Army Communication & Information Systems Specialists (Sig Op, Lineman and LCIS Amalgamation)
- Thread starter JBP
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A+ Thread. Nice to come read updates every now and then.
Former LCIS getting spec pay unfrozen? Great
...but not all of the ones that qualified got it because of weird cut off dates...sounds about right.
LCIS guys don't even have test equipment at my unit. They haven't been able to fix a radio in years. Amps? No way.
I don't even know what their jobs are anymore. They sometimes do a very bad job at a comm suite for vehicles going to EFD, but other then that they maybe fix headsets?
Signing bonus for NEW recruits with no previous RegF time?
Awesome idea! Really makes all those ACISS guys that are sticking around feel good about what the military thinks of them. Retention has always been a problem with our trade. It wouldn't be red if after 4 years (or sooner) people leave. The job sucks the majority of the time. the Op tempo is high, the job is underappreciated and (as anyone knows) working with officers fucking sucks.
A heavy CP(2x carfor, 15+ centers) that was setup in December and blessed by everyone who is supposed to bless it all of a sudden isn't big enough. HUGE changes that happen half way through a 2 week exercise while people are on 12h shifts. And what do the people doing the changes get? Nothing but complaints about how the coffee name(yes, they request that we name each pot of coffee) hasn't changed in 4hours.
They ask for additional tents be made, which means heaters have to go into them, which takes away from the main CP. Then complain when it gets slightly cold in the CP. No shit.
Pte/Cpl hate their jobs. Surprise exercises. Unknown exercise requirements. Stretched thin because numbers are low but we are expected to do the job of a trade that is 100%. They will basically do anything in order to either get out of the trade and it is very obvious to anyone that is making things work.
ACISS Core isn't a specialist job. Don't go deluding young people into thinking it is to get the numbers up. 98% of the job we do can be done by a grunt.
/end rant
Seriously though. People are leaving for Wainwright in a month. The kit is getting loaded next week onto 53'. No one knows what the communication requirements for the exercise is. Not how many nets are going to be monitored in the main. Not the amount of laptops we will need. Not the amount of RRBs. Not which units are getting TSS or HCLOS. Not even what kind of capabilities we are supposed to provide. Nothing. It's insane.
Former LCIS getting spec pay unfrozen? Great
...but not all of the ones that qualified got it because of weird cut off dates...sounds about right.
LCIS guys don't even have test equipment at my unit. They haven't been able to fix a radio in years. Amps? No way.
I don't even know what their jobs are anymore. They sometimes do a very bad job at a comm suite for vehicles going to EFD, but other then that they maybe fix headsets?
Signing bonus for NEW recruits with no previous RegF time?
Awesome idea! Really makes all those ACISS guys that are sticking around feel good about what the military thinks of them. Retention has always been a problem with our trade. It wouldn't be red if after 4 years (or sooner) people leave. The job sucks the majority of the time. the Op tempo is high, the job is underappreciated and (as anyone knows) working with officers fucking sucks.
A heavy CP(2x carfor, 15+ centers) that was setup in December and blessed by everyone who is supposed to bless it all of a sudden isn't big enough. HUGE changes that happen half way through a 2 week exercise while people are on 12h shifts. And what do the people doing the changes get? Nothing but complaints about how the coffee name(yes, they request that we name each pot of coffee) hasn't changed in 4hours.
They ask for additional tents be made, which means heaters have to go into them, which takes away from the main CP. Then complain when it gets slightly cold in the CP. No shit.
Pte/Cpl hate their jobs. Surprise exercises. Unknown exercise requirements. Stretched thin because numbers are low but we are expected to do the job of a trade that is 100%. They will basically do anything in order to either get out of the trade and it is very obvious to anyone that is making things work.
ACISS Core isn't a specialist job. Don't go deluding young people into thinking it is to get the numbers up. 98% of the job we do can be done by a grunt.
/end rant
Seriously though. People are leaving for Wainwright in a month. The kit is getting loaded next week onto 53'. No one knows what the communication requirements for the exercise is. Not how many nets are going to be monitored in the main. Not the amount of laptops we will need. Not the amount of RRBs. Not which units are getting TSS or HCLOS. Not even what kind of capabilities we are supposed to provide. Nothing. It's insane.
