PLEASE HELP WITH POSTING!

[Arron]

Does anyone have any tricks or a good way to get posted (service couple)?  I have been trying to get posted out of a horrible posting and short of remustering, releasing, or reducing in rank (which all are on the table now), im running out of options.

PLEASE HELP!!  :'(

 

[George Wallace]

>

As you are in St Jean right now (according to your profile) why not try doing what everyone seems so concerned about in other topics?.......RE-ROLE INFANTRY  ;D

On a serious note, you can always call your Career Manager and see what can be done.  If you just got posted there, you will probably have to do a minimum time there before they will think of posting you.  Another option is to volunteer to fill a slot requiring your Trade on the next Tour.

 

[Arron]

Service couple instructors.... Baby on the way, "the" boss says no to posting (I have even her offered favours to go).  Service couple here teaching is very very bad.  Enough stories about 1 cf member families having troubles here due to stress, english only problems, and serous $ problems due to high taxes.  A service couple teaching here is not nice at all for any kind of life.  I have a meeting with the CM in a few weeks, I hope that goes well, but I’m trying to look at other options as well.  3rd year private in Ontario takes home the same as a MCpl here, so that route is looking better each day.  I’m just wondering if there is some miracle back door route without career implications?  I’ve seen people posted within weeks of doing something….  I just wish i paid more attention to what they did.

 

[navymich]

Just trying to see the problem here.  I assume that both you and your wife are anglo?  The way I look at it, is that at least you are posted together, especially with a baby on the way.  And as instructors too, which means no shift work etc.  Is it the fact of being in St. Jean?  Or the fact that you are both working out of trade?  Or is the language factor really that big there?  I just back from course there and yes, there were a few difficulties, but I didn't notice a huge problem.

How long have you been there for?  I just don't think you should do anything rash (remuster, release etc) that you might regret later.  I'm sure everyone has a story or two about a crappy posting.  Just trying to look on the other side of things....

 

[armyvern]

Just remember that whatever options you choose and which may lead YOU to get posted...may not necessarily lead to your service spouse being posted. At least you are together. That's a good thing.

I'm IR.

 

[Arron]

Yes we are together, which is great.  But for what’s it worth we don’t see much of each other or get quality time.  I dislike being out of trade, and yes the French barrier is very very harsh since we don’t speak any French (I posted some of my experiences in the AF - joint forum).  I felt welcomer in Cairo while I worked in Egypt for 2 tours than being English here.  Shift work was great for us, and we had a lot of quality time together.  Now it’s sleeping, getting gear ready or something else ready, with enough late nights and or weekends to go around takes a lot of time up.  If one of us could at least get posted to Ottawa or somewhere fairly close out of Quebec it would be a LOT better.  Then one year pat off for one of us together to be together with the other, with quality time in a city/area we could enjoy freely.  This is harsh for a service couple, I’m unaware of any other service couples posted here both instructing, and I have been asking.  I have talked to other service couples here, one instructor, one not and they feel the weight of it all.

I don’t want to be rash, but this place is just not working out at all.  It is becoming extremely costly on all fronts and I’m running out of options, patience and overall love, loyalty or caring in general of the CF and this job.  This hurts and is very harsh for me to say.  I used to be a true blue boy, and I honestly loved the RCAF, wanting to quit only when I got to old to do the job or when my heart gave out.

 

[PiperDown]

.  I used to be a true blue boy, and I honestly loved the RCAF, wanting to quit only when I got to old to do the job or when my heart gave out.

Not to be harsh.. but, you are not in the RCAF.. it does not exist anymore.

On a nicer note.. have you tried a compassionate posting? Or, you can also apply for a posting under quality of life.
Both of these routes do however have career implications.

Cheers,

 

[Michael OLeary]

I know others have touched on the point but:

Would it be worse for both of you to be posted there together, or for your wife to be posted there alone?

 

[exgunnertdo]

To defend arron...

I spent 8 months living on the economy with my family in St-Jean while I was on SLT.  While being at the Mega wasn't too bad (bilingual garrison, and I was supposed to be learning French), there were some major issues regarding being English-only speaking in a very French city.  It's mostly related to the family (schools, friends, doctors, dentists, not being able to communicate with neighbours etc.).  My son was the only kid from an anglo home in his english kindergarten class.  The rest were in the english school to learn english.  Talk about social isolation. 

I have a good friend (svc mbr) whose DH is an instructor at CFLRS, and it is hard on her.  She is a "single parent" a lot of the time, as her hubby has to work long hours, come home, sleep and go back to work.  It is hard on families.

Unfortunately, I have no advice on the question, but I thought this might help provide perspective. 

 

[armyvern]

My husband is also currently a "single parent" posted to a School while I am posted elsewhere. This is hard on him too. My sister-in-law spent 3 years posted on the East Coast while her husband (my brother) was posted to Edmonton, and she had 3 kids under the age of 5 to look after by herself. Guess you know what they were doing when they were together.

In all of the cases above, they could speak the local language, so I'm quite sure that your situation is more difficult in that respect. It sucks being posted apart though too. If you get a spot that happens to be close-enough to travel home on the weekends, it makes it much better.

It sucks, I know. But I guess my outlook is that I chose to marry someone else in the military and have children with them, knowing full well the hardships that our family might have to endure based on that choice my husband and I made, and that even though we had posting choices, we did not have posting guarantees. We have gone through many a years of decreased quality family time with all of us together. Due to tours, field, taskings, courses and postings, so we can only try to make the best of the time that we do have together. We do our best to get through those hard times. The day we can't get through them is the day one of us will have to make the career-ending choice because of the choices we made earlier in our careers.

The CF does their best to avoid circumstances such as this, but at the end of the day, the positions need to be staffed and need to be their priority.

 

[Arron]

Not to be harsh.. but, you are not in the RCAF.. it does not exist anymore.

Ahhh a history buff  ;D  I actually have my vintage pre 68 RCAF pin, that I keep in my left breat pocket, that was actualy given to me by a WW2 pilot.  The name may change, but it is still blue on the inside.  And I think my blue heart is slowly coming back.

Thanks for the support i have recieved (both sides, I hope to soon have this resolved thanks in part to some who have contaced me offline.  Who says the system cant solve problems