Questions : Explaining my criminal record to a senior officer committee

[Stein]

Stein you have my vote of support - based on the info you have provided here hopefully I will have the priviledge of working with you in the future along with some of these nay sayers and we can drive them crazy talking about our wonderful past. ;D

Thanks for your support CountDC!

 

[armyvern]

Stein,

Good on you. You've got 'nads at least. There's serving people posting in this very thread who've been "convicted" (at least one anyway).

For all those saying they'd never want to serve under one ... I hope you all have less than 5 years in; for it wasn't that long ago we had many pers who were offered the choice of "join the military" or go to "jail" after they found themselves convicted of an offense.

BTW, I just watched one CFR a couple of weeks ago. And a heck of a lot of people respected his butt. (wavering now that he's gone to the dark side ..  >) <--- KIDDING!!

 

[Greymatters]

I think their are a few people here who dont understand the concept of the criminal/justice system. 

People commit crimes.
They get caught.
They get tried.
They get punished.
They serve out their punishment.
They are once again regarded as equal members of society.
They can apply to have past criminal rcords abolished if they maintain their adherence to societies rules and laws.

I will admit that I am biased and say that the commission of certain crimes deserve permanent expulsion from the the human race (not just society).

But for the majority of crimes, one mistake (or even two or three in some cases) does not make them a career criminal or forever ineligible for positions of authority and responsibility. 

 

[AlphaQup]

He got caught taking drugs.

http://www.forces.gc.ca/cmj/sentence/2008/2008cm1014.f.pdf

I spent a bit of time looking through that site and it's really fascinating how decisions are made and sentencing. You should all take a look at it if you get the chance.

 

[Grando]

Yeah, I found it really interesting as well.  Particularly the seemingly low fines people get for somewhat serious offences.

 

[lou-reed]

As a former NCM and a former Officer - now retired after 20 years, here are my thoughts.

First, everyone makes mistakes.  Judging by your age, it would appear that you made some youthful mistakes, using very bad judgement, that came with very serious consequences.  You are now paying dearest for those mistakes.

On the surface it appears that you have done a good job of turning your life around and making the improvements necessary for you to get where you want to be in life.  I say on the surface because we (being the readers of this post) have no idea about your past before you were caught in your misdeeds.  My point being is this a one-time offence or was it a culmunation of several years of this behaviour.  Do you still associate with those who were part of your past.  Just a lot of questions that you may have to answer.  When I read your first post, those were the questions that I had for you.  I have those questions because part of turning your life around is more than just going back to school.  It also takes time and you have to gain trust and that can take a long time.

I do believe that you will be facing an uphill battle.  Although I never worked in recruiting, I do believe that there is immense competition for recruits for both the NCM and Officer side.  But, I may be wrong.  Thus, although you may have turned your life around, and you may be able to show the officer board that you have done so, you may just not be competitive enough.  Unfortunately, that may just be the reality of this situation.  Reality is that you have no one to blame but yourself.

The fact that the recruiting centre is still talking to you is a positive sign.  I would encourage you to be open and honest with them.  However, do not be too disappointed if the decision does not go your way. 

Good luck.       

   

 

[Stein]

First, everyone makes mistakes.  Judging by your age, it would appear that you made some youthful mistakes, using very bad judgement, that came with very serious consequences.  You are now paying dearest for those mistakes.

I was 18 and 2 months...

On the surface it appears that you have done a good job of turning your life around and making the improvements necessary for you to get where you want to be in life.  I say on the surface because we (being the readers of this post) have no idea about your past before you were caught in your misdeeds.  My point being is this a one-time offence or was it a culmunation of several years of this behaviour.  Do you still associate with those who were part of your past.  Just a lot of questions that you may have to answer.  When I read your first post, those were the questions that I had for you.  I have those questions because part of turning your life around is more than just going back to school.  It also takes time and you have to gain trust and that can take a long time.

These are good questions. Before making that mistake, I used to be a good person, well performing at school and in sports (I was in a rugby sport/study program). It really is a one time offense. It was not the culmination of previous similar behaviors but the culmination of many factors at the same time. I could not give a single factor as an explanation as it was the result of a more complex system of factors. The result caused myself to commit a criminal offense although I always had repugnance toward those kind of behaviors. The worst consequences, in my case, were not the prison, the probing period or the fines, but the fact that I have done one of the things I most disapprove, and that I have lost the society's trust for that.

Although I never worked in recruiting, I do believe that there is immense competition for recruits for both the NCM and Officer side.

I think there's a lot of competition too.

Thus, although you may have turned your life around, and you may be able to show the officer board that you have done so, you may just not be competitive enough.  Unfortunately, that may just be the reality of this situation.

If I succeed to show the officer board that I am trustworthy, I am pretty sure I can be competitve enough. And if I am not, there's probably something I can improve to be more competitive. But my criminal record would for sure cause my merit mark to be lower, but how much lower? It can end, as you said, causing me to not be competitive enough...

Reality is that you have no one to blame but yourself.

Absolutly!

The fact that the recruiting centre is still talking to you is a positive sign.  I would encourage you to be open and honest with them.  However, do not be too disappointed if the decision does not go your way. 

My personnal experience taught me that the best thing to do in any situation is to stay honest. I hope the fact that they are still talking to me is a good sign, but I am prepared whatever the decision will be. If I succeed to show the officers that I am trustworthy enough, that will be really nice. But if I don't, I won't consider that decision as permanent. I will retry once I will get a pardon in few years. Until then, I will have the time to finish my master degree next year to increase my competitivity for when I will reapply. And if I have to wait, I am not in a bad position right now. Although I want to make a career change and join the forces, I  already have an interesting career that allows me to increase my leadership and management skills, which will be usefull when I'll join the CF.