Artillery

[Ralph]

I‘m in the process of having my docs sent off to the Merit Review Board. Infantry is already closed for this go-around, and Arty‘s the only Combat Arms left open. I was Infantry Reserve a million years ago and know extremely little about the Artillery‘s general morale and overall level of training, especially compared to the Infantry. Can anybody give me a clue? What kind of guys will I be leading (if I get picked, of course)?
Cheers, Ralph.

 

[Gunner]

Ralph, you pose a tough question because it is impossible to answer. Here‘s my standard response. Every trade/classification in the Army has good points and bad points. It‘s best that you do as much research as possible in order to make an informed decision...because in the end, you have to live with it. Officers and soldiers you will work for or command will represent a wide spectrum of Canadian society. I‘ve been in the artillery almost 18 years and haven‘t regretted it a day. I‘ve worked with some incredibly talented and dedicated soldiers. But this is my experience, and yours won‘t be exactly the same. Do your research and make a decision.

All the best.

 

[Ralph]

Thanks for the input. Here‘s a question for anyone: what would a new 2Lt do when he‘s done Arty School? The write-up on the CFRC website is detailed for Infantry, and extremely basic for the other two combat arms. Do you get your own battery? Is that even in the right ballpark?
Cheers,
Ralph.

 

[Zoomie]

Well, for one, don‘t expect to go straight to CTC Gagetown. Expect just under a year in St-Jean, PQ. Once your sentence there is up, then you get to go to lovely Gagetown. Once out of there, you won‘t be a 2Lt anymore, you‘ll get your thin stripe and get your first posting. I imagine you‘ll be given an element of soldiers to command, it all depends on what positions are open.

 

[onecat]

Zoomie, is that for NCM‘s too. I mean the wait at St-Jean until you head out for more detailed training and your QL3‘s? I can see why the wait would be longer for Officers because there is less of them out there doing the training and they need to wait for a full course load. But is the same with NCM. I‘m sure St-Jean is a great place but would they have you do in the time between?

 

[Zoomie]

As a Private-recruit, you will only have to spend 10 weeks at St-Jean. After basic you would go and experience life to its fullest at Gagetown or wherever your new Unit wants you to go. If you are already MOC qualified in the Reserves, you can skip this step and go directly to your unit.
The reason the Officer‘s spend more time at St-Jean is 8 months of Second Language training. Alors, je parle le ding-dong tres bien, merci!