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ixium said:
ACISS-Core could very well be a specialist but alot of people in the core part of the trade seem more than willing to give up tasks that rightfully should be theirs to ISTs or CSTs. The vast majority of the help desk roles should be core, same goes for the small executive kits and their maintenance. Most of these jobs were done by Sig Ops before the change and suddenly we pretend that core isn't able to do anything other than make coffee and setup mod, which is completely wrong.
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Most of those Sig Ops transferred over to IST and iirc the new ACISS Core trg does not include UNIX or Win Svr installation and basic administration, etc where the old rad op/sig op ql3 and 5 did.
The point of IST was to take anything not related to supporting green radios out of the grey zone between LCIS and Sig Op. Now we have a bunch of people in IST getting furious that our tasks keep getting pulled to core or CST because LCIS or Core used to do that job. Yeah and it was a dogs breakfast hence IST.
We also have people operating small kits that have no clue how to update the cards, so the entry point maint project I've been pushing has been stalled another couple months. So NO, Core does not have the skills to operate these kits in the field for long periods of time, and we do need ISTs on them.
- Reaction score
- 3,426
- Points
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c_canuk said:
That's a training issue, not a skills one. Be careful claiming a trade as not having the "skills" required, if they were never given the training to start with. Remember this whole gongshow started as everyone pretending they could be a SigOp as a secondary duty, and it wasn't that hard.
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PuckChaser said:
If they have the aptitude and training to be an IST, they should be in the IST trade. That's the point of having an IST Trade. If they elect to stay core, that's the job they should be doing.
If you want to argue for the standing down of the IST trade and merge it back into Core and CST, be my guest, but the current reality is that Core are Operators that are supposed to be running CPs and CNR; possibly deploying end nodes for IT. ISTs are supposed to be administrating the Servers, Switches, Routers to provide IT infrastructure. (For you CSTs who are claiming that's a CST job, you're supposed to be looking after the infrastructure hardware installation/rack management/hvac managment/lifecycle/TCI/Power management/Red & Black separation/emsec/transec/etc, not administrating operating systems regardless of the platform it runs on - imo)
Having previously been a Rad Op I know that there is a particular set of skills that a good Operator needs to exercise. They shouldn't be pulled away from their Core Jobs (punny) to supplement IST. Core shouldn't be taking IST Jobs any more than IST should be taking Core jobs. Most ISTs won't be able to handle 4 nets in a CP, I can... or at least I could 10 years ago the last time I was in a CP, but most ISTs could not so we should not get into the habit of making them CP operators because a handful of us can do it. sure when there is no pressure an IST might be able to fumble through it, but what happens overseas when SHTF? you want a seasoned experienced operator in there. Not an IST. Not when lives are on the line. Anyone who looks down on operators as unskilled needs to get educated. Comms are life.
Are there fringe areas that Core could do? certainly, but not all Core have the skills/aptitude/training to do so. Therefore, it's good practice to use the proper trade. Sure, Core can handle minor helpdesk tasks like password rest, profile debugging, folder/mailbox permissions, but once you start getting to the scales of launching a deployment, no they can't. It's not their AOR anyway.
We need to lose this "If I wear the Jimmy cap badge" mentality that seems to be prevalent. No other branch does this. You don't see Supply Techs and Fin Clerks swapping roles do you? It's all paperwork revolving around money right? Of course not, the fine details are important because they make or break you.
Attention to detail. Used to be seen as important. It still is.
Hello folks,
Thanks for taking the time to look at my thread here. I've got a few questions about how I might be able to serve with my current skill set.
I've got about a decade of experience in an IT MSP. About 4 of those years have been spent in management. Everything from helpdesk to data-center stuff. I'd like to take those skills and put them to work in the reserves.
Here's the catch - I work for a family business.
So, with that (and the whole husband/father hat that I wear separately), I'm more 'anchored' to home than a typical tech might be. I've been reading far and wide about this trade and am more than willing to head to BMQ on weekends and for the required 6 weeks or so for BMQ Land. Currently 30 years old and am in the best shape of my life - would actually be excited to take the above courses!
A more specific question - on the site regarding the trade, it lists a training program that is 18 weeks long. I've seen it spelled out differently online - that the reserves course for ACISS is 8 weeks long or so.
