be prepared.

[TYLERgibson]

I am not talking about physically, because they will put you into shape. I am talking about mentally. If you come to cflrs thinking you got this, you don't. You will cry, countless times in the night, you will text your mom and dad saying you want home. You need to have mental strength her, otherwise you'll end up like 5 of my course mates in the first week vring.

 

[MikeL]

Ok,  so you survived the first few days and already giving out advice?


Also,  you should prepare yourself physically as well as mentally.  If you are a lazy person who didn't have the motivation to go for a few runs and do some push ups prior to going to CFLRS you will have a rough time and possibly the PT test.

 

[AgentSmith]

I am not talking about physically, because they will put you into shape. I am talking about mentally. If you come to cflrs thinking you got this, you don't. You will cry, countless times in the night, you will text your mom and dad saying you want home. You need to have mental strength her, otherwise you'll end up like 5 of my course mates in the first week vring.

No....no they won't. You need to arrive already in shape for basic. Otherwise you could fail your PT test and go on RFT (if that even still exists) which from what I hear is not a fun place to be.

For mental toughness you need to tell yourself it's just a game and it will get a lot better once you're done the course.

 

[OYR_Pilot]

I am talking about mentally.

This is why TEAMWORK is essential in the CF. Instead of freaking out and thinking about mom and dad at home, you guys should stay together, the strong ones helping the weaker ones, especially mentally. Hundreds of CF members go through basic training each year, stay positive and work as a team!

 

[The_Falcon]

No....no they won't. You need to arrive already in shape for basic. Otherwise you could fail your PT test and go on RFT (if that even still exists) which from what I hear is not a fun place to be.

Or you could somehow get injured and spend almost 2 years at a CFRC in a large city, on medical category "rehabing" :

 

[Eye In The Sky]

I did Basic a few years (24 this summer), I don't remember anyone "crying every night".  Instead of texting and IGadgetting and hiding in our rooms like you can do in Blue Sector, we had big open H huts.  Privacy was probably contrary to our well-being, although we didn't know it at the time.  We all sat and polished our boots together, ironed our shit together, cleaned the common areas, waxed the floor (THAT was a teamwork task let me tell you) and leaned on each other in that unspoken way troops learn to do.  That kept our morale up and quickly made our platoon a "home away from home" and our squads "our family away from our family".

Grow a thick skin, drop the IGadgets, and bond like military recruits have for years and years and years; experiencing common uncomforts, whether physical or mental, together, helping each other get thru, over and around them as a team...

I've bumped into squadmates from my Basic, one after almost 20 years and I'd still iron his damn winter underwear 8 x 12 for him if he needed it done (christ knows he could never figure it out!).  ;D  And I know while I was, he'd pull my C1 thru a few times and clean up the working parts, 'cause I suck at it and got jacked up for it last inspection.

Teamwork doesn't only happen on the Obstacle course.  Stop texting mom and become a team.  Basic is easy as 1 platoon, and just a long shitty go on your own/as a group of individuals.  If you make it, that is.

:2c:

 

[shogun506]

otherwise you'll end up like 5 of my course mates in the first week vring.

"Terms of Service - Release

...If you are selected for employment with the CF you will be presented a job offer. You will be given an adequate amount of time to decide to accept or decline the offer. If you accept the offer you will be expected to report for basic training. Effective 1 April 2009, no requests for voluntary release (VR) will be granted to candidates undergoing basic training during the first five (5) weeks of training.
The training environment at the CF Leadership and Recruit School (CFLRS) can be daunting for many new enrolees who may be far from home or may be away for an extended period of time. An analysis of the available information indicates that after five weeks of basic training and confinement to barracks, the probability of success in graduating from basic training is very high. This new policy will allow recruits and officer candidates to remain with their platoon and be given more time to adjust to their new surroundings. The Commandant of CFLRS will have the discretion to process a VR request at any time should circumstances justify doing so..."

http://www.forces.ca/en/page/faq-101#serving-2

Hope your buddies read this.

 

[The_Falcon]

I thought recruits were supposed to turn electronics when they get to St. Jean.

 

[Tralax]

I thought recruits were supposed to turn electronics when they get to St. Jean.

I thought they went in Civi Lock-up? Only to be handed out after the first 5 weeks, and then only for use on weekends?

