I want to join, will my background give me any formal advantages?

[Shaolin555]

So I've been giving alot of thought as to joining a local Infantry reserve unit. I toyed for a long time about becoming full time but would be hard pressed to leave my job as a police officer for financial reasons. That being said I spent my entire youth as an army cadet and still have this unsatisfied bug inside me. I want the satisfaction of the training aswell as being able to serve my country on the home front and eventually on deployment. As mentioned I am a police officer and member of police tactical shooting team. While in army cadets I was privy to all marksmanship training programs (summer camps) as well as the typical field craft training received. I am also a university graduate. I don't see myself wanting to be an officer despite the lean from my qualifications, so my question is....

Will my background have any bearing on my reservist entry? after basic will I be more likely to advance?

Any info reflecting on this or joining in general would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Teeps74]

From my experience as a past recruiter for a reserve unit, I can say that a candidate who presented them self well, had a decent resume, would go further up the priority list when there was limited numbers. Your job experience tells us that you do handle authority well, you are physically capable of passing the courses, and you will very likely dedicate what you can to our "family". You are also likely going to have some innate tactical acumen.

This said, caveat time. When I was doing recruiting, 90% of my files were hand written. The only thing my radiation box was used for was email and a poor excel spreadsheet to track phone numbers. I was a recruiter in the 90s.

My current experience as a WO in a reserve unit... Cops make EXCELLENT CL A soldiers! (See para one for my arguments) All of our guys in two uniforms are very long term guys... The least "experienced" having 15 years in green. That dedication would make it an easier sell for a cop to get into my unit.

As to advancement, the simple answer is, when you prove yourself to us, can you get the time off from your det or platoon to go on career courses ranging in length from 3 weeks (the shortest, but also further up the food chain) to 10 weeks, or more? This is sometimes a problem for LE. Can your police unit afford to lose you and are they willing to lose you for those periods of time?

For deployments, I do know of two municipalities that allowed their officers to deploy as soldiers (I am sure there are more, but can only mention what I personally know). It turned out to garner very favorable press in one instance.