Signal Operators?

[Sig_Des]

But not having LS Dvr Whl I'm surprised at.

I've seen it. Some had waivers, and got on course. Sucks when it comes to the field portion, though, and you base your Shifts on making sure the 1 driver gets his 8 hourse of sleep....

 

[Thanato]

I'm a reservist and I was told by my MWO that the LSVW driver wheel course is required before going on my 3s. So they put me on the course.

~Thanato

 

[Sig_Des]

I'm a reservist and I was told by my MWO that the LSVW driver wheel course is required before going on my 3s. So they put me on the course.

~Thanato

Yes, you are supposed to have LS to go on your 3's. You are also supposed to have your Lvl 3. But what happens, is that they'll give a waiver to the requirement.

 

[Ex Ranger Instructor]

This is a big issue that I complain about every time I get tasked to the school.  The last time I was there I had 8 dets in the field and a total of 9 qualified drivers to split between them, and this was on a QL5 course.  If 2 of my drivers had gotten sick, gone home or whatever we would have been in trouble.  It was also a significant issue because of the requirement to get adequate rest for drivers- if 1 guy is doing all the driving then he's the only one that needs to get any sleep, and the rest of the guys end up working non-stop to accomodate him.  The requirement for 404's exists for a reason and it isn't neccessarily correct to say that a waiver will be granted: it may be, if the school thinks they can get away with it.  When my guys start talking about the possibility of getting waivers to go on their courses I tell them that they're putting the school in a difficult position by even asking, and that if they have to ask for a waiver then they shouldn't count on being allowed to go.

 

[career_radio-checker]

This is a big issue that I complain about every time I get tasked to the school.  The last time I was there I had 8 dets in the field and a total of 9 qualified drivers to split between them, and this was on a QL5 course.  If 2 of my drivers had gotten sick, gone home or whatever we would have been in trouble.  It was also a significant issue because of the requirement to get adequate rest for drivers- if 1 guy is doing all the driving then he's the only one that needs to get any sleep, and the rest of the guys end up working non-stop to accommodate him.  The requirement for 404's exists for a reason and it isn't necessarily correct to say that a waiver will be granted: it may be, if the school thinks they can get away with it.  When my guys start talking about the possibility of getting waivers to go on their courses I tell them that they're putting the school in a difficult position by even asking, and that if they have to ask for a waiver then they shouldn't count on being allowed to go.

I second that, totally.

This is exactly what happened to me... except I was on my QL5 course. And in the school's infinite wisdom they combined the QL3 and QL5 course for the final field EX. I was supposed to be the det commander but none of by QL3 crew had their 404's for LSVW, so I was also the driver. I'm sure every sig-op knows CFSCE's strict adherence to doing everything by the book (ie wearing goggles while pounding in tent pegs  : ) so naturally I HAD to get 8 hours of sleep and log it, or get charged (And they were checking). By all accounts I should have been the one working the most shifts and giving my boys time to relax but instead they had to be up all-night without mentorship (staff didn't do the runthroughs the week before on the QL3 course). Naturally, if you don't know what you are supposed to do at night, 'sh!t starts to roll down hill' when the instructors come by. My 8 hrs became more like 5 with a MCpl for an alarm clock. "Why isn't your cam draped?", "Why are your troops asleep in the cab?", "Why are your logs not filled out?", "Why did your troops eat in the cab!" etc... Of course it was their mistake my fault, and now I had to go over there and yell at them. While I was mad as hell at their performance I knew their intentions were not malicious -- they simply did not know why they had to do the tasks I had assigned to them the night before.  I'm of the school of thought that a good mentor is with his troops participating and explaining the actions before giving responsibility over to them. Just telling them what to do is poor leadership in my books, and will teach them nothing.

