Why Did/Are You Joining the Armed Forces??

[Hunter911]

I want to join, not only because ive been interested in the CF since i was a child, but so i can feel like i made a change. Since i was about 13 (im now 16), ive been reading as many articles and papers as possible trying to get a clear view of what is happening in our armed forces. Many times ill be infuruated and want to jump all over our poloticians and make a huge fuss about it, but then realise that would do nothing. More than anything, i would want to be in the CF to try to make changes for the better, and try to change not only Canada, but the world, with what i feel i have to offer. I might seem like some young ambitious dreamer, but ever since i realised what i truley wanted to do, ive been working as hard as i could to achieve it!

I joined the Army for a few different reasons, I come from a military family, I wanted to serve my country, an I joined the reserves while I was still in high school, thought it would be a good way to make sure I liked the army before deciding to go reg force(which I'm currently doing), plus it beats working in McDonalds or some place like that when your 17. 2 years later, I haven't regretted joining up, I've met a lot of good people, got to do some cool stuff i never would have been able to do as a civvie, etc.

...Oh... and that too haha

 

[USSRsovietsnake]

I have a friend who was accepted into the navy and his reasons for joining were the money and because his dad told him it would be a good thing to do.

 

[quebecownage]

well i don't actually know why i joined cause it came so fast
probablty because there was no freakin' way i was going to work in a fat-peeps restaurant
and that's almost the only job where you get paid to hold and fire a weapon, play in the mud and get your hand dirty.

I don't have a military background in terms of family since my parents and older sister are Québecois Fançais as well as me. And above all , all my family but me are Québec nationalist...guess politic engagement does'nt get trough time.

Here's to Canada,the greatest contry on earth

 

[Jay]

I'm at the point where I ask myself this question on a regular basis.  After having to think of it so often, I'm now starting to build my reasons for wanting to join. 

1. I've had a military interest for probably 5 years now, and have always regarded the CF with a high level of respect. 

2. I like the uniforms-- the CADPAT looks awesome, and I would be honoured to sit in a room full of people wearing it. 

3. I'm a student, so the possibilities with that are, honestly, a solid prospect and reason for joining-- although not my reason entirely. 

4. I'm currently looking for a job, and having a terrible success rate at best.  Being a member of the CF would certainly be better than any civilian job I'm going to find in Abbotsford. 

5. I want to be trained, I want discipline and responsibility, I want a purpose.

6. I look like a dirty hippie and severely need a haircut. 

If I roll all these reasons up into one, I get nudged a little closer to my recruitment office every day.

 

[GOMERPYLE]

[Stupid Content Removed]

 

[1feral1]

Ya moneys the best reason to join the forces.

from: Gromerpyle

This comment coming from an INDIVIDUAL who CONDEMS any Reservist who can't take summer training, calling them inferior to himself as he took summer training.

I see another great post has been written.

If you wanna troll/flame others or don't have the brain capacity to write a decent post, go to another website, as my patience with you has long expired.

At post No.13, and getting a RW at post No.4, you are setting a record, and have been repeatedly worn, and given a chance, but its obvious that you don't have any respect for others (yet alone yourself) on this website. If I was you, I would move on and go irratate people somewhere else. I think your minutes on this site are seriously numbered. Harassing others on here will not be tolerated.

 

[canadianblue]

Well if a person is going into the forces just for the money then they I sure as hell don't want them backing me up. As well with me the forces attracted me to the pride, tradition, and the basic job that the CF does. While money does come into play somewhat, its fairly minor in the decision making.

Golmer your post about reservists taking the weekend program instead of the summer one as being less of soldiers is fairly childish. I'm applying to the regular force infantry, and I certainly will have more respect for other members of the CF then you have.

 

[1feral1]

We're giving this 'manchild' (and I use that term loosely) an audience, otherwords fuelling his fire. Rest assured, the Mods know Gomer already, and are on to his games he's playing.

Cheers,

Wes

 

[RossF]

One word, opportunities.

 

[Infanteer]

Gomerpyle has somehow managed to put himself on the radar of more than a few staff members - he quickly earned himself alot of attention, and this last post will be exactly that, his last.

Bye, bye troll - have fun being an idiot on militaryphotos.net or something.

PS: I hope you like your award

 

[vangemeren]

I plan on joining the reserves because I want to explore all of my options for careers before committing full time. I don't mean it as an insult, just that I'm still trying to decide my future and I figure joining the reserves will give me a solid background for any future aspirations.

As a side note, could we replace the helmet on a gun symbol for banned members (where the maple leaves should be) and replace it with with Infanteer's award? I think it's more fitting for banned members

 

[mainerjohnthomas]

To start with, recruiting is not aimed at the vast mass of sheep we call Canadian voters, but of that small percentage that have within them the seeds of a professional soldier.  The limp image the gov't likes to portray of a "kinder gentler army, like the peace corp or salvation army, only less well dressed" won't get us the recruits we need. I get so tired of the surprise I get when I tell people that I was a soldier ("the Canadian army?") Offering us as a secure job for those that find looking for a job too challenging is also typical of the kind of useless crap you get from letting civilian hirelings who do not respect the forces they are supposedly serving do your advertising.  I joined for the challenge, for the adventure.  There are still a lot of would-be warriors out there, it is to them we should be pitching.  More than just our peacekeeping record, the performance of Canadian troops in Afghanistan has won them accolades from the American President, and the troops they served along side.  Ads showcasing our troops in action will appeal to those who have dreamed of facing the challenge of combat, the kind of young turks the combat arms has been running on since the dawn of time. With the Army transformation, ISTAR etc, the CF is becoming more technologically relevant, and presenting more of an attractive challenge for a new generation of technically sophisticated youth, yet in the minds of the Canadian public, such technologies are only possessed by our American brethren.  Show off the toys; if you want to recruit the kinds of people who can take our tech to the limit of its potential, show it off to the kinds of people who would give their left nut (or ovary) to get their hands on it.  Stop presenting the CF as some sort of multicultural encounter group, and showcase the strength of its fighting arms, air, sea and land, and you will see an influx of would-be soldiers.

