Advice for women on BMQ and other courses [MERGED]

[9nr Domestic]

However the same argument could apply to Artillery as well.........All are needed on the modern battlefield. Without effective artillery, the Infantry could not do it's job to it's full capability.

There is a discussion regarding that:

http://army.ca/forums/threads/25062.0.html

;D


I know nothing when it comes to the inner workings of the military so I will have it just shut up and learn.

 

[Lost_Warrior]

A little far into the thread but here is some valuable advise to gain the respect of your fellow male recruits.  Push yourself.  Show motivation.  Work hard.

We had this girl on our basic course (reserves-weekend thing) who was a BAG.  She could never keep up with any of the PT, couldn't do any of the push ups, couldnt do anything.  She was trying though. We gave her that.

Then a couple of weeks into the course, me and a couple of other recruits were talking with her and we asked her what she does on her own time to train, prpare and such.  Her response was "I dont have time to go to the gym.  I go out clubing every night and sleep during the day"

I was shocked.  We told her, the reason she was not able to keep up with anything was because she wasn't preparing herself or anything.  She was a stay at home college drop out who joined the army for kicks it turns out, so in the end, the rest of the platoon had to pick up for her slack.

Don't be one of those girls.  Work hard off course.  Keep yourself in shape and show heart.  You will have the respect of your fellow soldiers.

 

[4CDO PARA]

I found a video focusing on a female Pte. in 1VP. She discusses what it is like to be in the infantry. Hope it helps. Scroll down to the video titled "Canadian Forces Infantry Private".

  http://www.alis.gov.ab.ca/video/archive.asp

 

[Ghost]

LOL they tried to teach me that in grade 3.

They gave me 3 pieces of nylon to tie up and well lets just say I threw away one piece and wraped 2 around each other but the teacher wasn't to thrilled.

So yeah my brading skills are about on par with my folding laundry skills and wrapping presents skill.

 

[chrisf]

I should note, out of the three of us, as the only one with a sister, it fell to me to braid the hair... the first attempt was ok, but too loose, the second attempt was pretty good if I do say so myself.

 

[Armymedic]

If you bring any battery operated devices, ensure you bring a back up back batteries. And also ensure the noise from those devices arn't annoying to your room mates.

 

[chrisf]

The buffer of the C7 is made from aluminium to prevent rust.

 

[Gilligan]

OY! lol

 

[chrisf]

What? A rusty buffer wouldn't be any good... wouldn't slide very well, you'd get a lot of stoppages.

 

[tomas]

unless you know people in the higher weeks you wont be able to go to the canex for the first four weeks.. maybe longer so either make friends quick or bring things liek extra razors and batteries

 

[TheCheez]

Bring 3 sets of civy clothes. After the first month most people go out on the weekends and you will need something to wear. Montreal is good for shopping though.

As far as the rest of it... You need to be able to hide it for inspections. Putting stuff in lock-up every time theres an inspection is NOT a good solution as you will be busy the night before and the morning of, and youll be interrupting whoevers got the key to use lockup.

The locker in your room can hold some things, like the toiletries that you actually use, CD player etc etc but is limited in space. I had to stick my pillow in there for inspections and it more than filled it.

Anything you forget or need from the Canex can easily be gotten for you. Just ask people who have priviledges. If youre shy, chances are someone in your platoon will make it onto PAT platoon before the first 4 weeks are up, just ask them.

 

[Britney Spears]

Bring a set or 2 of rubber dishwashing gloves, for cleaning weapons (actually, according to new regs these should be provided, but bring some just in case). all the CLP and carbon, esp. on support weapons, ruins your nails and turns your hands black for days.

This applies not only to females.

I'm sure  they'll have some enourmous tattooed PPCLI Recce pl MCPL order all the males out of the room and give the females their lecture on "feminine hygiene in the field". You're in good hands.

 

[404SqnAVSTeach]

If this was not mentioned already... bring 2 of all toiletteries, one to look good on the shelf for your every day inspection, and one for usage.
I am assuming you are about to be on your  basic...

 

[TCBF]

"Why don't we get over something that isn't going to change and put our energy somewhere useful."

A fair point, but interests and opinions on usefulness vary.  If the CF, God forbid, fills 67 bodybags next week and half have women in them, we could have a new operational employment policy long before we see any of the ORBATS being bandied about here. 

I agree ranting only puts others in a bad mood (yeah, I know, "Guilty"), but reasoned discourse of flawed policies should be fair game.  If not, in fact, encouraged.  For some. this site could be a fair tool for developing one's ability to hold a connversation.  Not a bad skill to have.

Each to his own, I guess.

Tom

 

[Infanteer]

If the CF, God forbid, fills 67 bodybags next week and half have women in them, we could have a new operational employment policy long before we see any of the ORBATS being bandied about here.

Really, what would that be?  I honestly don't see this scenario ever playing out unless by some chance a mortar bomb hits the woman's washroom in an NSE base (in which case, most of the casualties would be CSS, which isn't really the debate).

