- Reaction score
- 2
- Points
- 280
Part 1:
Well I am Joe, and basically going to tell you my story as it stands at this point.
My dad was Reservist for the Army and always had me enrolled in cadets when I was young, (19 now). Ever since I was young I loved the entire experience of being in the cadets, and I dreamed of being a Soldier when I grew up, so which leads to why I applied. The last few years have been kind of tough, I was bullied a lot in highschool (You know how highschool kids are.) and dropped out at Gr10, I had no ambitions and no idea what I was going to do, I have always been a tech geek so in my spare time when I wasn't applying for jobs I would work on my computers, and help my uncle with his construction company. Then about a year ago I heard about an IT program a local college was having and I figured it would be a good opportunity to earn my Ticket (Which I did), and found out my teacher was an ex LCIS Tech for the Canadian Forces this is where everything started to turn for me. I spoke to my teacher on a daily basis about military life and how I used to be a Cadet and how I just loved it, and he asked me why I just didn't join the Canadian Forces, and of course me being me I came up with a bunch of excuses on why they wouldn't take me or how I have messed up my education so badly, but finally I decided I would apply so as of May last year I applied to become a Combat Engineer for the Canadian Forces Reserves (I wanted to be in the regular force but you know how mothers are). So I signed the papers and we started the process, this is when it starts to turn crappy. I finished the IT Program and Graduated with an IT Ticket in June 2013, and boy was I so excited to get into the military months passed by until about September, I got a call for my CFAT, Medical, Physical all to be done in 1 day! unfortunately I decided to wait on it as I was just starting a new job and they wouldn't let me take the day off, so I rescheduled in which I had another day where the CFAT, Medical, and Physical in which I again rescheduled because I just didn't feel to comfortable doing the Physical (I was a chunky highschool kid weighing in at 320pounds and 6'3) so I decided to reschedule it again, I lost some weight now I weigh about 250-260 and actually gained a lot of muscle, I started from not being able to do 1 push up to being able to do 10 push-ups+ With ease. And I joined an ultimate Frisbee team to get some cardio in, anyways back to the point so once I started to feel a bit more confident I decided to reschedule this time it was just going to be the CFAT in which something else came up, I was finally able to get the surgery I was waiting for since I was 12, please don't hate on me when I say this because I haven't told much people but the surgery was to remove the fat from my chest, because well I had man boobs. I had lost all this weight but still had these sandbags for I cancelled again.
Part 2:
Quick bit of information
Before I rescheduled the CFAT, and had been notified about the surgery I started working at a call center to make some extra money on the side, this is I think what really had me finished in the crappy job compartment.
Anyways after I had gotten my surgery and healed up a bit I went back to work, when I arrived I had a horrible time and decided I wanted to make real changes to my life, so I quit my job and I re-enrolled into adult education so I could get my Dogwood Diploma, so I called again to reschedule my CFAT (Late October) Unfortunately what I hadn't realized is my license expired and I would not have a photo ID for the CFAT so once again I had to cancel, (I am actually surprised I still have an application to be perfectly honest.) Anyways I managed to get some money saved to get my ID's so that I would be able to do the CFAT while I was waiting for my license's to show in the mail I was doing school. After about a few weeks of critical thinking, I decided that I wanted to make a career out of the forces, and I didn't want it to be working a part-time job when I could be doing all that I can do in a real military career, so I contacted the recruiting center and changed my application from Res F to Reg F (And this is where the story gets sort of awesome, but sort of crumby) The recruiter asked me if I still wanted to keep just ONE trade on my application, and after many months of research I decided I just didn't want one trade on my application. So I kept Combat Engineer as my main trade and selected 2 other trades I thought I would also do well in, ACISS, and Electrical Distribution Tech, he then asked me what my current level of education is (I admitted that I had only my Gr10 education and I was working on my Gr12) and he told me as follows, "Yes you can still get into the forces with a Grade 10 education, but it is a whole lot easier getting in with your Grade 12." So right there at this point it motivated me, I wanted to become a part of the Army, so it was time to buck up and get my grade 12. I made him aware that I needed to schedule the CFAT and so forth and I was awaiting on my ID's he gave me an extension to in which is why this story is about to go downhill a little.
