Women, Asthma, French, and Subsidized Education in CF?

[tcullum1995]

Hello world 
I am a dual CAN/USA citizen going into G12 in and am looking into a possible career in the CF. My questions are these:

1. In the USA, women can't have positions in armour, infantry, or artillery if they are in the direct line of fire (yeah, boo to those sexist yanks). Well, I like action. Is the CF the same way in disallowing women from being in infantry or armour?

2. I formerly was listed as asthmatic. This was cleared 1 1/2 years ago and I have not been prescribed anything for asthma related conditions since. I've read posts here that seem to say that you're alright if you've been cleared for at least a year, but I'm just trying to confirm all this before plopping down in the recruiting office in Victoria.

3. I am fluent in English and Spanish but have almost no knowledge in French. Is learning French a prereq. for joining CF or can they teach you?

4. Lastly, I want to know if there is a way to receive subsidized education without attending the Royal Military Colleges because they don't have any majors I would particularly enjoy pursuing for four straight years.

 

[medicineman]

1.  No

2.  You'll likely have to have your doctor fill out a questionnaire regarding your asthma.

3.  If you want to be an officer, they'll make sure you learn French.

4.  You'll have to talk to a recruiter - they're in the know about ROTP at civvy university.

MM

 

[tcullum1995]

For numero cuatro, it's pretty hard for me to get in touch with a recruiter without either playing ultimate telephone tag, or getting charged long distance for listening to Victoria's voice recording. I live in San Diego, which is basically Mexico.

I love you're signature by the way. Truer words could not have been spoken.

 

[aesop081]

For numero cuatro, it's pretty hard for me to get in touch with a recruiter without either playing ultimate telephone tag, or getting charged long distance for listening to Victoria's voice recording.

Regardless, they are the only ones who can provide that information to you.

I live in San Diego, which is basically Mexico.

:rofl:

You dont go to T-Town much do you ?

SD is so not Mexico.......

 

[medicineman]

There's always forces.ca - that should be at least a little helpful.

MM

 

[agc]

Ask them to call you.

 

[tcullum1995]

Well, looks like I'm going to kiss my 300 minutes on my phone goodbye. I do hope my asthma doesn't pose a problem in applying. It was bad enough convincing my mother to let me stop the prescriptions because she wanted to keep some 'in case of an emergency.' I really don't need the 'I told you so' from her either.

Regardless, they are the only ones who can provide that information to you.


:rofl:

You dont go to T-Town much do you ?

SD is so not Mexico.......

Been to TJ so many times, man. It's pretty boring there after about 5 trips. I like Ensenada better. I go to the Baja offroad race every year and it's always a blast there. Everything in Mexico is pretty cheap but their Coca Cola isn't all that great.

 

[agc]

You can also get a contact there and e-mail them.  One of the online recruiters should be able to hook you up.

 

[Oh No a Canadian]

As MM said www.Forces.ca will have a lot of answers to question your have, you can also chat to a recruiter on there (no long-distance charges).

 

[GAP]

I am fluent in English and Spanish but have almost no knowledge in French. Is learning French a prereq. for joining CF or can they teach you?

The romance languages are similar, especially when it comes to tense..................or so I'm told ........I took Latin....then they told me nobody uses it any more, not even priests.......sorta... ;D

 

[tcullum1995]

I tried to do the chat on forces.ca but my mac kept screwing up the connection so I wound up with an encrypted email back from it that I guess was supposed to be an answer. Luck just isn't on my side right now.  ???

I think I will try to phone for an email. I just wish they would list an email on forces.ca for specific recruiting stations.

 

[Pusser]

You don't have to be able to read, write or speak French to join or even become an officer, but if you do go the officer route, you will have to take French courses once you get in.

Unless you're aiming for nursing, physio-therapy or some other specialized degree, there are few majors that are not available at RMC.  Furthermore, if you did go for one of the specialized degrees, you would be enrolled in a related occupation (i.e. kiss good-bye any notion of armour or infantry).  In order to ensure you go to civvy U, you would have to choose a degree program that is not offered at RMC, that is still an acceptable degree to the occupation you do want and that you are such a fantastic candidate that they are willing to accept your terms.  In short, you may well get accepted into the CF (good luck by the way), but if you want the CF to pay for your degree, you should be prepared to accept going to RMC to get it.  On the bright side, Kingston is a lovely town!

On another note, if you already have some credits behind you and have been accepted to a Canadian university and do NOT require full subsidization (i.e. you have less than four years to go), then the CF may let you stay at the civvy U.  Another option for you (especially if want the combat arms) is to go with CEOTP, where you come in as an officer without a degree, but you have to complete one on your own time within a certain period of time.  I believe the CF still covers the tuition, but you need more specialized advice from the Recruiters for that.

