Comm Research

[211RadOp]

So I have to do another security clearance application again when I get to CFSCE aside from what we did here during Week 3 (I believe)? They didn't provide us a copy for that though.

If there is any other requirements for your security clearance, there is a Sgt in 4 Sqn at CFSCE that will inform you.  He looks after all clearances required by you before you go on trg.

And welcome to CFSCE and I hope you enjoy the CoC parade this week.

 

[LoKe]

I see. This is new information to me, to be honest. Oh well... Is there a reason why they opt for an element change? For the time being, I have no plans for an element change unless it will be a disadvantage for my Comm Rsch career.

Bit late to the party here but I'll throw in what I have.

The training across the trade is the same for all DEU (Army/Navy/Airfoce).  The uniform you wear has no bearing on courses available, deployments, postings, etc.  The only differences is what rank you're called and what your uniform looks like. 

Some RCN decide to change DEU because they simply don't like the uniform (excepting the cap, it's so dull...), others might change because of family history, or because it's Tuesday.  Be aware that a request to change DEU could go years without being approved. The requirement is to serve 5 years after your QL3 (which is roughly 8+ years in the CAF), and even then it could be denied if they're low on Navy in the trade.

But you can have a nice beard to keep you warm during that cold, dark, decade.

 

[Proud2BCanuck]

A little bit of information here: I have recently received an enrollment offer for communicator research operator (airforce) and basic starts in late October of this year.

My question is, given that this is a purple trade and can go anywhere... if I enroll within RCAF can I still be deployed on the ground with army troops in a EW mobile unit? I only ask because I am more or less curious about the scope of the deployments within this trade if we have another combat mission like Afghanistan come into play. Any information would be helpful, thanks in advance.

 

[PuckChaser]

It's a true purple trade and your uniform has no bearing on where you're employed. Keep in mind 50% of your new trade is locked in windowless boxes in Letrim, so it's a coin flip if you'll even get to 21 EW.

 

[EpicBeardedMan]

It's a true purple trade and your uniform has no bearing on where you're employed. Keep in mind 50% of your new trade is locked in windowless boxes in Letrim, so it's a coin flip if you'll even get to 21 EW.

Don't worry, its balanced out with guys like me who have no problem going to Leitrim. Haha. Puck do you know if there are a lot of opportunities within the Communications Research Operator Trade that open up at CPL and above? Currently thinking of putting it as my number 1 and taking off MP and MSE OP altogether as the MP process I think is bogging down the rest of my application for re-entry.

 

[PuckChaser]

Define opportunities.

Edit: Thanks for the thread merge, didn't want to make a mess of it in my phone.

 

[EpicBeardedMan]

Define opportunities.

Edit: Thanks for the thread merge, didn't want to make a mess of it in my phone.

Unsure if I'm allowed to post this or get an answer to this on this forum but any opportunities to take courses to work at cansofcom, or things such as that?

 

[meni0n]

You'll have opportunities to take specialised courses, go OUTCAN (there's dozens of Cpl-MCpl positions), take language courses, deploy and if you're good enough, to work at some interesting sections. Go to Ottawa if you want the most opportunities as Kingston just won't have as many.

 

[EpicBeardedMan]

You'll have opportunities to take specialised courses, go OUTCAN (there's dozens of Cpl-MCpl positions), take language courses, deploy and if you're good enough, to work at some interesting sections. Go to Ottawa if you want the most opportunities as Kingston just won't have as many.

Seen. Thanks for the info.

 

[Proud2BCanuck]

Sweet thanks for the info, just curious as there isnt much information on the trade or how it varies within a given element ; All of the guys in the forces recruiting video appear to be army and I have yet to see anyone with airforce colors in this trade. Would airforce comms guys be most likely posted to leitrim?

 

[kratz]

Leitrim is the "Home" of the trade.

All DEU (Navy, Army, Air).

Posting, tasks ect... meet the needs if the CAF.

 

[meni0n]

Might also be due to the trade being majority Army DEUs. I think the split is something like 60 20 20, ballpark numbers.

 

[Alpheus]

I was told I was slotted for the next DP1 course starting 18th Sept, but have not heard anything.  My BTL coordinator is on leave, so having a hard time getting an answer. 
It's well past the 30 days prior mark, so is it safe to assume I'm not on it?

 

[Collin.t]

I was told I was slotted for the next DP1 course starting 18th Sept, but have not heard anything.  My BTL coordinator is on leave, so having a hard time getting an answer. 
It's well past the 30 days prior mark, so is it safe to assume I'm not on it?

Check your private messages, also it will be dependent on your clearance level, if you have the appropriate clearance and requirements to be on the course (BMQ-L) you should be loaded. If you have both you can email the staff at the school and explain that your BTL coordinator is on leave etc etc.

 

[Achilles97]

Hi everyone. I'm a PLQ qualified corporal in the Reg Force infantry who got injured on the job. I'm about to be medically COT'd and one of the trades that intrigues me is Comms Research. I also have an interest in a few other trades, but from what info there is to be had on this forum and on the recruiting website, I am strongly thinking of putting it as my number one choice.

