Just got sworn in... what to expect at BMQ?

[AlphaCharlie]

First and formost: Please feel free to move this if it‘s in the wrong section.

Anyways, I recently got accepted into the Princess Louis Fusiliers in Halifax as a reservist, and I have a couple of questions for your experienced military personel:

1. What should I expect in BMQ? Am I correct to assume it‘s not the same as Basic in the Summer? A breif summery would be nice.

2. I go in to get my kit on Monday, 9 Feb. What does a kit include? Do you think I‘ll get CADPAT or just olive green stuff?


Sorry for the questions, but i‘ve always wanted to be in the military, and it‘s quite an exciting time.

Oh, and hello.

 

[K-DoG]

a day at basic: you wake up at 05:45 got 15 min to dress up in PT gear shave and brush your teeth, you run pt for about 40 min (run, pushups, run, sit ups, run, tricepdips, run,run) then you got about 45 min to take a shower get in uniform eat breakfast and prepare for inspection, after inspection you will do drill/class/whatever in periods of 40 min, you have one hour for lunch and one hour for dinner, around 20:00 you do afternoon PT (sometimes you play sports) lights out at 23:00 and you will probly get fire picket (gotta patrol for an hour). expect to be kept extremely busy, you will not have time to breath...

about the kit, you get everything you need to survive in pretty much any weather conditions. you will get the olive green until you finish basic.

couple tips: once you get your combat boots go out and buy a GOOD pair of insoles, drill will kill your feet, shoe polish and get yourself a liter to burn lose threads off your uniform, and if you don‘t shave, start doing so, in uniform you have to shave every day. oh one more thing, start running on a daily basis, try to achieve 8km in 40 min.
good luck an have fun

ps: next time search before you ask something

 

[Cpl. Williamson]

Expect An Unmatched Experience :boring:

Expect To be Tested And Challenged :boring:

Except The Big Green Fella :rage:

You All know What i mean

 

[stukirkpatrick]

Do you know what type of BMQ you are going to take (ie wkend, co-op or summer?)

If you have to wait until the summer to be trained, you can still parade with your unit until then, just without doing any of the really fun stuff (except PT )

Summer Basic is just BMQ with SQ after it (if you have the full 2 months).

Today (the 1st) is the 1 yr anniversary of my swearing in. It may not seem like much, but I still feel proud :warstory:

Also, don‘t count on being issued CADPAT until after your trade course, depending on your supply situation. You get all the new winter kit and Dress Uniform after SQ though.

 

[AlphaCharlie]

I‘m only resereve, so it‘s all on weekends.

 

[stukirkpatrick]

even in the reserve you can take summer basic (what I did). But its better to be trained quicker so you can do the SQ/Infantry (your trade, right) in one summer.

 

[Slanker]

im being trained for 16 weeks beginning Feb 9. then taking my trade course this summer...

 

[GhostRecce]

if your doing it with us (Thursday nights, weekends) you should expect to have a great time (evil grin) :dontpanic:

just a thought, since you havnt even done BMQ yet you should remove the Private rank on your name and the affiliations with the PLF in your profile

 

[AlphaCharlie]

Well i‘m part of the PLF, i‘m sworn in.

I dont see how not having done BMQ makes me not part of the regiment.

 

[Slanker]

Yeah i thought the same thing as alpha

 

[pegged]

I‘m also doing my BMQ on weekends, starting April 1st. I‘m doing SQ and BIQ in the summer. Will SQ be July - August then BIQ August-September? Basically can I do both the SQ and my trade in the summer?

 

[Slumsofsackville]

Only when you drank your rum, and wear the badge or been working with the Plts (intergraded)For a wile, Not B coy or in training then, your fully in. Or at lease family.

Till then your a PTE R, Canadian Forces. PLF are training you. Hey we all went through this.
Just read what it says on your shoulder, CANADA not PLFUS.

 

[stukirkpatrick]

Yes, it should be possible to take your SQ and BIQ back-to-back in the summer, depending on what course s are available in your brigade.

 

[GhostRecce]

Originally posted by AlphaCharlie:
[qb] Well i‘m part of the PLF, i‘m sworn in.

I dont see how not having done BMQ makes me not part of the regiment. [/qb]

I dont see how being sworn in makes you a trained private, or a Fusilier at that.

 

[fusilier955]

Were you the PTE R that said after being sworn in "It feels like the Army owns me" in the officer‘s mess? And by the way, the guys are right, until you get your regimental cap badge, you are not part of the unit just yet.

 

[AlphaCharlie]

do you guys always rag on new guys this much?

I might not be frequenting these forums anymore if that‘s the case.

 

[Pikache]

I suggest you drop that kind of attitude right now.

These guys are informing you of the way things work in their regiment. (And I agree with their sentiments) Not saying you‘re not worthy, but you just haven‘t EARNED the privilege.

Keep in mind that you‘ll probably end up working with the PLFs posting here.

 

[andrewvalentine83]

I heard there are no more summer BMQs, now it‘s just weekend or co-op. Until you pass your MOC, you are NOT part of the regiment. Just like in the regs, you finish your MOC, then get posted to a specific unit. I remember on my MOC we all wore Canada epaulettes because technically we didn‘t belong to a regiment yet.

 

[xFusilier]

AC,

Wow, all I can say is does your post ever make me wish that I was sitting up in the B Coy office once again, to help disabuse you of the notions which you currently hold. However, if I did my job correctly back in ‘96 and ‘97 there will certainly be people that will do as good a job as I could. But, seeing as I will not be there to welcome you into the loving bosom of the military,
allow me to enlighten you...

You have started on a journey so to speak. This journey may end up with you becoming a member of the Regiment, it may not. You may one day even become one of those members of the Regiment who is remembered over a beer, from time to time by people you once served with long after you‘ve released or you could just show up and after a couple of weeks of QL2 drop a memo like this:

1. I do not like the Army

2. I do not like MCpl "xFusilier"

3. I want out of the Army

And go on through life knowing that you tried something and failed.

Now my interests are a bit vested as I spent some of the best years of my life as a member of the Regiment to which you aspire to be a member, so allow me to say this:

You are not a member of the Regiment. I rebadged as a trained infantryman to the PLF in 1993 and it took me almost a year to be accepted into the Regimental family. Until then I was just another guy walking around with the Regt‘s cap badge on my pumpkin.

If you are accepted by your peers as a member of the regiment you will know it. Until then keep your head down, do what you are told, and do it to the best of your ability. You may be entering an environment, where perhaps for the first time in your life you will be held directly to account for your actions. Only when you have proved your worth to the people that have came before you will you truly be a part of the Regiment.

When I was in we had people who never managed to prove their mettle and they were not missed when they eventually released.

Lastly good luck.

 

[winchable]

God help you if you piss off the lads in the PLF!

I don‘t think you should see it as they‘re ragging on you any more then you should expect to be ragged on anywhere else (IE; BMQ, Training nights, Ex‘s, Etc.) for being the new guy.

I think once you get in to the training more, you will understand the significance of saying you are a part of a unit and actually BEING a part of that unit.

There is a right of passage that everyone has to go through before they can truly say they are a Fusilier etc. Simply being sworn in is a step towards that right of passage, but is not quite there.

Edit: xfusilier put it much more in depth at the same time I was doing so, but I‘ll leave my post for continuity‘s sake anyway.