Thank you to the Administrators and all those who have posted on this site. I am a 40 year old civi journeyman Machinist/Tool and Die Maker who's not liking how the future looks in my chosen field. I tried the forces back in 1987, ROTP, had my heart set on being a pilot. I got accepted, but not for aircrew. I went to Chilliwack anyway, but the dissappointment put me on a path to failure and i didn't make it very far- my heart just wasn't in it. It took me a long time to get over that and to realize that I gave up way too easy; by then it was too late to become a pilot. Now, I'm happy the way things worked out, and I have been considering giving the forces another try. Its a much bigger decision for me now as I'm married, 3 kids, and deep roots planted on Vancouver Island. If it was just me, I would have been in the recruiting office a few weeks ago, but I know the forces will have a huge impact on my family, the children in particular.  The biggest problem I had back in 87 was that I knew almost nothing of the forces. This site has changed that. Being able to access such a wealth of experiences is invaluable. I know now that I am going to join, but I haven't finalized reserves vs regs and NCM vs Officer. I've been talking to a recruiter and gathering as much info as I can to make an informed decision this time around. In the next few days I will be posting some questions and would greatly appreciate any input.

March 4 and 3, at The Torch:
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blogspot.com/2010/03/video-and-presentations-conference-of.html

Here's the latest available, note videos of Generals Natynczyk and Petraeus (both pages below to be updated as material becomes available, agendas here).
http://cda-cdai.ca/cdai/uploads/cdai/2009/06/2010agenda.pdf

Update: Do read the piece by Jack Granatstein (March 4, Panel III), starts off slow and sweet but there's an awful lot of bite about the government (and the opposition) towards the end.  Very similar, I feel able to say, to much that we have been saying here...

Mark
Ottawa

From The Calgary Herald Saturday, March 6, 2010

DeWALT Canada, a manufacturer of industrial power tools and accessories, recently announced it will donate up to $50,000 to the Fallen Heroes Memorial Fund that provides grants to the families of Canadian soldiers lost in military operations.

"There is a real need for people to show their support to  the families of the fallen and to honour their ultimate sacrifice in the name of peace," said Lisa Twomey, founder of the Fallen Heroes Memorial Fund, in a news release.

DeWALT is the fund's first national level sponsor and Twomey said the company's financial commitment will help ensure that families of fallen soldiers are able to commemorate their sacrifice through a physical monument or by a donation to a favourite charity.

To find out more about the fund go to fallenheroesmemorialfund.com

CANFORGEN 060/10 CMP 026/10 051349Z MAR 10
ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE SPECIAL VOLUNTARY OCCUPATION TRANSFER PROGRAM (SVOTP) FOR 00010 INFMN
UNCLASSIFIED

REFS: A. ADM (HR-MIL) INSTRUCTION 05/05 NEW TERMS OF SERVICE (TOS)
B. MOSID ENTRY EDUCATION STANDARDS - HTTP://HR.OTTAWA-HULL.MIL.CA/DGMP/DPGP/ENGRAPH/REPORTS/EDUSTD(UNDERSCORE SIGN)E.ASP(QUESTION MARK)SEC(EQUAL SIGN)5(AND SIGN)CMPNT(EQUAL SIGN)REGF(AND SIGN)ORDER(EQUAL SIGN)TITLE(AND SIGN)SORT(EQUALSIGN)ASC
C. MINIMUM MEDICAL STANDARD - HTTP://HR.OTTAWA-HULL.MIL.CA/HEALTH-SANTE/PD/CFP-PFC-154/AN-E-ENG.ASP
D. DAOD 5023-2 PHYSICAL FITNESS PROGRAM
E. LFCO 24-02 PARA 13 PHYSICAL FITNESS
F. VOT APPLICATION FORM - HTTP://HR.OTTAWA-HULL.MIL.CA/DGMC/DOCS/PROGRAMS/ISS/CFAO(UNDERSCORE SIGN)11(UNDERSCORE SIGN)12(UNDERSCORE SIGN)APPLICATION(UNDERSCORE SIGN)FORM(UNDERSCORE SIGN)E.DOC
G. MP APPLICANT FORMS AND INFO PACKAGE - HTTP://HR.OTTAWA-HULL.MIL.CA/DGMC/ENGRAPH/INSERVICESELECTION(UNDERSCORE SIGN)E.ASP
H. A-MD-154-000/FP-000 APPENDIX 2, ANNEX D - HTTP://EDMONTON.MIL.CA/1SAQ/ASU(PERCENT)20WEB/BPSON/AN-DAPP4-TA651-ENG.PDG
I. CFAO 11-12

