Reserve Weekend BMQ ( merged )

[FrostBite]

Hey thanks for all the info BMQ. I'm getting enrolled this Thursday and was told my course starts this weekend. I'm doing infantry in London. Maybe I'll see a couple of you around.

 

[Sonnyjim]

To start comparing courses by having a 'pissing contest' with each other is foolishness. You are not on his course, and he was not on yours.

Need anybody say anymore?  Just boggles my mind, arguing over which weekend bmq course is harder than the other. You hit this one on the button.

 

[Kevin_M]

Hopefully none of your course staff come on the forums and read this. They may come on these forums too. Trust me, if they find out people have been saying the course is easy they will make you sorry you didn't. My course did and we did PT all day. I like PT, but not that much of it, not when people are throwing up.

 

[FrostBite]

for anyone who has been through BMQ recently or is currently in it , what is the PT like? i know original poster mentioned all of the exercises but how many of each? how long is it? i just want to be ready i know it all BMQ's are not the same but to get a rough idea. thank you.

 

[dregeneau]

So far, our PT is every morning from 0530 til 0630. It usually has a run, anywhere from 3km to 5km long. And, or it has sprints or intervals with pushups/situps/tricep dips in between (around 10-20 of each). Another option they give us is circuit training, which is a series of of 5-10 different exercises (situps, squats, obliques, push-ups, inverted push-ups, sprints, etc.) performed for 30-60 seconds at a time, with a short (15-30 second) break in between each exercise. Either one of those so far, otherwise PT is substituted with a ruck march.

I'm sure you could probably find a lot of other information on PT as well in other threads...there is a whole board pertaining to PT and exercises.

 

[Steel Badger]

Hopefully none of your course staff come on the forums and read this. They may come on these forums too. Trust me, if they find out people have been saying the course is easy they will make you sorry you didn't. My course did and we did PT all day. I like PT, but not that much of it, not when people are throwing up.

shhhhhhh  don't warn of the bloggers....It's not like their NCO's would actually read these forums and take corrective action find useful information hmmmmmm?
ir

 

[the_girlfirend]

Hey Dredre,

You have a crowd to please  op:

When is your next BMQ?
I want to know what is next  ;D

 

[blacktriangle]

shhhhhhh   don't warn of the bloggers....It's not like their NCO's would actually read these forums and take corrective action find useful information hmmmmmm?
ir

Just wait till I get back to the Mo and snag a teaching spot...I may not be a hardcore soldier, but I sure like to do PT!

 

[Blindspot]

Just wait till I get back to the Mo and snag a teaching spot...I may not be a hardcore soldier, but I sure like to do PT!

You would've loved our PT tonight then. Death Soccer hurts. I will never look at the beautiful game the same way again.

 

[blacktriangle]

You would've loved our PT tonight then. Death Soccer hurts. I will never look at the beautiful game the same way again.

Chances are I'm coming to you're unit so I hope I get the pleasure. You guys could use me in the Queen's cup... 

What units are the instructors from DreDre?

 

[dregeneau]

Unfortunately due to a situation I will not be posting any further updates to the goings on of our weekends. Sorry for all of you who have been following this thread.

Popnfresh:  I would assume that you would usually have instructors from the same units as the recruits on course.

 

[Nfld Sapper]

Unfortunately due to a situation I will not be posting any further updates to the goings on of our weekends. Sorry for all of you who have been following this thread.

Popnfresh:  I would assume that you would usually have instructors from the same units as the recruits on course.

Hmm... seems we told you so......

Hopefully none of your course staff come on the forums and read this. They may come on these forums too. Trust me, if they find out people have been saying the course is easy they will make you sorry you didn't. My course did and we did PT all day. I like PT, but not that much of it, not when people are throwing up.

 

[Remius]

Too bad.  dredre's posts didn't seem out of hand.  Merely his take on the course.  Unfortunately some instructors did come on the board and tried to goad him to saying things to get him in trouble.  I suppose dredre can't even talk to his family now about what his course is like  :

 

[RocketScientist]

Hello all,

I've been informed that I will probably get enrolled soon. I looked through the forum for answers to the following questions, but only got a few hints rather than complete answers. So asking here:

- When do Weekend BMQ's typically begin? I've read here that it's either Winter or Fall, but when exactly?
- How long is it between a recruit's enrollment date and when BMQ begins (i.e., do you always begin BMQ immediately, or do you sometimes have to wait a while)
- I have a few weekends pre-booked for work travel and family vacation this year (5 weekends spread over 8 months or so). There is no way to re-schedule either of them now (work-travel is based on agreed upon dates with international partners, and rescheduling family vacations is very expensive). Are Weekend BMQ recruits allowed to take a weekend or two off if they inform the Instructors well in advance? I read somewhere here that if you miss more than 1 weekend, you're out. 

Thank you.

