Reg Force 031 Application

[Hansol]

Hey all. Heres how it is: A year ago (Nov 26) I got my eyes lasered. I applied to the army about then, and they told me they would cancel my application until all the eye junk is out of the way. So here I am, a year later, once again applying for the CF.

I went into the Calgary recruiting station and dropped off my application today (Oct 27/05) for Reg force 031 Infantry. My other choices were armoured and combat engineer. The recruiter said that in about a week or two i should be contacted to set up all my junk. He also said that my application might go through quickly, as all those positions have lots and lots of openings, and as i haven't been out of country or moved out of province or anything there shouldn't be too much trouble regarding a background check. But then again, we all know how this process tends to work....

Anywho, I will keep you all posted. Cheers -Cameron

 

[GregC]

I was in almost the exact same situation. I'll tell you right away though that your application will not be powered through.

Since you had laser eye surgery, at the medical the doctor will hear this from you, and then hand you a special form that you will have to have filled out by your operating surgeon (NOT your follow up doctor). This will hold back your application a bit, after I handed in my additional paperwork from my surgeon my medical took about 6 weeks to come back. Do a search on laser eye surgery and a thread I wrote up on my process will come up, which has a more detailed list of how my application went.

Good luck, stick with it and you will be off to basic soon as well!

 

[Hansol]

lol thanks greg. Already on top of that shiat though. Got the "laser eye medical form" from a previous trip to the recruiters. And my eye final eye appointment is on Nov 7, and there I will have the doc fill it out for me. I shouldn't have my medical scheduled by then, but by the time I do, I will already have the form. Its amazing how much a years worth of pondering the application process can do for you. -Cameron

 

[Hansol]

UPDATE:

Before getting too excited, just letting you know this is nothing special. Went to the eye surgeon on Tuesday and got the surgery form filled out. Still haven't heard back from the recruiting center, and its been about two weeks as of tomorrow. So hopefully next week i get a ringer, and if not I'll probably phone and ask whats going down. -Cameron

 

[Hansol]

UPDATE:

Got a phone call today while i was at school from the Calgary recruiting center. I have my apptitude test scheduled for Nov 22 at 8:45am.

 

[AoD71]

Thats good. I hope your application process will go without a hitch! It turns out that I just finished it all for my application for Reg F 031, and I am just waiting for the call to sign the contract or whatever. What I wanted to know from you guys is that I would really like to have my eyes lasered, but would it cause complications for me if I work for the CF? I wouldn't do it if it causes me a lot of trouble, but I heard the results are excellent. Good luck with your app!

 

[George Wallace]

:

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/30942.0.html

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/32573.0.html

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/33536.0.html

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/33891.0.html  (French)

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/26417.0.html

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/28672.0.html

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/25631.0.html

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/28987.0.html

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/36211.0.html

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/12747.0.html

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/36540.0.html

 

[AoD71]

Thanks! I tried looking, but I couldn't find one similar to my situation - they are mostly about pilots and Lasik. The 4th one from the bottom is the one that I needed to read. Thanks again 

 

[Hansol]

howdy. Yup, my lasik turned out damn good. 20/20 vision now i'm told, and my prescription before being lasered was -7.50 in both eyes. That is VERY BAD. Cheers -Cameron

 

[AoD71]

I've got 20/40 in one eye and 20/80 in the other. I am near-sighted and it doesn't bother me. But I think that in the field it would be nice to have good eyes. Do you think it is worth the trouble for someone who is slightly near-sighted?

 

[Hansol]

i dunno boss. its $4000, so you have to want it. I love it, because basically my situation is this: Before = Can't read the big E on the eye doctor's chart. In fact, can't even hardly see the chart. After = I can wake up in the morning and see the alarm clock and get annoyed because it is early, and not have to put my face right up to the damn thing in order to see it.

On another note, I have my aptitude test tomorrow. Damn am i nervous. -Cameron

 

[Hansol]

UPDATE:

Nov 22, went into CFRC Calgary to do the aptitude test. The test was scheduled for 8:45am, so I showed up for 8:30. There were 7 of us, and we were taken upstairs to the 8th floor, where we all sat down at computers.

A instructor gave us a modest amount of paperwork to fill out. Mostly just agreeing to terms and signing and dating things. Then she instructed us on the use of the computer, and how to get the headphones set up. After that, we put the headphones on, clicked "continue" and some crazy looking dude appeared on the screen and started telling you the instructions for the test.

The test is fairly simple. You have 45 minutes to complete a total of 60 questions: 15 spatial, 15 Word Comprehention, and 30 Problem Solving/Math. This test is not difficult. Just trust me. Review some of your basic math skills before hand, and you will have no problem.

We finished the test, and a Captain came in and had us fill out a substance sheet, ie How many drugs you have done. I checked off Alcohol, Nictotine (cigars), and Caffeine. You have to provide the date (month/year) of when you started using the substance, the last date you have used it, how many times in total you have used it, and lastly the frequency of using the substance.

After that was finished, the Captain took us back downstairs. He talked to some of the guys from out of town and informed them about their interview and medical scheduled for that afternoon. The rest of us he said could go. We weren't told about our score on the test, and nobody was taken aside and never heard from again, so whatever that means.

