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Regular Officer Training Plan (ROTP)-RMC 2000 - 2018 [Merged]

  • Thread starter Travis Silcox
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I understand and thank you for your replies, Does anybody know if there is a non-civilian/miliatry coledge/university where you do not have to be an officer when you graduate? I am sure I want an education but im not sure if I want to be an officer.
 
Not in Canada.

There are some US military academies other than the West Point / Naval Academy / USAFA tier that provide degrees. Some lead to military service, but I am not sure whether such service is mandatory. VMI (Virginia Military Institute) comes to mind.

Perhaps you would be better off joining a reserve unit while you are in university. You would get to see the military from the soldier‘s point of view while getting your education. You could choose to go reg force afterwards - as either an NCM or officer.
 
Hey everyone :D I am going soon to the recruiting center to have my personal interview to enter the RMC. I am extremely prepared for this.
My question is simple. Do you have any tips for me on how to leave a really good impression and what does a recruiter look for in a candidat for the RMC ( or any other entry plan ) ? I know that some of you are not really fans of RMC (lol) but I would like to have some helpful tips!

Thank you for you help everyone

MLABONTE
 
Confidence.
Honesty.
Be yourself.
Don‘t try to create an artificial impression.

Good luck :)
 
The usual interview tactics:

- dress well, and conservatively
- sleep long and well the night before
- be early
- read the morning paper, and listen to news radio on the way to the interview (you‘ve been reading the paper and are up-to-date on Canadian and global news anyway, right?)
- know your facts - what‘s going on in the military, how big is it, where are troops heading etc.
- know what you want to study at RMC, what you want to be in the military (pilot, arty officer, EME, etc.), and why

Try to relax, without being casual.


Good luck.
 
Originally posted by Enfield:
[qb]... I think, SoF, that your running into the distinction between offciers and NCM‘s. Officers decide how and where to apply the violence, and the NCM‘s apply it. In combat, an officer should not have to fire a shot - he has more important things to do.

No, O‘s do not do QL courses - though officer training is the same as doing QL2, 3, QL4 Recce, MG, JNCO, and QL6B - plus more. An Officer‘s job description does not include digging trenches, firing MG‘s, kicking down doors, etc. [/qb]

A good response, Enfield. To your first point, I‘d like to add, for illustration, a question I often posed for junior infantry officers -- mostly commanding, or about to command, rifle platoons:

Q: "What is the platoon commander‘s weapon?"

Some would suggest a rifle, others a pistol, some an SMG (showing my age, now! :) )

The correct answer: "His/her platoon"

As a platoon commander, if you had to fire your weapon, often as not, you had done something wrong. You should be fighting your platoon against the enemy -- not being just another rifleman.

Often, however, your job as an officer is to lead by personal example. The difference between a manager and a leader, for example can be distilled into two words: "Follow me!"

When the troops are face down in the mud, with bullets whistling over their backs, you‘re job is to get them moving. The most effective way is simply to get up, shout "follow me" and move out.

When fighting in built-up areas, especially in room-to-room fighting there often comes a time when the platoon commander (heck, even company commanders) is intimately involved in the fighting -- acting as an extra rifleman, tossing grenades, clearing rooms and covering arcs.

Although officers do not normally man machine guns, break down doors, they normally do take a turn at the shovel -- although they don‘t usually have time to dig a whole trench -- and they do learn how to do all of that stuff in the 1 or 2 years of training it takes to learn the job.

By the time a 2Lt takes command of a rifle platoon he/she will have humped a GPMG and a .50 cal, and an anti-tank weapon, and all other company level weapons for miles and miles on training. He/she will have sent many live rounds down range qualifying on all platoon and company weapons.

Then, the fun begins. Learning how to think tactically, how to lead the world‘s best soldiers, motivate them to victory, orchestrate the battle and seize the day.

It is, definitely, the best job in the world!
 
Thank you very much!! And yes I am very informed on the news :)

mlabonte :cdn:
 
Originally posted by rceme_rat:
[qb]The usual interview tactics:
- dress well, and conservatively
- sleep long and well the night before
- be early
- read the morning paper, and listen to news radio on the way to the interview (you‘ve been reading the paper and are up-to-date on Canadian and global news anyway, right?)
- know your facts - what‘s going on in the military, how big is it, where are troops heading etc.
- know what you want to study at RMC, what you want to be in the military (pilot, arty officer, EME, etc.), and why
[/qb]

Alright, I got some questions. I‘m not going to an interview yet, but maybe I‘ll remember those when I do.
-What is "conservative"? Shirt and tie?
-How early? 10 minutes or so?
-Any news topic in particular?
-You mean being up to date on military operations, right?

Just wondering...
 
Conservative is the classic navy suit, white shirt, and tie. H*ell, be avant-garde - wear a light blue shirt. I‘ve seen it described as "dress like you are going to a funeral."

10-15 minutes minimum. And plan on something going wrong during travel. Try to get there 30 mins early, and go in 15 minutes early.

News - the full spectrum current events - I remember questions about local sports!

Military - I remember questions about the size of the military, who the Minister was, etc.

In general, they are looking to see if you are an intelligent, involved, well-rounded stable individual.
 
I just want to know how long is the interview?

Thank...

:cdn: HONOUR_12 :tank:
 
Great advice!