 

[Fry]

My dream is to be a police officer, and I still maintain that... I also have the dream of serving the armed forces for however long I feel I need to.

I agree totally about showing off their weaponry and gear. I got to see the c7 and c9 in action when the reserves came out to a Canadian Ranger outing. I was amazed.

I'm currently in the recruitment process and hope to be off to bmq this fall at the latest.

 

[Jack Neilson]

Thanks for the replies.  There are some well-considered reasons and some not too different from my own purpose in joining in the mid 50s.  Britney Spears asked how things have changed etc.  I realize that I am using generalities here but they are based on personal and shared experiences and attitudes among my military peers at the time.  As today, there were many personal reasons for joining ranging from the it's a good job attitude to patriotic instincts but I believe I am correct in stating that for the majority it was for a sense of adventure, travel, and an opportunity to prove oneself.  Also, many of us thought that a new war was inevitable and would occur sooner rather than later though in contrast to many civilians few of us thought it would be nuclear.  WW II and Korea were recent events and most of our NCOs and officers from Capt up were vets of those conflicts.  Our training was directed toward this type of warfare where one fought an identifiable enemy and had reasonable fronts, rears and flanks unlike today when the enemy can be anyone and anywhere and is in many cases unidentifiable and/or indistinguishable from the civilian population.  It was not difficult to join up.  In my case day one consisted of application, testing and medicals, day two I was sworn in and began employment on joe jobs while waiting for transport to basic (about a week).  Basic was run by Corps or Unit (Navy and Airforce had their own basic training bases).  On arrival pers were employed in drawing kit, cleaning etc for about a week while waiting for a course to start.  Courses started about every two weeks on average.  In general most people were aware that Canada did in fact have a military, had a general idea of its purpose and at that time even the civilian population realized that it was not â Å“peacekeepingâ ?.  Another factor was that many kids joined the Army Cadets, Sea Cadets or Air Cadets and even some schools had their own Cadet Corps.  In many instances this engendered an interest in joining the military, regular or reserve.  Many had relatives who served during WW II and Korea and desired to emulate them  In general things are much more complex in today's world, both military and civil but I am pleased to note that the core values of potential soldiers, sailors and airmen haven't really changed that much.  I wish all serving members and those who plan to join all the best in their careers.
Jack
VVV

 

[Trinity]

I joined for free boots and combats
(I really did.. I was Punk with a mohawk on queen st.)

Now, 13 years later.. I'm a chaplain? 


And you tell me God doesn't have a sense of humour!

Its all about appealing to the individuals needs.  Apparently, mine
were very naive and warped.

 

[andpro]

One word, opportunities.

I could not agree more with RossF. I am joining because I want the opportunity for rapid career progression and the opportunity to learn skills you can't anywere else. But most of all (this may sound corny) to serve my country with pride and protect it. But that one is not very popular with teens today. People today are just lacking pride, which is the most important factor when joining up.

 

[Fry]

andpro,

Not corny at all... someone's gotta do it, and it takes a lot of balls and nerve to join the armed forces. Nothing wrong with having a bit of pride either... I mean, it is our country after all.

I know so many people that think they're big and tough, but if you put em through even 2 weeks of basic, I'd wager that they'd be crying to go home.

and finally, yes, there is a major lack of pride these days.

 

[jonsey]

1. I've had a military interest for probably 5 years now, and have always regarded the CF with a high level of respect.

2. I like the uniforms-- the CADPAT looks awesome, and I would be honoured to sit in a room full of people wearing it.

3. I'm a student, so the possibilities with that are, honestly, a solid prospect and reason for joining-- although not my reason entirely.

4. I'm currently looking for a job, and having a terrible success rate at best.  Being a member of the CF would certainly be better than any civilian job I'm going to find in Abbotsford.

5. I want to be trained, I want discipline and responsibility, I want a purpose.

Yeah, these are pretty much my reasons, as well. Especially #5.

 

[Fry]

If you really want the kids to join, you have to bring back the sense of pride. Tonight, my grandfather and I were discussing this. I would argue to say that the majority of kids in school today have no sense of pride for their country, nor do they care about past conflicts that we have taken part in. My grandfather was saddened to hear the few kids that were picked to do a few readings. They spewed it out as fast as they could and got off the stage as if it were a chore. I remember just a couple years ago when I was in school, no one cared for Rememberance Day, or about wearing a poppy, or any of that. They think that the types of things that just happened over the last few hundred years are in the past and can' t happen again, that it's just textbook material and nothing more. They're sadly mistaken.

 

[canadianblue]

I find that a major reason most youth's don't want to get involved with the CF is because this generation is probably one of the worst and most spoiled generations. This is truly the MTV Generation, even at my school in Alberta kid's are complete idiots and don't really give a shit about anything our country has done. For those who have pride in our forces and want to serve this country then come on aboard, I would be more then happy to serve alongside those types of people. But I don't want to serve alongside a person who think's their "gangsta" and gets enjoyment from watching bumfights, and collect "bling bling".