Component Transfer from NWO to INTO while in Royal Military College. Should i VR and Reapply? need advice

[Flatfish]

I am a Naval Warfare Officer recently transferred from reserves into RMC. I want to transfer to Intelligence officer. I think it fits my skillset and career plan.

The ultimate plan is to work out of Halifax or near the east coast where I'm from. I find NWO is going to be difficult because I want to support a relationship and have a life.

So now I've got 4 years to get this transfer done, I can't get it filed until I finish BMOQ part 2 this summer. What are my chances to get this done?

NWO is no longer marked as in demand which may work in my favour and I think I can do well on a merit list for INTO however, I've heard it ranges from difficult to impossible to get in.

Should I VR and Reapply? Maybe I can get UNI done and go back to my old reserve unit. IDK?

I'm not sure I want to be locked in the ROTP contract if I'm just going to get forced to do stuff as an NWO with no chance to get into the trade I want.

Does anyone have advice?

 

[Humphrey Bogart]

I am a Naval Warfare Officer recently transferred from reserves into RMC. I want to transfer to Intelligence officer. I think it fits my skillset and career plan.

The ultimate plan is to work out of Halifax or near the east coast where I'm from. I find NWO is going to be difficult because I want to support a relationship and have a life.

So now I've got 4 years to get this transfer done, I can't get it filed until I finish BMOQ part 2 this summer. What are my chances to get this done?

NWO is no longer marked as in demand which may work in my favour and I think I can do well on a merit list for INTO however, I've heard it ranges from difficult to impossible to get in.

Should I VR and Reapply? Maybe I can get UNI done and go back to my old reserve unit. IDK?

I'm not sure I want to be locked in the ROTP contract if I'm just going to get forced to do stuff as an NWO with no chance to get into the trade I want.

Does anyone have advice?

@Flatfish

I used to be a Squadron Commander at RMC and have dealt with a number of these cases.

It's not impossible to OT when you're untrained and in ROTP and there is a process. The applications are usually due at the beginning of the School year in October and they sit a board at the end of November.

A lot will depend on health of your current trade and how many OTs they are taking in the trade you want to transfer in to.

There is a pretty tight timeline on getting all your paperwork in and the biggest hurdle I saw was Cadets waiting until the 11th hour to submit everything or doing it incorrectly (as is a uni tradition).

I personally think quitting is a bad option, you're getting a free education and paid to be there. It's the freaking golden handshake my friend. You'll thank me in 5-10 years when you're approaching 30ish and you have money in the bank, solid work experiences and no student debt, while all your civvy friends are making Lattés at Starbucks.

You've got a couple of years to get the OT done. If you get out and reapply, there is no guarantee you'll get back in or even get what you want.

Just ride it out, focus on your school work and the other RMC pillars so that your file is competitive, and create yourself a timeline for a plan to OT. Speak with your Sqn NCO & Sqn Comd, let them know your thoughts and goals.

Also speak with the BPSO and SO Careers shop at RMC for more information. If you have any other questions, post them here or shoot me a PM. I'm retired now but will give you an honest/no BS answer.

 

[Flatfish]

Sure yeah suppose your right, ill see if I can talk to my warrant about that too. Here's to hoping that they're intaking applications to Intell and it doesn't stay closed, but I've got 3 yrs to get it done and I feel ok about my chances.

Thanks a lot for that response.

 

[Humphrey Bogart]

Sure yeah suppose your right, ill see if I can talk to my warrant about that too. Here's to hoping that they're intaking applications to Intell and it doesn't stay closed, but I've got 3 yrs to get it done and I feel ok about my chances.

Thanks a lot for that response.

I was an Infantry Officer for 13 years before I OT'ed to NWO and spent close to 5 as an NWO (yes I really do hate myself that much to put myself through those two trades). The training as an NWO isn't too bad to start.

You'll be sent to Victoria to do NETPO which is basically a crash course in how to be a sailor. Expectations aren't very high, you get all your weekends off and I would treat it like a free summer vacation in Victoria , which is a very nice place to spend a summer compared to other dumpsters like Gagetown or Shilo .

It gets a little more serious on NWO Phase 3 but the intensity isn't really cranked up until Phase 4 so you've got plenty of time to plot your move to the Intelligence Branch.

It's great that your thinking about this stuff right now but it's super important to focus on School while at RMC. I am also an Ex-Cadet so have gone through what you are going through right now. I didn't give a crap about school at the time but hindsight tells me I should have .

