Re: Disability on course - BMQ, QL, Trades, ect...[MERGED]

[garb811]

Im 17 and have wanted to join the CAF for a long time, however I stutter/stammer a bit when talking. Sometimes I can say a whole sentence without stuttering, then next thing you know, i can't. I originally wanted to go for Legal Officer or Military Police as I am very interested in Law, but I do realize that those careers do require perfect english skills, so I have decided to go for Weapons Technician. Also with a speech impediment, is it still possible to raise up to leadership ranks overtime [20-40 years]? (MCpl, Sgt, etc?). Im hoping to do some speech counselling which may help reduce it a bit? Also, is this something that may get me targeted by staff during basic?

I know, and have known, many MP who stutter, including one who made it to CWO.

 

[kratz]

Good on you for asking.

 

[ElecEngGirl]

Hey

I am new here and have been thinking about joining the army for some time now. I have had a stutter my hole life and  I am wondering if this will be a problem in the army? If I do encounter some prejudice, will something be done?  Stuttering seems to be the only disability that it still OK to make fun of. Will I be protected by army law/rule the same way racism and other prejudices are taken care of?

Thanks

Good day,

My SO and I are both in the military, and my SO has had a bad stutter since he was very young. No problem getting into the Forces! It only causes him some trouble when giving presentations.
Also - the Forces actually pays for 10 speech therapy sessions per year for him.

 

[Aaron97]

I have another concern, though my stuttering may be acceptable behind the wire and/or in the comforts of performing my job duty at work, my most concern over stuttering is for parades or combat. First, I realize communication is vital in combat and the problem is I will likely stutter when using the radio. Does anyone have any tips or comments on this? Also, if I may ask, how often is the command "Tallest on the right, shortest on the left, in ___ rank..size" used/called during public parades, cause i find in cadets, when they call "numbers" i stutter on certain numbers..where even to the extent I have to purposely observe the number of people beside me to ensure my number i call out is a number I wont stutter on (e.g, if i realize im number 11..i will purposely arrange myself to be number 10 or 12). I wouldn't mind as much stuttering at my own corps but if we are in front of the public eye, the last thing I want is for some clueless person that knows nothing about stuttering think that the CF hired some incompetent r3tard that cant spit out words properly. My primary concern is i do not wish to make the CAF look bad because I stutter.

 

[LightFighter]

Just have to find your own way of dealing with it, might be easier said than done depending on the severity of your speech impediment.


Sizing will be done before every parade you do. Also, sizing is done prior to the parade(out of the public eye). You won't be able to move around to pick a number position you are comfortable with, an NCO will not appreciate seeing you moving to change your position. 

 

[northern_kid]

Hi all,

I know there's been lots of questions asked about the reserve basic training before but I had a few that I didn't see addressed and was wondering if someone could be so kind and help. I plan on joining the reserves soon and will probably train in Alberta.

1. I have a bit of a learning disability and I have concerns that I'll have issues learning what they teach in basic training. Do they offer one-on-oee guidance or answer questions?  Do the instructors/team members have any patience for those who are a little slower or would I be chewed up[?

2. In part-time reserves is swimming a requirement?

3. Are we allowed to bring anything from home like laptops/cellphones?  Would we even be allowed to use them or is their time to use them?

4. Are we allowed to call wives back home and how often?

5. Is there ever alcohol use on base?

6. What kind of food do they serve to the recruits?

7. Are the showers communal or private?  How many guys usually share a room?

8. Is there a good age range of recruits or are they all early 20's?

Cheers.

 

[mariomike]

I have a bit of a learning disability and I have concerns that I'll have issues learning what they teach in basic training. Do they offer one-on-oee guidance or answer questions?  Do the instructors/team members have any patience for those who are a little slower or would I be chewed up[?

Learning Disabilities 
https://army.ca/forums/threads/40397.0

In part-time reserves is swimming a requirement?

Military Swim Test - When, Where, and How- Merged 
https://army.ca/forums/threads/17795.0
12 pages.

Are we allowed to bring anything from home like laptops/cellphones?  Would we even be allowed to use them or is their time to use them?

Electronics during BMQ
http://army.ca/forums/threads/103685.0/nowap.html
22 pages.

What kind of food do they serve to the recruits?

https://www.google.ca/search?q=site%3Aarmy.ca+alcohol+base&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-CA:IE-Address&ie=&oe=&rlz=1I7GGHP_en-GBCA592&gfe_rd=cr&ei=NEIpWMPUI8qC8QedpYNA&gws_rd=ssl#q=site:army.ca+food

Are the showers communal or private?  How many guys usually share a room?

Showers - Nudity 
http://army.ca/forums/threads/21016.0/nowap.html
5 pages.

BMQ-Showering 
https://army.ca/forums/threads/113753.0

etc...

Is there a good age range of recruits or are they all early 20's?

Average age of enrollment
https://army.ca/forums/threads/102500.0

BMQ Age group 
http://army.ca/forums/threads/72152.0
2 pages

etc...

 

[northern_kid]

These look great thanks.

 

[mariomike]

These look great thanks.

You are welcome. Good luck. 

 

[jaysfan17]

What reserve unit are you thinking of joining?