Part 3:
I received my ID literally 4 days after contacting the recruiting center, and thought wow! It must be for a reason it finally showed. So I contacted the recruiting center, punched in the extension and to my disbelief I hear, "We cannot connect you to this extension, as it is no longer active." So I was freaking out at this point and thought well I need to somehow let them know I was ready to go, so I managed to get a hold of one of the recruiters, (He was probably having an off day most people do, as he didn't seem to pleasant) I let him know the situation and he told me he will put it on the shelf and let the File managers know, this was about a week or two before they closed for Christmas holidays, he said someone should be back to me within a few days, I hadn't heard anything but I just figured you know they are probably really busy at this time so I just left it be. (By this time I had finished English 12, in about a month, and I was just starting math, and I didn't start to hot either, math has always been a bit of a struggle for me, I can do math but I lacked the confidence in which made me not want to show up for class, finally I talked to the teacher and he gladly explained how to do it and what I was doing wrong, low and behold I was powering through the math, school then closed for the holidays so I was unable to do anymore math, so I spent my holidays hanging with family and continuing my workout routine). Monday January 6th class started up again, and the recruiting center opened the same day, so while I was attending class I was also thinking about when I would get my call, by this time I had only 3 booklets left for math I finished 1 of the 3 within the first hour of the class and started on the next one, I had a bit of an issue so I decided it was best just to go home, so I went home and got some rest, the next day still no call I was starting to worry a little but I went to class anyways, I finished that book in about 2hrs of the class, and which led to the last book of math and the last book until I would finally be a Gr12 Graduate, I started the book and to my horror it was Trig BLAH! so of course I had some insane problems with it but once I found the proper formula I was able to complete the book within 2 days, after I had finished the booklet, my teacher marked it asked for my phone number (Kind of was like awkward......) And told me to step outside, he shock my hand and said congrats you have completed Gr12, I honestly tried so hard to hold the excitement in, FINALLY! I completed my Gr12 finally I am no longer the high school drop out with nothing to show for it. Then some bad news hit, the day after the amazing news I still had not heard anything from the recruitment center, so I contacted again and figured I would try the extension and it still had not worked. So I decided to go through my email and I found an old email from the Manager of the File Managers and contacted her asking who exactly am I supposed to contact because the recruiter had told me that my file manager had been changed because I switched from Res F to Reg F, she then informed me that it however had not changed and I still hold the same file manager. So I tried contacting my file manager VIA Phone, and was unable to reach her, so I left a brief message letting her know whom I was and why I was calling, the next day I received an email and I was so excited because finally I was able to do my CFAT....... But nope, the email read
And being a great file manager she is, she phoned me and explained to me when she meant. She explained it like this, "There has been a rule put into effect that right now ROTP and Aboriginal Applicants have been put into priority, although your application is priority once we have processed the ROTP and Aboriginal Applicants, we are unable to tell you a scheduled date for when you are able to do your CFAT, it could take a month to three months at this point we don't know, when we have an opening we will be sure to contact you as because you are signed up for Reg F, and your application is on the top of our list you are a priority for contact after all other shave been process."
At this point I was pretty disappointed, a month to three months!?? Yes I have been waiting this long, but its a kick in the pants knowing that I have finished all the requirements and not being able to progress any further for awhile, sooooo that is essentially where I am at, waiting for what will probably feel like eternity to just get to the CFAT, at this point while I wait to pass the time I am studying the GED textbook to keep my head refreshed in math for when I do get the call about the day of the test, I have no worries for the Verbal/Spatial ability of the test as those 2 are my major strong points but I am kind of over thinking what if I do bad? what if it's superbly difficult? I am also looking for part-time work so I can earn a little bit of money and kill time as working tends to make you lose track of your time haha. And of course keeping fit, I have not missed a workout and plan not to as I have found it an amazing sense of gratitude, and healthiness.
I will keep you all updated as to when I will be doing the CFAT, hopefully not 3months from now :\ but I have been crazy unlucky so far..... But got to keep thinking positive, I thank you all for reading!
PS: I plan on checking up in about 2 weeks time, is this a bad idea or good idea?
PPS: For anyone wondering I finished English 12 with a B+ and Math With a B.
Well I am Joe, and basically going to tell you my story as it stands at this point.
