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Well everyone, my application has finally been merit listed, and through this post I will fulfill an old promise I made myself. This site has been an enormous resource for me over the years, and I promised myself that once I got through the recruiting process, I would post a detailed account of the recruiting process so that hopefully I could help others. So here goes.
I had attempted to apply about 2 years ago, but before the process started I had a talk with my optometrist, who had previously done government work. He told me quite bluntly that I could not enter the combat arms with my vision as is, it was simply too poor to qualify V3 or better (to get an idea of how bad my eyes were, I could not see the big "E" on the chart. Contacts were -6.5 both eyes). I had no choice but to get laser eye surgery. March 31 I had LASIK done on both eyes. I won't bore you with details, but suffice it to say my eyes are a tad better than 20/20 now.
I had recently graduated high school before my surgery, so I was now jobless and bored in a new town, so I decided that the recovery time I had to go through would be put to good use with physical training. I had not been a couch potato before, I was simply kicking it into higher gear.
June 1: (roughly a year after my LASIK surgery) I handed my application into CFRC Vancouver, with my goal being NCM: Infantry. As infantry was my goal, that was the only choice I put down.
June 21: First call. My CFAT was scheduled for the morning of June 28
June 28: I arrived early to the CFAT testing, in a business suit. I was soon surrounded by all manner of people in the waiting room. I soon realized how overdressed I was, but considering that most of these people looked like they had walked in off the street corner, I was glad to be overdressed.
We were taken into a room full of computers, I filled out some preliminary paperwork, and then got down to the test. The instructions for the test were given from a video on the computer, so all you have to do is listen carefully. You are given a time limit for each section. I won't go in depth on this, as there is a massive thread already on the CFAT. I will only caution this:
Do not believe the CFAT is a cakewalk, it is not. I was glad I had taken the advice given in the CFAT thread and taken practice tests, because it was not easy. As you will read later on, I did well on it, but it WAS NOT EASY. Study for the CFAT, especially if you are attempting to go into a technical trade.
After the test we listened to a Career Counsellor, and he handed out paperwork regarding drug use to us, and explained the sheet. After filling this sheet out, he collected them, and then pulled several people out of the room to talk with them. I was not one of them, so I will not speculate on what was said. Afterwards, more paperwork, and a directive to call the CFRC if I had not been contacted within 2 weeks.
July 12: I went down to the CFRC in person to attempt to schedule my medical and/or interview. My interview was promptly scheduled, and I headed back home.
July 21: Interview- I arrived in the morning for my interview, dressed once again in my business suit. A Navy Lt. greeted me, commented on how it was nice to see someone in a suit, and we headed down to his office for the interview.
Right now I will comment that I was expecting a jaded recruiter to fling some questions towards me, and then send me on my way, I was wrong. The Lt was extremely professional in the interview, put me at ease with some stories of his time in the military, and got down to questioning.
He asked me about how I liked high school, discussed my preparing for the interview sheet that I had filled out, and all the standard fare you would expect. He also asked me how I thought the CFAT went, and then informed me that I had qualified all trades. I said as long as I qualified for the infantry, I'm happy. We even talked about philosophy and some books we had both read. Overall, I must say it was the most enjoyable job interview I have had. That being said, I was well prepared, and everyone would do well by themselves to thoroughly go over their preparing for the interview sheet, if you don't, you may be caught off guard by some of the more serious questions. After the interview, more paperwork!! After the paperwork, the Lt got me scheduled for my Medical and PT test, and I was on my way.
July 27: Medical- This was the test I was most nervous about. The first portion of the test consisted of a questionnaire, urine sample, hearing, and eye tests. No problems there, very straightforward. The hearing test was interesting, as they locked you in a fridge type enclosure as you listen for very faint beeps. Here's a tip: I had read on the site that closing your eyes helps, and it did. Closing off your vision helps you concentrate on the sounds, and they are faint, so stay still, keep your eyes shut, and don't guess 
The second part of the physical was the strip down to your boxers and walk around test. After stripping down, the doc had me walk around on my heels, tippy toes, and whatnot. Don't ask me what he was testing for, I don't know. We then went over a longer medical history questionnaire, again, very straightforward stuff. After all this was done, I was informed I had to get two medical forms filled out, one for LASIK, and one from my dermatologist in regards to the scarring I had left over on my back and chest from acne. Even though the acne was no longer active, I knew he needed confirmation or he would be risking his own job. The medical was over, I left feeling a tad despondant over the necessary forms, and the some of the wording he used, but these worries would later prove unfounded.
