The reserve after the training.....

[nickhd]

Ok, let's see I pass the whole summer training, I finish as a trained infantry private.  Then they told me I will work part time 2 week-ends per month and every tuesday night.  My question is what will I do? 

Everyone keeps telling me "it depends of the regiment".  But it isn't really helping me out...  can a reservee give me some examples?

 

[kkwd]

You will train and train some more. Weapons training, patrol training, drill, battlecraft, fieldcraft and such. You will never stop upgrading your skills. You will stop training when you retire. There is only a limited amount of time and money to go around so the best use of these resources has to be made. 

 

[acen]

Well, as a reservIST, you will do a little bit of everything, for example, the unit I belong to is doing FIBUA/OBUA training right now, to be followed by the gunfighter program. There will be slow nights, where you might go over comms or nav, little refreshers for those who have done such things before and intros for those who havent. If its before an EX, we might do a kit inspection depending on what the EX is, or go over the orders for the particular EX. As you said, it really depends on the unit and how switched on they are, but that is what my particular unit is doing at the moment.

 

[Michael OLeary]

Units will develop a training plan for the employment of their trained personnel through the year from fall to spring.

This will usually start with refresher training on weapon drills and other mandated training requirements.  You'll often hear the term "IBTS"  (Individual Battle Task Standards) to describe this level of training.  These are an annual requirement which also prepare soldiers for more advanced training.

[PDF]
Individual Battle Task Standards for Land Operations

Beyond IBTS the unit may (or may not) run any of the following (other types of training may also be conducted):

Weapons ranges, usually conducted on a weekend training trip to a nearby base:
- Rifle range - (IBTS requirement)
- C9 and C6 machine guns
- M203 grenade launcher
- hand grenades
- M72 & 84 mm anti-tank rockets

Dry training exercises
- navigation
- patrolling
- winter warfare (i.e., learning how to live and operate in the cold using CF equipment)
- more advanced range training (you may hear the term "field firing")

Beyond the IBTS requirement which every unit must try to get every member to complete, the scope of training really is up to the unit.  There are many factors that can affect how much training gets done.  The number of available weekends may be dictated by a Brigade training plan; essentially, the use of available NCOs on Individual Training courses (you may hear the term "IT" referring to these course or training weekends) coordinated by the higher headquarters limits their availability for unit training, and that schedule limits the weekends available for unit training.  Travel requirements, resource availability, etc., also affect how often a unit can train and how much they can achieve in a training year.  Some units are very good at maximizing the use of available resources, others less so. 

The Individual Training courses may be run locally and you may find yourself loaded on one.  This is where you are most likely to pick up common qualifications like driver courses.

 

[nickhd]

Good!! Thanks for the info!!!

I understand for the week-end training, I guess that we go on a base like Valcartier.  They told me I will "work" every tuesday night at the Regiment which is a regular building located downtown Montreal.  I doubt very much we can shoot in there...  so we'll learn navigation, patrolling or other things like this?

 

[Michael OLeary]

...  so we'll learn navigation, patrolling or other things like this?

There are many things you can do in a classroom and on a parade square on Tuesday nights to help maintain your basic skills.

Refresher lectures on weapons and map-using etc., are never a bad thing.  And sometimes when you're sitting there wondering why you're receiving another lecture on something that seems very basic, keep in mind that the main objective for that lecture may be to give a young NCO practice at teaching it.  And that's a training opportunity you may need yourself at some time in the future.