 

[northern_kid]

I was thinking of joining the Seaforth unit.

 

[jaysfan17]

Seaforth Highlanders? Isn't that in BC?

 

[mariomike]

Seaforth Highlanders? Isn't that in BC?

http://www.army-armee.forces.gc.ca/en/seaforth-highlanders/index.page

 

[northern_kid]

Yes it is B.C. in the Lower Mainland

 

[RedcapCrusader]

My answers in Yellow

Hi all,

I know there's been lots of questions asked about the reserve basic training before but I had a few that I didn't see addressed and was wondering if someone could be so kind and help. I plan on joining the reserves soon and will probably train in Alberta.

1. I have a bit of a learning disability and I have concerns that I'll have issues learning what they teach in basic training. Do they offer one-on-oee guidance or answer questions?  Do the instructors/team members have any patience for those who are a little slower or would I be chewed up?

Military training is very fast-paced. Reserve training more so due to the short amount of time you are there. If you mention this to your instructors before hand, they will do their best to assist you either during or after the lesson. I know that people who readily and willingly identify themselves as struggling with material (regardless if they have a disability or not), I'm more than willing to take my own time at the end of the day to offer guidance.

2. In part-time reserves is swimming a requirement? No, unless you go on to do a course which requires a swim test (like Pathfinder or Combat Diver).

3. Are we allowed to bring anything from home like laptops/cellphones?  Would we even be allowed to use them or is their time to use them?

Depends on where you are and what kind of training. My basic, we were permitted cellphones but could only be used between 9pm and 10pm. When I did my SQ, we were housed in proper barracks and were permitted laptops and cellphones after hours and weekends, permitted we earned it and all of our other tasks were completed. It varies on where you are and how you perform.

4. Are we allowed to call wives back home and how often?

Again, depends on how well you perform, if you perform well and earn it, sure. One time we had a guy that decided he was going to sneak out of the barracks for a smoke after lights out and doing inspections all night after dinner because a guy forgot the spare MG barrel off his rucksack; Sneaky McGee rewarded his coursemates with having our evenings revoked for the rest of the week. There was not a whole lot of time to make any calls any way (and even if we did, we were too tired)

5. Is there ever alcohol use on base?

Depends on your course. During BMQ we were a dry course, during SQ we had one weekend where we were permitted to go to the Junior Ranks Club (military pub). During my QL3 Trade course, we had the freedom to go to the Jr Ranks and drink every night of the course if we wanted (we didn't, wings night and weekends were really the only time), so long as you didn't smell of booze at PT the next morning or get into trouble or fail to study/prepare for inspections. Drinking is not a requirement to be on the military, of you don't, that's fine. My courses were always really good and we'd still invite our non-drinkers out for a ginger ale and to joke and socialize.

6. What kind of food do they serve to the recruits?

you'll have Canada Food Guide "approved" selections. Some places it's not the best looking or tasting, but depending on the facility or location of training you'll have plenty of fruit, veggies, salad and sandwich bars, etc. Accommodations for vegetarians, religious requirements are also available.

7. Are the showers communal or private?  How many guys usually share a room?

Also depends on where you are training. Most bases have barracks which will have a shower area but contain individual stalls with curtains. I don't know of a base that has an open shower pit anymore. On my trade course, every second floor had a private washroom with shower to be shared between the guy across the hall from you (2 people per floor).

8. Is there a good age range of recruits or are they all early 20's?

Ages vary, my BMQ and SQ/BMQ-Land had a majority of 17-19 year olds, a large group of 24-28, sprinkled with a handful of 30-45. My trade course was mainly 24-30.

Cheers.

One thing to remember too, depending on the type and extent of the disability, you may or may not be barred from enrolment in the Canadian Armed Forces, because when push comes to shove, we don't always have that extra time. Having said that, I've met a few people with various learning disabilities to varying degrees that excel in the military environment.

Good luck to you!

 

[7thghoul]

I have looked pretty hard but can't find anything relating to trade eligibility standards in relation to learning disabilities (some good looking links but they died I suppose). To be fair, I think my "learning disability" is a joke, basically got diagnosed in the late 90's when a wave of panic set over parents everywhere that set off a chain of mass diagnoses of ADD et al if a kid just happened to have some kind of personality at all.

Basically, I have (had?) something called developmental co-ordination disorder (formerly awkward child syndrome lol) that basically outlines that if a kid can't hand-write as fast or as neat as his peers then obviously he's disabled. I have had several psycho-educational evals preformed as a child/teen and they all recommended I be given extra time on tests basically. I thought it was all bullshit though and never asked for extra time in high school or university and still got a 3.4 gpa in my bachelors degree (communications/business).

Guess I'm just wondering if there may be some kind of list of disqualifying learning disabilities in medical despite the fact that I can show academic success and performed well on my CFAT?

Please note, I have never taken any kind of medication prescribed or otherwise to treat this "condition".

 

[mariomike]

Guess I'm just wondering if there may be some kind of list of disqualifying learning disabilities in medical despite the fact that I can show academic success and performed well on my CFAT?

You passed CFAT.

These are the,

Canadian Armed Forces Medical Standards (CFP 154)
http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/about-policies-standards-medical-occupations/index.page