Plan of attack

[ericorion]

I'm trying to make plans for the future that are feasible and realistic.  I have a deep desire to serve in the military.  I would like some advice as to whether this plan would be doable.

I am a Canadian citizen living in North Carolina.  Since I am not a permanent resident I can not join the military or go to university at a reasonable cost. 

After a couple days gathering information over the internet and talking to recruiters, I have written out a plan to incorporate both my aspirations to serve and my pursuit of a degree in one. 

First I plan to move to Winnipeg as soon as possible and live with my father.  I will  get a part-time job until the summer and sign up for the reserves as soon as possible and hopefully get the MOC I desire, RMS Clerk.  If my security clearance comes through soon enough, I will be able to go to BMQ over the summer and have some money in my pocket.  I will then go to school while going to drill duty for a year and then go to do my SQ (clarify me on this if it is the right term) during the summer.  I'm pretty positive I will be able to pay for the first year easily and even have some money saved over as my father will be paying for half of my tuition.  I really have no desire to live in Winnipeg and I plan on transferring to University of Toronto as soon as possible.  I will stay and take another year of school in Winnipeg depending on how much coursework can be transferred to UofT.  I have little knowledge of what exactly the contracts(A, B, C ) offer but so far I am understanding that a class B contract involves employment for a period over 180 days.  If I am able to accept a contract that is say, around a year or so how much money will I be able to save?  After my contract I plan on going University of Toronto and maybe even joining the reserves over there as well and completing the rest of the requirements to get my degree.  University of Toronto is very expensive (10k for room and board + 5k for tuition) and I do not want to be in debt too deep by the end of my tenure.

I understand that the ROTP program is also an option and i do plan on applying for it but it I'm not positive If i want to commit myself to 5 years of service after college. 

This idea might be a little far fetched, but I would just like to know if any type of plan of approach similar to this is possible in any way.  Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Michael OLeary]

Possible, yes.
Likely, probably not so much.

A few points to consider:

1. Most Reserve units have waiting lists, it's not a simple matter of just "joining up as soon as possible."
2. Class B and C contracts are full time contracts for Reservists. Class C contracts are only for operational commitments. Class B contracts are not readily available for the asking, and are competitive. Except for summer training courses, they are seldom available for Privates.
3. Transferring between units requires that the gaining unit has an open position, you can't transfer into a full unit.
4. Do not expect to make 10-15K per year as a part-time Reservist to pay for school, etc., in Toronto. Be prepared to have another part-time job with the flexibility to work schedules around your Reserve training. Reserve budgets plan for about 37 training days per year, although it is possible to pick up extra days doing administrative tasks (exercise preparations, etc.) but there's no guarantee of how many days you could get or when they might occur.

 

[ericorion]

I definitely know that a plan of this nature is not going to happen like said.  I know the pay that reservists make, around 88 a day, andIi  it doesn't add up to that much.  Could you explain to me the different types of contracts?  I can't seem to find too much information on them at all.  I would ask for an idea of the amount of time I will be waiting but I know that units differ a lot.  From my understanding the Winnipeg post is in demand of reservists right now, so by the grace of God I won't be on a waiting list for a year.  I also have read that transferring units requires that another has an available position and it would only be a possibility in my plan.

 

[Michael OLeary]

Could you explain to me the different types of contracts?

In brief, and not worrying about the semantics of the details:

Class A - Reserve part time employment, you are paid only for the days you work (at either the half-day or the full day rate based on hours worked).
Class B - Reserve full-time employment, at Reserve daily rates of pay, paid 7 days per week for the duration of the "contract." These can range from short local tasks of a few weeks, to summer training courses to 3-year contracts to fill full-time positions at headquarters or schools.
Class C - Reserve full-time employment, at Regular Force rates of pay, only applicable during operational employment (i.e., overseas).

 

[ericorion]

Thanks a lot I had been looking for information about the different types of contracts to no avail.