Canadian Army

[Disturbance]

To all fellow Canadians,

First off I just wanna say that I am happy to finally have found a place where I can talk to actual soldiers within the CF most places and things I find are US related and dont provide to much to my questions and problems.After reading the posts here I feel a lot of tension and anger towards our CF from the politics to the actual runnings of it. I think tested mettle and Sharp end explain a lot of that. Anyways..

I am going to paste a post here which I posted recently on some other site. It explains my motivations and beliefs for signing up with the CF, DESPITE all the shinanigans associated with the CF.
"Hey D-Boy,

After reading your initial posting I was awestruck. I felt as if I was the one who posted that message. This is my first posting and after reading yours I just had to reply to it.

I am 19 years old and I am taking engineering at UBC. Everyone from girls to my relatives to my parents think that engineering is the best thing for me. Ya know I get a good job that pays hella cash and live a life that most people wish they could have. I have the brains to do it, the problem is if I actually want to do it. My parents have me brainwashed to think that if I dont do engineering I will not succeed at life. For the past two years they have not once asked me if I like it, if I enjoy it, they only ask that I do it. Dont get me wrong I do like the sciences and stuff but only so far I think they think I like it more than I actually do. So what does all this have to do with you and your posting?

My heart lies with the forces, from when I was 8 years old me and all my friends would go down to the forest and play war . We would get all cammied up and use sticks as guns and it was almost like they were having fun but for me it was more like training. Then I grew to old for that so I began hiking and would go on trecks whenever I could but my mentality on the trips would be that I was on patrol and I would always be scouting ahead and watching my steps for traps, etc. I would be doing this all subconsciously. Even in snowball fights at school I take control and make strategies, of course my friends bug me(it is just a snowball fight) but they know its who I am.

I have read countless books on the hardships of military life and am not blind to the pain I or anyone else would face attempting to do what I want to , yet I still feel the pull. And just like you said about paintball , when put in that kind of situation you just feel it in you like a calling. I know this feeling is unique and that I would be a fool to not act on it. This feeling I have is not about killing people or me being killed which so many people seem to think its not even about going to war, its about the complete inner challenge both mentally and physically that you can not find in any other profession. Its about the teamwork and camaraderie and determination and motivation that can not be found anywhere else. These are just a few of the things which attract me to the life. There are other even more personal reasons which I will not get into here.

Its just that I am a key turning point in my life and my options are clear.
- I either stay at UBC and get my degree get my engineering job and hopefully live happily ever after with no regret ( at least my parents would be happy).
- I can also stop whatever I am doing enlist and start my life in the forces from scratch.
- Or transfer over to the military school and finish my degree then serve my years as an officer and once completed my 5 years I have an engineering degree to fall back on when I am done. This one seems to be the best so far, its just that the stuff I am into doesn’t always have room or needs officers
- Another similar thing I could do is go to the states and serve there as I was born in Hawaii and am a US citizen. This would be better because of the better pay and they take care of you better, but at the same my country is Canada and the pride of serving your country wouldn’t be there. I am proud to be Canadian.

I don’t know why I felt the need to tell you and everyone my story but I felt reassured after reading yours that there are other people out there who feel the way I do about it and maybe after reading you will feel the same reassurance. I have decided to tough out the year UBC and enjoy my time here in Vancouver as much as I can till the summer and upon being accepted to RMC (Royal Military College) I would start basic in mid July. Once I start I am not gonna look back. I couldn’t do that to myself it would just hinder me if I kept worrying about home and all. My plan involves a long hard road but my determination to tough it out is there. My distant goal is JTF2 but I understand that is far far away right now, so far I am just hoping to get in. I am gonna just take it one step at a time till I get there. Basically the human body is a crazy thing it can put up with a lot of shit its just that your mind has to believe that. So I say if your drive is there to do it act on that use that to your advantage I mean how many people try out for shit like that just cause they think “Oh man that would be cool” or whatever, you are the one that is gonna make those guys look like fools. Hopefully you get some good out of this letter cause I don’t want my guts spilled on this page to be a waste."

