issued firearms

[combat_medic]

Hulk, you just said that you know WITHOUT A DOUBT that you can pass a course about which you know nothing, have never attempted, and maybe saw a movie about once, or read a book about. I doubt you have ever even sat down with a qualified sniper to talk to them. And yet, you stated in the SAME SENTENCE that you weren‘t smart @ssed or cocky!

You know, I had a kid on my basic who was just as ignorant and arrogant as you. Wanna know something? He could even pass his infantry course in 2 attempts. His $hitty attitude and big chip on his shoulder was such a detrement to himself and to the others in his platoon that no one would work with him. Not only that, but his attitude and performance were so poor, that he can‘t get a transfer to the reg force because of his crappy couse reports. I can guarantee that if you don‘t get rid of your arrogance and "I can do anything I ever want" attitude, then you will be in the same boat.

And you know what, I think that I can singlehandedly eliminate the Government of Canada, install myself into an absolute Monarchy and turn the population into my personal servants. I KNOW I can do it and therefore it will happen! That statement sounds only slightly more ridiculous than your insecure teenaged wannabe tripe.

 

[xtramag]

When on an important course is it benificial to set yourself short term goals?, say for example at battle school will i do better with goals like "today i will be first out of the rack", or "im going to get myself the best obsticle course time". is it advantages to set goals like these for yourself? what else can a pearson do to stay motivated and stick with it?

 

[Danjanou]

Hulk,
We‘re trying not to discourage you here, honest. As you have now no doubt discovered there is a very thin line between good cocky but acceptable, and poser wannabee.

What we‘re saying is think, before engaging mouth and, try not to cross that line.

Example on this board as a newbie and making comments about going to be a JTF2/Sniper/Ranger/Snake eater/SEAL/SAS/Arnie type/RAMBO might not be a wise career move.

Someone posting or lurking here just might be an instructor on a future course. They may develop a opinion of you based on that and then decide you ain‘t worth the effort to really train and advance towards those goals you are striving for.

Play the "gray man" here (at least initially) and in training and if you have the stones you will move forward.

By the way your transgression over that line into wannabe land so far hasn‘t, and I stress the so far, been that bad. There have been (unfortunately) a few worse posers and wannabes here in the past.

If you think anybody here‘s being hard on you, I suggest you go and look at their posts and how they were jumped on.

 

[Private Snowball]

I love the internet.

 

[Sig_Des]

Growing up in the army,
having been through cadets,
Kurrgan is right.

When in Basic, Don‘t brag about being in cadets and how well you did there, don‘t talk about who you know in the army (they may not like said persons), don‘t shoot off your mouth about caliber, muzzle velocity, whatever.

just shut up, do what your told, and get through the best you can. Why call attention to yourself when its just gonna earn you 25?

 

[elscotto937]

I agree with some of you on here, especially those whose advice is to blend into the background. But this is until you get your feet wet, then ‘Hulk‘ if you got the stuff to back up your words get out there and let people know that you are confident. Confidence will get you a long way, and if you say you are going to do something and then you do it successfully, it will cause people to do a double take. I may have just restated in there words, what Danjanou said a couple of posts ago. So Hulk, I truely wish you success matching your statements with actions. Secondly, man you guys were hard on the 521 Aurora, the cadet who started these posts with a couple of questions. Anyway, just an observation, but he‘s pretty proud in the same many of you are proud of your accomplishments. For example, what if I were to say that the reserves are simply "older paid cadets."(imagine the hate mail I would receive) And belittled your [the reservists] experiences and knowledge. Hey all I‘m saying is cut the guy some slack, you insulted him and he defended with knowledge he had, maybe not the best weapons choice, but...
Lastly on a lesser not, Ghost a few weeks ago on this topic, I think it was you, you included Artillery soldier with clerks and medic in your comment of the ignorance of the Fighting Patrol.. hey we are combat arms... Man that is the first time that I have been included with the clerks and medics....but at least you didn‘t lump us in with the engineers....

 

[winchable]

"When in Basic, Don‘t brag about being in cadets and how well you did there"

Funny story about that.
On my basic, There were 5 guys who had been in the army cadets for quite some time, and they would always talk about how far they had gone in cadets. Cadets this, Cadets that, you get the idea. At the end of the course, only one of the original five had remained in, the others had quit. There were a couple theories as to why they had washed out, the biggest one was that they did not like starting out at as little fish in a big sea, when they had been sharks in a fish tank before.
Either way, nothing pisses everyone off more then ex-cadets making their own clique or acting like they are instructors. I‘m not saying that anyone here was going to do that, I just thought it was a good story related to what mopo_26 had said.

