As promised here is my update for weekend two of BMQ
Night 1
Getting started out this weekend was a lot smoother than the first. There was a little bit of a mix up due to switching shacks around on us, but at least we are all bunking according to our sections now. The first night was actually pretty easy as far as everything goes. We got our bunks set up and for the most part we weren’t bothered a whole lot. The one big recommendation for everybody is to remember to bring along at least a half-dozen locks. I suggest having them all key-locks, except for one combination for the door. That way you and your bunk-mate don’t have to share keys.
Day 1
We were up bright and early, as usual, for a better PT session than the first. We ran over to the big tent to do some circuit training, with stations for crunches, obliques, sprints, burpees, shoulder presses, push-ups, starfish, and high-knee jumps. I especially appreciated this type of workout over the last, because you get to work to your own potential. It is still important, however, to encourage the other recruits, and to keep the moral high. Another point on PT and weekend BMQ, is that it is crucial that you workout (run, do circuit training, lift weights, whatever your specialty) on your own time. The weekens are too short and far between to “whip you into shape” alone. Inspection that morning was focused mainly on our uniforms, but it turned out that we didn’t function well enough as a group for the general cleanliness of the shacks (hallway, bathrooms, etc.). We had a packed together lesson on drill, which seemed to rush through things a lot quicker than the week before (I personally felt that the timings kept on getting screwed up, and led to a gross misunderstanding of how to perform a certain routine). There were a couple major screw-ups during the morning and after-noon, which led to group repercussions. Due to the fact that we talked too much as a group, and too loud during breaks, our speaking privileges were revoked. Until told otherwise, we no longer can open our mouths, except for the course/section seniors, or unless we are spoken to by staff. As well, due to our poor performance at keeping step, making timings, and a few people not taking things seriously, we no longer have the right to wear our berets. That one hurt the most. Myself, I am always proud to be able to wear the beret. It not only looks good, but makes me feel important. So when the Sgt took that away from us I was disappointed. That evening, we finally got to meet our own section commander, and find out who he is. We also had our 1 on 1 interviews with the section 2ic, which was pretty relaxed. Some of the sections were given donuts or pizza during their interviews. We were not……
Day 2
Sunday was supposed to start off with a ruck-march. Due to the fact that only a small portion of their course had their tac-vests, we were not able to go. This seems to be a re-occurring issue with our BMQ. None of the recruits, except for the field ambulance crew, and those who signed on during the summer, are able to get tac-vests from clothing stores. So we were then supposed to go for a bike ride, that didn’t happen either. Instead we went on what we were told was a 5km run. It felt more like 2.5km or 3km. Inspection went over pretty smoothly again, we finally had our own section’s 2ic for it. Although he can be pretty tough, it seemed as though he had a hard time finding errors in the standard we were given. The rest of the day kind of sucked, as far as lessons go. We spent the whole day in the classroom for, as the course officer put it, “death by power-point.” However, we did start to get into more strenuous forms of punishments, which I personally enjoyed. The staff finally started to give us more push-ups to do when we screwed up (I was smiling on the inside). That’s another thing, is if you are getting on a course make sure you can do a good bout of push-ups and planks. The staff loves to make us do a set, hold the position, do another set, get up, get down, do another set….you get the idea. When we were packing up for the weekend, I got a good jacking. A couple of guys from my section mixed their gloves up, and one of them left his kicking around when everybody was already outside. Needless to say the course staff found out, they both came forward, the question was asked about how it happened. I said that the mistake could have been made because they were bunk-mates, and the good MCpl made a point of me not being able to hear out of my right ear for the next half hour.