I could be wrong as I haven't started BMQ yet, but I have read a pretty much all the material on CFLRS website, forces.ca, and a lot of topics on these forums..

 

[The_Falcon]

I thought they went in Civi Lock-up? Only to be handed out after the first 5 weeks, and then only for use on weekends?

I could be wrong as I haven't started BMQ yet, but I have read a pretty much all the material on CFLRS website, forces.ca, and a lot of topics on these forums..

I was pontificating, since the OP mentioned texting mom and dad during basic.  The actual answer is really not something that concerns me. 

 

[Eye In The Sky]

I thought they went in Civi Lock-up? Only to be handed out after the first 5 weeks, and then only for use on weekends?

You mean guessed?

I could be wrong

You were right on that part.

I haven't started BMQ yet

Good time to realize "I should read more, and guess less."  :nod:

I have read a pretty much all the material on CFLRS website, forces.ca, and a lot of topics on these forums.

CFLRS Policy 


BTW, it is great that the OP remembers his/her days in the Scouting movement.  8)

 

[SentryMAn]

Just remember that CFLRS is a "bubble" and individual experiences may vary.  Looking back on it I remember teh good times and the laughs, like over hearing one Sgt jacking up a candidate and saying "my god, why don't you have any pants on?" during an inspection.

Take it as it is and try not to be too overwhelmed. 

 

[Sunnyns]

My kid is on week 9 and so far has not called home saying he wants to come home.  I'm not saying he did not think it, I'm sure he did.  I think everyone thinks it at some point there. He's had some rough times but his voice is great, there have been a couple rough patches he tried to hide but a parent can hear it in their voice.  He's thriving out there, much more so then high school or any other thing he's tried.

Take basic day by day and if you have to, take it class by class.  Once you've gotten crap for something the instructor has moved on.  They don't dwell on it, fix what they told you to and it's over.  You will have crappy days but you will also have good days.

This is not for everyone but you can get through it, if you want it bad enough.  I know what he's going through, I did basic in 2002 and his dad did in 1991.  Things were a lot worse then. I won't go into it since that would turn into a pissing contest.  Basic is different for everyone no matter what year you go or went.

You will leave basic with some great memories, the bad ones will fade or you'll laugh at them later down the road.

As soon as you tell people your joining, you will start to hear stories from others.

I know it's a shock to people once they get there.  I thought it was funny the first day on platton he called and said he'd never moved so fast in his life when his Sgt yelled at everyone to get out.  He's never had anyone yell like that.

 

[krimynal]

I think most of the thing I heard about basic ( I haven't done it right now , so I don't want to speak from something I don't know ) is that basic is a somehow of a "game" , you have to get your mind to the fact that this is not gonna be how your life will be in the CF , yeah it's gonna be a hard 13 or 14 or 15 weeks ( even more if you get injured ) , but at the end of the day , it's gonna be an exciting experience ....

I can't wait to get out there and do it !

 

[Maxadia]

I did Basic a few years (24 this summer), I don't remember anyone "crying every night".

I did it in 89, and I finished it again this year.  No one was crying at night that I remember either.......back at 1989.

I'm not surprised that today there might be some in this boat.  Especially being an educator, when our students are protected from all types of stress (we don't do exercises like ` timed mad minutes" for multiplication tables), we see students that simply can't handle normal parts of life.  Last BMQ went well, but I can imagine some of these students going on Basic and losing it.

Life is hard....if it's not, you haven't experienced it yet.  It's a lot harder when you've been protected from it.

 

[Eye In The Sky]

:goodpost:

 

[Strike]

This might explain why the younger generation may not be able to handle failure of ANY type.

http://notsalmon.com/2012/11/12/grow-who-you-are-grow-your-entire-life-a-sneak-peek-at-my-core-values-curriculum-for-kids/

 

[TYLERgibson]

Just had the top athlete of our platoon vr because he missed home, it happens. Maybe not to everyone but it does happen

 

[Jarnhamar]

Just had the top athlete of our platoon vr because he missed home, it happens. Maybe not to everyone but it does happen

It must be really hard being a few hours drive away from your family and only able to chat with them after 6pm.

 

[TYLERgibson]

He's 18 and has never been away from home. Not everyone has lived on their own for a few years.