Basically this is my idea of what to do, however I dont know the actual route to take and please correct if its wrong. Because I want lots of field time and I like leading small groups I think:
-I should finish my BA of Eng at UBC while serving in the Seaforth Highlanders
-When that degree is done do a component transfer to reg and slowly work my way up
-get into any recce courses and jump courses I can and hopefully move my way up the ladder a bit
-down the line try and become a Pathfinder
-even further I mean I cant even see that far yet get accepted for selection into JTF2 and iff that happens serve there till I have all the field experience I can muster and if I want leave and use my dgree for somthing or if I like it try and become an officer ( I think it would be easier because I have the dgree) and the rest would be history.
Does this sound right? I am probably missing things cause I dont actually know the inner working of everything so help me out if you can thanks.
oh yeah as for the states thing ...I am Canadian and damn proud of it.

Its just that reading all these posts seems like noone is enjoying there time in. I dont want to go in and have everyone be super bitter and angry all the time that just wouldnt be right. So I dunno maybe I am asking for some reassurance or something that there are others like me or who still believe in duty and honor and blah blah regardless of what state we are in. Please respond to this post either by helping me out with what to do or by telling me why you signed up in the first place and if you still believe those reasons or if you are just waiting for your time to get out. I know its a lot to ask but I need this INFO, serious life planning going on here in my head right now.

Disturbance
" There is no limit to the good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit."

I am also posting in another place regarding airborne coy's being disbanded.

[Enfield]

Ok..
first, you said the Forces were "in your blood" - well, you could have joined 2 years ago, so it's not all that much in your blood.

So I guess you want advice? Well, I'm 19, I go to UBC, and I'm in the Seaforth Highlanders, so it appears I'm uniquely qualified here...

Step 1 -Join the Seaforths. Do not sign away 3 years of your life as a grunt and ditch an Eng. degree without having an understanding of what your getting into - and sorry, paintball and nature walks don't quite cut it
=)
You'll be able to put in 2 years or so before your done your degree (there's QL2 course starting in Feb., so hurry up and get in there!) And in that time you can do the basic courses and get a pretty good idea of the Army, and transferring to the Regs (or even going to the UK) is common.

Step 2 -apply for a transfer. Officer or enlisted, it's your choice, and you can make that after you've done some time in the Reserves. With an Eng. degree you can be an officer in the engineers, which is a pretty good job - lot's of tours, and it's still Combat Arms, if that's what you want.

get the degree, enjoy the parties and the women - trust me, RMC is a great university, but the parties, women, and variety is far better at a good civvie university. You'll get all the military life you want out of the Seaforths, and the benefits of a civvie university. Remember, there is no qualifiable difference between an RMC grad and a direct entry officer.

And not to be a traitor, but if I had dual citizenship I'd be taking a serious look at the US Forces. As is, I'm planning to go to the UK when I graduate and if you look on this board you can see what percentage of the Cdn's have or plan to get US/UK military experience. But if you want the CF, that's great.

Anyways, if you have any questions or whatever, e-mail me at enfield7@yahoo.com

Enfield

[TonyM]

In the "If I was You" category:
1) Get the degree. Don't be a fool. You may not believe this, but your life is pretty simple right now. Don't make it complicated. Time will will take care of that all on it's own.
2) Join the reserves while in school. It's not all bad, and you'll get a good feel for military life. You'll get out what you put in.
3) Take advantage of your dual citizenship. You're young, you've got time for lots of good shit. After school, join the yanks and try for some high-speed schools. You can always come back.
4) When (if) you want to come back to Canada, you'll be late 20's, early 30's and could get a direct commision in the CF. Now you would have something to really offer the people under your command and/or your peers. It's called experiance, and it'll make you a real asset. And (theroreticly) the army will be in better shape by then. Might even have the new cam uniforms and kit!
5) By following the above, you'll eliminate all the "gee, I coulda done..." statements later. And you'll have herc loads of good drinking stories for the mess.