I really think the women in the CF (especially in the combat arms) is a non-issue.  I think the numbers are sitting at 10% Forces wide and below 1% for the combat arms - the nature of the institution means that there is no real chance in hell that we're going to approach a 50/50 kind of scenario that some retarded bureaucrats seem to hope for.  A few females pop up in the Infantry battalions and there is a chance that they may get killed in action - I guess this is something we may have to live with by being a professional military in a Western democracy rather then some sort of Warrior Sect.  As the original article pointed out, women getting killed in the line of duty is happening frequently in the US Army (although they are not in combat roles, they are still getting killed) and I don't see radical "operational employment policy" coming out of the Pentagon; infact, the pressure seems to be going the other way in allowing females into combat roles.  Why Canada would suddenly pull an "about turn" if faced with female casualties (when the numbers mean that the possibility is slight) is beyond me.

I agree with you that there are legitimate issues surrounding movement to women in positions throughout the military - one of the most interesting is the notion conscription.  Canada has conscripted the last two times we mobilized.  How would we do it now - I can imagine the furor when mothers are conscripted, leaving children at home with Dad.

Alas, I digress - however, here is meaningful discussion on the topic.  If someone wants to start a well-thought out thread, go ahead.  I'll shift this over there.

Cheers,
Infanteer

 

[Gunner]

If the CF, God forbid, fills 67 bodybags next week and half have women in them, we could have a new operational employment policy long before we see any of the ORBATS being bandied about here.  

TCBF, what you have proposed is a perfectly rationale question that could be posted in the forum.  We have units that are made up of 50% or more by women.  Ask the question if the the Federal employment policies change if a BM21 strike takes out the entire unit.  My guess, probably not, but why moan and complain about women being in all trades in the CF?  I was in the CF before women were allowed in the combat arms, it's now a done deal and today, I could not care less what the soldier next to me has between their legs.  I want to know that he/she is physically fit, can do their job and will watch my back.  This is all a standards issue and either the army has a high enough training standard or they do not.  Make that the topic of discussion for a reasoned debate.  

Take the Canadian Airborne Regiment, why spend time pissing and moaning about its demise?  Its gone based on government decision and I've moved on, the army has moved on and the country has moved on.  Let it go.  But if you want to argue/discuss about Canada having a rapid deployment capability (light forces consisting of infantry, artillery, and armour) that are capable of being moved around the globe within 24hrs, lets' hear your views.

Cheers,

Note: Posted after 2 replies had been made to TCBF first post.  Decided to post anyway.

 

[combat_medic]

Without denegrating into more name calling garbage that got the last thread locked, there are currently hundreds if not thousands of women currently serving in Iraq. While not in hard combat positions, many are seeing direct or indirect combat. They are being taken prisoner, they are being injured, and yes, they are even dying and being sent back in bodybags. Notice that not a single person has completely lost control of their senses over the women being killed? Notice absolutely no change in the operational viability of women in the military? The women are doing their jobs, often engaging in direct combat, and doing the same jobs as men. The end of the world did not happen, and a woman dying in combat in Iraq has not even merited a couple lines on a newspaper, or a 2 minute clip on CNN. Guess they're being treated like real soldiers.... funny that.

 

[Infanteer]

Okay, I seen where the admin thread was going, so I split this off.

Obviously, women aren't going to be relegated to the WRENS anymore, so this thread is for anyone who wants to comment on the current situation.

 

[DSB]

Commenting from a reserve standpoint;

I've been with a reserve Med Coy for a bit.  We've had female Co's and female RSM.  We still have a high percentage of females in the unit, (high when compared to the broader CF).  Given we might not be a Combat Arms unit, I've seen many women who can soldier well.  Sure they might be some 'soft' women, but there are loads of 'soft' guys as well.

If they can do the same job then why do we keep beating this dead horse.  They have the same right to serve their country as men.  We're having problems with recruitment as it is, why alienate half the population?

DSB

 

[pbi]

I don't think that for most of us the question is whether or not certain women can make good Cbt A soldiers: it is probably true that they can. I have met some very capable and fit females in all branches, including the Cbt A. To me and, I think, the more reasonable negative posters here, the question is to what extent we have lowered our entry-level standards to allow less fit and less capable women to enter the Cbt A in order to meet recruitment goals. (And of course, less capable men as a corollary...)

If entry-level standards are task-based (ie: like a civilian firefighter's fitness test: directly related to likely demands of duty) then there cannot be any variance for gender: the task is the task. This is one of the advantages of the task-based BFT we are in the process of adopting (although we seem to have some difficulty getting beyond just the ruck march...).

I have been involved in at least one case in which the outcome of a harassment investigation revealed in its findings that a female was graduated from the PPCLI BSL ( a few years ago now...) without being fit enough to keep up on daily PT in battalion, which is normally not all that hard. I am not aware of any other cases of this, although there does seem to be a lot of anecdotal stuff floating around.

Does anybody have facts on lowered training standards for female recruits into the Cbt A?

Cheers