My CIC Application Odyssey

[dapaterson]

Sorry to disappoint you, but restrictions on jury service apply to members of the Reserve Force only when on Active service.

Per the National Defence Act

Exemption from jury service

268 Every officer and non-commissioned member of the reserve force on active service and every officer and non-commissioned member of the regular force and special force is exempt from serving on a jury.

 

[Gunnar]

I'm an Officer Cadet.  I'm not supposed to know anything.  Just going with what I was told.  Besides, I was only in it for the fishing license anyway....

 

[RocketRichard]

And today I was sworn in during a regular parade night.  All on camera and masked up & etc., but still, there it was.  Now the official paperwork has to be sent in, stamped and filed, and hopefully everything works out...but this was not the "Hey, I'd like to join" paperwork, but the "How much tax do we deduct" paperwork.  Total length of my own Odyssey, about one year, which was apparently once standard, before COVID.

CO is trying to get everything into RCSU PDQ so that I can do BOTQ ASAP.  And then I can develop an even greater love of TLA's and MLMA's.

So, for the first time since I signed up on Army.ca in 2002, I have updated my profile description as well as my icons.  I am no longer (entirely) a Civilian.  I can't be on a jury.  I'm livin' the dream, serving the Queen.  Whee!

How long is BOTQ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Gunnar]

I’m not really the guy to ask (yet), but I believe it is (rarely) a week long, and more usually a month of weekends.  There is an on-line component as well.  There is another course as well before you are considered qualified in your rank.

 

[LittleBlackDevil]

How long is BOTQ?

I've been told there is a 10-day option or 5 weekends option.

Personally if my time ever comes, I'm just going to take a week off work and get the 10 days done. Five weekends sounds like death by a thousand cuts.

 

[LittleBlackDevil]

Total length of my own Odyssey, about one year, which was apparently once standard, before COVID.

Congrats.

I passed one year last week, I believe. My medical expires in a couple more weeks, and there is no end in sight. So you got very fortunate and were probably at the right RCSU.

Fortunately I am told I can renew my medical for a further one year with a simple phone interview. Then come this time next year, if nothing has changed, I have to redo the whole thing. I sure hope I don't have to do this but I'll confess at this point I am rapidly losing hope/confidence after no progress of any sort on my file since May and CIC applications indefinitely suspended in Southern Ontario. Sounds like I missed the cutoff not by much, but almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

 

[Gunnar]

So, today I received an email from RCSU with Authority for Initial Issue of Kit and Certification for Temporary ID Card.  I have been instructed to consult with my CO on kit and ID procedures in my area, and have immediately passed on the information.  Hopefully, things can move quickly and I can make that happen before the Christmas break, but we shall see.  Pushing as much as we can to see if we can get me into courses at the beginning of 2021.

 

[figureeleven]

Just a very brief bit of background -- from 1998 to 2002 I served as an Infantry Officer with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, doing time as the Assistant Adjutant and Finance Officer, then a Platoon Commander. I got out when I was in first year Law School because it was impossible to do both school and army at the same time. Over the years I've often felt the itch to get back in, but never could make it work. Now with my oldest son in cadets I decided to join.

So I have a sort of broadly similar background to this: PRes officer in the mid-1990s, son now in cadets, potentially another decade or so on the clock before mandatory retirement would kick in for the CIC.

A couple of questions if you have a moment:

- What are the fitness (as opposed to medical) standards for enrolment in the CIC? My Google-fu is failing me in this area. If there is a standard I probably don't meet it, but it's a helpful start to set a workout goal, if that makes any sense.

- Do you get to keep your commission, or get it back? I transferred to the SR in 1995 as a Lt, which apparently means that I was released in 2000.

 

[Gunnar]

Fitness standards are not as stringent as for reg force, because you will likely never be deployed. You are required to take the FORCE test, but rumour has it that you are not required to pass it. That being said, personal and unit pride would want you to pass it. So far, what I have been doing is aiming to meet the cadet bronze standards for an 18 year old. I figure if you can do that, you're probably good. But I have yet to be coursed, so I have no idea what will work...

 

[figureeleven]

Fitness standards are not as stringent as for reg force, because you will likely never be deployed. You are required to take the FORCE test, but rumour has it that you are not required to pass it. That being said, personal and unit pride would want you to pass it. So far, what I have been doing is aiming to meet the cadet bronze standards for an 18 year old. I figure if you can do that, you're probably good. But I have yet to be coursed, so I have no idea what will work...

Thanks

 

[Burrows]

So I have a sort of broadly similar background to this: PRes officer in the mid-1990s, son now in cadets, potentially another decade or so on the clock before mandatory retirement would kick in for the CIC.

A couple of questions if you have a moment:

- What are the fitness (as opposed to medical) standards for enrolment in the CIC? My Google-fu is failing me in this area. If there is a standard I probably don't meet it, but it's a helpful start to set a workout goal, if that makes any sense.

- Do you get to keep your commission, or get it back? I transferred to the SR in 1995 as a Lt, which apparently means that I was released in 2000.

