What Was/Is Your Biggest Obstacle?

[Fishbone Jones]

Cadets may be sponsored by the CF but it's not CF service.

 

[Oil Can]

I agree, recceguy. Some confuse the two. I stand corrected on the pay incentive category. It used be that former cadets wouldn't get their cadet time credited however, it seems the rules have changed.

 

[dwalter]

I had a brutal time convincing people around me that the military was a good idea. My family was fairly open to the idea, but friends were a little dubious about it. Since then I've practically become a walking recruiting poster. People are all interested about ROTP, and so I have to tell them all about it. No one seems hostile about it anymore which is nice! I do have friends getting mad that I get my tuition paid for AND that I get a regular pay cheque hehe.

 

[f0x]

So far in the process the only obstacle I have encountered is family and friends. While this is a huge obstacle I have pretty much just walked at a solid pace right through it....they can have their input but it is my life. It would be nice to have their support but it clearly isn't going to happen.

 

[armyvern]

I agree, recceguy. Some confuse the two. I stand corrected on the pay incentive category. It used be that former cadets wouldn't get their cadet time credited however, it seems the rules have changed.

Mine (pay, but not "time towards service" & already discussed on this site numerous times/threads) was credited to me in 1988 upon my enrolment into military service (because cadets is not military service); seems the rules 'changed' a very long time ago. And that pay was based upon certain courses done as a cadet, not simply TI in cadets.

 

[Kuon]

Well mine would be running the 2.4 km, I can ruck march 13km but ti's the running, I love long hikes with weight, it's how i train, but thats the only thing that worrys me.

 

[Antoine]

Group therapy, that's for me  ;D

My selfish ego says: "my Boss who is going to make my life like Hell if I take off in summer, specially for the military."

My nevrotic brain says "all the bad habits I've got from my civil life and reinforce with time."

My body says "Going to loose the past thirty years spent in your home-sweet-home."

OK, I stop here, as you asked for Biggest obstacle, I wasn't able to pick up the biggest  :

 

[bellyache]

I haven't applied yet, but I'm afraid (after reading some of the other reasons why people have failed the medical) that the fact that I have to see a massage therapist twice a month for my backpain - I will probably be considered unfit.  Anyways, that is my obstacle.  Also, the fact that I can only run 1.10 km at one time because my back starts to really hurt.

I wonder if I'll have a shot of passing the medical.  Any guesses?

Oh yeah, I'm also a bit of a loner.  An introvert is a better way of putting it I guess.

 

[SoldierInTheMaking]

Well if your back starts to hurt after 1.10km which is 2Km not 1.10, your going to have some troubles because at basic they usually do 5km runs and up..

 

[bellyache]

whoa. I thought the max was like 2.4 km.  that's what I was striving to do. 

I read somewhere else on this site that the army is 'hard on the body'.  Do you think that applies to the more combat trades or to all the trades?  I was thinking of going clerk because I thought it would be less troublesome for my back.. but I guess I'd have to make it through basic no matter what my trade is afterwards. 

 

[SoldierInTheMaking]

2.4km is the minimum which has to be done in a certain time. Throughout basic you will be running anywhere from 5km to 10km, and yes every trade will have to go through basic and do the same stuff, obstacle course's, everything.

 

[PMedMoe]

People in the military often have to run far more than 2.4 km.  Don't know where you were getting that number.  On a regular basis, we would do 5 to 7 km for PT.  No trade is any easier in the fact that you're a soldier/sailor/airman first.  Obviously, on a day-to-day basis, some jobs are definitely easier on the body but sitting at a desk or standing for long periods is often required and that can aggravate back pain.  As we say, we don't like to "diagnose" or steer anyone in the wrong direction.  Your best bet is to call the CFRC and see what they say.  And be HONEST!

IMHO, based on what you're saying (needing massage therapy twice weekly and not being able to run over 1.1 km) if I were you, I wouldn't get my hopes up.