 

[dangerboy]

Hello all,

I've been informed that I will probably get enrolled soon. I looked through the forum for answers to the following questions, but only got a few hints rather than complete answers. So asking here:

- When do Weekend BMQ's typically begin? I've read here that it's either Winter or Fall, but when exactly? - Depends on the unit or CBG, there is no national standard
- How long is it between a recruit's enrollment date and when BMQ begins (i.e., do you always begin BMQ immediately, or do you sometimes have to wait a while) - Again this depends on your unit, every unit will be allocated so many spots on a course so depending on your unit and when the next course is running you could be right away or you could wait awhile. There is no exact answer
- I have a few weekends pre-booked for work travel and family vacation this year (5 weekends spread over 8 months or so). There is no way to re-schedule either of them now (work-travel is based on agreed upon dates with international partners, and rescheduling family vacations is very expensive). Are Weekend BMQ recruits allowed to take a weekend or two off if they inform the Instructors well in advance? I read somewhere here that if you miss more than 1 weekend, you're out.  Best to wait till you are in a unit and discuse it with your new chain of command and they can come up with a plan that works for you and the unit.

Thank you.

 

[RocketScientist]

Thank you for your response.
So I take it there may be a new BMQ starting every month, or I could have to wait until September/October. Is it possible to choose which BMQ session you would like to attend?

I guess the ultimate question is: Is there usually a pre or post-enrollment sit-down chat with an instructor or someone else in the Chain of Command where you talk about next steps, availability, expectations, etc. Thus far I've only spoken with recruiters who are not in the same Unit.

 

[One-off]

Hello all,

I've been informed that I will probably get enrolled soon. I looked through the forum for answers to the following questions, but only got a few hints rather than complete answers. So asking here:

- When do Weekend BMQ's typically begin? I've read here that it's either Winter or Fall, but when exactly?
- How long is it between a recruit's enrollment date and when BMQ begins (i.e., do you always begin BMQ immediately, or do you sometimes have to wait a while)
- I have a few weekends pre-booked for work travel and family vacation this year (5 weekends spread over 8 months or so). There is no way to re-schedule either of them now (work-travel is based on agreed upon dates with international partners, and rescheduling family vacations is very expensive). Are Weekend BMQ recruits allowed to take a weekend or two off if they inform the Instructors well in advance? I read somewhere here that if you miss more than 1 weekend, you're out. 

Thank you.

Yes. (short answer to ALL your questions)

The dispersed BMQ's(weekend) can be run fall or spring depending on staffing ability of the local units.  For example 36 and 37 Combat Brigade Groups have been running theirs from late January until late March for the past few years.  The reserve BMQ's are staffed by the local units so their timing is dependent on the training schedule of the local units.

The wait time between enrollment and BMQ can vary depending on a few factors such as injury, candidate availability, and course availability.  I've seen it be as short as phone call on a Tuesday afternoon to get sworn in on Thursday evening and pick up kit, and then begin BMQ on Friday, and I've seen it as long as 12 months due to candidate unavailability.

Whether or not you can miss a weekend depends on the staff of the course, what weekend you are missing, and if the material you missed can be easily caught up.  I highly highly recommend not missing a weekend.

Thank you for your response.
So I take it there may be a new BMQ starting every month, or I could have to wait until September/October. Is it possible to choose which BMQ session you would like to attend?

I guess the ultimate question is: Is there usually a pre or post-enrollment sit-down chat with an instructor or someone else in the Chain of Command where you talk about next steps, availability, expectations, etc. Thus far I've only spoken with recruiters who are not in the same Unit.

No, the "BMQ starting every month" is more of a Reg force BMQ at St Jean thing(if they still run them that frequently, been 18 years since I went through there)

Depends on the unit, how organized they are and if they have the staff available.

So, you could very well get a phone call at anytime and asked to come in to enroll that week and start BMQ the following weekend, or you could get a phone call to enroll and then show up to your unit and have to constantly ask when you will be doing BMQ.  My recommendation is that you find a POC (point of contact) at recruiting and call them every 2 weeks to see how things are progressing and request to have a chat with someone at your future unit to get some more insight on what your 1st year will be like(bonus of joining the reserves) For example, if you're an engineer your DP1 will be at CFB Gagetown, NB; with the option of doing it all in 1 summer vs spread over 2.

 

[RocketScientist]

So, you could very well get a phone call at anytime and asked to come in to enroll that week and start BMQ the following weekend, or you could get a phone call to enroll and then show up to your unit and have to constantly ask when you will be doing BMQ.

Thank you for your insight. What would a person do between the time he/she is enrolled until BMQ begins? I assume they don't get to participate in any drill/training. Even as OCdt.

For example, if you're an engineer your DP1 will be at CFB Gagetown, NB; with the option of doing it all in 1 summer vs spread over 2.

Good guess! Going for Engineering Officer.