[towhey]

As a mid 30's guy who spent 15 years in the Regs, saw the world and did some neat shit, my advice:

1. Like others have said, stay in school.

2. If you want to go to RMC, and you are accepted (not a given - competition is tough, especially since you've already started your degree), go for it. Engineering is what they do well at RMC.

3. If you stay at UBC, definitely join the reserves (Seaforth or other) but I would strongly advise you try to join the RESO (Reserve Entry Scheme Officer) program.

Why?

Simple: If you want to know what it's like in the real army, this is the only program that will give you that experience. No disrespect to the reservists on this board, because they do phenomenal things with pitiful resources, but RESO (Infantry) will put you into the regular force, full-time world, with regular force, full-time peers alongside you, but with reserve-force commitments.

Anyone who doesn't think that the four phases of Basic Infantry Officer Course aren't "high speed" hasn't tried them.

In your first summer you will learn everything from how to tie your boots the Army way to section commander qualifications, recce patrolling (in as much depth as the recce course) and more. You'll go back to your unit as a 2Lt, with more soldiering experience and expertise than 80 % of your unit. But, you'll still have a lot to learn about leading real soldiers, especially part-timers, so you'd be an idiot to play "big man on campus."

In Phase 3, summer No. 2, you will work your bag off in the field and know platoon level tactics, including fighting patrols, better than any US Army Ranger.

If you decide you like the regular force and want to transfer to the full-time army, you'll have a much better chance as a RESO officer. The RESO training is not "like" the regular force training -- it "is" the regular force training. You will be able to transfer directly across and not lose any time, or have to go back and repeat. I know, I did it.

If you join the Seaforth as a private, you will almost certainly go back to recruit school when you join the regs. Quite honestly, having taught both courses, reserve basic training is not the equivalent of reg force basic training -- and the reg force recruiters know it.

In my military career, I was fortunate enough to have worked with elements of the US Army (including Rangers and SF), German Army, Brit Army (including SAS), Russian Army, IDF, Portuguese Special Forces, Australian Army, Swedish Army, Brazilians, Argentinians, Finns, Norwegians, Austrians, Italians, French and dozens more. I am quite confident in my opinion that:

a) the US has the best ARMY in the world -- which is important to you if you plan to be one of the Joint Chiefs.

b) Canada has the best trained SOLDIERS in the world. Bar none.

If you want to learn the craft of soldiering there is, frankly, no better Army to learn it in than the CF.

Cheers and good luck,

Mark Towhey
mark.towhey@towhey.com

Deas Gu Gath, VP, Kloshe Nanitch

[RogueExec]

Originally posted by TonyM:
In the "If I was You" category:
1) Get the degree. Don't be a fool. You may not believe this, but your life is pretty simple right now. Don't make it complicated. Time will will take care of that all on it's own.


Good advice. I've spent the last 10 years wondering and contemplating the "woulda", "coulda", "shoulda" crap. Don't find yourself there. Finish the degree.

[Disturbance]

WOW thanks guys,

lots of good input I never really thought of b4. I like the reso idea but I think I am set on starting at rock bottom and working my way up as a private in the reserves once. Although I have potential to be an officer I think I will save that till later. Sgts or WO sounds like the thing for me. I wanna get the experience and if I choose to stay in after a while I will probably try and switch over to an officer.

-Disturbance

[justagrunt]

Degree:

Roger that... I have a Degree in secondary ed. I don't use it in the fact that I am not teaching (Long story) But, It sure opens a lot of doors for me...

If I was you...

1) Get your Degree.
2) Serve your country...Be a Patriot.
3) Get laid.
4) Get laid again...


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Can I get a "HooAh" from the Congregation?!?!