THIS MSG ANNOUNCES THE OPENING OF A SPECIAL VOLUNTARY OCCUPATION TRANSFER PROGRAM (SVOTP) FOR 00010 INFMN. ONLY THOSE INFMN MBRS WHO ARE QL3 (BQ3) QUALIFIED IN INFMN AND HOLD THE RANK OF PTE/CPL ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY

MOSID 00010 INFMN IS CURRENTLY OVER PREFERRED MANNING LEVEL (PML) AND ESTABLISHED ANNUAL OT PROGRAMS ARE NOT PROVIDING TIMELY RELIEF. IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE TARGET LEVELS, STREAMLINED PROCESSES ARE BEING PUT INTO PLACE THAT WILL ALLOW INFMN OPPORTUNITIES TO TRANSFER TO A BROAD SELECTION OF OCCUPATIONS. CONCURRENT WITH THE SVOTP, THE ARMY SIGNALS ATTRACTION TEAM (ASAT) WILL VISIT INFANTRY UNITS TO PROMOTE THE OCCUPATIONS OPEN WITHIN THIS BRANCH

ALTHOUGH NOT CLOSED TO IN-SERVICE AND EXTERNAL PROGRAMS, THE ARMY AND NAVY HAVE OPENED THE FOLLOWING PRIORITY OCCUPATIONS, WHICH ARE THEREFORE CONSIDERED QUOTE OPEN IN UNQUOTE:

00008 ARTYMN FD
00110 LCIS TECH
00129 VEH TECH
00327 EO TECH
00329 SIGNAL OP
00121 MAR ENG MECH
00017 NW TECH
00116 NE TECH(A)
00117 NE TECH(C)
00118 NE TECH(T) THESE OCCUPATIONS WILL NOT BE COMPETITIVE AND SELECTION WILL BE CONDUCTED ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS. PSOS NEED ONLY SUBMIT A LETTER INDICATING MBR S ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA AND THEIR RECOMMENDATION

IN AN EFFORT TO HELP BALANCE THE NUMBER OF INFMN, THE AIR FORCE HAS CLOSED THE FOLLOWING OCCUPATIONS TO BOTH IN SERVICE AND EXTERNAL PROGRAMS. THESE OCCUPATIONS WILL BE CONSIDERED AS SECOND PRIORITY QUOTE OPEN IN UNQUOTE TO INFMN ONLY:

00137 IMAGE TECH
00149 FIRE FIGHTER (REQUIRES FIRE FIGHTER MEDICAL IAW REF G)
00301 RM TECH
00302 ED TECH
00303 EGS TECH
00304 PH TECH
00305 WFE TECH
00306 CONST TECH AS THESE OCCUPATIONS WILL BE COMPETITIVE, PSOS ARE TO PROCESS MEMBERS IAW PPD 102. ALL FILES ARE DUE TO THE LOCAL PSO OFFICE NLT 15 APR 10

IN ADDITION AND AS A THIRD PRIORITY, MBRS MAY APPLY FOR ALL OCCUPATIONS NOT LISTED ABOVE THAT ARE CURRENTLY OPEN ON THE MONTHLY REASSIGNMENT LIST AVAILABLE AT THE LOCAL PSO OFFICE. THE COMPETITION FOR THESE OCCUPATIONS WILL NOT BE COMPETITIVE AND SELECTION WILL BE CONDUCTED ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS. PSOS NEED ONLY SUBMIT A LETTER INDICATING MBR S ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA AND THEIR RECOMMENDATION

