How New Recruits Are Treated

[Dacier]

I‘m starting BT in March, and the MOC will probaly end this time next year for me.

I was wondering, how long does it take for a new Private to be accpeted by his new peers? The people who i‘m joining will have been together for a while and of course have come through tough experiences together. I‘m of course expecting a time in the beginning where i‘m the new guy where people tease and what not. Does this period of being the "new guy" last a lengthy time? Or is the acceptance by the soldiers come quickly?

I would imagine there would be variables invovled depending on the attitude of the "new guy", and things like his age.

I‘ll be twenty-two when i‘m done training.

Any answers? Tips for being the "new guy" would greatly be appreciated.

 

[Dacier]

For some reason even when I‘m logged in, it will tell me I need to login to edit my post.

I forgot to add I‘m joing with the PPCLI.

 

[Jarnhamar]

Abandon All hope, yea who would recruit.



Depends on who.
If you TRY and be accepted by everyone then you‘ll stand out. Be yourself

 

[Sharpey]

It also depends on the members of the Regiment. When I was a wee FNG, new guys stuck together and were told to stalk chairs and sweep floors by the rest. Now, the new guys are being incouraged to mingle with us, both in uniform and out, I see it as a bonus to us and them. I feel a new recruit that feels welcome witll be a better asset to the Regiment.

 

[Michael Dorosh]

Depends on the individual too. Someone who tries his hardest to help others will be accepted. Some ****head who thinks he‘s King of the World because he had been a warrant officer in the Air Cadets and thus doesn‘t have to listen to his instructors in the Army will not make a lasting impression on his colleagues.... I think anyone with any sanity would quickly try and distance themselves from such an individual....

I am sure that isn‘t the case here!

 

[Jarnhamar]

God, how many times have i heard that
-"Uh why wouldnt *I* be section senior first i was an RSM in the cadets
-In cadets we did drill differently

We even had a private put in a memo that he be promoted to corporal off his basic due to his experence from the cadet corps.

Always good for a smile.

 

[portcullisguy]

I spent just under two years in cadets, hardly remember a thing, and won‘t ever admit it anyway.

Several of the "cadet" people on my BMQ course have thus far distinguished themselves as Class "A" arrogant little pr*cks, with similar whining and nonsense to what Ghost mentioned.

I think some of the people on my course believe it‘s a popularity contest, who can tell the best jokes and make the others laugh and basically get away with crap.

Well, it‘s only been four weeks, but it‘s been four weeks of surprises for all, I‘d say! Mr? I‘m enjoying it even more, looking forward to the next challenge... bring it on!

 

[toms3]

portcullisguy - all I can say is "hooooraaahh"!!

Regarding "cadets"...the best advice I ever gave to an ex cadet is for a currently running BMQ, I told him to NOT make a big deal about his cadet experance. Cadets that go on and on about how much experance they have end up being disliked by the other candidates. It ends up working against them.

I can remember on my own BT course (many many moons ago), the only candidate to fall out on our final ruck march was the cadet that always boasted about how much better he was compared to the rest of us.

 

[KOPEC]

i belive that cadets gain awsome experience for future military service. my cousin is in arty. he said cadets helped him know the info he just had to remember it

 

[combat_medic]

The only thing you learn of value from cadets is drill, boot polishing, rank structure, and to keep your mouth shut at the appropriate times. And most of the time these aren‘t even taught properly. In my experience, the cockiest recruits are always ex-cadets. They show up with a big attitude, and end up screwing up because of their overconfidence.

Example: on my basic there was an ex air cadet who was trying to show off with rifle drill. He ended up smashing the rifle into his head, cutting a 2" gash down to his eyebrow. Not only did he have to go for stitches, he had to explain to the instuctors how he got it.

Of course the exception to this is the cadet who keeps his mouth shut, doesn‘t brag about his cadet service, doesn‘t try to show off, and pays attention. This person will do farely well, if they can ‘un-learn‘ the bad cadet habits.

 

[canada]

I think that in the army there is a misunderstanding as to what cadets know and are taught. If any of the many reservists on the list have ever be to a cadet training night you would find that it is very similar to the PRES. Cadets gives young people who often have no confidence skills etc. What they need to make a start in life, giving them the building blocks to a sucessful carrer. Before all the, a cadet did this or that stories think about how much you did as a teenager. I was in cadets, I was an RSM, I never told a soul in the army and never was the over confident one who screwed up on BT. I silently helped my section and made up for the lack of insrtructional skill that the instructors had on my courses. I have seen a large number of corporals in the army who are ten times less efficent than cadets. How the army should more wisely handle the cadets who join, patriculary PRES is to utilize the skills that they have. I admit, there are a lot of dumb, cocky and down right slow people in cadets, compared to the rest of the army...there not doing to bad.
My comment stem from the fact that also, I and all the other trained troops at my regiment are treated poorly by the Senior Pte/ Cpls. The process of being a new guy is tough, being an immature ex-cadet will only compound your problems. I wonder if the M/Cpl who told me that I couldn‘t march knew that I had been on the national cadet drill team and compeated all over the place. -Your thoughts-

Some of my closest friend and the best soilders in the army were in cadets, many of whom are serving in elite units here and in other countrys.
:evil:

 

[Jarnhamar]

Cadets do teach teen agers good skills for life etc.. But i don‘t think the army should officially ‘reckognize‘ cadet courses or experence.
let an ex cadet prove himself along side his peers doing the same training and tests as them.


