Logistics Officer Specialty Questions - Army

[demystify9]

Hello everyone!

Brief Summary:
Currently, I am waiting for my enrolment date as a Log-O (Reserve), which will be followed by BMOQ this summer as informed by my recruiter.

I plan to either stay as a Reservist - provided I get plenty opportunities to work in a Class B service, or if not I will look into transitioning into Regular Force. I am 36 years young.

I understand that I have to choose from these specialties - Supply, Transport, Finance, HR, Food Services etc. I have a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and I also have an extensive experience for about 10 years in inventory planning and allocations of various fashion merchandise at a retail industry, hence the industry-specific terms like supply chain, logistics, procurement, stock replenishment, distribution etc are somewhat very well-known to me.

Questions:

1) Which one out of all the specialties will be more inclined towards my experience?

2) Will my experience help in bumping my rank after I join or will I be considered as a blank slate?

3) I read somewhere in one of the forums here that Logistics will be mostly divided into LSO (supply, transport, and other specialties) and LFO (finance). Out of curiosity, why was LFO created separately among specialties just for Finance? Does this mean that Finance will have a bigger scope in future if I take that path? (if thats the case then it makes me wonder if I should do some undergraduate courses on business administration while I wait to complete my LOCC training)

4) Since I have psychology degree which is completely different from what my work expertise are, will choosing Human Resources as a specialty makes more sense? I like working with people. (But I may not be utilizing my 10 years of experience that way)

5) Will choosing different specialties affect my chances of getting future contracts if I wanted to stay at my base and the opportunity not being provided at that location?

6) Lastly, will I get chances to work more days as a reservist before i finish my occupation training or how will that impact after if any different?

Apologies for a long post - I'm humbly look forward to advices from any experienced current or previous CAF personnel. (Or suggestions from any new recruits who is going through the same). Answer to any of the questions would be a massive help. Thank you in advance.

 

[MJP]

From the list of current specialties Supply fits into your experience best, but the best LogO is one that can work across all domains. Outsides of very specific roles almost every LogO is better knowing across domains than being pigeon holed into a specialty. The supporting arms don't care that you have X specialty they just want CSS planning, advice and execution. The more you can deliver the better.

The LFO/LSO split was done to move away from stovepiping folks into niche employment streams (like Supply, Transport, HR etc) and create a well rounded LogO that can be a generalist in any of the common areas one would find LogOs. LFO was split specifically because they are already essentially split. It won't have a bigger scope just defined employment and different promotion stream as a sub-occupation

 

[demystify9]

From the list of current specialties Supply fits into your experience best, but the best LogO is one that can work across all domains. Outsides of very specific roles almost every LogO is better knowing across domains than being pigeon holed into a specialty. The supporting arms don't care that you have X specialty they just want CSS planning, advice and execution. The more you can deliver the better.

The LFO/LSO split was done to move away from stovepiping folks into niche employment streams (like Supply, Transport, HR etc) and create a well rounded LogO that can be a generalist in any of the common areas one would find LogOs. LFO was split specifically because they are already essentially split. It won't have a bigger scope just defined employment and different promotion stream as a sub-occupation

Thank you for your response. Its highly likely that I will be choosing supply as my first preference followed by finance. But yes, I also am willing to support and work across all domains as deemed relevant. I'm positive this will be shared by the team once I become a part of a function. Looking forward to it.

This answers my Q1, 3 completely; and 2 and 5 partially. I would love to have more insights from you on other questions if you have anything to add Or anyone else who reads this thread. Thank you once again for taking the time to reply.

 

[sarahsmom]

2) Will my experience help in bumping my rank after I join or will I be considered as a blank slate?
Your experience won't count towards promotions as such, but your experience may help you score higher than your peers when it comes to promotion boards. It won't be counted/looked at by the CAF (as in this person has 5 years experience and that person has 10 years experience), but likely it will show in your work ethic and be recognized that way.

 

[MJP]

Thank you for your response. Its highly likely that I will be choosing supply as my first preference followed by finance. But yes, I also am willing to support and work across all domains as deemed relevant. I'm positive this will be shared by the team once I become a part of a function. Looking forward to it.

This answers my Q1, 3 completely; and 2 and 5 partially. I would love to have more insights from you on other questions if you have anything to add Or anyone else who reads this thread. Thank you once again for taking the time to reply.

I didn't answer the other questions because I don't know or they are super highly variable.

I get you are eager, that is good. Unless you want to go Fin, don't focus on the specialties they are lies. A LogO should be well rounded in all domains.