to get fully qualified.  The last board, NOPQ, seems to be having around a 60-70% pass rate, so taking a few folks several kicks at the can to get through.

On the plus side, both coasts are being a lot more proactive at making sure evey ship that goes to sea is taking as many trainees for all the trades as practical, but it does mean a lot of ship hopping.  Not ideal, but necessary eveil when a large portion of the fleet is undergoing a mid life refit.

 

[MMSS]

As a lot of it is dependent on sea time, which is pretty limited, seems to be taking between 3-5 years for most to get fully qualified.  The last board, NOPQ, seems to be having around a 60-70% pass rate, so taking a few folks several kicks at the can to get through.

My offer for MARS included an 8 year VIE. While this is speculation on my part, I see it as expecting ~4 years of training and then minimum 4 years to "pay that back" once trained, as there would be little value in the CF training me to be a MARS officer only to leave immediately afterwards. I see this as roughly equivalent to the expectation of service for those who attend RMC or the ROTP program.

 

[MSEng314]

"If you're attending a civilian university, upon completion, you should be heading off to Victoria and the Naval Officer Training Centre to take NETPO and then straight off to MARS trg.  Once you've completed your MARS III and MARS IV you'll be sent to your first operational ship to get your Officer of the Day qualification, Bridge Watchkeeping Certificate, Naval Operations Course, complete your OPMEs and Naval Officer Professional Qualification (NOPQ).  This should all take between 2 and 3 years.  Once you've completed your NOPQ you'll head off to your Directors course where you will be instructed in a particular warfare discipline and then be posted to a ship for your sea tour.  Upon completion of your sea tour (usually about two years) you may then have some time for SLT."

Sounds mostly right, NOC will be no more after the last course in January, and OPME is ending as well, it is being replaced with correspondence courses called CFJODP - Canadian Forces Junior Officer Development Program.

 

[northernboy_24]

Mars training is most definitely changing.  They are bringing back mars 2 and so it will be basic mars 2 mars 3 mars 4 fleet.  But the content of mars 3 and 4 will be vastly different then what is included currently and mars 2 is no longer netpo as there is going to be actual mars work on the course and it won't be the relaxing booze cruise it once was.  Mars 3 will be sailing at night and have manoeuvres and mars 4 will be a shorter seaphase but concentrating on different things

NOC will be integrated along the way and so you will not have that.  The new program rolls out in January and it will be interesting for sure.  NOC will be offered after January as there are many people in the system that will need to complete it in the next year.

 

[X2012]

If anyone has anymore details on these changes, I would appreciate hearing about them! Especially any changes to the length of MARS 2. I should be doing that sometime around May.

 

[Coxy]

Hey i'm interested in enlisting into the Canadian Forces.  I am torn between becoming and infantry officer and a mars officer.  I am a police foundations graduate at college and in my last year of obtaining a BA General in Criminology.  I was wondering how competitive it is to get accepted as a MARS officer and if they are even hiring right now.  I am aware there is still training I have to pass after getting accepted. 

 

[Lumber]

I am aware there is still training I have to pass after getting accepted. 

Oh? What training are you referring to? You don't participate in any training with the cf until AFTER you've been accepted.

 

[Coxy]

I was just asking how competitive it is to get accepted as a MARS officer and if they're recruiting.  I am aware that even if I get accepted I still have to pass the training which I understand is pretty hard

 

[DAA]

I was just asking how competitive it is to get accepted as a MARS officer and if they're recruiting.  I am aware that even if I get accepted I still have to pass the training which I understand is pretty hard

Nope, no room at the Inn for either DEO MARS or DEO Inf at this time.  Why not consider putting your BA in Criminology to use and try for MPO?

 

[half-pint]

I cannot speak on recruiting numbers for MARS, as that is beyond my purview, but I can speak on my perspective as someone currently in the MARS training system. There are a lot of people waiting to get on MARS II/III/IV right now and it looks like it's going to be a long wait for most, so I doubt they are taking many in, if any at all.

As far as the new program goes, I can only speak on my personal experience and second hand info. I just completed the pilot MARS III course and from what I have heard about the old program, it's quite an improvement. The old MARS program (from what I've heard from those who went through it) had MARS  students learning to run before they were taught to walk. I'm not sure if this was a way of thinning out the herd on MARS III, but I think they realized the students were not being set up for success. Either way, MARS is a very challenging trade and not everyone is cut out for it. Hope this helps those looking to join the MARS trade.

@Coxy - I used to be an infantry officer and I can tell you this, you could not have picked two more different trades if you tried; however, they both require you to be a little OCD

 

[LittleMagellan]

Back pay for what? You need two years in rank to get promoted to LT(N). Soooo... if you pass your board "within" two years, you wouldn't be promoted to Lt(N) yet, so what would you be getting back paid for?

Now lets say you graduated and were promoted to SLT on June 1st 2010, but didn't start training about ship until September 1st. If you pass your NOPQ board on September 1st 2012, the would you get back paid to June 1st 2012? Good question. OM?

Sorry, I wasn't specific enough. I was referring to the second scenario. Backpay if your EPZ date is for Lt(N) is before you're done your two years in the fleet. Your EPZ date for SLt is based on one year after you commission, and your EPZ date for Lt(N) is two years after your EPZ date for SLt. So if your training at Venture takes longer than a year (which it often does, but isn't supposed to), you could EPZ for Lt(N) before you spend two years in the fleet.

So what I'm wondering, if your EPZ date is before you do your NOPQ board, do you get backpay until your EPZ date. We do get backpay for SLt, I did... my EPZ date was almost a year before I graduated MARS IV, so I got the backpay. Just wondering why we don't for NOPQ if we never fail anything.

All other trades get backpay for Lt(N)/Capt, as far as I know anyway. Or get promoted to Lt(N)/Capt based on time in and not qual.

My scenario is going to be that I sit my board a year and two months after my Lt(N) EPZ date passed, which translates into about 10000k (before tax) in salary I won't get if I don't get the backpay.