Hey all.

I wasn't a frequent poster, but I tossed out a few nuggets of wisdom around here up until a few months back. That is when I was whisked away to start my military career. I have just done 3 months of basic training. It was quite a culture shock. The sky high expectations, the unflinching level of discipline, and the physical standards that can drive you to your knees some days. It all took some getting used to, and many a time I thought "I can't wait for this to be over", but in a twisted way, I kind of miss it now. They get you so used to the routine that once it's gone, you feel lost and don't know what to do with yourself.

At the moment I'm taking 6 days of glorious annual leave before my driver's course starts next week. I'm on PRETC, a unit where you basically wait around for courses to start, doing odd jobs in between to keep busy. After the driver's course comes SQ (Soldier Qualification). It's the same idea as basic training, but with more in-depth coverage on weapons handling and tactics, and from what I've heard, horribly hard on your body. Thankfully it's only a month long, and if it doesn't kill me, I'll have 6 months of comm training in Kingston to look forward to afterward.

Anyway, that's just what's going on with me in a nutshell. I would like to pass something on to anyone who is or has considered military service: many parts of the initial training suck the big one, and could make you seriously doubt your choice to join up, but there are great moments and it does get a lot better. Confidence in a better tomorrow, and the new measure of respect you get from family and friends (depending on your family and friends I suppose) makes it all worthwhile. It may sound a little cliché, but it also helps you appreciate your freedom more. Just having these 6 days to do what I please in the civvy world makes me happier than a clam. The same goes for my weekends off. I appreciate every second of that time to it's fullest. I'm not sure if it will be a long-term career for me, or if I'll be out after my initial 4 year contract, but it has been and will be a rewarding experience regardless.

Congrats for the success of your career. And many thanks for serving our country.

I remember you! thats awesome! and as has already been said, Thank you for your service!



i have found that most of the friends i have that went into the military end up feeling like this after they first get out of basic

Welcome back!

/hump

/double hump

And.. hi!

Whoa, wtf, canada has a military?

Seriously, though, I was in the US AF and my basic training was more like a 6-week vacation!

Hey man. I've been wondering how your BMQ went. Did you get in as a signal operator?

well that's the air force... :p

Did anyone else randomly start thinking of the Pearl Jam song?

I was always under the impression that people join the Air Force for partying, people join the Marines to get some sort of direction in life and people join the Army to become cannon fodder.

Thanks everyone! /humpbacks

Tracer, I did indeed get in as a sig op. The training I'll be doing in Kingston will qualify me as one at the first level. Then I'll have an actual job in the army, and won't be the useless no-hook private that I am right now :p. I'm looking forward to that training the most. The field exercises in SQ should be fun, but I'll be ready for a physical break by then.

and people join the navy to kill pirates

I'll be taking this opportunity to ask you of questions. I'm still considering joining up (thinking armour/infantry).

How tough is the CFAT? I took the practise test and did well aside from the math stuff so I guess I would have to do a bit of an algebra review.

How old are you? I'm 24, and if I started the recruiting process nowish I probably wouldn't be into BMQ until I'm 25...do you think it would totally suck to do BMQ at that age instead of 18?

I've got a pretty good weight training thing going, so I'm not too worried about the pt aspect though the running sounds tough. I don't know if I can pass the medical.

I'll probably think of more. I lurk the army.ca boards from time to time, but it's nice to talk to an actual human instead of search through years and years worth of stickies.

Army.ca is a good resource, but I know what you mean, and some of the people there need to take a chill pill or two.

I can't go into specifics about the CFAT, lest The Man come and ruin my ****. I will say that while I didn't find it tough, it was a bit trickier than the practice tests. Definitely bone up on your grade 10 math as much as possible.

I'm 24 as well, 25 come January. I wouldn't worry about it. The average age in my platoon was about 22. We had a guy in his 30's come in second for top athlete in the course. The PT is tough, but nowhere near impossible, and you are still plenty young enough to get through it without too much difficulty.

The medical shouldn't be hard to pass either. It's just a test of your vision, hearing, and muscle resistance. The real test comes in the first week of training. That's when they administer the express test. They say you should be fine if you can run something like 2.5 km in 11 minutes. That is bull****. It doesn't prepare you for the shuttle run. It's one thing to be able to run a certain distance at a continuous pace, but constantly having to rebuild your momentum on the shuttle run is what kills you. I went into it thinking it would be a piece of cake, and I barely passed the test. I would highly suggest you get into interval training; sprinting for a while, then lightly jogging, then sprinting, and repeat. BMQ will be SO much easier for you if you can build up a high level of stamina beforehand.

The Marines are the cannon fodder!

I remember you.

Hi!

Hello! Has anything major happened in my absence? Betrayals? Enlightenments? Sex changes?

I went visiting east coast Massassians and ended up dead. They're still trying to figure out whodunit.

Hahahaha comm.

Jesus Christ if you don't hate your life now. Congratulations and welcome my little hooah. Good luck with sloshing through the next four years.

i thought it was settled when JM confessed...

Hmm, sometimes I wish I could just do the basic training and other aspects so I could straighten my life out entirely. It'd be far more effective than the slow sluggish style that I now correct my life with.

I've heard it called it the chair force by Navy/Marines Aviation guys. Never understood the intensity of the cross-service rivalry.

I still have a dream of being a test pilot.