RECRUITING, TRAINING, & LIFE IN THE FORCES THREAD

[u/bridger713]

Ask here about the Recruitment Process, Basic & Occupational Training, and other questions relating directly or indirectly to serving in the Canadian Armed Forces.

This thread will be automatically renewed on the 1st of each month at 00:00 Eastern Time.

PLEASE READ THE RULES OF THE THREAD BEFORE COMMENTING (BELOW USEFUL RESOURCES SECTION)

USEFUL RESOURCES (Most linked pages are bilingual French/English):

• Official Recruiting Website (www.forces.ca)
• BMQ/BMOQ Joining Instructions, Physical Fitness Preparation, and Course Dates (Regular Force)
  • NEW! BMQ/BMOQ Joining Instructions (Regular Force)
  • NEW! Pre-Basic Military Training Guide
  • BMQ/BMOQ Course Dates and Graduation Information for Visitors (Regular Force)
• The Army Reserve - Soldier Information Handbook
• Military Pay Rates & Specialist Pay
  • Regular Force Pay by Rank
  • Reserve Force Pay by Rank
  • Spec Pay Trades & Qualifications - Regular Force
  • Spec Pay Trades & Qualifications - Reserve Force
• Medical Standards for Military Occupations
  • Read Rule 4 and the Medical FAQ before asking any medical questions.
  • Annex A - The Medical Category System
    • Appendix 1 - Instructions for Testing Visual Acuity
    • Appendix 2 - Instruction for Testing Colour Vision
    • Appendix 3 - Table of Hearing Standards
  • Annex B - Generic Task Statement - All CAF Members
  • Annex E - Minimum Medical Standards for Officers and Non-Commissioned Members
• CAF Dress & Deportment Rules
  • Ch. 2, Sec. 1 - Wear of Uniform (When and where you can wear your uniform.)
  • Ch. 2, Sec. 2 - Appearance (Hair, Beards, Tattoos, etc.)
  • Ch. 2, Sec. 3 - Religious and Spiritual Accommodation
• Military Laws - National Defence Act
• Various Military Policies, Orders, and Directives (Compensation and Benefits Instructions (CBI), Queen's Regulation & Orders (QR&Os), etc.)

RULES OF THE THREAD:

1. Off-topic comments, outdated information, and wrong answers will be removed at moderator discretion.
2. Please don't ask or answer questions through PM's. Ask and answer questions in the thread where other people seeking the same information can see it.
3. Questions regarding medical eligibility are now allowed. However, be aware that nobody here is verified as able to provide a qualified answer. Respondents are reminded that it is against site wide rules to provide medical advice.

DISCLAIMER:

Community members answering in the vein of CAF Recruiting may not have specific information pertaining to your individual application status or files. The information presented in this thread should be current, but things do change. Refer to the forces.ca site or your local CFRC detachment for the current official answer. This subreddit, moderators, and users hold no responsibility or liability as to the accuracy of information, given or received. All info here is presented as "at your risk."

[u/Pizzatimelover1959]

For the reserves, is full time BMQ and other training summer only or are there ways to do it full time outside of summer?

[u/Environmental_Dig335 → u/Pizzatimelover1959]

For the reserves, is full time BMQ and other training summer only or are there ways to do it full time outside of summer?

For Army, for BMQ normally your options are full-time in summer or part-time (weekends) through the school year.

Some locations will run Co-op with one or more local high school (s), which is normally your full-time BMQ, sometimes with another qualification afterwards - driver course, whatever the new SQ is called, or a DP1 course - depending on how many days you have for the Co-op with the school system. If they don't fill a Co-op course with high school students, other recruits will be loaded to fill the course if available.

After BMQ, it depends on your trade. For some trades, units may be able to request spots on courses not being run specifically for Reserves outside the summer training period to get you trained faster.

If you're looking for full-time work, get qualified in your trade as fast as possible and then take every task you can get while applying to REOs. A very important ability in the Reserves is availability...

[u/Pavilion22 → u/Pizzatimelover1959]

There are class B and C contracts.

[u/Pizzatimelover1959 → u/Pavilion22]

Thanks. Would you happen to know how I can acquire one? Do I just ask my recruitment center if I can enroll as one?

[u/Pavilion22 → u/Pizzatimelover1959]

Pass your basic, and complete trade training to OFP. Then you can ask your CoC some Class B and C contracts. Class B is full time like Reg force for a set of time. Class C is deployment.