What keeps or kept you in the CAF?

[Pronto215]

As pointed out in previous posts; it will vary from Trade to Trade, but the "Nine to Five" mentality is lesser in the Cbt Arms than in the "Specialist" Trades.  Another affect that sometimes hurts units is the attitudes of the Chain of Command, but this can be cyclical as people are posted in and out.  Your strongest bonds that you will likely develop will be with those whom you begin your CAF career with and progress with you through Basic and Trades training.

I am at an infantry unit and have been for the last five years and saw 3 different CO's walk through the door. Our unit is lucky to have a platoon sized company at the moment. I would like to say it has everything to do with the no mission thing but sadly its not. Most of the time its injuries coupled with injury stigma. Its funny I asked to go to the unit I was at because of one of my deployments I did. Guys were amazing on tour, would do anything for you. Those guys have since left the military, OT'd and/or passed away. The one thing I did noticed is that the unit was very focused on individual competitions like ironman/mountain man/ bushman, and It was said to see a guy come in first place without his partner who was medevaced to the hospital and the member went crossed the line and called the guy weak to his OC and CSM.

 

[George Wallace]

........ and It was said to see a guy come in first place without his partner who was medevaced to the hospital and the member went crossed the line and called the guy weak to his OC and CSM.

That sucks, ........and is not a sign of a good command team.  I think we are wandering off the "camaraderie" aspect now and into the "Esprit d'corps" or morale factors of what units go through, being affected by deployments, taskings, too many courses or lack of, good or bad command teams, etc. that all affect the overall morale of a unit.  Usually it is something that is changed with the posting in and posting out of command teams and other personnel.   

 

[Pronto215]

That sucks, ........and is not a sign of a good command team.  I think we are wandering off the "camaraderie" aspect now and into the "Esprit d'corps" or morale factors of what units go through, being affected by deployments, taskings, too many courses or lack of, good or bad command teams, etc. that all affect the overall morale of a unit.  Usually it is something that is changed with the posting in and posting out of command teams and other personnel. 

Well we did get a new CO who has a lot of promise and seems to really care about the unit albeit he's only been there a month he presents himself well amongst the troops and ncos that the last two were not fond of.

 

[ballz]

There haven't been many negative responses to this question yet, which is good to see.  Of course, those of us who frequent this site no doubt do so because we have fond attachment to the CAF.  If we didn't, we likely would not be on this site. 

I refrained from answering the original question with "22 months of obligatory service" as I am trying not to be that perpetually negative person for the remaining 22 months hahaha.

But today was the kind of day that makes me sad to know I will be leaving, and is probably why I am finally posting in this thread. Someone of a higher rank and lower IQ with a brilliantly stupid idea tosses a shitbomb in the room that we have to sort out, skipped lunch and worked until 1900 (for the fourth time this week), closed the doors and worked together until we had something and left work today feeling absolutely drained but accomplished. More than that, it feels good to know you've got other people to your left and right that will stay until 1900 because they also refuse to fail when other people are relying on them.

However, these days have been overshadowed by a lot of other days over the last 2.5 years, and right now I've started executing an exit plan to release as soon as I can without owing money back to the CAF.

 

[AKa]

I joined the military for the university education and secure job upon graduation.  I never expected to be in for the long haul.

I stayed in for the deployments and other opportunities to travel, rewarding and meaningful employment, and the priviledge of working with incredible people at all rank levels.  I worked for senior and general officers who awed and inspired me with their intelligence, humour, compassion, and common sense.

And now, at 30 years of service, I have less authority and responsibility than I did as an Lt.  I still work with some great people but I am losing faith in the leadership.  It seems that CYA is more important than morale. 

I've served through tough times in the CAF, and I'm not sure I'm ready to slog through another.  I still haven't maxed out my pension but if I find the right opportunity, I'm jumping.

 

[FortYorkRifleman]

I like to think, being 28 years old, I'll retire with the military knowing that I've worked and reached my potential in my field as a civilian. I see the CAF as a challenge in that it'll be a radical lifestyle change that'll force me to be at the top of my game if I want to reach as high as I can with regards to rank, courses and a sense of accomplishment. A lot of what's been said here in regards to leadership or lack thereof, changes in morale and camaraderie etc mirror what I've experienced on my own here in the civilian world. What I learned is to make my time, my service my own, and not someone else's.

I can name ten reasons why I want to join but there's that unknown thing in me that makes me want this more than anything else and I hope that doesn't die.

 

[PMedMoe]

Much like CountDC and ballz, I pretty much reached the end of my enjoyment when I stopped doing my actual job.  I release in October of this year (last work day is mid-September).

I have enjoyed many years with great friends and unique experiences.  But at some point (for me anyway), my well-being had to come first and to hell with the CF.  It didn't help that our trade is a bit f*cked up and the "powers that be" have kind of screwed a few of us to the point of release.

Guess I was just lucky to have enough time in to be able to retire while I'm still young enough to enjoy it.  :nod:

 

[WeatherBird]

Like a lot of people one of my main reasons for staying is the pay, benefits and stability. The extra part that keeps me from looking elsewhere for those things is the adventure and comradery. In my 14 years I have stood on the plains of Afghanistan where Alexander the Great marched his armies east, and where the Kipling wrote of going to you "to your Gawd like a soldier". I have sailed most of the way around the world, and spent days drifting without power after a major fire in the North Pacific. I also did those things with some of the finest people I know, and would gladly go back and do them all again with those same people.

That said, when I reach my 20 it may be time to find a new adventure.

Weather Dog, you are one good dog, if you had such life you would not feel good spending the rest of your career fixed in all the same office day after day, month after month, year after year. Also since the man exist thousands of years it has been a warrior also aside from the other things and this makes you feel a real man - the woman sits at home watch after the kids and house, you go outside to protect the village and bring a peace of meat on the table and she cooks it and the life is good

 

[TCM621]

If you had asked me 5 years ago, I would said I was a lifer, maybe even 2 years ago. Now I am contemplating an exit plan.  I am now approaching 20 years combined service but due to some of it being reserve I have a few more years until the end of my current contract.  I have been in the military my entire adult life and some of my teenage life; my last full time job was high school. I don't know anything else. With that said, if my contract was up tomorrow,  I would probably walk.

Having joined I the 90s, I am seeing a lot of parallels today.  We are being asked to do more with less but, unlike the 90s where we had a force reduction plan and reasonably new gear, we are slowly hemorrhaging people and resources while our leadership (military and political)  pretends everything is great.

I have a few years left and I am optimistic things can get better. I think partly we need to take back control from treasury board. It feels like treasury board runs the military, even little things. We need leadership who public acknowledges there is a problem. And there are some trade and branch specific stuff that needs to improve. All or some of this could happen on the next five years and if you ask me then I might confidently claim lifer status again.

 

[Pusser]

Treasury Board actually runs the country, not just the military.  It always has.  Our government is set up that way and always has been.  A simple fact of life is that they who control the purse strings, pretty much control everything.

Having said this, I refuse to think that Treasury Board is a bunch of miserly ogres who lie awake at night dreaming up ways to screw us over.  They do, however, have competing demands placed upon them and there simply isn't enough money to satisfy everyone's desires.  I also think that they are not necessarily getting all the information they should before making decisions.  And responsibility for that lies at a far lower level...