July 29: PT test- This was one I was looking forward to. Right off the bat we started out with the step test. The only tips I have on this is to breath steadily, and concentrate on the steps. I have always been a runner so this was not too difficult, however the third step test session was on a triple high, single step, which was unexpected, but I got through it. Next was the grip test, no real problem there. If you are looking to train for this, I recommend the hand grips you can buy at any athletic department or walmart, helps strengthen up all those forearm muscles. Next came push-ups and sit-ups. He reminded me of the proper form before I did each, and watched carefully. Make sure when training for situps that you go all the way down to your back, and then touch your knees and elbows, as this was what he was watching for. I scored 47 pushups and 49 situps in the end, and that was it for my CFRC testing.
Aug 9- After getting around to my the civi docs, I handed in my forms. Of note to LASIK applicants: I had to get the form filled out by my operating surgeon, NOT the follow up doctor. I would recommend you try and book an appointment in advance, as getting an appointment at a busy LASIK clinic on short notice is difficult. Try to book it a few days after your medical at the CFRC, that way you can take the forms straight to your surgeon, then send them in to the CFRC, bada bing bada boom you're done. The CFRC does have a special form for LASIK applicants, and it includes some measurements that have to be done, so this is not a strictly hand the doctor the form and let him fill it out thing, you'll need to stick around for additional testing, and I personally had numbing drops put into my eye to measure ocular pressure. Just something to think about.
Sept 29: And here we are to the present day. I got the call today from CFRC Vancouver stating that my medical had cleared (after 51 days), and that I should be expecting a job offer in about a month. I'm very excited to be off to basic in the near future, and I sincerely hope this lengthy post can be of some use to someone. I'll be more than happy to answer any questions I can, especially from LASIK candidates. I was unable to find any really well written accounts of LASIK applicants, which is a main reason why I wrote this. LASIK applicants: as long as the surgery went well, and you have no side effects, you should have NO problem qualifying for the Canadian Forces (in the medical sense that is).
Thank you to anyone who read this, once again I hope this will be of some use to someone out there.
I had attempted to apply about 2 years ago, but before the process started I had a talk with my optometrist, who had previously done government work. He told me quite bluntly that I could not enter the combat arms with my vision as is, it was simply too poor to qualify V3 or better (to get an idea of how bad my eyes were, I could not see the big "E" on the chart. Contacts were -6.5 both eyes). I had no choice but to get laser eye surgery. March 31 I had LASIK done on both eyes. I won't bore you with details, but suffice it to say my eyes are a tad better than 20/20 now.
I had recently graduated high school before my surgery, so I was now jobless and bored in a new town, so I decided that the recovery time I had to go through would be put to good use with physical training. I had not been a couch potato before, I was simply kicking it into higher gear.
June 1: (roughly a year after my LASIK surgery) I handed my application into CFRC Vancouver, with my goal being NCM: Infantry. As infantry was my goal, that was the only choice I put down. June 21: First call. My CFAT was scheduled for the morning of June 28June 28: I arrived early to the CFAT testing, in a business suit. I was soon surrounded by all manner of people in the waiting room. I soon realized how overdressed I was, but considering that most of these people looked like they had walked in off the street corner, I was glad to be overdressed.We were taken into a room full of computers, I filled out some preliminary paperwork, and then got down to the test. The instructions for the test were given from a video on the computer, so all you have to do is listen carefully. You are given a time limit for each section. I won't go in depth on this, as there is a massive thread already on the CFAT. I will only caution this:
Do not believe the CFAT is a cakewalk, it is not. I was glad I had taken the advice given in the CFAT thread and taken practice tests, because it was not easy. As you will read later on, I did well on it, but it WAS NOT EASY. Study for the CFAT, especially if you are attempting to go into a technical trade.
After the test we listened to a Career Counsellor, and he handed out paperwork regarding drug use to us, and explained the sheet. After filling this sheet out, he collected them, and then pulled several people out of the room to talk with them. I was not one of them, so I will not speculate on what was said. Afterwards, more paperwork, and a directive to call the CFRC if I had not been contacted within 2 weeks.