Here's what I think I like about the trade:

-- Learning about electronics, computers, and IT systems.
-- Opportunity to learn languages
-- Opportunity to meaningfully contribute (Hours long outer cordons on brigade field ex's and locker security in garrison were hard to take)
-- Data analysis and interpretation (I have the TIOC course and I enjoyed Int data collation; I read a lot in my spare time)

Which trade I choose depends on a few competing factors that I intend to weigh and consider carefully. Things I'm looking at:

-- What skills I can learn, how frequently I can use them in trade, and what qualifications I could take to civvie street.
-- Posting locations. (Preferably someplace in Ontario. In a place whose name doesn't end in __wawa)
-- Relative ease of promotion. I was on the cusp of becoming a Mcpl when I got hurt. I expect to work hard on my way back up, but I'm hoping Mcpl is achievable in approximately 5 years and not 8-10.
-- Opportunity for deployments. I'd like to use my new skills overseas at least once. 

WRT Comms Research I know from reading the threads here that locations are primarily Kingston/Ottawa and getting fully qualified can take quite awhile, mostly due to security clearance (I'm already Secret qualified, and the head of security where I'm currently working just submitted a request to bump me to Top Secret. How's an infantry guy applying for that? Well, TIOC course came in handy for my current position).

So this is what I'm asking: 1. Am I a good fit for this trade? 2. Is my understanding of what this trade offers correct? 3. Can I learn useful things and still get promoted in a timely manner? 4. Are whatever electronic and computer skills relevant to the job transferable to the civilian market?
 
Other trades that I'm considering: Geo Tech, Cyber Operator, ATIS Tech, AVS Tech.

Any and all advice or links or resources are welcome.  Thanks.

 

[brihard]

Hi everyone. I'm a PLQ qualified corporal in the Reg Force infantry who got injured on the job. I'm about to be medically COT'd and one of the trades that intrigues me is Comms Research. I also have an interest in a few other trades, but from what info there is to be had on this forum and on the recruiting website, I am strongly thinking of putting it as my number one choice.

Here's what I think I like about the trade:

-- Learning about electronics, computers, and IT systems.
-- Opportunity to learn languages
-- Opportunity to meaningfully contribute (Hours long outer cordons on brigade field ex's and locker security in garrison were hard to take)
-- Data analysis and interpretation (I have the TIOC course and I enjoyed Int data collation; I read a lot in my spare time)

Which trade I choose depends on a few competing factors that I intend to weigh and consider carefully. Things I'm looking at:

-- What skills I can learn, how frequently I can use them in trade, and what qualifications I could take to civvie street.
-- Posting locations. (Preferably someplace in Ontario. In a place whose name doesn't end in __wawa)
-- Relative ease of promotion. I was on the cusp of becoming a Mcpl when I got hurt. I expect to work hard on my way back up, but I'm hoping Mcpl is achievable in approximately 5 years and not 8-10.
-- Opportunity for deployments. I'd like to use my new skills overseas at least once. 

WRT Comms Research I know from reading the threads here that locations are primarily Kingston/Ottawa and getting fully qualified can take quite awhile, mostly due to security clearance (I'm already Secret qualified, and the head of security where I'm currently working just submitted a request to bump me to Top Secret. How's an infantry guy applying for that? Well, TIOC course came in handy for my current position).

So this is what I'm asking: 1. Am I a good fit for this trade? 2. Is my understanding of what this trade offers correct? 3. Can I learn useful things and still get promoted in a timely manner? 4. Are whatever electronic and computer skills relevant to the job transferable to the civilian market?
 
Other trades that I'm considering: Geo Tech, Cyber Operator, ATIS Tech, AVS Tech.

Any and all advice or links or resources are welcome.  Thanks.

Regarding your last question, the 'civilian market', a good number of Comms Researchers end up hopping over to Communication Security Establishment and basically still work hand in hand in the same world. I have a couple of friends who have done exactly that. I don't know if there would be much private sector, but public sector demand for those skills seems to be high, and a lot of the jobs are in Ottawa.

There's a lot of good living near CFS Leitrim, whether you're looking for 'suburban neighbourhood' or 'rural residential' living.

 

[Achilles97]

Thanks for the response. Living in the south of Ottawa would certainly have its perks. Can you or anyone else tell me about on the job stuff?  Yeah, I know there's a lot of secret stuff that can't be discussed in public, but I'm inquiring more about what kinds of skills are used/a general sense of the routine.

I've recently been talking to some Int ops, ATIS techs, and a couple Geo techs about various things, and when I expressed an interest in Comms Research most of them told me "You don't want to be a rubberhead. It's boring and monotonous, and the guys in that trade have weird personalities."  Now, theres a lot of smack talk and misunderstanding between trades throughout the CF, so I can put some of their perspective down to just not seeing eye-to-eye about things. But I am kind of concerned about the "monotony". All jobs have times where it's a grind, but I'm very much interested in learning skills and using my brain in whichever new trade I end up in and keeping going through the motions to the minimum.

So anyone care to comment on your non-Comms Research colleagues opinion of you? Or give me a sense of what life on the job means without breaking OpSec.   

 

[kratz]

Both my 9NR and myself have worked with Comm Resch types.

You are not going to learn much more than has been posted in this thread.

 

[winnipegoo7]

Food for thought.
It depends what you want to do with your life.

Comms research
Pro: it is interesting work.
Con:Leitrim is shift work; and there aren’t a lot of directly related civilian jobs.

I’ve worked with some geo techs. (One of whom OTed from comms research)
Pro: at MCE it is a 7 to 3 job; you get paid to attend Algonquin college in Ottawa and some go for more civilian schooling in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick later in their careers (not sure which schools or when in their careers); and there are many civilian jobs for geotechs.

Con: maybe some people wouldn’t like surveying ?

 

[meni0n]

Not all positions are shift work. Also, wouldn't one con for geo tech would be, first posting mostly likely a brigade.