CANDIDATES WHO HAVE ALREADY APPLIED TO ONE OF THE ABOVE MOSIDS UNDER THE 2010/2011 AVOTP/COTP/LOTP DO NOT REQUIRE ANOTHER BPSO INTERVIEW FOR THE SVOTP AS THEIR APPLICATIONS WILL STILL BE CONSIDERED VALID FOR THIS PROGRAM. THEY ARE ONLY REQUIRED TO INDICATE TO D MIL C 7-3 VIA E-MAIL AT (PLUS) D MIL C 7 AT CMP D MIL CAT OTTAWA-HULL THAT THEY WISH TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS PROGRAM

IAW REF A PARA 20 MBRS WHO ARE SELECTED FOR AN OCCUPATION TRANSFER AND DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH TIME REMAINING ON THEIR CURRENT TERMS OF SERVICE (TOS) MUST ACCEPT A TOS OF SUFFICIENT LENGTH TO COMPLETE A RESTRICTED RELEASE DATE/PERIOD (RRD/P). THE TOS WILL BE DETERMINED BY DMCA 4. REFUSAL TO SIGN A NEW RRD/P WILL CANCEL THE OFFER OF SVOTP

SELECTED APPLICANTS WILL NO LONGER BELONG TO THEIR UNIT UPON EFFECTIVE DATE OF OCCUPATION TRANSFER AND WILL BE POSTED TO THE NEAREST BASIC TRAINING LIST (BTL) OF THEIR HOME BASE

APPLICANTS MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA IAW REF I WITH THE EXCEPTION OF MINIMUM TIME AND INCLUDING MEETING THE FOLLOWING ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH TARGET OCCUPATION:

CFAT CUT-OFF SCORE FOR TARGET OCCUPATION
MINIMUM EDUCATION STANDARDS IAW REF B
MEDICAL CATEGORY IAW REF C
PHYSICAL FITNESS TEST IAW REFS D AND E

THIS PROGRAM IS NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH THE AVOTP/COTP/LOTP WHICH WILL REMAIN OPEN DURING THE SVOTP WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THOSE OCCUPATIONS LISTED IN PARA 4 OF THIS MSG

ALL APPLICANTS WILL BE PROCESSED BY THE LOCAL PSO IAW PPD102. THE OCCUPATION AUTHORITY (OA) REMAINS THE AUTHORITY TO CLOSE THIS PROGRAM AT ANY TIME

APPLICANTS MUST CHOOSE A MAXIMUM OF TWO OCCUPATIONS AND FORWARD THE AVOT APPLICATION FORM AT HTTP://HR.OTTAWA-HULL.MIL.CA/DGMC/DOCS/PROGRAMS/ISS/CFAO (UNDERSCORE)11(UNDERSCORE)12(UNDERSCORE)APPLICATION(UNDERSCORE)FORM( UNDERSCORE)E.DOC THROUGH THEIR CHAIN OF COMMAND

UNITS MUST SEND THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTATION TO D MIL C 7-3, MGEN GEORGE R. PEARKS BLDG, 101 COLONEL BY DRIVE, OTTAWA ONTARIO K1A 0K2

COMPLETED AND SIGNED VOT APPLICATION FORM
CF 285/LETTER AS APPLICABLE
UP TO DATE MPRR (NOT EMAA VERSION) DO NOT REPEAT DO NOT SEND MBR S PERS FILE AND/OR UER

PSOS ONLY ARE TO CONTACT CAPT P.D. TAYLOR, D MIL C 7-3, 613-995-6644 REGARDING POLICY AND SELECTION MATTERS. UNITS ARE TO CONTACT THEIR LOCAL PSO OFFICE CONCERNING POLICY AND SELECTION MATTERS

SIGNED BY MGEN W. SEMIANIW, CMP

For those who may not have seen this yet:

