Age Limits - Reserves

[SHELLDRAKE!!]

I suggest if you are looking at advance preparation, get yourself in shape as per topics on this forum and read as much of this site as possible. That will get your brain and body ready which is going to be your biggest hurdle. When you are of age and apply, you will have an edge on others in that you got yourself inshape and informed.

 

[Deleted member 15361]

I‘ve seen a woman of around 43/45ish join the reserves and in the maple leaf a while back a man of 50 joined (russian immigrant).
Theres a good chance too you‘d also get very subtle special treatment now and then because your older thenthe average recruit.

Hey man,
His name was Graznov I think. He was on my basic training course 0104B. He turned 50 out in the field and we had a cake and a little party for him after we finished our 13k ruck march and then 2 trips through the obsticle course. He was going in for Steward. He served in the Red Army in the 60's as a tank driver. I remember asking him the difference between the training he was doing now in canada and the training he did in russia and he answered "in russia, if I come back alive, I pass."
Great guy but was terrified of water. He could do more pushups then most everyone on the course and no matter if he was on a gym floor or on a gravel road he did his pushups on his knuckles.
Cool that you mentioned him though, just thought i'd share a bit more about him.
Cheers,
Rob.

 

[geo]

Ghost....
not sure where you get the idea that these older recruits are getting any special treatment.

Intentional or not, most units aren't interested in older/oldest junior ranks. There is a mental impression that there are limitations to how they can be used and consequently most will try to find a way to "let them down" ASAP.

Do you treat a new soldier who has a 25 year career potential different from one who has, at most, a max 10 year career potential the same way?

How much are you prepared to invest in em?

 

[caceres]

Hello. I was just wondering that since it takes about 3 months (not really sure) to get accepted into a unit (reserves), would i be able to submit my applications before i turned 16.
By this i mean 3 months before i turn 16.. (i'd still be 15), if i can turn in my application forms and then by the time i turn 16 i'd already be fully in.

Is this possible?

Thanks.

~Caceres

 

[Michael OLeary]

Hello. I was just wondering that since it takes about 3 months (not really sure) to get accepted into a unit (reserves), would i be able to submit my applications before i turned 16.
By this i mean 3 months before i turn 16.. (i'd still be 15), if i can turn in my application forms and then by the time i turn 16 i'd already be fully in.

Is this possible?

Thanks.

~Caceres

The short answer is: no.

See this thread for age limit discussions (all 21 pages and 313 responses, before your question was added) - http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/1907.0.html

And see here for the search page - http://forums.army.ca/forums/index.php?action=search
(Also accessible from the tab above.)

 

[kincanucks]

Hello. I was just wondering that since it takes about 3 months (not really sure) to get accepted into a unit (reserves), would i be able to submit my applications before i turned 16.
By this i mean 3 months before i turn 16.. (i'd still be 15), if i can turn in my application forms and then by the time i turn 16 i'd already be fully in.

Is this possible?

Thanks.

~Caceres

You cannot apply until you are 16 no exceptions and if you had done a search you wouldn't have asked a dumbass question.

 

[blacktriangle]

@Caceres,

I looked into that a while back, always make sure to talk the CFRC guys. I have got conflicting info from several units in my area that I could apply before 16, and as said by others, that isn't correct. Don't forget the credits from high school you also need...

 

[Mileender]

I'm 40, with two young kids, and am trying to join the infantry reserve as an officer. My age seems to be a serious obstacle... I get the impression the unit doesn't want to invest in training someone like me. Any thoughts?

