Ahh,
This is all music to my rather jaded ears. I was a Res F NCM from 1980 to 86, before embarking on a Reg F commissioned career which takes me to the present, with 2 years left to serve before 20 and a modest pension. I want to do something entirely different (eg. try being a civvie) for the other half of my life, so I am pretty much set on pulling the pin in Dec 06. I am going to spend some time away from the Army (transfer to Sup Res vice P Res), just to give things a fair shake on the civvie side.
Here's the rub. If (more likely when) I joint the P Res, I have zero intention of joining the local P Res infantry unit as an "ex-PPCLI Major". I know exactly where that ship is sailing - DCO tomorrow, CO in 2 years, and "done" for all meaningful intents and purposes thereafter. No thank-you, very much! If/when I join the Reserves following my 20 years in the Regular Army, I will be doing so as a long-term interest on MY TERMS. And quite simply stated, doing so as an ex-Regular senior major isn't going to allow me to enjoy that particular part-time pursuit. Instead, I would expect to be railroaded into a series of senior jobs that I have zero desire to perform. Hey - if I have zero (and I mean ZERO) desire to command a Reg F battalion in the "Army of Today", why the heck would I want to endure all of the same administrative headaches and nausea to command a Res F unit with 30 troops on the armoury floor? Sorry - not in my personal game plan.
Nope, my personal intention is to retire from the Reg F, take a few years to get established in my desired civilian career, and then rejoin the P Res (having been an NCM from 1980 to 86). Here's the kicker - I fully intend to do so as an NCM. I pitched this to the DMCARM representative at the SCAN seminar that I attended over the last 2 days, and this ex-military (fairly) senior civilian DND employee was utterly flabbergasted. "Downward mobility" is apparently not a common occurence within the CF. Indeed, based on her comments it would seem that I may very well be the first to elect such a path. Great! I love a challenge!
In any case, in my particular circumstance it appears that the "way ahead" is to retire from the Reg F, and when I am confident that I no longer require my Queen's Commision, to write a letter to the Governor General resigning same. I was told by the DMCARM lady that even if I were to entirely release rather than elect the Supplementary Reserve, my commission would follow me around for life. So, it has to be formally resigned with a letter to the GG. No worries there - once I'm out of the Reg F and established in my civilian life, I will have zero further use for the commission. The letter is a mere formality to render me a "true" civilian. Then, apparently I can rejoin and pursue my desired part-time Reserve service as an NCM Weapons Tech in the local Service Battalion.
The interesting question arises as to rank/qualification equivalency. And this is where the decision whether to transfer to the Supp Res or simply opt out entirely comes into play. I am told (as of yesterday) that the Supp Res is still the way to go. The DMCARM rep told me that this is the case because as member of the Supp Res, the adminstrative caretakers will be forced to undertake a qualification equivalency study when I retire my commission. The converse being total release from the CF, where this time-consuming process would only be initiated when I desire to join the P-Res. So, it sounds to me like the Supp Res is the way to go, due entirely to concurrent activity in terms of re-evaluating my station in military life.
I have toyed with the idea of getting completely out, resigning my commision, and then joining in my "twilight years" as a "clean candidate". In other words, as a plain-jane recruit, subject to BQ, SQ, etc. Quite frankly, I think that the entire process would be an utter hoot at 45 years of age with my personal background. I can play the "gray man" rather well, having played that very game as a Res F Sgt transferring to the Reg F as an OCdt back in 1986. Been there, done that, had an absolute ball. Chances are however, that I would end up with a bunch of NCM qualification credits by virtue of my 20 years of commissioned service. Of course, my way around a bunch of that is to switch trades. I have no intention of joining the P Res as an infantryman. I want to be an EME Weapons Technician within the local Reserve Service Battalion.
Anyhow, I won't bore you guys with my personal aspirations any longer. I simply thought that my tale of (very seriously intended) "downwards" mobility within the CF would strike some of you as mildly amusing.
If you are in Edmonton, give it roughly 5 years and look around your armoury floor. You will very likely see an older looking recruit standing around with an EME cap-badge on his noggin. If all goes according to plan, that would be me!
Cheers,