Hey there,

The application process for a CIC applicant is a bit different from the rest of the forces. CIC officers do not currently write the CFAT (Aptitude test) or take the fitness test as part of the recruitment process. Though, you would probably present as a better candidate as one of the cadet program aims is to promote physical fitness.

From memory, non-weekend courses do include the FORCE (fitness) testing component and the requirement is to participate, however your scores are tracked by the CAF (and again, the program promotes physical fitness).

(There is more if you are looking at Class B (full-time contracts), but will keep this to recruiting arcs unless asked to keep the answer clear.

When it comes to your commission, your best bet is to discuss that with the recruiting centre. One technically would not ever be commissioned more than once (and shouldn't receive a second commissioning script), however 25 years is plenty of change to the institution and would be well outside of a PLAR. (Plus, being an OCdt is a great place to learn and re-learn). With that said, as a prior CAF member, you will be required to provide your service number as part of your application.

 

[LittleBlackDevil]

So I have a sort of broadly similar background to this: PRes officer in the mid-1990s, son now in cadets, potentially another decade or so on the clock before mandatory retirement would kick in for the CIC.

A couple of questions if you have a moment:

- What are the fitness (as opposed to medical) standards for enrolment in the CIC? My Google-fu is failing me in this area. If there is a standard I probably don't meet it, but it's a helpful start to set a workout goal, if that makes any sense.

- Do you get to keep your commission, or get it back? I transferred to the SR in 1995 as a Lt, which apparently means that I was released in 2000.

FWIW I've been told that I will keep my commission. I'm not sure whether you necessarily keep your old rank, but I was a 2LT anyway so keeping commission = keeping my rank since you don't go any lower.

As for the fitness, I think others have covered it. With all due respect, some of the CIC officers I've encountered suggests to me that the fitness standards are not rigorously enforced for CIC.

 

[LittleBlackDevil]

Well, my application continues to be a bit of a "comedy of errors" and just straight bad timing.

I learned today that they are now authorized to do COATS interviews by phone -- which is great since that WAS the one thing holding my application back.

BUT ...

My medical expires tomorrow (1 year) and CFRC Hamilton is not doing medicals now except for a few in-demand RegF trades due to the lockdown so I cannot get it updated. Also, my vulnerable sector record check has expired (I was not told that CAF would only consider it valid for one year until today -- Army Cadet League said I don't need another one for a couple years so thought I was good).

At least the record check is easily remedied and my local police force is really fast with them, so I should be good to go on that score by early next week. My application is pretty much indefinitely on hold due to the medical though. Given the COVID numbers across the country and Ontario specifically I doubt it can happen before the summer.

So it's once more back to waiting.

Most frustrating thing is that people who applied later than I did will be able to be enrolled sooner than I.

 

[Burrows]

Think of this as an exercise in perseverance. It took almost 2 years for me to be enrolled in the CAF and most of that was waiting for my first appointment. Everything moved fairly quickly after that point.

At least at the end of it, COVID-19 was a curve ball for many organizations. It doesn't reduce the impact you are having now as a CV if your unit is conducting virtual training.

 

[LittleBlackDevil]

Yes, absolutely.

Plus looking on the bright side ... it would be better to be enrolled at a time when I can be sworn-in in person, or for the first time to be in uniform with cadets be in-person rather than virtual.

The only real downside right now is lack of access to Logistik and Fortress but it seems not much is happening with Logistik anyway due to COVID and I'm not missing out on much.

 

[LittleBlackDevil]

Signed my conditional offer of employment last week, after doing a virtual interview in February. SLOWLY inching closer, but unclear what the timeline is on remaining steps.

 

[LittleBlackDevil]

Slowly inching closer ... on May 6th my completed file was sent from the CFRC to my RCSU. Received confirmation yesterday from the OR Clerk for my area that she received my file and it would be couriered out to my CO as soon as possible (taking into account that due to COVID she's only in the office intermittently). So there would seem to be light at the end of the tunnel.

Still too soon to order my CIC cap badge and pre-emptively sew it onto my beret so it's ready to go when I eventually get my uniform?

 

[catalyst]

Nope because I'm still waiting for my issued cap badge 14 years later Congrats! Hopefully the beginning of the end.

 

[LittleBlackDevil]

Nope because I'm still waiting for my issued cap badge 14 years later Congrats! Hopefully the beginning of the end.

I meant "too soon" from a superstitious perspective ... i.e. would ordering my cap badge from denisringuette.com now, or would that "jinx" things?

I say that tongue-in-cheek a bit, but I can't shake a bit of superstition LOL

I'm also holding off though because I don't know what else I might not be issued and would like to combine shipping on other items if I need to buy, for example, shoulder titles or collar dogs for my DEUs.

 

[catalyst]

I meant "too soon" from a superstitious perspective ... i.e. would ordering my cap badge from denisringuette.com now, or would that "jinx" things?

I say that tongue-in-cheek a bit, but I can't shake a bit of superstition LOL

I'm also holding off though because I don't know what else I might not be issued and would like to combine shipping on other items if I need to buy, for example, shoulder titles or collar dogs for my DEUs.

I know.....just making a joke on the lovely ongoing debate about CIC cap badges (which is always fun to watch when it flares up). I found once CFRC was done with what they needed to do, it went very quickly from there.