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I have not been to bmq yet. I have however constantly searched army.ca for bmq tips. If this is what you are searching for....NONE of the following bmq tips are mine. All bmq tips that follow are clean "cut and paste's" from existing threads.
Just thought I'd save you the time.
Years ago I considered a career as an OPP. Though i eventually chose not to pursue. I did come upon an individual while researching that career who shared an invalueable persective on the recruiting process.
He said, (refering specifically to the aptitude test but it will -in some form-apply here)
"This is the one time in your career when you will walk into a room and know exactly what will be expected of you. There is no reason why you should not get a perfect score."(admittedly a perfect score probably does not apply)
As my father in-law said when he gave a set of tools for christmas.....
"Now you got no excuse kid!" and neither do the rest of you!!!
(this is a summary of all the bmq tips I have found. I am surprised that all this info has been made available, I'm just glad i printed it out before I posted it. Have fun and Good luck!) ;D
When you get there just talk to the guys and gals who're a few weeks ahead of you. They'll fill you in on all the little tricks and stuff, but here are a few just off the top of my head:
To get the bottom of your boots black, clean the mud and stuff off then spray them with hairspray. Some people will use boot polish, but that will mark up your floor and be a pain in the *** to clean.
Swiffer mops are awesome for picking up dust. Go over your cubicle floor, window sill, and every other flat surface with one in the morning before inspection.
Get yourself into a routine and develop some work habits. I had a rough time with this, but after a few weeks I had something like this worked out: I'd get home from supper, throw my stuff in the wash right away. Then before anything else gets done, MAKE A FRIGGEN LIST of things that needed to be done (i.e. boots, weapon, iron shirts, ect.). Then I'd cross things off as they got done. Its time management for dummies.
I never bothered with having a second shave kit, but i did have "inspection underwear" because I realized that boxers were too much of a pain to refold every night.
If you're a smoker, get some nicorette gum. During the field portion of my course, we were limited to one or two smokes a day. At one point, a MCPL decided to give us a five minute smoke break, but only 3 people were allowed to smoke at once. It was a sick joke, considering there were well over 15 people who hadnt had a smoke in 12 hours but it takes some serious teamwork to pass off half a smoke to let your buddy take a drag before the time's up. Anyways, If you do get nicotine gum, keep it on the downlow. These days I always have a pack whenever I go into the field because it doesnt violate light discipline.
Always make sure your uniform is up to standard.
As well, realise no matter what you do, the DS will
find fault in what you have done.
Make sure you grow a thick skin, people like to pick
on recruits (by people I mean other troops who are not
your instructors). Its part of the fun of being a
recruit, but be ready. Also, look up the rank structure
and remember it and know at least some basic military
protocol. This will help keep you and your buds out of
trouble, and may even help make a good impression on
your instructors
In Lim0's defence, we had the LFWA Commander in last
night, and the saluting policy was clarified:
Jr. Officers - once in an evening/day.
Sr. Officers - Always.
Go to shoppers drug or any other big chain to find this.
I use a Wilkinson's Sword Shaving brush (Get a second one,
they are great for getting the dust off your weapon)
and
Mug or Wilkinson's Shaving soap. The Sword brand comes with
a little tub which is handy.
The nice thing about this is:
1. It does not freeze in the winter
2. There are no problems with taking it on board DND aircraft.
Some loadmasters are quite picky when it comes to pressurized
containers like the conventional shaving foam.
first aid is the tuffest test, pay attention in class,
if you are done your room, fix someone else's
and see if anyone else needs help carrying theirs down
as well. The instructors notice little things like
that
Also, remember that nothign is personal. Some people
have a tough time getting reemed out on morning
inspection. Just keep in your head that it's nothign
personal and you'll get through it.
keep a very open mind. everytime you think you cannot
do something, tell yourself over and over in your head
"i can do this". never take anything anyone says
personally, it will always make for some good laughs
later on. ALWAYS be 5 or 10 minutes early for every
timing you are given. if you are on time, you are
late. keep that in mind.
Yes standardization is KEY!!!! If you think you can
make something better for inspection, you better make
sure everyone else does it too. Or else you'll be
accused of thinking you're different or better than
everyone else.
push up poker:
2-10 face card
J: 11 pushups
Q: 12 push ups
K 13 push ups
a: 20 push ups
keep going till someone quits.
two sets of everything, use it once
then leave it on display.
Use shampoo as body wash
thus leaving soap bar and dish clean.)
you make it look like you used it ie......for the
toothpaste take alittle out of it and so on
Make sure you "dust" off your soap every once and a while too.
