Discovery of RMC and ROTP

[pudd13]

In my opinion, there aren't many people outside of the military community that are familiar with the various entry plans, specifically ROTP, or the various occupations that the Canadian Forces has to offer. I think a lot of people think "if I join the military, I can't finish my school as early as I'd like," as well as many other misconceptions, most of which are spawned by movies.

Some people take these misconceptions as fact, and immediately brush off the possibility of joining the military for those misunderstandings.

My question is, how did everybody here come to discover the ROTP program, or even RMC, if they weren't previously part of the military community, or, how did you overcome any preconceptions you had about the Canadian Forces?

I'd be curious to see if there would be a good way to spread the truth about the CF to the general public, whose exposure is mostly through the news and the odd Canadian Forces recruiting ad.

 

[FDO]

During my 3 years as a Recruiter I visited many high schools, colleges and universities and spread the word. Also at dozens of events like the CNE, job fairs etc. The word is getting out. The biggest thing I saw was most people (in Toronto at least) have no clue what the CF does or the fact that not every member of the CF goes off to a current theatre or operations. The media have brainwashed Canadians into believing that if they sign on to one of the education programs then next week they are going to find themselves crawling through a desert somewhere. So many times I tried to tell people that they would not see combat until they were trained to be more dangerous to the enemy than they were to themselves. Usually in he neighbourhood of 2-3 years (+ or -).
First thing we need to do is educate the general public ABOUT the CF then we can educate them IN the CF!

 

[pudd13]

I agree. The information is out there for people to find it, it is just that most people think they already know, when really they have no idea. It only takes one visit to the Canadian Forces website, or one conversation with a recruiter, to overturn many misconceptions about the military. The trouble, in my mind, is that the only people who go to these websites, or chat with a recruiter, are people who have a more mature understanding of the military and what it does. In other words, the majority of people that go to the CF website or speak with a recruiter likely have less false information about the military than the general public. I feel the biggest battle is trying to get the people who have always immediately brushed off the military (ie the people who have the MOST preconceptions) to give it a chance to make that first visit to the Canadian Forces website, or to have that first 5 minute conversation with a recruiter, where they can start to learn the truth, and hopefully NOT brush off the military as quickly, or at all, in the future.

One of the most disappointing things I hear is when people think it is a waste for the straight A student, or the high-performing athlete, to join the military. "But he could have done so well if he went and got a degree instead of joining military" or "He is kissing his hockey career goodbye when he goes off to the military." People see it as very black and white; it is either a successful civilian life, or a military life. A lot of people fail to realize that you can have a VERY successful military life (some might say more successful than many civilians), and, if you so wish, you can have a very successful civilian life after the military, using the invaluable life, team, and leadership skills acquired while serving.

 

[nairna]

Oh Toronto. We have a love hate relationship. As I am a northern ontarian this big city I live in as a result of school can be a blessing and a curse, but that's off topic.

My discovery of ROTP came when I was around 14 and in cadets. So I guess I was becoming intertwined in the military community to gain knowledge of it from a young age.

As for Canadians and the common lack of knowledge of our CF, it pains me sometimes the arrogance and sheer lack of knowledge canadians have of their armed forces. Take a peek at the globe and mail or CBC and read the comments posted regarding military related articles. I'm sure emotion will begin to bubble within.

 

[pudd13]

I know, I read those articles daily, and my blood boils when I see some comments. I get it twofold, as I tend to have a bit of loyalty and a ton of respect for the RCMP (my father is a member), and there is certainly no shortage of ignorant and arrogant comments directed at that organization also.

I suppose since I started the thread, I should tell about how I came across RMC. When I was at a young age, probably grade 6, my only "sources" of info about the military were movies and video games, and I never saw myself wanting to join the CF. I figure grade 6 is a young enough age where is it still acceptable to have misconceptions about lots of things, let alone the military. I thought the CF was a place for people who couldn't do anything else and they needed to straighten their lives out. Luckily I grew out of it, unlike a lot of people in Canada, and found out I was TOTALLY wrong. I grew out of it, because I knew I always wanted to be a pilot. In grade 8 I started searching for various ways of becoming a pilot, and naturally the Air Force is a route that pops up. At first, I totally ignored the possibility, but then one day I decided I would look into it, and I haven't looked back since. The more I looked into the Air Force, the more I wanted to be in the CF. Then, as any person wanting to be a pilot in the CF would, I fell upon RMC and the ROTP program, and knew they were the right fit for me.