I'm going to head to a recruiter tomorrow to firm up some other questions, but I thought I might connect with an existing reservist here on that note...
- Is the ACISS trade course 18 weeks long?
I'm hoping it's not. The bare fact of the matter is I wouldn't be able to take off from our shop for that duration.
Thanks for taking the time to look at my thread here. I've got a few questions about how I might be able to serve with my current skill set.
I've got about a decade of experience in an IT MSP. About 4 of those years have been spent in management. Everything from helpdesk to data-center stuff. I'd like to take those skills and put them to work in the reserves.
Here's the catch - I work for a family business.
So, with that (and the whole husband/father hat that I wear separately), I'm more 'anchored' to home than a typical tech might be. I've been reading far and wide about this trade and am more than willing to head to BMQ on weekends and for the required 6 weeks or so for BMQ Land. Currently 30 years old and am in the best shape of my life - would actually be excited to take the above courses!
A more specific question - on the site regarding the trade, it lists a training program that is 18 weeks long. I've seen it spelled out differently online - that the reserves course for ACISS is 8 weeks long or so.
I'm going to head to a recruiter tomorrow to firm up some other questions, but I thought I might connect with an existing reservist here on that note...
- Is the ACISS trade course 18 weeks long?
I'm hoping it's not. The bare fact of the matter is I wouldn't be able to take off from our shop for that duration.
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PRes ACISS DP1 is 2 months. Shoot me a PM and I can try to answer any questions you have especially if you're in Alberta. In some brigades if you apply now there is a possibility you can get enrolled in a few weeks.billydee said:
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Don't discard other trades right away. I'm a firm believer that as a reservist, doing a trade that is different from your civi job is the way to go. For example, my day job is fairly blue collar, jeans and steel toe boots and in the reserves I'm a Public Affairs Officer... It's a good mix for me.
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ACISS Reserve
Not sure if you have seen this discussion, but in case you have not, there is an ACISS super-thread,
Army Communication & Information Systems Specialist
https://army.ca/forums/threads/77029.1575.html
64 pages.
As always, Recruiting is your most trusted source of information.
Not sure if you have seen this discussion, but in case you have not, there is an ACISS super-thread,
Army Communication & Information Systems Specialist
https://army.ca/forums/threads/77029.1575.html
64 pages.
As always, Recruiting is your most trusted source of information.
DO IT.
I'm a civilian senior manager in IT with 20+ years experience. I joined the Army Reserve four years ago. Army has been a great experience and I still have my civvy career. You may find that the ACISS trade will complement your civilian work. Many of the soldiers in my Regiment have technical civilian roles (i.e. IT support, helpdesk, IT managers, SAP consultants, etc). We run weekend Exercises about one or two per month September through May.
Feel free to PM me; especially if you're in Toronto.
I'm a civilian senior manager in IT with 20+ years experience. I joined the Army Reserve four years ago. Army has been a great experience and I still have my civvy career. You may find that the ACISS trade will complement your civilian work. Many of the soldiers in my Regiment have technical civilian roles (i.e. IT support, helpdesk, IT managers, SAP consultants, etc). We run weekend Exercises about one or two per month September through May.
Feel free to PM me; especially if you're in Toronto.
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They really need to slow down this pay review, I don't want them to feel rushed or that they didn't have enough time to iron out details.
- Reaction score
- 3,426
- Points
- 1,160
There's a working group going on this week, to determine what the trade structure going forward will be. I highly doubt there's any pay review ongoing, as 2 of the COAs were pretty heavy restructures.
At least the legacy LCIS got their pay back, so we have the breathing room to get it right this time.
At least the legacy LCIS got their pay back, so we have the breathing room to get it right this time.
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PuckChaser said:
NO WE DIDN'T
Even that has been a total screw up. The order that the CDS signed was riddled with mistakes and misinformation. ( whomever drafted that order was clearly not properly informed ) Therefore, some that were not affected by the " freeze" in 2011 received a 20k payment. ( apparently they will have to pay it back) Many former LCIS who went IST have yet to receive backpay, and almost everyone above the rank of Sgt( CISTM) has yet to receive back pay. In fact, WO's and above received a negative pay balance and a nice monthly pay cut on top of it.
There is another review and apparent approvals required to " fix" this back pay fiasco.
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