Gellete foamy good, Gillete gel bad.
team work. two people iron, two people
check lay out of lockers, etc
wear one set of combats and wash that
night. leave other two untouched and
ready for inspection.
blue booties over boots before inspection
to not mark up the floor.
sew your name on everything.
don't ask questions
pen and pad
eavedrop on other inspection and learn
don't ask questions
work hard at everything
show determination whereever possible
don't ask why questions, ask how questions
take safety pins and pin everything together when doing laundery,
so you dont' loseit or get it mixed up
duffel bag is ussually no go for instructors
bring swiffer pads/cloths
black thread, needle
The big thing is, yelling and stress are a vital and necessary part
of one's initial training. You are learning to go into harm's way,
and put the enemy in the same.
When these challenges first came to the military, a wise old sergeant
of mine had a number of very pithy and relevant sayings.
"If you can't take being yelled at, how the heck are you going to take
being shot at?"
"Face or gut - where to you want to get hit first? Sometimes that's the
choice life gives you.
"If shot, you can choose to cease bleeding at any time."
And, "The enemy is not required to recognize or adhere to the Canadian
Human Rights Act"
I started my BMQ in October at Denison. Here is my advice. The first
four weekends are the hardest as they want to get rid of the guys that
don't want to be there. They won't yell at you in the classroom. Take lots
of notes and write it down mostly word for word. You will get tested on
everything you get taught. Bring two pens. Get up before 5:45 am and get
ready for the day. IE shave before PT. Sleep in your pt gear minus your
socks. Keep your canteen full always and keep loose threads off your uniform.
The classroom stuff is a piece of cake. They don't make people fail on purpose.
DO NOT fall asleep during a lecture. It's easy to do, and then they will make you
stand for the rest of the lecture. If you get written up for an infraction and have
to do extra PT. Make sure you get the stuff you missed from a buddy. When you hand
in homework, make sure it is error-free. IE no crossed out mistakes.
Regarding carrying a razor on your person: I carried a G
illette Mach 3 head (just the head) in my pocket for
those times when I missed a spot (and noticed after)
or even FORGOT to shave (yes, it happened... more than once).
So panicked was I on one forgetful occasion that I dryshaved
with my buddy's Gerber knife in stand-easy ranks. The razor
head came in super handy and you can get used to dry shaving
with a safety razor when you're stairing a $250 fine in the face.
Dogboy/Carman: Just a little note on PT morning showers:
use ONE bathroom and shower quickly, with everyone dropping
their PT gear on the bathroom floor upon arrival back at the
pod/room to soak up the water. You're not going to wear your
PT gear twice in a row without washing it so who cares? Any
dry pieces of PT gear on the floor when everyone's done can
be used to wipe down the showers/sinks. Waiting for the shower?
Start getting your room inspection ready - wipe down inspection-prone
surfaces (windowsills and the bottom of the closet being the top two,
it seemed), go over your weapon quickly, check the common areas are OK,
HELP ANY OF YOUR BUDDIES THAT HAVE FALLEN BEHIND, etc. Most importantly,
if you need help with something, ASK FOR IT. Get that habit going and EVERYONE
will make use of it - no one goes through basic/IAP without help.
Sharing the fate of your *** with your buddy not only builds trust but
comradery and friendship too. That being said, OFFER help whenever you
find yourself wondering what's left to do. I've had buddies tying my
bootlaces for me on change parades and it was, in all seriousness, a
touching experience. Regarding shaving, just use hot water and a your
razor - I'd been doing it long before the course and it was likely the
only one of my civvy habits that was actually useful - less to clean
out of the sink and less time taken to shave.
More on asking for help: you're not doing your buddies any favours
by being the only crappy room in the group for inspection - the
instructors are likely to give your buddies crap, and possibly even
the platoon, because they're obviously not helping you achieve standard.
There is no, and I mean NO, period of time in the mornings (especially PT mornings)
when you have nothing to do. You will become a time-management superstar and what
you can achieve in 5 minutes, at the end of the course, will both amaze and sicken you.
shave at night, get a cheapo braun shape
Go to shoppers drug or any other big chain.
I use a Wilkinson's Sword Shaving brush (Get a second one,
they are great for getting the dust off your weapon)
and
Mug or Wilkinson's Shaving soap. The Sword brand comes with
a little tub which is handy.
The nice thing about this is:
1. It does not freeze in the winter
2. There are no problems with taking it on board DND aircraft.
Some loadmasters are quite picky when it comes to pressurized
containers like the conventional shaving foam.
first aid is the tuffest test, pay attention in class,
if you are done your room, fix someone else's
Just thought I'd save you the time.