My dad was Reservist for the Army and always had me enrolled in cadets when I was young, (19 now). Ever since I was young I loved the entire experience of being in the cadets, and I dreamed of being a Soldier when I grew up, so which leads to why I applied. The last few years have been kind of tough, I was bullied a lot in highschool (You know how highschool kids are.) and dropped out at Gr10, I had no ambitions and no idea what I was going to do, I have always been a tech geek so in my spare time when I wasn't applying for jobs I would work on my computers, and help my uncle with his construction company. Then about a year ago I heard about an IT program a local college was having and I figured it would be a good opportunity to earn my Ticket (Which I did), and found out my teacher was an ex LCIS Tech for the Canadian Forces this is where everything started to turn for me. I spoke to my teacher on a daily basis about military life and how I used to be a Cadet and how I just loved it, and he asked me why I just didn't join the Canadian Forces, and of course me being me I came up with a bunch of excuses on why they wouldn't take me or how I have messed up my education so badly, but finally I decided I would apply so as of May last year I applied to become a Combat Engineer for the Canadian Forces Reserves (I wanted to be in the regular force but you know how mothers are). So I signed the papers and we started the process, this is when it starts to turn crappy. I finished the IT Program and Graduated with an IT Ticket in June 2013, and boy was I so excited to get into the military months passed by until about September, I got a call for my CFAT, Medical, Physical all to be done in 1 day! unfortunately I decided to wait on it as I was just starting a new job and they wouldn't let me take the day off, so I rescheduled in which I had another day where the CFAT, Medical, and Physical in which I again rescheduled because I just didn't feel to comfortable doing the Physical (I was a chunky highschool kid weighing in at 320pounds and 6'3) so I decided to reschedule it again, I lost some weight now I weigh about 250-260 and actually gained a lot of muscle, I started from not being able to do 1 push up to being able to do 10 push-ups+ With ease. And I joined an ultimate Frisbee team to get some cardio in, anyways back to the point so once I started to feel a bit more confident I decided to reschedule this time it was just going to be the CFAT in which something else came up, I was finally able to get the surgery I was waiting for since I was 12, please don't hate on me when I say this because I haven't told much people but the surgery was to remove the fat from my chest, because well I had man boobs. I had lost all this weight but still had these sandbags for I cancelled again.
Part 2:
Quick bit of information
Before I rescheduled the CFAT, and had been notified about the surgery I started working at a call center to make some extra money on the side, this is I think what really had me finished in the crappy job compartment.
Anyways after I had gotten my surgery and healed up a bit I went back to work, when I arrived I had a horrible time and decided I wanted to make real changes to my life, so I quit my job and I re-enrolled into adult education so I could get my Dogwood Diploma, so I called again to reschedule my CFAT (Late October) Unfortunately what I hadn't realized is my license expired and I would not have a photo ID for the CFAT so once again I had to cancel, (I am actually surprised I still have an application to be perfectly honest.) Anyways I managed to get some money saved to get my ID's so that I would be able to do the CFAT while I was waiting for my license's to show in the mail I was doing school. After about a few weeks of critical thinking, I decided that I wanted to make a career out of the forces, and I didn't want it to be working a part-time job when I could be doing all that I can do in a real military career, so I contacted the recruiting center and changed my application from Res F to Reg F (And this is where the story gets sort of awesome, but sort of crumby) The recruiter asked me if I still wanted to keep just ONE trade on my application, and after many months of research I decided I just didn't want one trade on my application. So I kept Combat Engineer as my main trade and selected 2 other trades I thought I would also do well in, ACISS, and Electrical Distribution Tech, he then asked me what my current level of education is (I admitted that I had only my Gr10 education and I was working on my Gr12) and he told me as follows, "Yes you can still get into the forces with a Grade 10 education, but it is a whole lot easier getting in with your Grade 12." So right there at this point it motivated me, I wanted to become a part of the Army, so it was time to buck up and get my grade 12. I made him aware that I needed to schedule the CFAT and so forth and I was awaiting on my ID's he gave me an extension to in which is why this story is about to go downhill a little.
