The Reserve Thread- A Merged Collection of Q & A's

[duncan]

hey, okay im 16 and i got to beaverbrook, im on the lords(football), but i would rather be in the army, ive been thinking baout it for ab out 4 years and im not sure. can you guys give me a lil advice

 

[Sc011y]

I'm 16, in grade 11.  I just joined the Reserves and so far haven't had anyproblems.  Though yes, as previously mentioned, it is a bit hard to wake up on Monday morning and drag your butt to school after having like 4 hours of sleep the past night.  But as most people my age are in the market for work, I defiantly think it beats waiting tables or flipping burgers.

 

[Tucker.D]

I also joined the Reserves in grade 11 at age 16. I had no problems with school at all. There is usually a lot of time to complete homework and assignments even if you are doing your BMQ on weekends. Also, other jobs don't even compare to it, in my opinion it is by far the best job available and is well worth any small sacrafices you may have to make to have it.

 

[mainerjohnthomas]

Soldier of Fortune asked:

You can go to school and join the reserves without either having an adverse affect on the other.  In fact, in Ontario, you can join the reserves as part of your schools Co-op program and get highshcool credits for it.

  Yard Ape

    Soldier of Fortune, it is easy to go to school while serving in the reserves.  I earned a BSc in Developmental Genetics at UBC while serving in the 744 Communications Regiment.  The two complimented each other nicely.  Unlike most students, I was trained, focused, fit, and approached school as I did the military, as a job requiring my best, and getting it.  I did two semesters school, and one of active service each year, although I think I may have reversed that in 92 for a call out.  The vastly different requirements of school and service each served to keep the other fresh, and the differnet cultures made for greater sanity.  After a semester on campus, I yearned for the Regiment, for people with their eyes open and their heads not up their........  After a few months in the bush, with showers a thing of memory, and toilets only a dream, the candyass luxury of campus life, the spectrum of colours not green, and the profusion of babes made campus a thing dream of.  All in all, its a natural pairing.

 

[sirex]

whats up al hows it going. So Ive finaly come to the point where Im palmost 98% for joining the reserves in toronto. I will be joing the Queens York Rangers of Toronto. I will be puttin gin my application on Monday/Tuesday as soon as I can get my teacher/friends to fill in my reference part.
NOw I have a few questions, and yes I ve searched these forums but have not found adequate answers. My qeustions are as follows.

a) Once you are in the reserves is it mandatory to go away on the weekends? For instance, say for one of the months, I have exams the following week and going away on the weekend will hurt my study time. Will I have to attend?
-what ive read so far and figured out is that its not mandatory as long as you go on the parade nights and stuff like that. Please clarify this anyone thanks.

b) What sort of thing am I  in for. Am I in it for life? Can I quit whenever I want no strings attached? mandatory service? will I get pulled out of uni to go fight in some shitty little combat spot thats not worth fighting for? (I mean if its a war, id sign up and go for it anyway, but I mean small armed conflicts)


these are the only questions I have because I have not been able to get straight 100% answers.


Thanks alot, Ill be clarifying more up with my recruiter dude when I go in on Monday/tuesday.

 

[capt j]

Welcome to 32 CBG. I will give you the straight goods as follows;

1. Re weekend training, you get out of the reserves what you put in it. I presume you will be taking BMQ and SQ this summer? Once Sept rolls around your unit will commence it's training year 05/06. While it would be nice for all soldiers to attend all training most units understand things like exams etc. However I strongly urge you to inform your section commander when you cannot attend and if you say you will attend do so.

2. Re Terms of service, as a reservist no you do not have the same obligation as a reservist. by that I mean yes you can quit anytime you want, however think long and hard as to why you are joining is it just for the $$$$$$ if so don't enrol. Being a soldier is about service before self. I can assure you there are better ways to earn a crust of bread. I would suggest that there are no silly combat spot especially to those there. It is not for the soldier to question and pick his or her mission (albeit the Reserves have that luxury). At the end of the day it all comes back to service before self. Experience has taught me Reservist are generally right in line with their regular force brothers in arms.

Before you enter into the ranks of the precious few you should think about why you are joining........

 

[sirex]

yes. Its definately NOT for the money, because, its not alot of money, this is purely for self, and for country. However, Id like to be informed if you know what I mean and know what I am getting into so that I dont get somehow screwed over by the government.. As Ive seen videos about the the US reservists who seem to be getting screwed over. However, I do note that Canada is completely differnt then the US in how we run things.

In any case, thanks for the response.

