Reserves - Parade nights - what do you actually do?

[Belli]

I'm applying to a local reserve regiment as infantry, but also considering artillery or armour. There's lots of info about the longer training courses, but I've realized that I have little to no idea what happens during the evenings and weekends at the Armoury.

I'm undecided about applying NCM or through DEO and the differences in the more routine work might have an impact on that decision.

Thanks,
Belli

 

[Haggis]

The short answer is that it depends on what big unit or brigade events are on the horizon.  Usually units will focus their training night activity on preparing for those events.

Once the Corona situation eases, I suggest you drop by the units in question during their parade nights to see what happens.  My guess is that your local Army units are all in the same brigade so they may all be working towards the same goals/events.

 

[BDTyre]

As Haggis said, it depends on what's coming up and what the unit's focus is. You may also find yourself on course during a parade night (depending on the course).

My unit, for the first several weeks, focuses on basic soldiers skills - weapons handling, CBRN, detainees, fieldcraft, marksmanship, etc. Once those requirements have been met, we move on to our unit's focus for that training year. The parade nights are used to build skills that will be practiced on the monthly exercise.

Or, you might find yourself in a job where you are performing admin. I was recently with my unit's RQ and I was primarily in charge of running our weapons vault, so my night was very different than that of someone in the rifle company/

 

[Kilted]

1. Opening Parade/ Inspection
2. Training
3. Closing Parade
4. Mess. (I have a feeling that that will take longer to come back after training resumes). That being said, some messes don't allow non-BMQ qualified troops in the mess, especially if they are on a weekend course where their staff might be mess members.

 

[RocketScientist]

Hello all, how are parade nights different during COVID?
If they're virtual, do you wear your Uniform and stuff?

Just wondering, since I will (hopefully) be enrolling soon.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Hello all, how are parade nights different during COVID?
If they're virtual, do you wear your Uniform and stuff?

Just wondering, since I will (hopefully) be enrolling soon.

Others will likely chime in here too... we're running our normal training routine, but with masks on most of the time and not cramming people into small lecture theatres. There's alot of work going on on the parade square week nights, various drills in prep for the weekends, and weekend exercises like range work and FTXs are going ahead.

 

[NavyShooter]

I'm the Training Company CSM at a local infantry reserve unit.

Our Training Company consists of all soldiers who have not yet attained DP1 training - so, those who are waiting for BMQ, and those who have completed BMQ, but not their DP1 Infantry course. 

We are not supposed to provide training on material that you will received formal training on during other courses, so our focus is "Train to Excite". 

Our evening training plan for the Training Company is focused around 2 periods - first period is usually PT (walk/jog/ruck - we build you up to the ruck by December - it's a planned progression.) The second period is generally targeted on building your other basic soldier skills.  Moving, communicating, shooting. 

In the fall, we run a Navigation Exercise - basic map and compass.  Our training periods in the weeks prior cover basic Map/Compass skills so that you won't get lost in the woods, but we also pair up trainees on the exercise (and do it in a 'safe' well-marked area) so that you can work together on the movement phase.

We run some basic communications courses as well - how to operate a radio, how to talk on a net, what a "Pro-word" is, how to do a turnover and a radio check.  Basic things that will be handy down the road.

As we move to the spring, we shift our focus to weapons platforms.  After PT, the troops head down to the weapons vault and pull up all of our C-9's, or all of our C-6's, or the C-6's an the Sustained Fire kits, or the Carl Gustav AT Launchers, the M-203's, etc.  Basically, we don't want our troops to see the weapons for the first time on course - we want them to get hands on and familiarized with the tools of their trade in our unit lines before they go away on summer training.

In the background, there's briefings that have to happen - hateful conduct briefings, OPERATION HONOUR, visits by CANSOF and JTF for recruiting (and I think they just wanted to show off their toys!) there's going to be parade practices for Remembrance Day, there will be unit sports nights, and so on.

When COVID hit in the spring, we shifted to some online/virtual training, and those may or may not be in uniform - for myself as a leader in the unit, I wore a uniform unless told not to. 

How are our training nights different?  Well, when handing a weapon over to someone, you're no longer just clearing it (proving it safe) you're also cleaning it (making it safe from bugs and covids)  Other than that, really, we're working as best we can towards the goal of preparing our soldiers for their next phase of training.

That might be starting a BMQ at the end of November (running over weekends through until March) or getting recovered and fit after an injury and prepared for summer courses during the Full Time Summer Employment period (May-end Aug). 

That's a lot of stuff written...maybe it helps you understand what we're doing, and what you'll be doing?

 

[BDTyre]

We toyed with an alternative training schedule. A Coy 1 Plt would come in Monday, 2 Plt on Wednesday and 3 Plt on Thursday. HQ would continue on Wednesdays. It seems like this may not be working, so we might go back to Wednesdays only.

My course has resumed so technically I don't have to come in on non-course nights, but our RQ is significantly understaffed so I have been coming in to do weapons draws and kit issues.

Some of the training is virtual. No need to have people attend the armoury if it's just going to be a night of PowerPoints. Some of it has to be done in-person, and when that happens, masks are mandatory; the armoury has all the doors opened up and social distancing is maintained as much as possible.