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Armour PD1 training questions [Merged]

I'll say it again 77 training days. 5 training days to a week.  5/77 = 15 weeks and 2 days (this includes SQ which is part of DP1 for Regular Soldiers)
 
Thanks for the answer tank troll but you need to chill out buddy. Newfoundland Sapper asked a question so I answered it.
 
damine3144 said:
we'll see where the course leads me, I might wanna go strathcona & drive a mbt.

Good luck, but unless it has changed a lot since I was there, you don't get to choose.... :P
 
davidsonr_91 said:
Thanks for the answer tank troll but you need to chill out buddy. Newfoundland Sapper asked a question so I answered it.

That was chilled ;D
 
When I was first applying, I found a lot of general information on the process, however not a lot of armour specific information for between BMQ and Regiment.

This is for Armour NCM , officers is out of my wheel house. Times may vary, but the following is an out line from my own experience.

First off you apply and then go to BMQ; I won't go in too much detail there's lots on bmq, you complete that high fives and atta boys. Then take a bus ride to Gagetown where you will find your new accommodations with 4 to a room.

This is Armour Holding,  it is not like pat in other trades. Inspections 3 times per week if not more, Morning Pt everyday and some after noon,  usually running 7km -10km pace varies, sometimes circuits on the off days. The times inbetween inspections and Pt you will be in a bay with benches and a gym or on tasking doing random stuff.

How long will you be in holding?  That's a good question, dspends on budget (availability of courses) number of people waiting ahead of you, if you get injured or not and time of year you arrive.
Arrive in spring and you may only have to wait a few months to go to SQ, fall probably waiting till spring.

After that you'll have to wait for DP1 course, with all the same waits and less availability than SQ.

At the moment if you are lucky turn around from start of BMQ to Regiment can be around 10 months. If your average then turn around of 13 months.
If you are unlucky with injuries or timing then longer, possibly double the time.

Keep in mind during all of this you can not get a pmq or your own place and during the week have an 11 pm curfew. If you have a significant other or family it can have an impact. One of the reasons people VR.

The fitness is challenging if you are fit, if you are unfit it is hellish and will probaby break you physically. Our trade is vary physical at least in the training part of it, but morning PT still happens once you get to regiment. The majority of injuries happen to the unfit in holding and some unlucky souls who just had bad luck they either get released or VR after injury cause they sit in holding for sometimes years.

On the subject of occupational transfer,  once you are in holding you can OT , however it is a long process and not very good odds it will go through.

As for the courses, it's like being caught in a rerun of degrassi and PC principal from season 19 of South park. They are designed to accommodate the dumbest applicant and yet designed to simulate stressful situations to overcome through team work.  So. .. very dramatic and drawn out.

As for getting to regiment once you are qualified you become a human and a professional again. Up until that point your job is not guaranteed,  until you finish DP1 you are still in the recruitment process.

It might sound like I'm only out lining the negative parts of it, it's just a realistic look at the process. The process to get qualified right now is a very long hard road, courses are easy, the waiting inbetween is something the recruiters don't mention too much.

One last point, one other thing that get applicants hung up is the ability to drive. Some guys will say don't worry they will train you, not so much. If you dont have a license and haven't learnt the basics of driving then there is a good chance you will fail DP1 and be kicked out of the forces. It happened on my course as well as courses before mine. Our job is to drive/operate equipment, if you don't know how to drive a car then this may not be the proper trade. Yes there are exceptions, very few and far inbetween. Yes it's harsh to say, however it would be a kick in the teeth to invest that much time then get kicked out because you can't drive well.

I tried to make sure it wasn't ranty and stuck to the facts. It's rewarding in the end, prepare your family, be kind to everyone, stay positive  and look after your fitness.

No stress it could always be worse!



:cdn:



 
kungfupanda said:
Arrive in spring and you may only have to wait a few months to go to SQ, fall probably waiting till spring.

After that you'll have to wait for DP1 course, with all the same waits and less availability than SQ.

You didn't do SQ, nor will future Armour Recruits, the SQ course is no more. The SQ course was replaced by BMQ-Land years ago.

kungfupanda said:
One last point, one other thing that get applicants hung up is the ability to drive. Some guys will say don't worry they will train you, not so much. If you dont have a license and haven't learnt the basics of driving then there is a good chance you will fail DP1 and be kicked out of the forces.

That isn't exactly what happens if you fail a DP1 course.  There are PRBs with failures, and the recruit may be given the opportunity to be loaded onto a future DP1 course, another option may be a Occupational Transfer if possible or a release.
 
Pickle Rick said:
You didn't do SQ, nor will future Armour Recruits, the SQ course is no more. The SQ course was replaced by BMQ-Land years ago.

Semantics really, the curriculum is the same.
 