Years ago I considered a career as an OPP. Though i eventually chose not to pursue. I did come upon an individual while researching that career who shared an invalueable persective on the recruiting process.
He said, (refering specifically to the aptitude test but it will -in some form-apply here)
"This is the one time in your career when you will walk into a room and know exactly what will be expected of you. There is no reason why you should not get a perfect score."(admittedly a perfect score probably does not apply)
As my father in-law said when he gave a set of tools for christmas.....
"Now you got no excuse kid!" and neither do the rest of you!!!
(this is a summary of all the bmq tips I have found. I am surprised that all this info has been made available, I'm just glad i printed it out before I posted it. Have fun and Good luck!) ;D
When you get there just talk to the guys and gals who're a few weeks ahead of you. They'll fill you in on all the little tricks and stuff, but here are a few just off the top of my head:
To get the bottom of your boots black, clean the mud and stuff off then spray them with hairspray. Some people will use boot polish, but that will mark up your floor and be a pain in the *** to clean.
Swiffer mops are awesome for picking up dust. Go over your cubicle floor, window sill, and every other flat surface with one in the morning before inspection.
Get yourself into a routine and develop some work habits. I had a rough time with this, but after a few weeks I had something like this worked out: I'd get home from supper, throw my stuff in the wash right away. Then before anything else gets done, MAKE A FRIGGEN LIST of things that needed to be done (i.e. boots, weapon, iron shirts, ect.). Then I'd cross things off as they got done. Its time management for dummies.
I never bothered with having a second shave kit, but i did have "inspection underwear" because I realized that boxers were too much of a pain to refold every night.
If you're a smoker, get some nicorette gum. During the field portion of my course, we were limited to one or two smokes a day. At one point, a MCPL decided to give us a five minute smoke break, but only 3 people were allowed to smoke at once. It was a sick joke, considering there were well over 15 people who hadnt had a smoke in 12 hours but it takes some serious teamwork to pass off half a smoke to let your buddy take a drag before the time's up. Anyways, If you do get nicotine gum, keep it on the downlow. These days I always have a pack whenever I go into the field because it doesnt violate light discipline.
Always make sure your uniform is up to standard.
As well, realise no matter what you do, the DS will
find fault in what you have done.
Make sure you grow a thick skin, people like to pick
on recruits (by people I mean other troops who are not
your instructors). Its part of the fun of being a
recruit, but be ready. Also, look up the rank structure
and remember it and know at least some basic military
protocol. This will help keep you and your buds out of
trouble, and may even help make a good impression on
your instructors
In Lim0's defence, we had the LFWA Commander in last
night, and the saluting policy was clarified:
Jr. Officers - once in an evening/day.
Sr. Officers - Always.
Go to shoppers drug or any other big chain to find this.
I use a Wilkinson's Sword Shaving brush (Get a second one,
they are great for getting the dust off your weapon)
and
Mug or Wilkinson's Shaving soap. The Sword brand comes with
a little tub which is handy.
The nice thing about this is:
1. It does not freeze in the winter
2. There are no problems with taking it on board DND aircraft.
Some loadmasters are quite picky when it comes to pressurized
containers like the conventional shaving foam.
first aid is the tuffest test, pay attention in class,
if you are done your room, fix someone else's
and see if anyone else needs help carrying theirs down
as well. The instructors notice little things like
that
Also, remember that nothign is personal. Some people
have a tough time getting reemed out on morning
inspection. Just keep in your head that it's nothign
personal and you'll get through it.
keep a very open mind. everytime you think you cannot
do something, tell yourself over and over in your head
"i can do this". never take anything anyone says
personally, it will always make for some good laughs
later on. ALWAYS be 5 or 10 minutes early for every
timing you are given. if you are on time, you are
late. keep that in mind.
Yes standardization is KEY!!!! If you think you can
make something better for inspection, you better make
sure everyone else does it too. Or else you'll be
accused of thinking you're different or better than
everyone else.
push up poker:
2-10 face card
J: 11 pushups
Q: 12 push ups
K 13 push ups
a: 20 push ups
keep going till someone quits.
two sets of everything, use it once
then leave it on display.
Use shampoo as body wash
thus leaving soap bar and dish clean.)
you make it look like you used it ie......for the
toothpaste take alittle out of it and so on
Make sure you "dust" off your soap every once and a while too.