 

[Slim]

Even going Reg from being in the Militia. Whether you admit it or not they always seem to know and have set aside some " special activities" just for those who fall into the ‘reserves‘ catagory.
I remember thinking that I was quite the bad boy till I got to Cornwallis and was " invited" to take part in several " wake up " calls.
Did me a world of good in the end though...
By the time I got to Battle School I wouldn‘t even admit I‘d even heard of the reserves ( or anything else!)


I better clarify...Nothing at all wrong with the reserves or cadets...just that there is a time and place for all.
Not everyone on the forum is a member of the CF and we should all be careful to portray ourselves in a professional way.

 

[Da_man]

yeah, and i can take on any army on my own.

 

[Slim]

Originally posted by Da_man:
[qb] yeah, and i can take on any army on my own. [/qb]

Not sure I understand what that means there bud...

 

[Enzo]

We had a guy who was right out of it. Big kid, watched too many Vietnam war movies (why not, many of the kids in out PL did). From day one, he isolated himself, told anyone who would listen that he was going to be a sniper, looked forward to taking life and (I kid you not) upon being issued his C-7 quietly commented that he was getting sexually aroused. I don‘t know what he thought he was exactly. Pugil bouts were a wakeup, he folded nicely. Immunizations, had to be laid out on a gurney as the needles made him cry. Yet the attitude continued, and grew. It got to the point where it was him against the platoon. Easy target for the guys. I‘m a bit older, felt I had a responsibility to talk to him. Tried a few times. He just didn‘t want to listen. When I caught him in his underwear taking photo‘s of his C-7, I knew we definitely had a problem and some of us were concerned (a bloody Pyle in the making). When he began to make threatening statements to people in the platoon, we definitely had a problem. At one point, he commented about purchasing ammunition in Owen Sound for "personal use." Just ridiculous, as if we didn‘t have enough to deal with as we were on a Reg Force QL 2/3 (ice storm, don‘t ask) and time off was few and far between. You get the idea.

When I joined, I had ambitions to take the sniper course. For the most part, I kept that to myself. The guys I became close to, we‘d trade stories as to how we came to be where we were and how drunk we must‘ve been to have signed up for all this c*ck in the first place. Some wanted to be Gunner‘s, other‘s Combat Engineers, Medics, or Recce. A few thought that getting into Heavy Weapons was the trick, or even heading out eventually into SAR or an Airborne Co. You get the idea. Out of our PL, only 2-3 guys seriously contemplated becoming a Sniper, it wasn‘t about the hard work involved, we were already working hard. But the idea of taking a life in such a manner, that takes something, most guys would rather go about the job without having to deal with that. So as this other guy kept on about it, eventually, I snapped my tongue off once or twice. As I had similar ambitions, I didn‘t care to be included with him and his attitude offended me. To be honest, I was judging him by that point and I didn‘t think he was a good soldier - who was I to feel that way? I told him to wait for PWT. That actions were the determining factor (along with attitude and his was just too much). During the qualification‘s, he could barely pass. Turns out the noise of the rifle and the recoil bothered him. He required lots of TLC from our NCO‘s who were more than happy to oblige (turned out they had their eye on him from day one). I worked hard for my qualification, I arrived as an experienced shooter, but I learned from my NCO‘s, followed their lead and scored top shot. I happily accepted my crossed rifles for my dress greens and felt good about the work I had put in. 3 of us earned Marksman status, and I was hoping that coming out on top would be a consideration in my favour when the time came to apply for a position on sniper course.

At the end of the day however, our lives aren‘t always decided by us and rarely do our plans work out exactly as we thought that they would.

Neither of us made it through to the end. The NCO‘s waited for their opportunity and he was recoursed (about the only one who went without an injury or voluntarily) due to his attitude and demerits. I don‘t know what happened to him, I heard that he asked for a release. I do know that by the time he left us, he was broken. The guy was only 18. There‘s a long life left in front of him with dreams dashed and no one to blame but himself. I made some friends on that course, guy‘s I‘ll always remember. I don‘t consider him to be a friend, yet I‘ll remember him also. I wonder, what could any of us done differently to have helped him? Honestly, it wasn‘t up to us. He arrived with his mind set on how it was going to be and he didn‘t have the skills to match his attitude. And now, who knows where he is.

One thing is certain though, he isn‘t a sniper in the CF.

