Currently applying for MP in the reserves, my goal is to make it to a anti-terrorism unit in the future. My recruiter told me to not waste my time with the reserves if I want to do so and go straight into regular forces but I’m worried because I have a girlfriend that I want to stay committed to. Is a relationship in the regular forces managable? And if so could she come with me? (She works as a nurse so I’m sure she could find work nearby but does the CAF allow me to bring a partner?)
Is regular forces worth it?
- Thread starter pb101
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Plenty of people have had excellent relationships that outlast their RegF service despite the strains placed upon them. Your girlfriend needs to be committed to a new lifestyle and some forced time apart due to deployments and training before you make a decision. Yes, she will likely have good job prospects to move around but would also be losing senority and there may be provincial licensing issues.
It's good to have a goal like JTF2, but make sure you pick a trade that you'll enjoy in the event you're not successful on selection.
It's good to have a goal like JTF2, but make sure you pick a trade that you'll enjoy in the event you're not successful on selection.
Thank you very much for the reassurance.
If you want to do ‘anti-terrorism’ in a domestic context, you realistically have three options that I can think of:
1. Joint Task Force 2 with CAF. In a hypothetical situation where a domestic attack exceeds the capabilities of law enforcement, JTF would be cleanup in aisle 3. But outside of for real ops they will train for a lot of domestic antiterrorism stuff. Offhand I’m not aware of a domestic terrorism situation ever actually getting to the point where JTF2 resolved the situation, but conceivably it could have happened. I know they have been involved in real situations that came short of JTF2 ending it kinetically.
2. Join the RCMP and get into one of their Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams. They have the legal mandate to actually investigate and lay charges for terrorism offences, and they’re pretty busy.
3. Join CSIS and investigate threats to the security of Canada on the intelligence side.
None of these are easy or quick paths. All would likely be quite rewarding in their own right. Either the reserves or the reg force can be a stepping stone to all three. I’ve left out some more niche options like, for instance, the Ontario Provincial Police Provincial Anti-Terrorism Section; maybe the Sureté de Quebec have something similar. Any actual terrorism arrests would probably be a RCMP Emergency Response Team. But those three are the ones where you can reach and then do a whole career with an anti-terrorism focus. Without knowing anything more about your background that’s all I can offer. I’ll let others speak to the relationship side of a CAF career.
Yep those 3 were the ones I was looking at, my plan is to try out for CSOR then JTF2 and if it doesn’t end up working I’ll go towards RCMP ERT. You wouldn’t know if ERT takes previous military experience into consideration?
It certainly wouldn’t hurt in terms of skills. First you’d have to be a Mountie and give them a few years.
When you talk about ‘anti-terrorism’, what is it you actually want to do? The door kicking is a brief and rare aspect of that field, and the people who do that will spend most of their time training or operating on stuff not terrorism related at all. If you really want to make a dent in terrorism as a threat, the overwhelming majority of that is a security intelligence or national security policing thing.
I want to have the necessary training to ensure the security of our country in the event of a threat, I know ERT does a variety of different things such as hostage rescue, surveillance, and protection of critical sites/politicians. Which is also very interesting to me. I don’t personally mind the training every day even if nothing happens. Thank you for your information.
lenaitch
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I stand to be corrected but isn't RCMP ERT their tactical support to field and other units? No doubt INSET is one of them but their primary client would be to support field operations. An ERT unit in Ottawa might have a greater role in federal policing and national security matters than one in Saskatchewan who's bread and butter is more likely to be hostage/barricaded persons, high risk warrants, etc. You don't 'join ERT'; you join the RCMP and apply to ERT.
Correct. They’re a support unit that provides the kinetic portion for very brief windows of other units’ investigations. Very rarely would they be doing national security takedowns, simply because they’re very few in numbers compared to normal drug warrants, armed and barricaded suspects, etc. They’ll plan their own tactical options for a warrant execution, but generally would not be involved in the investigation at all, save possibly for if they’re used for rural surveillance. And yes, joining ERT would come after a few years of early career policing, likely on the road in some capacity.
