Cadets and joinin‘ the Army

[Kitanna]

Hey. I‘m a Corporal (soon to be Sgt.) in Air Cadets (don‘t shoot me, our Army Cadet Corps is unorganized) and I plan on joining the Reg Forces. I was wondering what kind of trades or jobs or whatever are offered. I like computers and technical stuff. Also, how difficult it Basic? Because I‘m really little (5‘1" and 90 lbs) so yeah... do I never stand a chance of passing Basic?

 

[Kitanna]

Hey. I‘m a Corporal (soon to be Sgt.) in Air Cadets (don‘t shoot me, our Army Cadet Corps is unorganized) and I plan on joining the Reg Forces. I was wondering what kind of trades or jobs or whatever are offered. I like computers and technical stuff. Also, how difficult it Basic? Because I‘m really little (5‘1" and 90 lbs ) so yeah... do I never stand a chance of passing Basic?

 

[Da_man]

5‘1" and 90 lbs??? i doubt you can pass the strength test...

 

[Michael OLeary]

Army_Chick, the best thing for you to do is to talk to a recruiter about trade choices. We all know our own trades, and the few we have regular contact with, but none of us will be able to compare every trade for you to make an informed decision.

For an initial idea, try the "Career Chooser" at http://www.recruiting.dnd.ca/html/careers/career_chooser/

And as for size and strength, you‘ll never know until you try. You wouldn‘t be the first ‘small soldier‘ in the service.

Mike

 

[D-n-A]

I agree with what Michael O‘Leary said


If you are interested in doing something with computers and I assume related technical things, Sig Op might be somthing of interest.

If your concerned about the physical aspect of Basic, find out the physical requirments for your sex/age group
ie. how many pushups, set ups, strangth test, and the time of the 2.4km run.

Then do each of the tests, the strength test, I‘m not sure what you could practice for that.


Also, what your rank is in Cadets means nothing in the Canadian Forces.

 

[xtramag]

its gonna suck if she gets issued the job of packing a carl.g or erynx at battle school.

 

[sinblox]

To get ready for the strength test you should buy those little grip things that you squeeze. Should help you improve your score on it a lot if you do it enough, since it‘s the same motion you do on it.

 

[Danjanou]

its gonna suck if she gets issued the job of packing a carl.g or erynx at battle school

Really, probably no harder time than a guy would of that size would have.

It ain‘t all always about physical strength alone, sheer guts mental attitude play a big part too.

Besides would a good NCO/Officer saddle a smaller person with a heavy support weapon on regular basis? Nope you give those to someone who can handle them, meaning trained on it and able to hump it right. Otherwise when you need it and turn around to get it or give orders to the soldiers manning it, it ain‘t there.

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

Besides leaders that pick on the weaker or do stuff like that lose the respect of their personnel rather quickly.

 

[Jarnhamar]

Dragoon thats an understatement. I‘ve seen first hand how vicious troops can be when their leader steps on his d*ck and expects the troops to cover for them when they know full well if it was one of them in his spot he would leave them out to hang. Humility comes rather quickly.

Sometimes if im in a position to, i give a support weapon or whatever to the smallest weakest person. I do this to see if the person can carry theirt own weight or if they buckle under the pressure. I‘ve even done it as punishment, when your on day 3 of a 2 week ex and your goofing around then get stuck with the sf kit to the 84mm NOT to be traded off, you learn team work quickly, just like humility

 