"I wonder if the M/Cpl who told me that I couldn‘t march knew that I had been on the national cadet drill team and compeated all over the place"

I think this is a good example. The Mcpl telling you how crappy you are at drill is a part of basic training. It‘s not about your past experence or what you did "in cadets" it‘s about you as a recruit in the army. I‘ve been told i hold my rifle wrong and have bad shooting posture when i have half a dozen shooting awards and this guy averages a 60 ont he PWT3. It‘s all a part of the game.

 

[combat_medic]

Not to get into a cadet rant, but I spent all summer this year on a cadet camp, and was (for the most part) appalled at what I saw. I had more discipline as a 6 year old in girl guides. The drill, even on the "drill teams" may have been in sync, but was not done the way the CF does it. Their barracks were filthy, and I saw more pregnancy tests run on 13 year olds than I care to count.

Yes, there were some cadets who were well disciplined and reasonably intelligent, but for the most part, their behaviour was deplorable. Hundreds of kids getting sent home for having sex in the barracks, running away from the camp, doing drugs, sneaking in alcohol, going to town and getting things pierced or tattooed (yes, i saw it first hand), kids trying to commit suicide, beating or intimidating other kids, kids who never showered or did laundry in 6 weeks, taking other kids‘ prescription drugs, faking major illnesses.... the list goes on and on. I‘ve never seen behaviour like this in a school, or on a military base (well, not to this extent at least), and I saw about 2000 kids this summer. Another friend of mine saw a huge genital herpes outbreak because a 15 year old girl was giving 5$ oral sex at a different camp. At another cadet camp, a 14 and 15 year old were sent home because they were whoring themselves out at 10$ a pop.

 

[Jarnhamar]

Boy the joys of being a medic.
You have a strange rash where? It hurts when you pee? HOW many condoms do you want??

Thats just brutal combat medic, you have my sympathy. Funny thing is you could tell the kids parents "your child is doing this this and that" and they will either deny it "how can my little innocent billy be stealing drugs?" or they blame the army.

It makes me proud to think those kids are tomorrows leaders and going to run things when im old.

 

[Pikache]

That‘s pretty ****ed up.
I hope the Cadets organization is doing something about this. Something like this is unacceptable.

The solution I see is tougher discipline, but I can see so many people screaming about that...

 

[BestOfTheBest]

I was in cadets like a year ago and I agree it should be more tougher but if it does get more tougher the you are going to get fewer people in it and your going to get parents are your *** saying why does my 12 year old kid have to run so much and get secrmed on so much.
Its different then the olds days by alot

 

[ArmyBoyzGurl]

holy crap. i‘m an aircadet (wo2) and i‘ve actually never seen anything like that. i‘ve been a staff cadet twice and i‘m happy to say that none of my kids ever did anythign that dumb. just to ask combat_medic.. were you at a tri service base, or army, or what?? cuz it all depends, you know??

 

[Wilson601]

Combat Medics post was incredible. i had a pretty good laugh, but i‘ve heard people talk about the Airborne like that too. :skull:

 

[Korus]

My view on Cadets is similar to Combat Medics. There where some very cocky ex-cadets on my BMQ, but one of the, if not the, sharpest recruit was an ex-cadet.

 

[muskrat89]

A couple of side comments in this thread bothered me, and I must make a point. One of the shortfalls (I believe) in the Reserve system is that (generally) a lot of goofballs get promoted, or to be instructors, or to go on callout - because they are available. Chances are they are available, because they have no job, no steady job, or are not valuable enough to be kept at their civilian job. This results in a lot of "Puffed Up Little Hitlers" being instructors, or going on callouts to give the Militia a bad name to our Regular Force compadres. Yes, I know their are exceptions. My point - I have instructed on a number of courses from Basic, and Trades, and Leadership - I never admonish a candidate, "just because", when it comes to skills. To correct drill or weapons handling skills, just for the sake of correcting it is just plain stupid. There are lots of opportunities to play silly bugger games with course candidates, other than when they are learning a skill. I had many a "conversation" (one-sided) with a young M/Bdr or Sgt, who thought being an a55h0le was the way to teach soldiers, and that their fecal matter had no odour. My 2 cents, anyway...