someone to talk to

[Catherine]

hey
i‘m interested in joining the canadian army but theres no one i can talk to my age who as the same asperations as me. (infantry)
I feel kinda alone and maybe someone could talk to me about this.
It‘s tough being the only 15 year old girl who wants to be in the army.
i talked to a recruiter but still, i‘m sure there are other people out there like me.
please send me a message, thanx
catherine

 

[Sharpey]

You came to the right place then. Lot‘s of people on here who are willing to talk.

 

[Etown]

Hey Armygirl,

I know how you feel. I‘m not (nor have I ever been) a 15 year old girl but there‘s not a whole lot of sympathetic people in my circle of friends that I can talk too either. Try being 26 and telling your friends that you want to quit your $80,000/year job to join the army. That doesn‘t go over real smooth, probably shocks the **** out of half the people on this board too.

If it‘s what you want to do, you‘re definately on the right track, talk to everyone you can find, the more you learn before you apply the clearer the decision becomes.

If you‘d like I can ask my sister to e-mail you and she can tell you about her experiences in the reserves, and even her reasons for turning down an offer in the reg force. She‘s in England now so it‘d be all e-mail but better than nothing. Let me know and I‘ll drop her a line.

 

[Fader]

Not that I‘m questioning nor scrutinizing your motives to do so, more like I‘m curious, but why would you quit you‘re $80000 a year job to join the army?

Armygirl, if you want a humerous description, albeit a highly contraversial, and pretty much completly irrelevant one. PM me about it

 

[ProPatria05]

Lui - I have a feeling myself and others are going to follow you around this forum.

Unlike yourself, some of us are in (or joining) the Military not because of what we can squeeze out of it.

I am married, with 2 kids, and also have an $80,000+ job. I dreamt of the Infantry my whole life, and was accepted into RMC in 1991. I turned it down for idiotic reasons that seemed important when I was 18. After regretting it for 10 years, I joined the Reserves. After my first course, I realized that I should have joined 10 years ago. I am now in the process of CT‘ing to the Reg Force. My pay will be less than half what I make right now, my material lifestyle will suffer, my wife and kids will be uprooted (with her support, of course). None of that matters to me.

Get it? It‘s not about the pay, or the freeloading, or the tuition money (as your insulting little poster indicates).

As for Armygirl, do her a favour and spare her the self-involved whining you clearly intend to give her, and avoid taking a $hit on this girl‘s dream of joining the Army.

 

[Zoomie]

Well done Murph...

There must be something in the name "Lui", I know of someone else by that same name in a 38 CBG unit that expresses many of the same ideals and lack of commitment to the CF as this one does.

Army Girl, stay committed to your dream, ask us lots of questions, this forum is better than any recruiting website.

 

[Pikache]

Right on, Mr. Murph

 

[McInnes]

I just recently turned 16 and am in the process of joining the army. I know a 16 year old girl who wants to join the army, and then become a field nurse when she graduates. But anyways, you are not alone for being female and wanting to join the army. Just beware of the indefinate paper trails they like to make at HQ... :crybaby:

 

[Etown]

Thanks Murph. Pretty much sums it up.

Lui - In my 10+ years of full time work I‘ve managed a retail store, been a data entry clerk, a director in a start-up company, the systems administrator for an ISP, a corporate accountant for Whistler/Blackcomb, and made 2 feature films, 3 tv movies and one tv series. In all those jobs the most important thing that I‘ve learnt is that money is a poor measure of success.

The best job that you can have is the one that you truly believe in. I‘m not talking about believing that IBM makes good computers, I‘m talking about believing that computers are important, and that they need to be made, and I need to be the guy to make them. This is the way I feel about the Canadian military. This is the way a lot of people on this board feel about the Canadian military. This is also the reason that you get so much flak for you seemingly lax stance in regards to your position in the armed forces.

Now I don‘t want to get into a debate about how slack or not slack you might be, in fact I‘ve been carefully avoiding them, but you‘ve got to stop trying to justify yourself to everyone on this board. Frankly I don‘t care why you don‘t try as hard as you used to. I can‘t change your behavior and I don‘t aim to try, all I can do is hope you are a more motivated student than you are a soldier and that you will quickly find your place in the world, leaving the soldiering to those who have never asked themselves why they try so hard.

 

[Dire]

I applaud both Etown and Murph.

If I was in the same position as you (with kids and all) I don’t know if I could join the military. Reasons why I couldn’t join are because I couldn’t be away from my children for that long.

