Alrighty! So I will have to get right into my current situation (any and all information shared, I am fine with people knowing);
Age: 28
Weight: 150lbs
Height: 5'8-5'9
No children
No spouse
Build: Thin - Fit
Currently I am traveling across Canada on a motorized peddle bicycle I've built, so far I've clocked in six and a half weeks camping out in the woods with a couple campgrounds and rest stops here and there. I've traveled over 1500 kms exploring and adventuring along the way. I've traveled from Winnipeg, MB to Edmonton, AB so far and plan to travel to the coast, then back into the mountains, either to the Jasper or Banff area for the winter. I'll be setting up a short term shelter and camp to live through the winter to test myself and gain more skills and experience in the field of survival.
As for my current skills, it's hard to start at any one place, but I have experience doing nearly everything, my current skills are (descending order in years);
Painting (industrial & residential) - Automotive Body Technician & Painter - Cook - Drywall - Carpentry - Roofing - Concrete (industrial & residential) - Fencing - Landscaping - Flooring & Various other general labor jobs over the years.
I also have HR training and went to college for Business Administration, I've operated a couple different business (auto-body, residential painting and video game design). I have a small amount of experience in 3D design, modeling and animating, along with a small amount of computer programming knowledge. I'm quite skilled with Windows Office and computers in general (as most are my age - plus my Business Administration training), along with basic accounting and database software
I can grasp onto many languages quite well and enjoy learning them, currently I know "Hello" and "Goodbye" in over a dozen languages. I would love to become fully English - French bi-lingual and can understand a good majority of most French, unless it's spoken quickly. I can also mostly understand people speaking different languages incredibly well by paying attention to conjunctions and body language.
I can also gauge peoples emotional state, understanding and comprehension extremely well and have used that as an ESL teacher when I was in High School (I was graded as having university level reading, comprehension and writing when only in grade nine and was offered to be an ESL teacher because of those skills). Also, while in high-school and junior high I was both a student counselor (conflict resolution & student distress relief) and a part of the Student Counsel, I excelled at both roles. I gained more experience with all of those skills by being a security guard at the Canada Post office in downtown Winnipeg.
I excel in leadership roles and training others, because of my patience, understanding and ability to operate while under pressure. I full well understand the knowledge and skills needed to be a leader and look forward to being with the military to hone those skills and gain more applicable experience for any scenario. :cdnsalute:
Now that everyone reading this has an understanding of me, my current situation and skills, here comes various questions;
If I join the Reserves, is it only for the Army, can it be for Navy and Air reserves? (Altogether, or individually?)If I join the Regular Army, can I be a part of all three or am I limited to one?If I am limited to one, which would be best suited for me? (I would love to be a pilot, paratrooper and also be trained for ground based Special Operations, if possible)What part of the army is best suited for someone who wants to travel and see the world? (I would be traveling the world regardless of joining the military)Because I am also very spiritual and have studied various religions my entire life, I would want to be a Chaplain, but would not want to be forced into a prohibition of bearing arms. Is there a way that I can still work as a Chaplain within the military?I feel I would be extremely suited as an officer, though would not want to be stuck behind a desk in any regard and would rather "get my boots wet" until I am incapable of serving at my best, is being an officer limited to desk duty?I am not the greatest long distance runner, in any regard, what is the average recommended distance that I should train for? (I can walk for what seems unlimited kilometers, I've still yet walked a distance I couldn't handle, though with my 50-60lbs of gear I can walk easily 10 kms)- Which position within the military allows me to gain the most varied amount of skills and experience?
Added questions after reading and researching other posts that were not clearly outlined in the original post/thread:
- Because I have no set residence and just travel and live where I want to (not quite a "homeless person" but still have no mailing address or place of residence) will that make it more difficult for enrollment? I live and work wherever I want to and live a free life, not being held down by conventional living standards and am a very clean well kept individual. (You wouldn't guess that I was actually homeless unless you asked me.)
- Where should I apply to if I live in this type of situation? I am going to join the regular forces and do everything full-time and live on base for the duration of training before deployment. (If at all possible)
- There are many choices of trades to take within the military and I am still unsure what would best suit my abilities and keep me challenged. When I was 19 I went to a recruiting office in Winnipeg and the recruitment officer was looking to get me into logistics... I'm not going to work as a warehouse person. (I honestly don't care about the paycheck, what I care about is the skills and experience I gain and what the military needs from me.)
When I join, I would like to do full-time training with very little respite between, am I forced to wait for specific dates for certain areas? Or could I simply travel to a new training site and continue training?From the answers given Navy is a great way to travel and as mentioned, that's if you are LUCKY, though I'm not interesting in only port cities and want to focus on humanitarian missions for the most part. Because of all my current skills I feel I would be an asset to crews helping to rebuild or stabilize countries currently experiencing hardships such as Yemen, Syria, Sudan, etc.Is the 2.4 kilometer in under 12 minutes still a standard? From the links received they are mostly older posts, just making sure that information is up to date. I feel I can do that easily as that is no distance at all at a light jogging speed, which I am fine with, it is full out running that taxes me as I am a smoker, though will be quitting within the month while out in my mountain excursion.
I will most likely add to this list and edit (strikeout) it as answers are given.
I hope this is not too much for people to handle, or maybe it is just enough, in any case, if anyone has questions, feel free to ask, I'm an open book.
Thanks everyone for taking your time to read all of this and for taking your time to reply.
I look forward to potentially becoming a part of the family and can't wait to gain the skills and experience I am looking for!
Will Flett
After reading through all of the links posted I've gained quite a bit of insight to most of my questions, other than my current living situation, that I will most likely need to wait for a reply on the Navy.ca forum that was listed as "General Questions regarding your application".
The rest of the information most likely I will end up receiving after completing an aptitude test through a recruiting agency.
I am still hoping to find someone who could suggest what kind of trade I should apply to, something that can challenge me (often I get bored if not challenged), something that can keep giving me more skills of various kinds (which is the reason why I want to join the CF).
I also understand that the best mentality of going into the application process is to almost accept whatever you can "deal with" for the longest amount of time. Honestly, I won't ever settle for that kind of mentality, I'm not looking for "just a paycheck" or for the government to pay for "free university or college". Simply put, I want to make a difference while doing something I love, if I'm not doing that, I'll continue doing what I'm already doing, I have no need to live in the average/normal paradigm.
The top five things I love to do, in order;
[list type=decimal]- Help People
- Work in a Team
- Be a Leader
- Gain Skills & Experience
- Travel
Because of this, I figure
CF is the place for me, for life. :cdnsalute:
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