Thinking of joining

[reds]

Hello,

I've been contemplating joining the reserves for a few years now. I've always been infatuated with the army, however never put serious thought into it until now. I guess I'd be considered a good candidate given the application requirements I've read ie. I have a post-secondary degree in political and computer science from UofT, good credit, can get excellent references and am in somewhat good physical condition (I visit the gym 3-4 times a week). Obviously I'll have to nail the CFAT though.

There are a couple crucial details I need to investigate however:

• Once I'm through the application process I get pushed into BMQ. I've been told that this is a 4 week period is this the same for RF and reservist entry?
• Can the 4 week BMQ be split up as my school and work requirements for the next 6 months wont ease up to allow me to time to complete it. Will I just have to make time for it if I'm serious about joining?
• What exactly does BMQ entail and how do they gauge your qualification and abilities? Physical and mental testing would be assumed? I'm assuming this is held in Kingston (or hopefully someplace closer)?
• Would height put me at a disadvantage? I'm a short guy (good things come in small packages...) and I don't know of any physical restrictions to join but I want to ask just in case.
• Is there a master list of possible trades? I hear that SigOps is a rather interesting trade and might be something I can tackle given my educational background.
• What's after BMQ and what type of time will I need to allocate once I'm in? I've done some basic research and hear it's one night a week or one weekend a month. During this time what exactly is involved: drills, training courses etc.?
• Although I'm not really in need of the compensation (I run my own freelance business), I'm wondering what the benefits are and when do they apply? I heard a rumour that it only applies when you're actually doing army-related tasks (ie. when you're in BMQ)?
• Traveling may be difficult given school/work - would I be under any obligations or is this relatively flexible for reservists? I've heard that you can volunteer for trips/work outings?
• What opportunities are there to get promoted or progress through the ranks in the reserves?
• What I'm confused about is how reservist roles are considered. From what I understand you are taking on a job with specific work and training requirements. It obviously depends on your trade but if you're only "working" 1 weekend a month (or however the timing is structured) what type of "work" would you be conducting? Apologies if this seems to be a silly question. I'm just hoping to get a feel for what I'd actually be doing.

I realise a lot of these questions would be easily answered by doing in-depth research or just talking to a recruitment officer, however I thought it would be easier to get feedback from people who've been through the process itself.

Thank you in advance!

Dave

 

[Lil_T]

Hi there. 
I hope this helps you out a little, though I expect you'll be told to do a search (the search function does work).

• Once I'm through the application process I get pushed into BMQ. I've been told that this is a 4 week period is this the same for RF and reservist entry?

BMQ is 14 weeks long, not 4.  As a reservist you likely will do your BMQ on the weekends, unless you get put on a full time BMQ course.

• Can the 4 week BMQ be split up as my school and work requirements for the next 6 months wont ease up to allow me to time to complete it. Will I just have to make time for it if I'm serious about joining?

 
See above with regard to BMQ length. Yes you will have to make the time for it if this is something you are serious about.

• What exactly does BMQ entail and how do they gauge your qualification and abilities? Physical and mental testing would be assumed? I'm assuming this is held in Kingston (or hopefully someplace closer)?

Please view the videos on the forces.ca website, or search basic up on youtube.  This will give you a good idea what BMQ is all about.

• Would height put me at a disadvantage? I'm a short guy (good things come in small packages...) and I don't know of any physical restrictions to join but I want to ask just in case.

I'm 5'2" *tall*.  The only thing I can think of that would be somewhat difficult would be getting over the walls.

• Is there a master list of possible trades? I hear that SigOps is a rather interesting trade and might be something I can tackle given my educational background.

please see the forces.ca website.  It has all the info you're looking for with regard to trades

• What's after BMQ and what type of time will I need to allocate once I'm in? I've done some basic research and hear it's one night a week or one weekend a month. During this time what exactly is involved: drills, training courses etc.?

As far as time goes, you usually do your trades  training during the summer months and your BMQ on the weekends (subject to change) depends on your unit, but yes, drills, training courses, things of that sort.

• Although I'm not really in need of the compensation (I run my own freelance business), I'm wondering what the benefits are and when do they apply? I heard a rumour that it only applies when you're actually doing army-related tasks (ie. when you're in BMQ)?

you get paid for the days you work. as far as benefits, please do a search, speak to your recruiter, or the unit to which you plan to apply.

• Traveling may be difficult given school/work - would I be under any obligations or is this relatively flexible for reservists? I've heard that you can volunteer for trips/work outings?

you're under no obligation as a reservist to deploy, it is on a volunteer basis.  Career courses however are not as flexible and putting off going on your trade related courses will essentially put a halt on any promotions

• What opportunities are there to get promoted or progress through the ranks in the reserves?

you do have to put your time in, and I'm under the impression that there is some measure of merit as there is in the regular force in order to be promoted. It does however, depend on whether there  are positions available at that rank level.

• What I'm confused about is how reservist roles are considered. From what I understand you are taking on a job with specific work and training requirements. It obviously depends on your trade but if you're only "working" 1 weekend a month (or however the timing is structured) what type of "work" would you be conducting? Apologies if this seems to be a silly question. I'm just hoping to get a feel for what I'd actually be doing.

Keep in mind you're also working one night a week.  As well, some units may work more often than one weekend a month.  Plus there is opportunity to work on a contract as a class b or c reservist where you work full time.  To answer your primary question, you'll do on the job training before you start your trades training and after that you'll work more in the capacity of your trade.  Field exercises etc.

