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Would anyone recommend doing the phase 3 infantry course in the winter or would that just be crazy talk? What is worst, the 40+ degree heat and rain or the -30 degrees and the snow?
Thanks,
Thanks,
Phase 3 Infantry in the winter?
- Thread starter Angry_Infanteer
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Some will tell you to do it in the summer, some will say the winter.
It doesn't matter, just get it done. Each season has it's good and bad points.
If you are asking, to make an informed choice on which one to do, I suspect you are a reservist?
In the end, it is 3 months of fun filled activities and you will be put through the same scenarios no matter which one is attempted. If you have a choice, do the one that you can get on. If you are told which one, prepare yourself and bash on.
It doesn't matter, just get it done. Each season has it's good and bad points.
If you are asking, to make an informed choice on which one to do, I suspect you are a reservist?
In the end, it is 3 months of fun filled activities and you will be put through the same scenarios no matter which one is attempted. If you have a choice, do the one that you can get on. If you are told which one, prepare yourself and bash on.
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I did Phase II from January to March, and Phase III from March to May in time for the summer Phase IV (a few years ago). Winter Phase training can be difficult because of the amount of time and energy that goes into surviving the elements. It's tougher training, but sometimes the training suffers when the weather closes in with conditions so severe that you're barely training at all. The extra time it takes for movement in deep snow, etc., can also detrimentaly affect the training experience by forcing the staff to keep traces and tasks tight enough to stay within the allocated training days for each exercise and still accomplish the required number of tasks. So the tactical decision-making may not be as difficult at times as it can be in summer, but the exertion required to accomplish any task, even over shorter distances, can be greater. You'll also find in winter that the teamwork angle gets crucial; sloppy tent/bivouac habits or commitment to tasks such as care of the troops, sentry routines and section duties can have serious consequences.
Once you've survived a winter Phase, the spring training can be a challenge too. Starting a course with attacks across still frozen swamps and ending it wading through (sometimes still icy) hip-deep water presents similar challenges to maintaining health and well-being of self and section-mates while still meeting the demands of training.
But it's all good training. One thing winter Phases give you that all summer training doesn't, is a practical introduction to winter survival and training requirements.
Once you've survived a winter Phase, the spring training can be a challenge too. Starting a course with attacks across still frozen swamps and ending it wading through (sometimes still icy) hip-deep water presents similar challenges to maintaining health and well-being of self and section-mates while still meeting the demands of training.
But it's all good training. One thing winter Phases give you that all summer training doesn't, is a practical introduction to winter survival and training requirements.
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One other plus for Winter Phase Crses....No Bears. ;D
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Or mosquitos.
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Mosquitos? There are mosquitoes in Gagetown? I guess i am the only one who didnt really have any issues with them? I was more bothered by people snoring and stepping on me during the night than anything else.
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I don't know what the scale of issue is these days but I might recommend carrying a personal cleaning kit for your rifle, complete with pullthrough, brush and patches. "Tactical Movement in the Field" through slush, lakes, snow and mud makes a really interesting mess of your rifle.
We probably would have got away with the fact that our C2 gunners all uniformly decided not to bring their cleaning kits (the only barrel cleaning tools available for the C1s were their rods) except for one character that apparently decided to camouflage his rifle by sticking a muddy tuft of the football field into the flash eliminator and then sitting in the front row during the next class on pyrotechnics.
Those of us that had personal kit suddenly became very popular. ;D On the other hand we all still ended up with an extra room inspection.
Regardless, I enjoyed (said with care and consideration) Gagetown in the winter. Not nearly as cold as the prairies - biggest problem was staying dry (wet snow and sweating - some of the Commonwealth students that wore all their kit all the time had it really rough).
We probably would have got away with the fact that our C2 gunners all uniformly decided not to bring their cleaning kits (the only barrel cleaning tools available for the C1s were their rods) except for one character that apparently decided to camouflage his rifle by sticking a muddy tuft of the football field into the flash eliminator and then sitting in the front row during the next class on pyrotechnics.
Those of us that had personal kit suddenly became very popular. ;D On the other hand we all still ended up with an extra room inspection.
Regardless, I enjoyed (said with care and consideration) Gagetown in the winter. Not nearly as cold as the prairies - biggest problem was staying dry (wet snow and sweating - some of the Commonwealth students that wore all their kit all the time had it really rough).
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Angry_Infanteer said:
You had it lucky then...since we moved here, my daughter has become deathly allergic to mosquito bites...we carry an Epipen for her, and don't go outside in the summer...makes family camping times really difficult.
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