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From the 15 July Petawawa Post:
Orientating Special Operations Supporters
by Lt Aaron Scherle, CSOR
The Canadian Special Operations Regiment (CSOR) was created to bridge capability gaps between the conventional army and Canada’s domestic counterterrorism unit, Joint Task Force Two (JTF 2) and in a remarkably short time has proven itself capable of doing so in an operational environment.
Though CSOR is still developing, its success to-date can be attributed to a number of factors: thoughtful application of Army, JTF 2 and other nations’ Special Operations Forces (SOF) lessons learned; establishing relationships with other CF units; trial and error; and through a lot of long hours of hard work and sacrifice. But, perhaps more than any other factor, CSOR could not function at the level it does today without the dedicated effort and skill of its Category 2 Special Operators: the folks who make sure the engines run, the radios work, the weapons function, the boots fit, that people and equipment reach their destination and the meals are both hot and delicious. To help its Category 2 Special Operators do their jobs to the best of their abilities in the challenging SOF environment and understand particularities of SOF culture, CSOR runs the Special Operations Supporters Orientation Course (SOSOC). Because CSOR accepts CF Reserve and Regular Force applicants from all elements, SOSOC establishes a minimum standard of competency and deployment readiness through a three week intensive, progressive combination of refresher and introductory training on a variety of subjects including conventional CF and advanced SOF weapons training, communications equipment and voice procedure, navigation, fieldcraft, OPSEC and Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC), to name a few.
Besides ensuring a unit standard, the course helps to encourage unit cohesion and camaraderie by employing Category 1 Special Operators as instructors where applicable.
This allows Category 1 and 2 personnel to interact and helps to eliminate class divisions. Due to its small size and operational tempo, everyone at CSOR is aware of how important collective effort is to achieving mission success.
“The intent is to capture people as soon as possible after ‘posting-in’ in order to create a baseline skill-set, and then from there it’s a matter of maintaining skills and upgrading as opportunity allows,” says the Off i c e r Commanding CSOR’s Support Company. And, he adds, “The course is a great way to prevent status divisions between our Category 1 and 2 operators and engender a real sense of team in the unit.”
In order to encourage candidates to draw upon all of their knowledge and skills, there are ample opportunities to lead and follow regardless of rank, and candidates actually remove epaulets in the field to enforce the unconventional learning environment.
“At first it was a bit weird telling Warrants and Captains what to do,” says Jennifer, a Logistics corporal, “but it didn’t take me long to get the hang of it!” she laughs.
Upon graduation, SOSOC candidates are bona fide special operators, able to effectively and efficiently support their Category 1 counterparts: from ensuring equipment can be rapidly prepared and deployed, to holding their own in a firefight.
SOSOC provides a unique and challenging opportunity to acquire new skills and knowledge, and ensures CSOR’s Category 2 Special Operators are able to fully contribute to the unit’s collective ability to be relevant, responsive, agile and effective.
Are you ready?
www. csor. forces. gc. ca.
Orientating Special Operations Supporters
by Lt Aaron Scherle, CSOR
The Canadian Special Operations Regiment (CSOR) was created to bridge capability gaps between the conventional army and Canada’s domestic counterterrorism unit, Joint Task Force Two (JTF 2) and in a remarkably short time has proven itself capable of doing so in an operational environment.
Though CSOR is still developing, its success to-date can be attributed to a number of factors: thoughtful application of Army, JTF 2 and other nations’ Special Operations Forces (SOF) lessons learned; establishing relationships with other CF units; trial and error; and through a lot of long hours of hard work and sacrifice. But, perhaps more than any other factor, CSOR could not function at the level it does today without the dedicated effort and skill of its Category 2 Special Operators: the folks who make sure the engines run, the radios work, the weapons function, the boots fit, that people and equipment reach their destination and the meals are both hot and delicious. To help its Category 2 Special Operators do their jobs to the best of their abilities in the challenging SOF environment and understand particularities of SOF culture, CSOR runs the Special Operations Supporters Orientation Course (SOSOC). Because CSOR accepts CF Reserve and Regular Force applicants from all elements, SOSOC establishes a minimum standard of competency and deployment readiness through a three week intensive, progressive combination of refresher and introductory training on a variety of subjects including conventional CF and advanced SOF weapons training, communications equipment and voice procedure, navigation, fieldcraft, OPSEC and Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC), to name a few.
Besides ensuring a unit standard, the course helps to encourage unit cohesion and camaraderie by employing Category 1 Special Operators as instructors where applicable.
This allows Category 1 and 2 personnel to interact and helps to eliminate class divisions. Due to its small size and operational tempo, everyone at CSOR is aware of how important collective effort is to achieving mission success.
“The intent is to capture people as soon as possible after ‘posting-in’ in order to create a baseline skill-set, and then from there it’s a matter of maintaining skills and upgrading as opportunity allows,” says the Off i c e r Commanding CSOR’s Support Company. And, he adds, “The course is a great way to prevent status divisions between our Category 1 and 2 operators and engender a real sense of team in the unit.”
In order to encourage candidates to draw upon all of their knowledge and skills, there are ample opportunities to lead and follow regardless of rank, and candidates actually remove epaulets in the field to enforce the unconventional learning environment.
“At first it was a bit weird telling Warrants and Captains what to do,” says Jennifer, a Logistics corporal, “but it didn’t take me long to get the hang of it!” she laughs.
Upon graduation, SOSOC candidates are bona fide special operators, able to effectively and efficiently support their Category 1 counterparts: from ensuring equipment can be rapidly prepared and deployed, to holding their own in a firefight.
SOSOC provides a unique and challenging opportunity to acquire new skills and knowledge, and ensures CSOR’s Category 2 Special Operators are able to fully contribute to the unit’s collective ability to be relevant, responsive, agile and effective.
Are you ready?
www. csor. forces. gc. ca.