Part 3:
I received my ID literally 4 days after contacting the recruiting center, and thought wow! It must be for a reason it finally showed. So I contacted the recruiting center, punched in the extension and to my disbelief I hear, "We cannot connect you to this extension, as it is no longer active." So I was freaking out at this point and thought well I need to somehow let them know I was ready to go, so I managed to get a hold of one of the recruiters, (He was probably having an off day most people do, as he didn't seem to pleasant) I let him know the situation and he told me he will put it on the shelf and let the File managers know, this was about a week or two before they closed for Christmas holidays, he said someone should be back to me within a few days, I hadn't heard anything but I just figured you know they are probably really busy at this time so I just left it be. (By this time I had finished English 12, in about a month, and I was just starting math, and I didn't start to hot either, math has always been a bit of a struggle for me, I can do math but I lacked the confidence in which made me not want to show up for class, finally I talked to the teacher and he gladly explained how to do it and what I was doing wrong, low and behold I was powering through the math, school then closed for the holidays so I was unable to do anymore math, so I spent my holidays hanging with family and continuing my workout routine). Monday January 6th class started up again, and the recruiting center opened the same day, so while I was attending class I was also thinking about when I would get my call, by this time I had only 3 booklets left for math I finished 1 of the 3 within the first hour of the class and started on the next one, I had a bit of an issue so I decided it was best just to go home, so I went home and got some rest, the next day still no call I was starting to worry a little but I went to class anyways, I finished that book in about 2hrs of the class, and which led to the last book of math and the last book until I would finally be a Gr12 Graduate, I started the book and to my horror it was Trig BLAH! so of course I had some insane problems with it but once I found the proper formula I was able to complete the book within 2 days, after I had finished the booklet, my teacher marked it asked for my phone number (Kind of was like awkward......) And told me to step outside, he shock my hand and said congrats you have completed Gr12, I honestly tried so hard to hold the excitement in, FINALLY! I completed my Gr12 finally I am no longer the high school drop out with nothing to show for it. Then some bad news hit, the day after the amazing news I still had not heard anything from the recruitment center, so I contacted again and figured I would try the extension and it still had not worked. So I decided to go through my email and I found an old email from the Manager of the File Managers and contacted her asking who exactly am I supposed to contact because the recruiter had told me that my file manager had been changed because I switched from Res F to Reg F, she then informed me that it however had not changed and I still hold the same file manager. So I tried contacting my file manager VIA Phone, and was unable to reach her, so I left a brief message letting her know whom I was and why I was calling, the next day I received an email and I was so excited because finally I was able to do my CFAT....... But nope, the email read
Of course when I had received the message I was just half waking up and I honestly really didn't understand the email, so I responded back saying I don't understand what she meant as I was able to properly schedule my CFAT before.
And being a great file manager she is, she phoned me and explained to me when she meant. She explained it like this, "There has been a rule put into effect that right now ROTP and Aboriginal Applicants have been put into priority, although your application is priority once we have processed the ROTP and Aboriginal Applicants, we are unable to tell you a scheduled date for when you are able to do your CFAT, it could take a month to three months at this point we don't know, when we have an opening we will be sure to contact you as because you are signed up for Reg F, and your application is on the top of our list you are a priority for contact after all other shave been process."
At this point I was pretty disappointed, a month to three months!?? Yes I have been waiting this long, but its a kick in the pants knowing that I have finished all the requirements and not being able to progress any further for awhile, sooooo that is essentially where I am at, waiting for what will probably feel like eternity to just get to the CFAT, at this point while I wait to pass the time I am studying the GED textbook to keep my head refreshed in math for when I do get the call about the day of the test, I have no worries for the Verbal/Spatial ability of the test as those 2 are my major strong points but I am kind of over thinking what if I do bad? what if it's superbly difficult? I am also looking for part-time work so I can earn a little bit of money and kill time as working tends to make you lose track of your time haha. And of course keeping fit, I have not missed a workout and plan not to as I have found it an amazing sense of gratitude, and healthiness.
I will keep you all updated as to when I will be doing the CFAT, hopefully not 3months from now :\ but I have been crazy unlucky so far..... But got to keep thinking positive, I thank you all for reading!
PS: I plan on checking up in about 2 weeks time, is this a bad idea or good idea?
PPS: For anyone wondering I finished English 12 with a B+ and Math With a B.
I am very excited yet a little nervous!