As far as I'm tracking, the trade is red for OTs for now which means you can't switch to a different trade right now as the entire corps is undermanned.

Regards
 
Pickle Rick said:
That isn't exactly what happens if you fail a DP1 course.  There are PRBs with failures, and the recruit may be given the opportunity to be loaded onto a future DP1 course, another option may be a Occupational Transfer if possible or a release.

That is all true, kicked out was an aggressive term. Those are all options, however from what I have seen in the majority of cases with driving fails it has been PRB and then 5D.  I don't know why they opt for the 5D with most cases, if I was to hazard a guess it could be because there are over a hundred candidates in holding.  I have seen recourses, but only with certain demographics involved.

The OT's that have been approved are only with people that have schooling or previous experience in those occupations. There are always exceptions these are just observations I've made.

Joining armour with out a license or having driven a vehicle is like joining the swim team without ever having been in water. It's not impossibe, but there is a short window to get people driving and driving well enough to be safe and pass the drivers exam.

:cdn:
 
Untrained troops can't OT.  They can however be reassigned. 

Even if a trade is red there are OTs allowed out. That is what the OUTCAP matrix determines for each year.  Red trades are capped at 0.5% of the trained effective strength so for every 200 troops,1 can OT.  Trades don't get to shut the door completely.

OTs are for trained troops though.  MOC reassignments are for people who have not completed the QL3 or initial trade training (ref is CFAO 11-12) but the working term is VOR or VOT (UT) based on a draft DAOD that has yet to supersede CFAO 11-12, which is why the CFAO is Ref A on every NCM VOTP competion CANFORGEN.

If you untrained as a crewman you can request a trade reassignment.  If you are trained you can apply for VOT under the LOTP after 36 months IAW the same CFAO.  It is an application so no guarantees. 

Driving a recce veh or tank is cool.  Hunting foreign nuclear subs and ISIS inside Syria is cooler.  The AES Op trade is always recruiting and some of the skills I use now are ones that I was introduced to wearing a black beret :nod:.  Doing a route recce from 10k feet or higher is jammy and now I don't worry about my trace sliding down the map.  Keep the NCM aircrew gig in mind if you decide to try something different, we have lots of ex combat arms guys in our ranks.

The extra pay doesn't hurt either.  When I got on Sqn as a Cpl with spec pay I made more a month than my chief clerk.  Then add Aircrew allowance on top of that.  If you end up fling wing (Maritime helicopter) you can add PLD and sea duty allowance on that too (SDA you get once quald and on a HelAirDet).  MH AES Op Cpls can gross over 80k a year.  8)
 
Hiya

I'm in the process for Reserves, armoured recce.
I am also looking at Reg Force.

This is a good post, but could someone help me out with some of the abbreviations?

Untrained troops can't OT - OT?
MOC reassignments are for people - MOC?
If you are trained you can apply for VOT under the LOTP after 36 months IAW the same CFAO - VOT? LOTP? IAW? CFAO?
One of the reasons people VR - VR?

Cheers!  ;D
 
Swally said:
This is a good post, but could someone help me out with some of the abbreviations?

This may help,

Canadian Military Acronyms
https://milnet.ca/wiki/index.php/Canadian_Military_Acronyms
 
Hi everyone!
I'm a spouse of a new recruit for Armoured Crewman. He starts BMQ on Sept 16 until Nov 22, then heads straight to Gagetown to wait for DP1.
Does anyone have any details on the start or finish of DP1?
I've heard that the wait can be quite long before it starts. Any info is helpful. Thanks!
 
Looking at the Combat Training Centre's page, the next BMQ-L that he will be available for will start in Jan 2020.  This course is a pre-requisite for his DP1 Crewman.  If he gets on one of the many Jan courses, the next DP1 Crewman will start in March.  This does not mean he will be on those courses. He will find out more when he completes BMQ and arrives at the School.
 
211RadOp said:
Looking at the Combat Training Centre's page, the next BMQ-L that he will be available for will start in Jan 2020.  This course is a pre-requisite for his DP1 Crewman.  If he gets on one of the many Jan courses, the next DP1 Crewman will start in March.  This does not mean he will be on those courses. He will find out more when he completes BMQ and arrives at the School.

Thank you very much :)
 
211RadOp said:
Looking at the Combat Training Centre's page, the next BMQ-L that he will be available for will start in Jan 2020.  This course is a pre-requisite for his DP1 Crewman.  If he gets on one of the many Jan courses, the next DP1 Crewman will start in March.  This does not mean he will be on those courses. He will find out more when he completes BMQ and arrives at the School.

That doesn't mean much, they can be sent to other Training Centres to complete BMQ-L, it just depends how switched on the HOLDING Troop staff is.

EDITED TO ADD:

Just noticed that member is just starting BMQ-C in Sept, so your mileage may vary...
 
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