Gellete foamy good, Gillete gel bad.
team work. two people iron, two people
check lay out of lockers, etc
wear one set of combats and wash that
night. leave other two untouched and
ready for inspection.
blue booties over boots before inspection
to not mark up the floor.
sew your name on everything.
don't ask questions
pen and pad
eavedrop on other inspection and learn
don't ask questions
work hard at everything
show determination whereever possible
don't ask why questions, ask how questions
take safety pins and pin everything together when doing laundery,
so you dont' loseit or get it mixed up
duffel bag is ussually no go for instructors
bring swiffer pads/cloths
black thread, needle
The big thing is, yelling and stress are a vital and necessary part
of one's initial training. You are learning to go into harm's way,
and put the enemy in the same.
When these challenges first came to the military, a wise old sergeant
of mine had a number of very pithy and relevant sayings.
"If you can't take being yelled at, how the heck are you going to take
being shot at?"
"Face or gut - where to you want to get hit first? Sometimes that's the
choice life gives you.
"If shot, you can choose to cease bleeding at any time."
And, "The enemy is not required to recognize or adhere to the Canadian
Human Rights Act"
I started my BMQ in October at Denison. Here is my advice. The first
four weekends are the hardest as they want to get rid of the guys that
don't want to be there. They won't yell at you in the classroom. Take lots
of notes and write it down mostly word for word. You will get tested on
everything you get taught. Bring two pens. Get up before 5:45 am and get
ready for the day. IE shave before PT. Sleep in your pt gear minus your
socks. Keep your canteen full always and keep loose threads off your uniform.
The classroom stuff is a piece of cake. They don't make people fail on purpose.
DO NOT fall asleep during a lecture. It's easy to do, and then they will make you
stand for the rest of the lecture. If you get written up for an infraction and have
to do extra PT. Make sure you get the stuff you missed from a buddy. When you hand
in homework, make sure it is error-free. IE no crossed out mistakes.
Regarding carrying a razor on your person: I carried a G
illette Mach 3 head (just the head) in my pocket for
those times when I missed a spot (and noticed after)
or even FORGOT to shave (yes, it happened... more than once).
So panicked was I on one forgetful occasion that I dryshaved
with my buddy's Gerber knife in stand-easy ranks. The razor
head came in super handy and you can get used to dry shaving
with a safety razor when you're stairing a $250 fine in the face.
Dogboy/Carman: Just a little note on PT morning showers:
use ONE bathroom and shower quickly, with everyone dropping
their PT gear on the bathroom floor upon arrival back at the
pod/room to soak up the water. You're not going to wear your
PT gear twice in a row without washing it so who cares? Any
dry pieces of PT gear on the floor when everyone's done can
be used to wipe down the showers/sinks. Waiting for the shower?
Start getting your room inspection ready - wipe down inspection-prone
surfaces (windowsills and the bottom of the closet being the top two,
it seemed), go over your weapon quickly, check the common areas are OK,
HELP ANY OF YOUR BUDDIES THAT HAVE FALLEN BEHIND, etc. Most importantly,
if you need help with something, ASK FOR IT. Get that habit going and EVERYONE
will make use of it - no one goes through basic/IAP without help.
Sharing the fate of your *** with your buddy not only builds trust but
comradery and friendship too. That being said, OFFER help whenever you
find yourself wondering what's left to do. I've had buddies tying my
bootlaces for me on change parades and it was, in all seriousness, a
touching experience. Regarding shaving, just use hot water and a your
razor - I'd been doing it long before the course and it was likely the
only one of my civvy habits that was actually useful - less to clean
out of the sink and less time taken to shave.
More on asking for help: you're not doing your buddies any favours
by being the only crappy room in the group for inspection - the
instructors are likely to give your buddies crap, and possibly even
the platoon, because they're obviously not helping you achieve standard.
There is no, and I mean NO, period of time in the mornings (especially PT mornings)
when you have nothing to do. You will become a time-management superstar and what
you can achieve in 5 minutes, at the end of the course, will both amaze and sicken you.
shave at night, get a cheapo braun shape
Go to shoppers drug or any other big chain.
I use a Wilkinson's Sword Shaving brush (Get a second one,
they are great for getting the dust off your weapon)
and
Mug or Wilkinson's Shaving soap. The Sword brand comes with
a little tub which is handy.
The nice thing about this is:
1. It does not freeze in the winter
2. There are no problems with taking it on board DND aircraft.
Some loadmasters are quite picky when it comes to pressurized
containers like the conventional shaving foam.
first aid is the tuffest test, pay attention in class,
if you are done your room, fix someone else's
George, they make you mark your boots 1&2 so you can't just have show boots anymore, you have to wear both on alternating days. Eventually the hairspray ends up on the floor.