 

[capt j]

No sweat, I am sure you will have a enjoyable summer. I be to differ on the money issue as an employer we are second to none when it comes to renumeration. The only catch is you will be worked harder than you ever imagined and at the end of the day I promise you will be a better person for it. You will look back on this summer with pride, pride in country, pride in self and you will be a member of the most exclusive club on the planet that of the profession of arms.

Best of luck remember what LUCK means "labour under correct knowledge".

 

[Pte. Albano]

I am planning to join the reserves in september, and have several questions. Will joining the reserves at 16 cause problems with school work? What will I do there? When I finish high school will being in the reserves help me get in RMC? Right now I am part of the army cadets. I am also wondering will joining the reserves make me quit the cadets.

 

[MikeM]

Welcome to Army.ca, you'll find the answers to a lot of your questions by using the search feature on this forum. Start with that, and if you still have any questions, ask away.

Cheers.

 

[jamesj]

Hi there!
I'm new to these forums, and I am currently attending university (ending 1st year). I am interested in joining the reserves, and I have a couple questions for those of you who already have. First of all, should I sign up for officer or recruit training? Do they both offer subsidized education? Which would be a more valuable and rewarding experience? I apologize if I have asked an obvious question, or left something out- I'm just new to this. Thanks for your answers in advance.
JJ

 

[Gunner]

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/21101.0.html

Go to the FAQ link in the recruiting forum.  About 1/2 way down you will see a list of links to various discussion on officer/NCM differences etc. If you have a specific question that is not located, feel free to post it here.

Good luck.

 

[jamesj]

Thanks for your help guys- I've found the local recruiting centre and plan on visiting later this week (after exams  ).

 

[Flex]

I've been hearing alot of stories on the reserves and how all they teach you is "how to march". I was wondering if it would be a beneficial thing to join the reserves before joining the actually CF forces. I would like to join the CF infantry forces in about a year and a half. Is it beneficial for me to join the reserves now? :warstory:

 

[DogOfWar]

the transfer process from the reserve to the reg force is a LOOOOOOONG process. But that being said they certainly do teach you alot more than marching. Its a good way to find out if you are really interested in being a lifer.

 

[humint]

Go to your local unit and talk to the recruiter. Watch a couple of videos. Talk to the people in the unit. I'm not too sure who the heck told you that you only learn how to march, but that is way off. You must be thinking of cadets.

 

[Bob the builder]

If you want to join the full time army in a year and a half then dont join the reserves.  The reserves teach you alot and its lots of fun, but transfering is a pain in the butt and will take you at least a year to complete.

 

[DJCamp]

Yes, you're definatly wrong that all they teach you is how to march. They teach you everything you need to know about your trade, so you would be qualified to do the same job as Reg Force personnel on deployments, etc. And just to clarify, the Reserves are part of the CF, there is no 'actual' CF. There is Reserves and Reg Force. Reserves are generally for people who have full time employment/students, and who are looking to do something extra. That being said, it would be a waste of time to join the reserves if you were gonna go reg in a year anyway, it may take longer to do both. Just wait and go regs. Transferring from reserves to regs is a pain in the butt. 

 

[PJ D-Dog]

I've been hearing alot of stories on the reserves and how all they teach you is "how to march". I was wondering if it would be a beneficial thing to join the reserves before joining the actually CF forces. I would like to join the CF infantry forces in about a year and a half. Is it beneficial for me to join the reserves now? :warstory:

The reserves does a lot more than just learn how to march.  You learn how to shoot and soldier.  If you are considering joining the Regular Force in roughly two years, why not spend that waiting time in the reserves?  You will accumulate pensionalbe time, get a taste for military life, get trained in a military trade and make some money at a good part-time job.

Although the process to transfer from the reserves to the regular force is long, my sources tell me that it is taking equally long to get into the regular force from civie street.

I can only assume that you are currently in high school.  Your best bet is to go down to your nearest recruiting office and check out the facts.  Good luck.

PJ D-Dog

 

[paracowboy]

never having served in the Reserves, I can't say for sure what you'll learn, BUT not having all the facts has never stopped me from having an opinion! 
If I had it to do over again, I would certainly join the Reserves while in High School and while wasting a lot of money in College. I say go for it.
I'm not certain about going 'quick-pick' taking longer than going straight from civvie street, but you can always check into it. If it would take less time, just get out of the Reserves, and enlist as a civilian. When I was going through Basic, there were (as best I recall) about 5 guys who had previously been militia, and just enlisted Reg force, so it can obviously be done.