I regard myself as one of the few who managed to jump over that barrier of misconception and actually give the military a chance. I am curious how many other people found themselves in a similar situation, and how many other people in Canada just a need a little push in order to make that jump.

 

[mathabos]

I came across the ROTP program by mistake.

When  I was 10 or 11, I visited my aunt at Valcartier. From there, I asked her many questions. As I grew older, she told me about the CF being able to pay for your school. I was quite interested. Towards the end of high school, I looked up interesting jobs related to the CF and geared my course choices to accommodated more math classes. Unfortunately, when it came time to apply for cegeps (Quebec), my parents would not authorize me to attend RMC. My parents were brainwashed with these common misconceptions. They wanted me to attend a civilian university and experience everything it offers. They were afraid that as a cadet, I was brainwashed to join the CF.

So from there, I attended a civilian cegep and then a civilian university. I had had no idea at the time that the CF would subsidize civilian university degrees.
When I was in my second year I thought it would be a good idea to join the reserves in order to gain experience before going the DEO option. So I visited the recruiting center. I was amazed to find out that the CF would accept me into ROTP for the balance of my degree.
From there, I applied to ROTP and completely forgot about reserves.

That is my story

 

[pudd13]

Hmm that is quite interesting. You are lucky you found out about ROTP when you did. My parents have always been very supportive of my decision to join the CF, and they understand why I want to. My friends, on the other hand, tend to wonder why I would "want to do something so crazy." I try to explain to them what I will be going through with training, and what my day to day job might be like (to the best of my knowledge) but for some reason, even after hearing the words out of my mouth, they think I will be shipped off to foreign soil fighting a war two weeks after I sign my papers.

 

[runormal]

I found out about the RMC and ROTP program at my highschool's university night. I went into a few Civi U's presentations and every school seemed the exact same. "We have this facility coming in, our campus looks like this and we have a great *insert program name here*. I was only in grade 11 at the time so that night wasn't to important to me. So as i was about to leave the school I saw a banner for RMC, checked it out and after the presentation, I decided that is what i wanted to do.

Currently i'm applying so who knows how it will go.

 

[hockey2010]

I came across ROTP and RMC when I was looking around the Canadian Forces website for my friend who was in the process of going into the reserves. From there I started looking for more information on it and it eventually lead me to this website and the RMC website which ultimately made me decide that this is what I wanted to do.

 

[MPwannabe]

^ Congrats!

It's good to see people find their calling. I find that it's rare for the general public to have a good insight into the benefits of a CF career or at least an RMC education. IMO, the CF needs to step up their game a bit with regards to enlightening the public.

(That being said, there are many Arms trades that are over-filled right now. The CF must be doing something right in order to have all of these new soldiers  :nod:  )

 

[pudd13]

I suppose that they are definitely doing something right, that is true. But aren't the Arms trades usually pretty full?

 

[runormal]

They are full but since our combat mission is supposed to end in 2011, and then turn into a smaller training mission until 2014. We don't need an excess of Arms men. That is why the most reserves and NCM trades are closed until April.

 

[Bowen]

Through family. I believe my grandad went through RMC. Also one of my cousins graduated a few years back. My sister is in 3rd year at RMC right now. I've just always heard and known about it. Been my dream school since Grade 7.

 

[runormal]

They are full but since our combat mission is supposed to end in 2011, and then turn into a smaller training mission until 2014. We don't need an excess of Arms men. That is why most reserve units and NCM trades are closed until April.

 

[PuckChaser]

The mission in Afghanistan has no bearing on why we're full. We're full because the manning levels for all Combat Arms trades including trained+people in training system is equal to or over 100% PML. The CF has finite money to pay people, so the more we have over 100% in trades, the less we can have in other trades.