Remember, there are four pillars but some of the pillars are more equal than others , just like in Animal Farm .

 

[dimsum]

My info is a bit dated but if you end up as Naval Int, you end up having to do NETPO anyway, so might as well do that first and see whether the sea is for you.

 

[Flatfish]

I love working in the navy, going of for NETP and like NWO 1 and 2 sound fine to me at least I'm making progress in some direction.

I'm in a good spot academically
I don't know what the metrics for the military pillar are so who knows
I'm planning on staying here at CMR to learn french properly
fitness wise I guess, I managed to get on the cross-country team and do ok on the PPT.

My only option is to take international studies here which sounds good, I feel like I'm in a really good spot all around. I can make a good argument that i would be better of in Intell and I would really love a long career in that. Which would help in retention overall.

The worst part for me about doing NWO I feel is that ill be constantly away from home and won't be able to ever sustain a relationship properly with my girlfriend. I have had both the luck and misfortune of meeting an amazing woman i think is the one for me. She is willing to work with whatever happens in my job and is motivated to get through any difficulties like these 4 years especially any other training after.

I'm not afraid to work my ass off I just want to figure out how to have a deployment in Halifax for a few years so I can finalize things and actually have a relationship with her. She is even open to moving to other spots in Canada. With INT im facing another 6months in Kingston and i know there is a naval intelligence branch out of Halifax im going to try my best to get attached to. That would work great for me.

2 years in Esquimalt as an NWO and then attached to some ship based in Halifax just to be gone for months on end and even when im back still working my ass off and stuck with the ship does not sound like It.

I don't know i want to have a life with her as well. Am I out of line? Worrying too much? Asking for something unrealistic?

 

[Humphrey Bogart]

My info is a bit dated but if you end up as Naval Int, you end up having to do NETPO anyway, so might as well do that first and see whether the sea is for you.

Your info is correct.

 

[Flatfish]

Yeah, a little sea stuff sounds fun I loved going on boat ops in the reserves and learning all my MARTECH ship stuff. Going to sea for a few months every once in a while sounds great.

I'm just afraid of being attached to a ship and barely ever being home for years on end. Would be fine if I was single I suppose and could just focus and grind on my career for a decade and then settle down. Plenty of other people manage maybe im wrong?

Concerning INT I think ill just have more of an affinity to that than NWO I can do analytics and like that kind of stuff. I think i went for NWO because in my reserve unit they were the leaders and movers and when you live at home going away for the summer or a few months sounds like fun, now im in RegForce and its a different ball game

 

[Flatfish]

My info is a bit dated but if you end up as Naval Int, you end up having to do NETPO anyway, so might as well do that first and see whether the sea is for you.

Thanks, that works out great

 

[dimsum]

I don't know i want to have a life with her as well. Am I out of line? Worrying too much? Asking for something unrealistic?

No, you're not out of line. Better to have those sorts of talks early in your relationship.

I'm not NWO (anymore) but my partner and I hashed that all out early on, like you, because I was in a position that travelled and deployed. A lot.

A few other thoughts:

• Why Halifax, specifically? Are you/her from there? What happens if you're posted to Victoria, which could easily happen in both trades (especially if you're Naval Int)?
• There's not a guarantee that if you go Int, you'll be Naval Int. You could be Army or Air Force Int, in which case the chances of going to Halifax aren't great.
• Is her job transportable? Again, if you don't stay Navy (and even then, you can get posted from one coast to the other, and to Ottawa - especially if you go Int), you are looking at multiple geographic postings

I'm really glad that you're taking the time now instead of just assuming she would be great with getting posted wherever. However, that "wherever" could be Cold Lake, Valcartier, Shilo...you get the point. You need to impress that upon her that you may not necessarily be posted to Halifax.

 

[Humphrey Bogart]

No, you're not out of line. Better to have those sorts of talks early in your relationship.

I'm not NWO (anymore) but my partner and I hashed that all out early on, like you, because I was in a position that travelled and deployed. A lot.

A few other thoughts:

• Why Halifax, specifically? Are you/her from there? What happens if you're posted to Victoria, which could easily happen in both trades (especially if you're Naval Int)?
• There's not a guarantee that if you go Int, you'll be Naval Int. You could be Army or Air Force Int, in which case the chances of going to Halifax aren't great.
• Is her job transportable? Again, if you don't stay Navy (and even then, you can get posted from one coast to the other, and to Ottawa - especially if you go Int), you are looking at multiple geographic postings

I'm really glad that you're taking the time now instead of just assuming she would be great with getting posted wherever. However, that "wherever" could be Cold Lake, Valcartier, Shilo...you get the point. You need to impress that upon her that you may not necessarily be posted to Halifax.