 

[tcullum1995]

So based on what you're saying, it sounds like me wanting to go to a civvy U. and majoring in Laboratory Sciences (UBC Van.) and the going on to be a Armour Officer is just a dream.

I was thinking of getting a B. of Science with the Lab Sci major, then becoming an officer, serving my obligatory term as an officer, then hitting the reserves to go to med school, then coming back as a Med. Officer.

 

[agc]

So based on what you're saying, it sounds like me wanting to go to a civvy U. and majoring in Laboratory Sciences (UBC Van.) and the going on to be a Armour Officer is just a dream.

I was thinking of getting a B. of Science with the Lab Sci major, then becoming an officer, serving my obligatory term as an officer, then hitting the reserves to go to med school, then coming back as a Med. Officer.

The armour occupation accepts any degree.  Send a copy of your letter of unconditional acceptance with your application.  Once you have enough time in you can apply for the Medical Officer Training Program (a competitive process), and get transferred to the Medical occupation without having to release to the Reserve and sign back up.

 

[Otis]

So based on what you're saying, it sounds like me wanting to go to a civvy U. and majoring in Laboratory Sciences (UBC Van.) and the going on to be a Armour Officer is just a dream.

I was thinking of getting a B. of Science with the Lab Sci major, then becoming an officer, serving my obligatory term as an officer, then hitting the reserves to go to med school, then coming back as a Med. Officer.

Good Day,

Up until yesterday, I was a Recruiter, so I can help you ...

You can apply online on forces.ca ... that will get your process started without having to call long distance. Once your application has been recieved, you will be contacted and arrangements made to do your processing at the nearest RC (in your case, probably Vancouver)

To apply successfully for ROTP, you must have excellent marks, lots of community service, show physical fitness and leadership (i.e. play team sports)

Here's the possibilities for what you want to do:

First of all, in addition to your application going to RMC, you MUST apply to at least two other Cdn universities. You will NOT be permitted to choose where you will go to school. If RMC wants you, you'll go there, if they want to support you but they don't want you AT RMC, then you will be permitted to go to the school you wish. You're right that RMC doesn't offer Lab Sci ... when you fill out the essay portion of the ROTP application, make your case for why you'd like to take Lab Sci at Civvie U and hope for the best ...

Now, you understand that the contract for ROTP ArmdO or InfO is still 9 years right? It's not impossible for someone to join as an Operational Officer (Armd, Inf, Arty, MARS) and complete thier medical education and then become a MedO (I know a MARS officer that just finished becoming a Dr.) but it is definately not the normal path. Another option to this is for you to go and complete your initial degree on your own, get accepted to Medical School and then apply directly for the MOTP program (the CF will pay for your Medical Degree and when you're done you enter the CF directly as a Capt. and Dr.)

As for the asthma, the other posters are correct ... you will need to get a form filled out by your family doctor to confirm that you no longer suffer from it. Once you have done your medical at CFRC, they will give you the form and from that point on it can be mailed back to the RC.

I hope this helps ... good luck!

 

[CombatDoc]

The armour occupation accepts any degree.  Send a copy of your letter of unconditional acceptance with your application.  Once you have enough time in you can apply for the Medical Officer Training Program (a competitive process), and get transferred to the Medical occupation without having to release to the Reserve and sign back up.

What agc said, except that the program for serving military members to receive an occupational transfer/training to Medical Officer is the MMTP program.  MOTP is the program for those who are currently civilians.  Interestingly, the majority of our new MO's are coming out of the MMTP program and the number of MOTP graduates has been significantly reduced, all in an effort to increase the number of serving uniformed physicians.  Finally, if you're thinking of medicine down the road, unless you want to specialize in laboratory medicine/pathology, you may wish to rethink your intended program of study.  Good luck with your application to the CF.

 

[George Wallace]

What I don't understand, after reading the title, is why you just didn't save some time and go to the topics that we already have on:

Women in the CF

Asthma

Subsidized Education.

Even topics that cover language training.

Those topics would have given you answers so much quicker and in more detail.

 

[tcullum1995]

@CambatDoc: In the long haul I want to be an anatomical pathologist assistant, but first I need a non-desk job. I do little meanial jobs in a hospital lab right now as part of my high school curriculum and I find pathology interesting, so i want to shoot for that.

 

[theSeaDog]

Although this is posted in several asthma related threads with clear stickied titles, I'll share a bit of information as it will save you a lot of headache in the long run:
You're not cleared of asthma until you have done a methacholine challenge test or a pulmonary function test and are cleared from that. A note from your doctor saying you're good is hit or miss on whether the CF will medically clear you - unless you actually have the test  results to back it up.

You'll save yourself a lot of time and trouble if you show up to the recruiters with these tests already completed.

 

[tcullum1995]

Done and done. Flying colors. Methacholine test was not fun though.