 

[Slim]

Originally posted by Enzo:
[qb] We had a guy who was right out of it...
[/qb]

Enzo
Good message! Yes...how many of us can say that we also "had a guy" on GMT ( I‘m dating myself there!) who was weeded out eventually...and oddly enough the "guy" that needed to go in Battle School was a girl.
She seemed o.k. in the beginning but got progressivly weirder as the course went on. The "females in the combat arms" thing had just kicked off not to long before and the administration really tried to keep her. She would say all kinds of weird stuff (ie She had been a porn star!!?! She had been SHOT!!?! she had been...well you get the idea.)
Anyway she lasted up till the field portion (14 weeks back then) and that was it. I don‘t know what became of her as the field in battleschool in the winter is a all-consuming experience where one doesn‘t have alot of time to ponder anything other than the current task!
When I got to the Regt. I found five or six young ladies of stellar reputation manning dvr and gunner positions. ( best tow gunner I‘ve ever seen was female!)
I have never objected to working with anyone as long as they do their share.
:warstory:

 

[elscotto937]

Che, Good Story I think I have met those guys; I think we all have...
Che said: "At the end of the course, only one of the original five had remained in, the others had quit."

And I‘m sure it was the instructors fault they couldn‘t meet the standard

 

[Danjanou]

Enzo, good post, same as Che‘s and I think very relevant to this thread. As Slim noted I think we all have seen similar experiences in our varied military careers.

As you noted the NCO‘s were on to this guy from Day 1. Having taught quite a few GMTs (see Slim I can date myself too ) I can certainly attest to this fact. It‘s something any instructor, watches for especially on recruit courses.

I saw my share of horror stories too, including more than one "tough guy Rambo wannabe social misfit" who folded at the easiest real task.

I think an advantage to this forum, denied to us old farts from the pre Internet era, is that someone really interested in choosing our life style (and that‘s what it is, not a job, not even a career but a calling that trust me stays with you long after you hang up the uniform) can come here and get some valid ideas of just what they are letting themselves in for. That includes how to act, and equally importantly, not to act.

Ok that‘s my two cents, well actually more like a nickels worth. :warstory:

 

[Enzo]

Danjanou, too much truth in that last statement. The CF‘s a part of your, or it isn‘t. Someone at school recently jokingly reffered to me as an army snob. I had to laugh at that; not too far from the truth. I‘m surrounded by people who just don‘t understand why I want to return; as if getting injured was the best thing to happen to me? It just doesn‘t work that way. If it did, I‘d be married and working as an instructor at my local flying club or for a charter outfit by now.

And living on the coast, when I do manage to get past the medics, I have friends who think I should go for either the navy as a MARS or the Air Force as a chopper pilot (Sea Kings). One makes sense, the other‘s too much of a long shot, even if they are short pilots. Infantry‘s all I‘ve known. I‘m a product of growing up surrounded by Infrantymen most of my life. Go figure. Environment does affect one‘s development after all?

Sorry, not quite what the thread was about, just musing a bit. Back to topic

 

[chrisf]

Originally posted by Enzo:
[QB] upon being issued his C-7 quietly commented that he was getting sexually aroused. [QB]

As attractive as I may find my rifle, I find that relationships such as those can jepordize a professional working relationship.

 

[axeman]

there are slots each and every "soldier" fills from the CO to the lowwest rifleman . And there is a form that states what weapon that person will be issued to use. Now in Op Appollo we added
to that list . but the list states the minimum
that each member will have , in Bosnia yes C-9‘s ARE TOO AGRESSIVE but so was the term ROYAL CANADIAN ARMED FORCES. :sniper: :fifty:

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

I have never heard the CF referred to as the Royal Canadian Armed Forces and I have worn a uniform of one sort or the other since 1980. As for C9s being too aggressive, you see pics and news clips with guys with C9s in Bosnia.

 

[axeman]

The term RCAF is the term that was gooten rid of about the time of unifacation it went to the CAF then it went to the CF . yes there are C9‘s being carried in Bosnia but now adays the carrying of them is starting to be toned down. yes i know that during my 2nd tour under SFOR the soldiers issued c9‘s were told to grab someones c7 that wasnt going out on patrol. quite a change from my UNPROFOR days of seeing if you could get the Platoon Warrant to issue extra grenades .
:fifty:

 

[luck881]

THe RCAF is and always has been the Royal Canadian Air force, We were fromerly known as the Canadian ARMED Forces (CAF), after unification, but are now simply the Canadian Forces (CF)... perhaps "Armed" Pi$$ed someone off....
(there has been a Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force, but never a Royal Canadian Army, so, knowing what we all know about traditon and heraldry, there would never have been a Royal Canadian Armed Forces after unification...)