By day three I was bagged and even thought of quiting, but to the tremendous commendment of my boys, they caught on fast and we went from one of the slowest det set-up times to one of the fastest. A testament to teamwork and how much of a numpty I would be without the support of others. One in particular was a freaking machine, he pounded the vixam mast into solid rock (the pegs are still there  ;D ) 

I did my best to go through the rounds and setup stages with my QL3 det members, and prepare them for their tests, while at least maintaining a minimum standard for my own responsibilities. But the fact that I had to be the driver and get the mandatory 8 hrs of sleep was a HUGE impedance on our performance and prevented me from properly overseeing the det.
That's why you should do your best to get 404s BEFORE your QL3s. Otherwise you're only screwing yourself, others, and will turn your det commander into nervous wreck -- unable to sleep at night knowing he needn't bother with an alarm clock.


A 

 

[PuckChaser]

I've never agreed with letting troops onto their QL3 without a LSVW drivers course. Even on the reserve end, the time is there to get the course done, and if people are dedicated to give up their weekends for 2 months to get driving time, why should we bend over backwards to accomidate them for summer employment?

CRC, your staff definately did no planning when they organized the detachments in that way, unless there were just so many with waivers (which I could believe).

 

[career_radio-checker]

CRC, your staff definately did no planning when they organized the detachments in that way, unless there were just so many with waivers (which I could believe).

Yes there were too many QL3's without their 404s (we had a 22 Rad-Van convoy!). I don't blame the staff. I blame CFSCE  ;D

 

[Sig_Des]

Yes there were too many QL3's without their 404s (we had a 22 Rad-Van convoy!). I don't blame the staff. I blame CFSCE  ;D

Not all the blame should be thrown at CFSCE. A big part of it is a) CoC not ensuring that training requirements are filled. B) Ops and Training staff knowing that training requirements aren't filled, and still nominating pers, and C) CoC willing to fill out waivers left and right.

On the CFSCE end...No 404s? No course.

 

[MOOXE]

Considering were short and undermanned, its better to send these members on course without 404's than have then wait in pat platoon for who knows how long. Theres no point for any soldier to be wasting away in pat platoon while theres room for them to be training. Ofcourse an effort should be made to load them on an LSVW course. Its only a small hardship to endure (a week in the field!) while on a QL3 compared to what else they will face in thier careers.

 

[Sig_Des]

Considering were short and undermanned, its better to send these members on course without 404's than have then wait in pat platoon for who knows how long. Theres no point for any soldier to be wasting away in pat platoon while theres room for them to be training. Ofcourse an effort should be made to load them on an LSVW course. Its only a small hardship to endure (a week in the field!) while on a QL3 compared to what else they will face in thier careers.

The problem is that then you get the pers sent directly to a unit from their 3's, without their 404's, it becomes a burden on the unit to organise training that these people should have already had. Especially if that member gets tasked into a, say, drivers position.

If it's such a huge problem, then add driver wheeled to the 3's course.

 

[211RadOp]

Back in the day (yes I am old), upon completion of Basic, we went to CFSAL and completed the drivers course to qual on SC, SW and 3 Tonne. When we got to CFSCE for our 3s, among the training before our actual Rad Op crse, we did the LFC Dvr Wheel to qual on Iltis and 5/4 tonne. This allowed for all members of the crse to be able to drive the Rad Vans on the final Ex, so that there was no problem.

Should CFSCE run the LFC Dvr Wheel crse? IMHO yes. This will allow units, particularly in the Reg F, to be able to employ the new members in a driver capacity. If they are run at unit level, and I will use my unit as an example, this adds one more crse that the members must complete prior to being fully employable here. In the past (and I'm only going back a couple of years), we have had to run the SQ, Dvr Wheel, PCF (NCCIS or Computer Admin trg) as well as all deployment trg. If, for example, a young Sig gets here off his 3s in Aug, his schedule for the next 6 - 12 months will consist of two weeks of death by powerpoint, a month or more of predeployment trg, a Tp level Ex, a Sqn level Ex and then either an NCCIS (2 months) or Tier level trg (2 1/2 months). Throw in leave, taskings, waiting for the crses to start, driver trg and the normal Regt routine, you are looking at close to a year before the young soldier is employable. If some of this can be done while in a holding Pl, then it would greatly ease the burden upon all units.

Just my .02