 

[mdh]

I'm 40, with two young kids, and am trying to join the infantry reserve as an officer. My age seems to be a serious obstacle... I get the impression the unit doesn't want to invest in training someone like me. Any thoughts?

mileender

Can you be more specific? What's the unit doing to give you that impression? if it's slowness to respond to your application that might be just a routine case of sclerotic administration. If they're avoiding an officer boarding that might be something altogether different....

mdh

 

[Dox]

I apologise if this has already been covered but I was unable to find any information. I'm a older (35) person looking to re-join When I originally joined the Reg force back in 90 you didn't have to pass the PT test till the end of Basic. For the step test does anyone know what heart rate they are looking for? In my current job I walk for 8 hours a day on top of a 2.5 KM run in the morning. I recently had a stress test done ( turns out indigestion CAN look like a Heart attack) and was told that I'm in pretty good shape cardio wise. The only information I could find on here about it someone suggested they are looking for 22 BPM I either misread this or it was mistyped since the average resting heart rate for a male is around 72 PBM any information would be greatly appreciated as well as any extra tips for a Old guy. Thanks much

 

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[Dox]

Been a Long day I should have thought to goggle it before asking. For anyone else that is interested http://www.cfpsa.com/en/psp/fitness/general_e.asp http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/stepvo2max.htm. Thanks

 

[baudspeed]

The second link for v02max was pretty good. I had done a search on google and it took me a while to find a more complicated explaination. Thanks for posting it

 

[geo]

Over 40 (or 50) crowd for the Regs.... few and far between..... hard, hard, hard
Over 40 (or 50) crowd for the Res.... trg is not as intense for any great period of time so yeah - they do get to bounce back.

Some of the older ones are often former reservists who left, did the career thing, the family thing and then chose to come back to the "family" and the camaraderie you can't find anyplace else.

I know of one particular guy, was a Sgt, para qual, yada, yada.... got out & some dozen years later showed up on his old unit's doorstep looking to get in again... He dropped the lard (+/-50 Lbs) over the summer and started back at the bottom of the pile with a bunch of young 'uns. Instructors were somewhat skeptical @ 1st - didn't like "teaching" someone who had been their Sgt but he persisted, played the game and was a team builder on the course.  He kept up with the PT, he showed troops how to pace themselves.... didn't get "best candidate" but was No 1 in my books......
Oh yeah - 5 yrws later - he's still in.

 

[eduda]

Just wondering if anyone out there has had first hand knowledge of how well someone might do  ???in the reserves in their mid-forties. Really wish I had done this sooner in my life, but I'm going to try anyway. It's probably hard to generalize, but do the older guys get any grief from younger recruits/instructors? Do many drop out of BQ before finishing? Any help/ideas/statistics appreciated.

 

[GAP]

Search the recruiting section...been answered repeatedly

 

[cplcaldwell]

It's probably hard to generalize,
Yes it is, but here goes

but do the older guys get any grief from younger recruits/instructors?
Sure, but so do younger guys.
If you mean are they picked on because they are older, No, not if people are doing their job. Age is irrelevant, fitness, ability to follow instruction, self discipline, dress and deportment and the ability to apply the training through job knowledge are.

Do many drop out of BQ before finishing?
No, in my experience as an instructor, 'older guys' are more likely to finish, unless they blow a knee

Any help/ideas/statistics appreciated.
Start running, everyday, whatever you can do, work your way up. Pushups, many pushups. Lose weight.
See GAP, above, read anything you can find, a lot of info here.

 

[eduda]

Sorry....shoulda looked harder.

 

[Thorvald]

Actually the hardest part is not 'exploding your skull' while surrounded by 50+ hyper teenagers who persist in forgetting where they are and hence act like they are hanging around after Gym class at High School.  You have to remember, your one of them now... not the one who is responsible for them.

I can tell you it will give you an "Excedrin Headache Number 9" and the one thing you need (but can't have...dry courses) is a good stiff drink after 18 or so hours straight of this (think keystone cops, three stooges and little rascals all rolled into one).  I think this is the one thing they need to change (warmer, fuzzier, kinder, gentler Army and all) is to open the mess to anyone over 35 to allow for sanity breaks ;D

If you can adjust to that "culture shock", you'll be fine, just watch the physical part...they heal much quicker than you will.

P.S. There is an upside to it however, you'll feel like a kid all over again.... :

Cheers

 

[GAP]

Plus they will put 10 times the effort into accomplishing something that can be done with a little leverage and a push. For the most part they have not learned economy of effort.