Also expect to be asked for an opinion. Often this opinion question will be couched in terms of current events:

For example: "If Canadian troops in Afghanistan were to capture bin Laden, do you think he should face capital punishment?" "What do you think the government should do about the defence budget?"

The interviewer is not particularly interested in your opinion, but very interested in how you answer a loaded question.

Don‘t be afraid to say: "Good question. Let me think for a minute." And spend 30 seconds or so thinking about what you want to say before you say it.

Good luck.
 
Excellent point.

The toughest question is one you don‘t know the answer to, and don‘t have enough information to base an analysis upon that could lead to a supportable answer.

In short, it takes guts to say "I don‘t know" -- but that is a better answer than spewing forth obvious BS.
 
Hey SOF, very funny post!

Ejukashon iz importnd fer evereewhun ‘n th‘ armee.

How are you going to learn all that "strategy" without an education? The study of strategy is very complex and relies on the synthesis of many theories. I think what you are after is "tactics" - the use of ground, fire and movement.

I once knew and armd offr who went through the OCTP (Officer Candidate Training Program) which is probably now defunct. This program was tailored for officer candidates without post-secondary education.

He did very well in all the field training, tank crew commanding and troop leading. He graduated in the top 3rd of his class and was assigned to a regiment.

Unfortunately, officer duties are more than turning diesel into noise and unloading sabot rounds through the business end of the barrel. This young man was hopelessly lost in a sea of paperwork at the troop level (memos, personnel evaluations, etc). He hated it and couldn‘t fake his way through it and his career (and more importantly, that of his men) suffered for it.

Eventually, he realised that he had made a BIG mistake an applied for "de-commissioning". He left the regular force and was accepted as a Cpl (qualified to 6B) at a reserve armoured unit.

Talk to some soldiers, NCOs and officers before you make the same mistake.

"Untutored courage is useless in the face of educated bullets" - Patton

Black-6, OUT!
 
I think that this young man\woman is rather confused about what he\she is asking.

RMC stands for royal military college. When you were are accepted into it, you are in the military and traing as a regular soldier, sailor, etc. While working towards a degree in your chosen field.

The militia is a part time organisation that has nothing to do with RMC...

The militia by its very nature allows you to soldier part time and work, go to school, or what have you, full time.

Yes I have worked with and heard of people attending RMC and volunteering with a militia unit in or around Kingston (this is where RMC is), to get feild experience. Before their annual summer Phase Training.

RESO and RETP were and are other ways to recruit into the CF. You trained full time in summer and part time in winter while working Towards a Degree. These two had Nothing to do with RMC.

No I am not a ring knocker.

Cheers
 
Thanks for the advice guys, I think I will join the Reg Force as a NCM and see how for I get (I want to try to get into a SF unit :D ) And the see what happens. I am also a pretty good student so I don‘t think I will have to worry about the paper work if it is anything like homework. :p
 
OldRupert --

True, the majority of cadets attending RMC are regular force members under ROTP, but there were always a few reservists under RETP.

RETP cadets attend the same classes, wear the same uniforms, do the same parades, etc. full-time like ROTP cadets. They attend the same phase training as their ROTP counterparts. They are indistinguishable until graduation -- when the ROTP cadets are commissioned and posted for Phase IV, and the RETP cadets are free to leave the CF. They are not members of local reserve units and most would not have time to be joining those units in regular activities in any case. Few would take the two weeks (if lucky) between graduation parade and phase training to go on ex when they are about to spend 13 weeks doing it.

This was true when I graduated some 15 years ago and I haven‘t seen any notice of a change in the alumni bulletins.
 
Hey everyone,

I‘m planning on joining up after High School, as I‘ve already mentioned a few times, but I was wondering what the academic requirements are? I got about 85% average (88% in the classes required to get the diploma), is that enough or do I need to get it really farther up? I heard someone say I‘d need 95%+, is that true?

In the RMC brochure I have they mention the classes I need (here in Quebec it‘s advanced maths, physics, chemistery and french/english), but it doesn‘t talk about the grades. I didn‘t find anything on the RMC website either, but maybe I didn‘t look hard enough.

Anyway, if anyone has good information, please tell me about it,

Fred :cdn:

PS: Anyone knows what use Strategic&Military studies can have in civvie life?
 
These are decent marks. Tweaking them a bit would be good, but I would think you meet the requirements. Don‘t forget about presenting all your extra-curricular stuff -- they want to see a well-balanced citizen.

Strategic & Mil studies would be pretty attractive to some employers right now with current events. What will it be like 8 or 9 years down the road when you are able to take your release? No idea.

It is still a solid BA, leading to four years of commissioned service -- leadership & management skills. If you don‘t want to stay in the service, and the obvious public policy and/or politics routes don‘t appeal to you, I would think the move into corporate life would not be too difficult.
 
Strategic and Military Studies at RMC is a lot like a political science degree with a focus on international relations, with lots of military history thrown in. It is a good program, especially if you want a long term career in the Forces.
 
You need high grades across the board... my Math marks kept me out.

There must be something usefull you learn there, since a RMC graduate an ex-Infantry Officer went on to found Chapters and turn it into a huge corporation, with no previous experience in the book industry.

You‘ll also learn how to make a fool of yourself and the Forces drinking underage in uniform.
 
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