[xtramag]

everyone should pull the load, if a small soldier gets the carl.g so be it, in basic a small recruit may have to carry alot of weight. because a soldier is small dosent mean we have to turn a taller soldier into the packing mule, if a small soldier was struggling to carry a support weapon or anti-tank i would would grab his/her ruck and pack it on my chest to lighten his/her load, if a soldier is issued a special piece of kit it usualy means thier a special soilder, and can be trusted to carry and use the weapon. if you cant pack the tool your given you shouldent be at the construction site, because a soldier is tall, stout, skinny, built, stocky or average shouldent decide how hard he has to work. if a soldier is smaller he/she needs to work harder. remember the little pearson is not always going to get the carl. g or mortar kit, everyone gets thier turn. somones size should never be used as a limiting factor in how hard they must work, we all signed up with the same requirments, we all know what were getting into, and we all understand that every soldier pulls his/her load, if the small pearson gets the anti-tank give the big guy the ammo, if tiny pearson gets the morter parts give the big guy the tube and somone else the ammo. everyone should suffer evenly

 

[Troopasaurus]

My suggestion if your worried about the physical aspect would be to go on AIC (athletic instructors course)at HMCS ontario for a summer camp. I spent my summer there and had a great time and it really got me into shape quick plus you get the traditions and all the rest of the fun stuff. You have to pass a physical test to get on the course but it isnt that hard just the usual air cadet fitness testing. If you have any questions email me (neal_carman@hotmail.com) or go the the AIC2003 site at groups.msn.com/athleticinstructor2003

 

[elscotto937]

I don‘t agree, maybe I‘m missing the point but first off, know your soldiers and use thier strength to your advantage. If you have a 5‘1" soldier then maybe that person is not the best one to carry the support weapon. However, that soldiers maybe a very fast runner, and you can always use a good runner. Or maybe their strength lies in the technical, often I could kill for a good sig.I‘m not saying that the same guy should have the support weapons all the time.... there are many people in the team, but there maybe be some that cannot carry the heavier equipment for a long period of time.

 

[Jarnhamar]

I think your right scott. Certian people are more appropiate for different weapons and roles within the section and platoon so it makes sence to draw on those strehghts. That being said everyone in the section or platoon HAS to be able to do every job if need be.

 

[Kitanna]

Yeah.. I was just worried I wasn‘t going to make it through basic. I really love the military and I probably would be really upset for the rest of my life if it wasn‘t part of my life. I‘m gonna try and work on my physical stuff. I also agree that strengths should be used strategically for the Platoon and such.

 

[Garry]

Army Chick,

Get yourself in good shape- lots of running, push ups, sit ups, and chin ups. As mentioned before, get in the habit of doing push up, sit ups, and chinnups every day- you‘ll be surprised at how fast you‘ll progress.

Small people do fine in PT...it‘s the big ones who tend to have problems.

 

[Danjanou]

Ghost and Scott are right. Part of the job of a Sect Com, or Pl Com and/or Pl WO, and for that matter OC or CSM is knowing who will get you the best bang for the buck with the support wpns, everything from the C9 up to the 84mm, GPMG, 60mm mortar etc.

Part of that is as already noted the physical strength to carry the **** thing. That by the way includes spreading the ammo and extra kit out.

Equally important is who can best use it. Those trained in it (QL4 MG crse for example) and/or the best shot with it. Ideally the big guy has the training too, but sometimes that ain‘t the case and a call has to be made. That‘s why those guys with all the fancy badges on their sleeves or shoulders make the big bucks (yeah right).

Yeah sometimes, especially on course, dumping the 84mm or whatever on some troop to better "motivate" him/her is done. Hey I did it myself. But to be honest it sometimes defeats the purpose and there are other and even more creative ways to "motivate" shall we say the "aggresively disadvantaged or physical fitness challanged infanteer."

 

[northamericanrebel]

I suggest a trip to KFC a bucket or two of chicken and biscuts should do it

 

[Slim]

Some good advise going down range here...good to see.
I personally found the mental attitude of the soldier ( or Candidate) is just as important, if not more so than the physical stuff.
What ever you decide Army_Chick I wish you luck!
Slim

 

[Slim]

If you‘re worried about your height don‘t be. There was an even shorter young lady on my basic and, although they had some trouble trying to get her combat boots, she got through just fine. She graduated Cornwallis in 1989.