You're being way too adult for me!

 

[dimsum]

You're being way too adult for me!

I guess I'm one of the few who didn't use the "ridicule, belittle, and mock" method

 

[Flatfish]

Im from PEI, and Halifax is just the closest navy hub. Were both very young and now I'm studying in Quebec and shes on PEI and just got into bioscience. i don't know the major bioscience employment opportunities but she was telling me they're good. So she's very happy studying that on PEI right now. Its a 2 and-2 program so she has the choice of whether she wants to do 4 for a bachelors.

She sees herself moving away from PEI and I know the military will help when spouse benefits apply. But like I'm kinda gonna need several years where I'm posted somewhere in driving distance to her so I can actually date her for a while.

My reserve unit was administered to by Gaguetown so maybe I can do that too or something. But yeah you are right I have no guarantee of branches. but like Navy is the best lol

 

[NavyShooter]

During a 56 month period when I was posted to CHA a few years back, I was away from Halifax for 39 months.

We kept busy...that included 2x 6 month deployments plus numerous other minor patrols, taskings, and so on.

Ships are busy - those that are sailing, are sailing a lot. With 1000-ish empty spots on the coast, those sailors who can sail will also sail a lot.

Until the Navy fixes its crewing issues and corrects both retention and recruitment, there will be a heavier load carried by those who are able.

 

[Humphrey Bogart]

During a 56 month period when I was posted to CHA a few years back, I was away from Halifax for 39 months.

We kept busy...that included 2x 6 month deployments plus numerous other minor patrols, taskings, and so on.

Ships are busy - those that are sailing, are sailing a lot. With 1000-ish empty spots on the coast, those sailors who can sail will also sail a lot.

Until the Navy fixes its crewing issues and corrects both retention and recruitment, there will be a heavier load carried by those who are able.

360ish days at sea in an 18 month period for me. At one point I was in a different time zone almost every other week.

 

[Flatfish]

During a 56 month period when I was posted to CHA a few years back, I was away from Halifax for 39 months.

We kept busy...that included 2x 6 month deployments plus numerous other minor patrols, taskings, and so on.

Ships are busy - those that are sailing, are sailing a lot. With 1000-ish empty spots on the coast, those sailors who can sail will also sail a lot.

Until the Navy fixes its crewing issues and corrects both retention and recruitment, there will be a heavier load carried by those who are able.

Yeah they were screaming for NWOs, right around the time I was planning on CT I was willing and ready to do It but now I've met her so I'm kinda caught in between two spots. Even in favourable circumstances and her being understanding, I don't feel like I can support a relationship and work as a young NWO at the same time. Not that I'm afraid of lots of work its just more and consistent distance that's problematic.

 

[Ostrozac]

The vast majority of Naval IntOs work out of cubicles in Ottawa. There are some on the coasts, but it wouldn't be reasonable to expect the bulk of a career as a Naval IntO to be spent in Halifax. More like one or two postings.

 

[Flatfish]

360ish days at sea in an 18 month period for me. At one point I was in a different time zone almost every other week.

I respect that amount of dedication from all of the sailors who've done that. It's a crazy workload, I was sort of attracted to do that and work the hardest I could and reap the benefits later but now I figured out I could be better at being an INTO and now am very motivated to be there for her. I don't feel its right to be in a long-distance relationship with her for 6 or so years and then come to the region only to be gone anyways.

I should find a better deal that takes her into account and I'm also interested in working with international relationships and feel like that will be a more gratifying carreer

 

[Flatfish]

The vast majority of Naval IntOs work out of cubicles in Ottawa. There are some on the coasts, but it wouldn't be reasonable to expect the bulk of a career as a Naval IntO to be spent in Halifax. More like one or two postings.

Interesting, do you know whether the newbies are always stationed in Ottawa? or whether I can get one early deployment in Halifax and then go wherever? Its not an issue spending most of my career in Ottowa or wherever they need me its just I want to date her for a few years.

 

[dimsum]

But yeah you are right I have no guarantee of branches. but like Navy is the best lol

Snorts in aircrew

Interesting, do you know whether the newbies are always stationed in Ottawa? or whether I can get one early deployment in Halifax and then go wherever? Its not an issue spending most of my career in Ottowa or wherever they need me its just I want to date her for a few years.

It totally depends on the needs of the branch.