I realise a lot of these questions would be easily answered by doing indepth research or just talking to a recruitment officer, however I thought it would be easier to get feedback from people who've been through the process itself.

I appreciate your inquisitiveness, however, in the future I would highly suggest doing a search as all the answers to your questions could have been answered much easier on the recruiting website, at the unit you are applying to or simply through the army.ca search function.

 

[Otis]

Thanks Lil!

I read the questions, briefly considered replying, then ran away exasperated thinking, "why don't more people go to the website to research?"

Thankfully, you answered so that I didn't feel obligated to.

 

[Lil_T]

I hear you on the exasperation.  It was a pain in the butt trying to reply too since the screen kept wiggling on me.  Sometimes that part of me that likes to be helpful can be a real pain in the ass.  ;D

 

[reds]

Lil_T, thank you for outlining all that for me. Sorry you had to deal with the wiggling browser - the army should hire me to clean this forum interface up - haha.

Apologies to those who lamented on the annoyance of people not reading information. In fairness, I did warn that I was looking for more detailed and involved answers than the website provided. Now that my basic questions are answered, I think I'll talk to a recruiter to determine what the next steps are.

Thanks for clarifying the BMQ timing. Reading through the trades on forces.ca made me realise it's much more involved than I anticipated. I've been looking at most of the tech trades. Stuff like this: http://www.forces.ca/html/landcommunicationsandinformationsystemstechnician_reg_en.aspx I just hope they have these types of trades in my area (I live 20 minutes north of Toronto). I'm hoping I could do a majority of my time at the Downsview facility to spare my traveling time.

I'm actually 5'5! Wow you're short! Haha.

So reading the trades training I'd be doing: BMQ (13 weeks according to the site), SQ (10 week), BMOT (32 weeks). That's about 55 (a year and 4 weeks) of training. That's specific to the LCIS TECHs however. Very interesting. That would take a while to complete.

Are there any suggestions from those who've been through reserves? What should I expect, any surprises...recommendations?

Oh shoot, there is one more question. By joining the reserves how does this legally effect my status as a Canadian citizen? I was born and raised here, but I technically have European citizenship. Also I heard a rumor that if you get in trouble you are technically under the jurisdication of the military system? Sounds fishy, can someone clarify?

The rest of my questions are too specific for these forums, a recruiter is necessary now.

Thank you again!

 

[Lil_T]

Oh shoot, there is one more question. By joining the reserves how does this legally effect my status as a Canadian citizen? I was born and raised here, but I technically have European citizenship. Also I heard a rumor that if you get in trouble you are technically under the jurisdication of the military system? Sounds fishy, can someone clarify?

The rest of my questions are too specific for these forums, a recruiter is necessary now.

Thank you again!

I don't see any reason why joining the millitary would affect your citizenship.  As far as getting into trouble, don't.  ;D

 

[Antoine]

I have double citizenship and until now, it didn't slow down my application process and CFRC didn't comment on it. Only my vision level has been a problem, for now. However, follow all the instructions in your application sheet, if I remember correctly, some extra boxes needs to be filled, the CFRC is there to help you.

On a more general notice, I don't know how it affects the process of joining if you have a citizenship with a country that is not an official allied, I think that this topic has been discussed in the present forum.

As a civilian, I know that you are under the full jurisdiction of any country you belong to, so let say I get in trouble in France, I can't ask help from the Canadian government, and the reverse is true. However, I don't know if you need to inform your country of origin that you are part of the Canadian military and what happen if you are on duty (let say as a Navy officer) or visiting there.

Finally, my advice from an old fart, don't get in trouble, it helps to sleep at night and to live longer but somewhere in the present forum, I think the question about military versus civilian laws applying to reservist was asked but I don't have the answer to it.

cheers

 

[reds]

I thought this would be something I could research online, however I can't seem to find a solid answer. I got the recruitment application forms (a massive stack of forms including the DND, employment form etc. etc.). One of the forms asks for Officer or Non-Commissioned status.

Given my educational background, age etc. should I be consider applying as an Officer? If so, how is the training process different and where can I get all this information? I've combed the forces.ca site but may have missed the material.

Note that I'm applying for reserves.

Thanks.

 

[Larkvall]

You should discuss your options with the Reserve Unit you intend to join.

 

[Greymatters]

Hmmm... I dont understand why you expect an answer when you imply the answer is self-evident from the facts, but dont present the facts:

i.e. "Given my educational background, age etc. should I be consider applying as an Officer?"

- no information on educational background provided.
- no informationon on age provided.
- no information on etc. provided.
- no information as to why this would make you an ideal candidate for being an officer provided.

As already stated, the best advice is to speak to a recruiter and get the information first-hand.  And it can be gained in 15 minutes with a recruiter instead of a series of postings and queries here stretching across x number of days.

Failing that, might I suggest that if you are seriously looking for opinions to help in your decisions, give enough info for others to process...

 

[George Wallace]

I thought this would be something I could research online, ......

This topic has been asked by many before, and many more resourceful; so it would appear that you have failed in this task.

Given my educational background, age etc. should I be consider applying as an Officer?

No.  I would think that this is a matter that one would have to consider themselves and make up their minds as to what direction to take in their lives, not have someone else make that decission for them.  Harsh?  Yes it is.

NOW!


TOPIC LOCKED!...........as this has been covered extensively before.  Please look before posting.