If I’m correct, both of you want to join the infantry right? If so don’t you gotta live in barracks for the first couple years?

I’m 20 been outta school, juggled a few jobs and couldn’t find the job I wanted. (that’s unless ebay Vancouver doesn’t hire me lol) For being a youngster trying to fit in the IT industry is quite hard. Especially since the IT industry in BC is really down right now.

I two have always wanted to join the military but I don’t want to be in the infantry ;P

So again I applaud you because your decisions must have come from the heart and really thought through.

 

[Catherine]

woah, thanx for the encouragement
it‘s tough being a girl in this trade lol.

 

[Redneck052]

There are a million and one reasons why one would not enlist in the military.

There are even more reason that you would! Regardless if you stay in for you BE, or you stay in longer it is up to that person. The fact of the matter is, I am a Canadian. I am a patriot. I am proud to be serving our country. The feeling that you get, helping someone, whether at home or overseas, is a feeling that cannot be explained.

Armygirl, you want to join, do it. Whynot give the reserves a try while you finish school, and then go to the regular force. And as for your friends, a true friend will understand your letters from a trench.

Food for thought for you:



"It is the soldier, not the reproter, who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves under the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag."

By Charles M. Province.




Good luck Armygirl!

 

[ProPatria05]

Redneck -- awesome quote. Too bad there‘s so many f***ing idiots living their soft little lives whose tiny little minds can‘t wrap their head around these concepts.

To quote Nicholson in "A Few Good Men" (something like this, anyway) --

"You sleep under the blanket of freedom that I provide you, and then question the manner in which I provide it."

I don‘t normally like using quotes from fictitious film or book characters, but this one has always struck a chord with me.

My grandfather and so many others risked their lives (and many gave them as well), only to have these $hitheads (press, university students and professors, hippie-wannabes, etc.) dump on the military every opportunity they get. They forget that the only reason they have the right to stand in public and act like a$$holes is because blood was spilled on their behalf.

 

[muskrat89]

My Grandfather was a Sergeant in my Battery, during WWII. My father, when I joined the Battery, was RSM. I didn‘t ever know a time when I didn‘t plan on joining. I made it to TSM. I may wander back someday, and officially fill the position I was aspiring to - BSM. My mother at some point, was a Finance Officer, my brother a Bombardier. We were a Militia family - contributors not only to our community in our civilian lives, but proud members of The Regiment, and all the history and responsibility that came with it.

 

[portcullisguy]

Murph -- well said.

Although I didn‘t quit my job to join the CF, I did similarly join partly to rectify my mistake earlier in life of NOT joining.

For me, I knew when I was younger that I wanted to join the "army". The problem was, I don‘t think I would have had the right mindset, and very likely would have ended up quitting within a few years and leaving with an attitude more like Lui‘s.

I‘m 28 now, I work full-time for Canada Customs, where I‘ve been proud to protect our borders in a civilian capacity for over five years. Life experience has taught me similar lessons as they have you, and in November 2001, I made the firm decision that I would finally join the CF as a reservist. This would allow me to serve Canada in two ways at the same time. It‘s a decision that was timed right for me, and one which I do not regret. Never before has the CF been as supportive of federal public servants who also serve in the military.

I can‘t say I still won‘t quit in a few years and leave with a jaded, slack attitude. But I am confident that I am not lying to myself about why my service counts, and I think that will help me stick with it for the long haul.

 

[rolandstrong]

I didn‘t make $80000 a year, but I had a decent job in a municipal government, awesome benefits and union. The job was good too...I was a fitness recreation programmer...fun stuff, and got stay in shape too. Unfortunately they did not see the importance of my summer trainning as a reservist, and would not allow me a leave of absence. I made a decision to quit, and went back to the militia after 10 years. I am 34, own a house, and have responsibilities. But to serve as an infantry officer was like a longing I could not shake. I needed back, and have been willing to restructure my life for it. I now have it, and no regrets. Great personal decision, and I am proud to serve with the best **** people in the world.

 

[Jailbait]

I joined the armoured reserves, and yeah ima chick. But I‘ve never regretted it, in fact the only people who have ever had a problem with me being in the militia are my parents. Although Im the only one of my siblings who has joined or even plans to join, my father refuses to bequeath me his medals from service. I am an army brat, so maybe it was just how I was raised but this is what I must do, and if you feel that canadian blood surging thru your veins and that burning in your heart too, then get the **** out there and serve and be ****ed whether or not your male.