I just finished leaving a message with my file manager about when I can schedule my medical and interview, and will let you know how that works out. Cheers -Cameron

 

[Hansol]

UDPATE:

File Manager phoned me back. Now that I look back on it, it actually didn't take that long. Its been 5 working days since I wrote the aptitude test, so there you go.

I now have my medical booked for Dec 1 and my interview for Dec 7. I'm assuming that after I complete those, CFRC Calgary will have me phone the gym who conducts their fitness tests, and will finish that up. It would be nice to have all the testing done before Christmas.

I don't know if there is truth to the whole "speeding up recruiting time" but this is going pretty damn fast so far. Don't know for sure, but I think the fact that I had my eyes lasered might slow down the medical process. But we'll see. Its all just speculation on my part. Cheers -Cameron 

 

[LordVagabond]

Hansol: I am going through the application period myself now, and at CFRC Calgary! (high five to fellow calgarian) While yuor application may be "speedy," from talking to the recruiters at CFRC Calgary, I can tell you that you may be waiting up to 6 months to get out on a BMQ if accepted. They said that while there are lots of positions open, there are not that many people signing up this winter. This is all heresay from the recruiting dudes, however, so I have no clue if what I'm saying is even accurate, but there you have it  :warstory:

 

[Hansol]

UPDATE: Dec 1

Well, here we go... Apparently my laser eye surgeon filled out the stupid form wrong, so i have to go back and get a different one filled out. I also made the mistake of mentioning that I used to wear non-prescription orthodic insoles, which in turn allowed me to be given another sheet that I need filled out about why I have to have the insoles, and whether or not i can function without em. Of course, at the bottom of this sheet, it says "physician signature". The kicker is the guy who makes the insoles isn't a physician...

So i phone the recruiting center up and say "What the hell?" and they say "uh, um, have your family doctor fill it out." To which i reply "thank you ma'am." God damn paperwork.

If you wear insoles, but can get by without them (ie if you completely frig up your ankles and kness and can't function without them) don't mention anything about it. Cheers  

 

[AoD71]

Are you talking about the same insoles I put in some of my shoes to make them more comfortable?

 

[Hansol]

yeah basically. unless you have a medical condition that requires you to have doctor prescribed insoles, you don't need to mention using them.

 

[Hansol]

UPDATE: Dec 2

Went all over town today getting the extra paperwork done. Family physician filled out the form about the insoles no problem. Next did a trip back to the eye surgeon, telling him that the Warrant Officer says the laser eye form wasn't filled out right. He looked at it and said it was, so i was left going "Well what the hell...". So I did a trip back to the CFRC to ask them what the deal was, and they said some medical nonsense about eyes and refraction and this and that, and said it would be okay if my Optomatrist filled out a different form that just asks about my visual acuity. So I went there, and they told me my regular doc wasn't in, and all of the other ones were booked solid both today and tomorrow. They gave me an appointment for 10:30 on mondy, and hopefully that will be then end of that.

On another note, I have my interview on wednesday, so that will be at least one good thing to look forward to over the weekend, instead of dwelling on this paperwork nonsense. -Cameron

 

[Spazz]

Geez sounds like your having one hell of a ride signing up. I'm just at the start of my application, have my aptitude test and interview on monday. Well all the best on your interview.

 

[Hansol]

UPDATE: Dec 5

Went to the optomatrist today and got my eye thing sorted out. Don't know exactly what the problem was, but it was some sort of conflicting information. But I had a new sheet filled out with my eye data on it, handed it in at the recruiting center, and they told me everything is good and they will ship it out wednesday. So there we go.

I forgot to detail what my medical was like, so here we go:

I showed up, and did some paperwork. Checked off a whole bunch of "yes/no" questions like "have you had a hernia" or "have you had surgery" or "have you ever been hospitalized over night" etc etc. There was about 25 of those boxes i think. After that, you did he piss test. Very straight forward, just go in, have a pee, and thats that. I made sure i drank about 2 glasses of water before i left for the recruiting center, so yeah.

Next we did a vision test. Same as the one the eye doctor gives you, just read the letters on the wall. Then we checked weight/height, alls i did was stand on a scale while the private checked my weight and height. Next was a hearing test. They locked me in a sound proof box with some headphones and said listen for the beeps. You are given a "clicker" that you press every time you hear the beep. There are about 4 pulses each time, and they get quieter and quieter as you continue.

After that i was taken to another room where a Warrant Officer checked me out. She sat me down and asked me a bunch of medical history questions, the medical history of my family, all that junk. I really don't know the medical history of my family, so for some of the questions I didn't know the answer. Then she had me strip down to my boxers (dont go commando that day) and poked at me, checked my heartrate, my blood pressure, knee reflexes, strength of my knee joints, my feet and ankles, had me stand up and checked how I walked, checked curvature of the spine, strength of grip, circulation, uh, just basically everything you would get from your doctor on a check up. And no, there was no "turn your head and cough".

So yeah, that was basically the medical. Hopefully all went well. Now I have an interview on Wednesday, and then i just have to schedule a fitness test, and then its just waiting. -Cameron