 

[bellyache]

Ok. Thanks for your opinion and advice.  I will call the recruiting centre and ask. 
Cheers.
(but it was only twice a month

 

[Kat Stevens]

Not trying to be harsh, but I really wouldn't waste the quarter for the phone call.

 

[bellyache]

I can handle it 

But I'm glad to hear your opinions. That's what I'm asking for.  I don't want to waste my time either.

But tell me, is it mainly because of my massage treatments that will make me fail the medical or is it because I have difficulty running long distances?  Because that can always be improved upon, I think.  Even if it does hurt...

 

[Kat Stevens]

I've said it before in a few threads around here; BASIC TRAINING CAN WRECK HEALTHY BODIES.  It could in all probability destroy one with an existing condition, especially in the back.  It's great that you want to serve, but do you want to run the risk of being permanently damaged 6 weeks into your career?  Think about it, is all I'm saying.

 

[bellyache]

No, I don't want to run that risk.  Thanks for being blunt about it.  I guess I just needed to hear it being put that way.

I would like to say Thank You to all who DO serve this country. 

 

[Canadian Mind]

Mother didn't want to sign the parental permission forms when I was 17. It wasn't long, but I had to wait until I was 18. I still had to give an arm and a leg to get her to sign the background check though (have to be 19 in BC to do that).

On all of my courses, the only time I ever though about quitting was the 3rd or 4th time up and down 9 flights of stairs in Quebec with my intentionally overloaded ruck on my back. I quickly threw that thought away and finished my BFT 4 weeks later at a net weight of 270 pounds (according to the scale in Farnham).

Never looked back since. Though I hope I don't get a PLQ in the winter, otherwise taking a shit is going to be a pain in the ass.

 

[Hovercraft]

I've become really jaded about society and employment. I'm 24 (well, just about) and have never really held down many jobs. I struggled in school a lot for various reasons. I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome ("high-functioning autism".. in my case, "high-high-functioning autism") and I don't feel secure or comfortable with the label at all. Most of my employers simply wouldn't train me and acted like I should just 'know' things. I also misinterpreted things some of my employers said like "Sometimes we don't pay you" (I still don't know if it's true or not he could have been joking I really have no idea, he sounded totally serious) and it freaked me out so I quit. Sometimes the work was just too frenetic or fast paced and I couldn't keep up (I was too meticulous). When I was comfortable in a job once or twice I was fired right before the union would have taken me. I've gotten really ****ing tired of this. I'm young and without a college or university education so I can't really choose from the best jobs and I don't have the family to support me to help me pay for school or whatever. My family really betrayed me and hurt me so I don't particularly like them. I have a family that doesn't really talk to extended family so beyond my immediate family I don't have much. I tried working and going to school at the same time it exhausted me and I don't really want to do that again.

So my main obstacles really are emotional pain / trauma. Being jaded. I don't know how to explain. A lot of the stuff I complain about though like not being trained well at a job and whatever I never expect to ever run into with the military ever. I figure if I don't do something right they'll drill it into me until I understand. I'll have real tactile experience with how things work and what I'm supposed to do. I'll be shown how to do things not just get let go for not understanding immediately. I'll be somewhere that treats everyone equally and with respect. I'll have a 'nametag' I'm not going to be just a number. I'm predominantly going to have a clear understanding of what my superiors tell me. I get to be a bit over neat and meticulous. There's a lot of things that appeal to me. And if I don't pass the test and it doesn't work out I know I'll understand why. I'm not going to be let off or something with any sort of ambiguity if I fail the reasons should be clear to me.. like I didn't jog fast enough or I did X or Y wrong. 

Also, I don't smoke or drink or do any drugs and really with some preparatory exercise and getting into a bit better shape I'm really in peak physical condition I guess.

 

[aesop081]

I get to be a bit over neat and meticulous.

Guess the challenge for you will be to learn when "good enough" is better than "perfect".