Am I too old, fat, or fit in? 2001 to 2016

[Redeye]

In either trade, the only courses that will be available to you on weekends are BMQ and possibly whatever BOTP is called now.  CAP/BMOQ(L) and your trade course are residential courses, both conducted in Gagetown, and you'll need to take time off work to do them.  They are in two week modules, but if you can't get more time than two weeks off each time, you're looking at a very long time to get qualified.  BMOQ(L) is 11 weeks IIRC, DP1.1 for Infantry is 13, for Armoured is 13 as well I think.

 

[mariomike]

This may be of interest.
Canada Labour Code
"Leave of Absence for Members of the Reserve Force":
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/L-2/page-103.html#h-98

 

[BDTyre]

You may also have the option of using vacation time, depending on your department's policy and how much vacation you have. The private sector company that I work for allows unused vacation to carry over. At the start of this year I ended up having way too much vacation time, and so used some of it for our brigade ex.

 

[Ice97]

i am a 40 yr old architect that has thought a lot about this and would be interested in joining the military. is there any chance in hell? i want to go into the fray and not essentially be a paper pusher. i want to serve. let and augment my skills. do something real and worthy. thoughts?

Age has nothing to do with it as long as you are fit enough to capibly do the job.  My friend is on his 1st tour and 42 years old.

 

[toyotatundra]

There is at least one officer at my unit who started his career at your age. He is physically fit, and articulate. I feel secure under his command.

 

[BernDawg]

I would imagine that an Architect would be a perfect fit here.

http://www.forces.ca/en/job/constructionengineeringofficer-42

I spent 11 yrs in the Construction Engineers and have now moved on to another construction related job. I've met several mature Lieutenants durinf my career and had a tremendous amount of respect for them.

Whatever you choose, good luck and God-speed

 

[Renwick]

This post makes me feel a lot better about my current situation.  I am 29 and have just been accepted to RMC in order to become an artillery officer.... put my mind at ease... thank you.  ;D

 

[Pusser]

This is a very hard adjustment to make, you will be eating crap food, have pretty crap living conditions and not a whole lot of personal space or privacy. 

I take great offence to that statement!  The CF spends a lot of time, effort and money on food services and our food services are second to none.

Anyone who has difficulty living in close quarters with little privacy should look elsewhere for a career.  There are many situations all across the military, particularly at sea or in the field where quarters will be tight and privacy virtually non-existent.  Get used to it and learn to accept it or else life will be very difficult.

 

[Rebel232]

:yellow:

 

[tree hugger]

If you're federal public service there is also a 'leave with pay' option.

 

[Class-Senior]

I am also a Federal Government worker during the day and have been a Reserve Officer for about a year now. I can confirm the following:
- the only course run on weekends is BMQ (first part of BMOQ for you). the rest you will be taking time off to attend. The next courses (you indicated Land Forces Officer) are BMOQ Mod 2 (three weeks) and CAP (10 weeks = 5 x 2 week sections which can be taken separate but, everyone will recommend you do them together).
- Paid or Unpaid military leave will be at the discretion of your department. If your a civilian at DND, you have a much better chance at getting the paid leave. It is possible in any department but, it took me almost a year to get it approved. I started working on the paid leave option before I was sworn in to the forces. Find the leave category in your pay system and start talking to an HR rep (and your boss) in your department. The paid option will require a fairly senior authorization level and most likely a letter from your CO.
- My application process was over a year. The forces will ensure you really want them as part of your life.

I hope this helps you. For others that read this, it is written in Aug 2011 and over time course names, times, and leave approval info may change.

BTW - so far, it has definitely been worth it.

 

[mariomike]

If you're federal public service there is also a 'leave with pay' option.

Info regarding Military Leave here:
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/2552.0.html

Some more info on Military Leave:
http://www.google.com/search?sclient=psy&hl=en&source=hp&q=site%3Aarmy.ca+&btnG=Search#sclient=psy&hl=en&source=hp&q=site:army.ca+%22military+leave%22&pbx=1&oq=site:army.ca+%22military+leave%22&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=s&gs_upl=0l0l2l36173l0l0l0l0l0l0l0l0ll0l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=43b3d7638083a689&biw=1360&bih=594

 

[Pusser]

Thanks NinerSix.

I work for the Federal Government.  There is a policy stating that an employee can have leave without pay for military service / training.  This aspect is covered.  The leadership or officer course (don't know the exact term) taking place during the summer is a few months (?) and this means a pay cut for me!  I need to save up enough dough to pay my mortgage during that time!

On the bright side, although you may take a pay cut while training full time, you will be bringing in extra money for the evening a weekend training that you will do a lot of the time as well.

 

[Blacksmith]

Hey everyone.
I'm a few weeks away from being sworn in, and was wondering how much flack I might expect to recieve during BMQ and SQ.
I've been away from the military for over 20 years, which means that some of the recruits I'll be training with will not have been born when I mustered out.
Does anyone here have any experience with this sort of thing? I'm not worried about harrassment (I don't think anyone would deliberately undermine my effort to serve) but I'm sure there will be a certain amount of good natured ribbing.
Though I may be wrong about harrassment and undermining....

Either way, I'm looking forward to it. An adventure at 48! Should be fun.

 

[PMedMoe]

They'll call you "Dad".  :nod:

 

[GAP]

They'll call you "Dad".  :nod:

or "Pops"

 

[fauntania]

Does this mean at 40, I'll be "Mom"?  *chuckle*  I'm starting BMQ January 23rd!

You're not the only "older type person" joining up!
:

 

[MJP]

We hate older people, they don't cry for attention and they have work ethic (well some do).  Plus they don't seem to cry when they get in jacked up.  Horrible people all of them...

 

[Fatalize]

You can reflect on how much easier it is this time and call them lucky :warstory:  I would not worry about it tho, the age/gender/race differences on my BMQ never seemed to be a problem.

 

[Blacksmith]

or "Pops"

Yeah a friend of mine said "don't be surprised if they call you the 'course senior citizen'". I thought that was pretty funny.