Starting out

[HunnyPot]

My BF is leaving for basic in June and many questions I do have about exactly what happens once you leave....Time you are gone? Where? and of course trips home? Rumor has it...6 months total 10 weeks in Que and 16 in Ont. The thing is neither of us actually know anyone who has already done it. Any info would be cool...I keep reading about a 160km march...whoa you guys are brave just to do that...lol Also once it‘s all done do they base you‘re home location on which base you go to? Meaning living in BC you will end up in Alberta? Thanx guys for any info.

 

[HunnyPot]

Please have someone from administration remove this topic as my dear friend "armybozygurl" reminded me that this topic belongs in recruting thanx guys!

 

[kurokaze]

160 km? You must be talking about the French
Foreign Legion..

Anyway, I assume he‘s going Reg force.

In that case, he‘ll probably get posted whereever
they need his skills.. it may or may not in his
home town (though i do believe that they will
try to accomodate his first choice of posting)

Perhaps one of the reg force guys here can help
out..

 

[humint]

Kuro,

How is BOTC going? When do you do CAP-R, or whatever it‘s called nowadays? I‘m supposed to be doing both this summer in Gagetown. Anyone have an insights on how it will go? Any suggestions?

 

[muskrat89]

Gagetown is a wonderful place. Take lots of fly dope. The only time that you are not choking on awful reddish dust, is when you are drenched and muddy. Not much in between.

 

[SpinDoc]

Yeah, I recommend Deep Woods... the aerosol kind is great. Sure it‘s a bit bulkier but it REALLY sprays!

Plus a bug net (for your head) is essential for when you sleep. I‘ve woken up in the morning from itching and having my face feel swollen (although it really isn‘t, but it feels like it -- not a pleasant feeling at all is what I‘m trying to convey) despite having applied bug spray before going to sleep.

 

[kurokaze]

hey humint,

BOTP(R) is going good.. for the first couple of
weekends I was not having any fun at all and found
myself in doubt. But I‘ve gotten that thought out
of my head and am starting to have fun.

A sergeant told me that we‘re probably not going
to understand alot of why the instructors are the
way they are, but it will all make sense later on.
I‘ve taken some faith in that statement and I‘m
also somewhat motivated by the fact that after
only 3 weekends I already see improvements in
myself! Only gets me going even more..

CAP(R) for us is also during the summer. More
specifically, I believe its May 5th - June 6th at
Gagetown. I‘m working on getting myself there
this summer though I‘m really going to take it one
weekend at a time.

I talked to a 2Lt that finished his CAP(R) last
summer and he basically said that you should be
very fit. Mainly because they‘re going to march
you until you drop (so to speak). Also some of the
other officers I‘ve spoken to say that there‘s alot
of infantry tactics taught there, and investing in
a pair of knee/elbow pads may not be a bad idea.

I just did my first ruck march (a very short one)
with my unit this week. I had a jerry can filled
with water in my ruck - ugh.. aside some of the
pinching of the muscles in the shoulder area
(which is probably to be expected) I rather enjoyed
the march.. I look forward to building up more
endurance for the 13K march later on...

how about you?

SpinDoc, I‘m probably toast when I get to Gagetown.
Seems like bugs love to take bites out of me
24/7!

 

[Jarnhamar]

A jerry can filled with water and on your first march? Thats brutal. You should probably start with something lighter. Sure you can carry it through the march but i dont think its really going to do much int he area of improvement. Its like starting running by going for 16 KM runs. You might be able to do it but your body is going to pay for it.

 

[kurokaze]

yeah they wanted everyone‘s ruck to weigh
approximately 45-60 lbs. I thought I had mine
at about 50lbs or so, but I guess it was too light.

I felt kinda bad for some of my fellow recruits
though. Everybody had to have similarly weighted
rucks and some of the amm... how should I put
this... individuals with a smaller stature had a lot
of difficulty evening standing around with it on.

The only problem with the jerry can is all that
water swooshing around when you walk.. next time
I think I‘ll elect to put sandbags in my ruck
instead

 

[humint]

Kuro,

Not much for me right now. Basically, I‘m at the armoury every week trying to learn how not to be a greasy civ. and waiting to be sworn in -- apparently my file got lost somewhere between the recruiting centre and who-knows-where.

As for the ruck marches, I‘m hoping to be fit enough to get through it without looking like a boob. I‘m pretty good at the 5km business march in my suit with a briefcase, cellphone, and martini so I‘m hoping I will be good to go for Gage this summer.

Seriously though, any pointers on the fitness front for marching? I guess doing a few hikes with a pack would be well worth it. Would 40-50 lbs be a good weight to train with?

 

[SpinDoc]

40-50 lbs is probably not too bad a place to aim around. It really depends on your size. I have a tendency to try to lighten my load by whatever means necessary (at the expense of "comfort") when we go out into the field, but then I‘m not a big person and 50 lbs is like 40% of my body mass. Keep in mind that "other stuff" will be piled on top of you sometimes -- like shovels, radios, sledgehammers, etc... so don‘t be lulled into thinking "Oooh, I packed the PERFECT amount of kit to bring out into the field... I should be able to ruck with this no problem". Remember the first scenes of Platoon "You‘re humping too much stuff"...

The difficult bit of a ruck march is not just shouldering the load. The difficult bit is to keep up at the pace that is set. If you‘re lucky enough to be endowed with average to long legs, ruck marches can become routine. If you‘re shorter than 5 ft 6 then you really need to push yourself training up to it... need to practice the "airborne shuffle" (which is kind of a cross b/w a jog and shuffling) with your ruck.

Don‘t forget to hydrate yourself while you‘re practicing though...

 

[Pikache]

I‘m 5‘5", 120lbs so learning to ruck march properly was pain the anal region for me.

Few things I learned
-everything must be tight as possible. Less your ruck swings around, easier it‘ll be for you.
-ensure your shoulder straps as tight as possible.
-use the waist buckles. didn‘t use it on first ruck march and I paid for it. and make sure it goes around the waist, not stomach.
-do whatever it takes to keep yourself going. daydreaming is a good thing to keep mind off the pain.

 

[SpinDoc]

My course instructors suggested that I go and get myself a "jump ruck" frame -- the ‘64 frame, which is also known as the "Lightweight Rucksack" in the US --it is what they used during Vietnam -- if you want to search for it on ebay (you won‘t find squat if you try to search for "jump ruck" or "‘64 ruck").

I LOVE my Light Weight frame, mostly because the kidney pad doesn‘t come down to my butt and impede my legs from moving. My set-up is having the new ‘82 rucksack bag mounted onto the frame so I don‘t look very conspicious.

It‘s a little warmer because there‘s no air pocket between your back and the pack, but that‘s just minor stuff. And have to jury rig a kidney pad to fit onto the frame because it never did have a kidney pad.

 

[kurokaze]

That lightweight ruck you‘re talking about.. is it
also called an Alice Frame?

 

[SpinDoc]

No, it‘s the predecessor of the ALICE frame. ALICE is what they use now (for the most part). Not a good idea to get an ALICE frame and use it anywhere, whether on course or at your unit.