R 231605Z FEB 10
FM NDHQ CMS OTTAWA//CMS//
TO CANFORGEN
BT
UNCLAS CANFORGEN 053/10 CMS 017/10
SIC WAN
SUBJ: CANADIAN NAVAL CENTENNIAL PIN
BILINGUAL MESSAGE/MESSAGE BILINGUE

1. THE NAVY IS PROUDLY CELEBRATING ITS 100TH ANNIVERSARY IN 2010. IN
SUPPORT OF THIS IMPORTANT ACHIEVEMENT, THE NAVY HAS PRODUCED A PIN
TO HONOUR ALL THOSE WHO SERVE IN THE NAVY AND THOSE WHO WEAR THE
NAVAL UNIFORM THROUGHOUT THE CF

2. TO MARK THIS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT OCCASION I HAVE APPROVED THE
WEARING OF THE PIN BY ALL CF MEMBERS SERVING WITH MARITIME COMMAND
AND ALL CF MEMBERS IN A NAVAL UNIFORM STARTING IMMEDIATELY UPON
ISSUE AND UNTIL THE END OF CALENDAR YEAR 2010. WEARING THIS INSIGNIA
DURING THIS SPECIAL YEAR IS BOTH A DEMONSTRATION OF SUPPORT FOR A
NATIONAL INSTITUTION AND THANKS FOR THOSE WHO ARE SERVING, THOSE WHO
HAVE SERVED AND THOSE WHO WILL COME AFTER

3. THE PIN WILL BE WORN AT LEAST ONE CENTIMETRE CENTERED ABOVE THE
NAMETAG ON ALL ORDERS OF DRESS LESS THOSE OF A MATERIAL WHICH COULD
BE DAMAGED BY THE PIN (EG GORTEX). ON ORDERS OF DRESS WHERE THERE IS
NO NAMETAG THE PIN SHALL BE WORN IN A SIMILAR POSITION AND ON
UNIFORMS WHERE A BADGE IS WORN ABOVE THE NAMETAG IE SHIPS CREST OR
AIR FORCE OCCUPATION BADGE THE PIN WILL BE WORN ONE CENTIMETRE ABOVE
THE SYMBOL. THE PINS WILL BE ISSUED ASAP VIA THE OFFICE OF THE NAVAL
CENTENNIAL

Cheers to the 100th year of the Canadian Navy! 

Extract from the Governor General Throne Speech on March 3rd.

Today, however, a new generation of men and women in uniform continues to stand up for the values and principles Canadians hold dear. In Afghanistan, the Canadian Forces prepare for the end of the military mission in 2011 with the knowledge that – through great sacrifice and with great distinction – their efforts saved Kandahar province from falling back under Taliban control. After 2011, our effort in Afghanistan will focus on development and humanitarian aid.

In Haiti, the Canadian Forces have taken the lessons learned in Afghanistan and put them to use in very different circumstances. Their speed and effectiveness in deployment were and are unsurpassed in the world.

To serve Canada in the profession of arms is an extraordinary and honourable acceptance of risks, many of which cannot be foreseen, and all of which may have profound personal consequences for those who assume them. Our Government has supported our men and women in uniform not only in words, but by making the investments necessary to rebuild Canada’s military. Our Government will continue to stand up for our military and our veterans.

Our Government will change the unfair rules restricting access to benefits under Employment Insurance for military families who have paid into the system for years.

To further commemorate the sacrifices of our armed forces, our Government will bring individuals, groups and businesses together to build community war memorials.

Our Government has established the New Veterans Charter and an ombudsman, expanded the Veterans Independence Program and, in recognition of the gallant service of Allied veterans who fought alongside Canadian troops during the Second World War and the Korean War, reinstated benefits under the War Veterans Allowance Act. Our Government will continue to modernize support systems for Canadian veterans.

Honouring those who built this country includes recognizing the contribution of those who make their living on the land and the realities of rural life in Canada. Our Government will continue to support legislation to repeal the wasteful and ineffective long-gun registry that targets law-abiding farmers and hunters, not criminals.

Complete speech at http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/federalbudget/article/774523