July 12: I went down to the CFRC in person to attempt to schedule my medical and/or interview. My interview was promptly scheduled, and I headed back home.July 21: Interview- I arrived in the morning for my interview, dressed once again in my business suit. A Navy Lt. greeted me, commented on how it was nice to see someone in a suit, and we headed down to his office for the interview.Right now I will comment that I was expecting a jaded recruiter to fling some questions towards me, and then send me on my way, I was wrong. The Lt was extremely professional in the interview, put me at ease with some stories of his time in the military, and got down to questioning.
He asked me about how I liked high school, discussed my preparing for the interview sheet that I had filled out, and all the standard fare you would expect. He also asked me how I thought the CFAT went, and then informed me that I had qualified all trades. I said as long as I qualified for the infantry, I'm happy. We even talked about philosophy and some books we had both read. Overall, I must say it was the most enjoyable job interview I have had. That being said, I was well prepared, and everyone would do well by themselves to thoroughly go over their preparing for the interview sheet, if you don't, you may be caught off guard by some of the more serious questions. After the interview, more paperwork!! After the paperwork, the Lt got me scheduled for my Medical and PT test, and I was on my way.
July 27: Medical- This was the test I was most nervous about. The first portion of the test consisted of a questionnaire, urine sample, hearing, and eye tests. No problems there, very straightforward. The hearing test was interesting, as they locked you in a fridge type enclosure as you listen for very faint beeps. Here's a tip: I had read on the site that closing your eyes helps, and it did. Closing off your vision helps you concentrate on the sounds, and they are faint, so stay still, keep your eyes shut, and don't guess The second part of the physical was the strip down to your boxers and walk around test. After stripping down, the doc had me walk around on my heels, tippy toes, and whatnot. Don't ask me what he was testing for, I don't know. We then went over a longer medical history questionnaire, again, very straightforward stuff. After all this was done, I was informed I had to get two medical forms filled out, one for LASIK, and one from my dermatologist in regards to the scarring I had left over on my back and chest from acne. Even though the acne was no longer active, I knew he needed confirmation or he would be risking his own job. The medical was over, I left feeling a tad despondant over the necessary forms, and the some of the wording he used, but these worries would later prove unfounded.
July 29: PT test- This was one I was looking forward to. Right off the bat we started out with the step test. The only tips I have on this is to breath steadily, and concentrate on the steps. I have always been a runner so this was not too difficult, however the third step test session was on a triple high, single step, which was unexpected, but I got through it. Next was the grip test, no real problem there. If you are looking to train for this, I recommend the hand grips you can buy at any athletic department or walmart, helps strengthen up all those forearm muscles. Next came push-ups and sit-ups. He reminded me of the proper form before I did each, and watched carefully. Make sure when training for situps that you go all the way down to your back, and then touch your knees and elbows, as this was what he was watching for. I scored 47 pushups and 49 situps in the end, and that was it for my CFRC testing.Aug 9- After getting around to my the civi docs, I handed in my forms. Of note to LASIK applicants: I had to get the form filled out by my operating surgeon, NOT the follow up doctor. I would recommend you try and book an appointment in advance, as getting an appointment at a busy LASIK clinic on short notice is difficult. Try to book it a few days after your medical at the CFRC, that way you can take the forms straight to your surgeon, then send them in to the CFRC, bada bing bada boom you're done. The CFRC does have a special form for LASIK applicants, and it includes some measurements that have to be done, so this is not a strictly hand the doctor the form and let him fill it out thing, you'll need to stick around for additional testing, and I personally had numbing drops put into my eye to measure ocular pressure. Just something to think about.
Sept 29: And here we are to the present day. I got the call today from CFRC Vancouver stating that my medical had cleared (after 51 days), and that I should be expecting a job offer in about a month. I'm very excited to be off to basic in the near future, and I sincerely hope this lengthy post can be of some use to someone. I'll be more than happy to answer any questions I can, especially from LASIK candidates. I was unable to find any really well written accounts of LASIK applicants, which is a main reason why I wrote this. LASIK applicants: as long as the surgery went well, and you have no side effects, you should have NO problem qualifying for the Canadian Forces (in the medical sense that is). Thank you to anyone who read this, once again I hope this will be of some use to someone out there.
