[LoneSurvivor]

I am currently in my first year of university and am looking to join the Canadian armed forces Reserves. I am thinking about a military career once I have completed my degree but am still not 100% certain so I thought reserves would give me a good understanding.I have a couple questions / looking for advice from anyone who knows the process:

First, I am from Toronto I heard it is a good idea to pick a reserve unit that is close to your home so I have looked into it a bit and have come across the 48th highlanders Infantry reserves.I want to do infantry and was wondering are the quality of all units basically identical? does anyone have any advice on what unit to choose over others, I really would hate to get stuck in a unit that I find out afterward gets the shit end of the stick.

Next, I have read the "how to join" on the reserves website and forces.ca and am a bit confused. One tells me to go check out the local armory of the specific unit I want to join and the other tells me to go directly to a recruitment center could anyone clarify how I would go about joining?.

Next, How physically fit do I need to be? I consider myself in decent shape although since arriving at school making it to the gym routinely has been tough. Anyone have a basic outline of what I should be able to do when I show up on day one?

Next, does school take precedent? it is one weekend every month but what about exam months if that weekend fell right before an exam I was supposed to be studying for is it possible to skip / re-schedule a weekend when school gets in the way

Lastly, for anyone who has been in a university at the same time as maintaining a part-time reserves job is there any advice you would give?

Much thanks to anyone who can answer some of these questions it is appreciated.

[Gunnair]

Are you committed to the army reserves? As a navy reservist, the navy reserves offers far more flexibility with respect to work. There are a large number of full time positions available on the Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels which are ideal for summer employment as well as short or long term employment contracts if you opt to take some time off school to raise some cash. Personally, I've been working for over ten years as a full time reservist with several part time years (most of them varied between four and ten months) before that. Pay is good as are the benefits if you work for longer (over 180 day contracts)

As far as how to join, go to a local unit. Whether it's the local army reserve unit of HMCS YORK for the navy, they will fix you up. As well, you could try a recruiting centre.

As far as physical fitness, you need to pass the CF physical fitness test which is not terribly onerous. That being said, basic training will challange you physically, so the better you prepare yourself, the better time you'll have.

Finally, I did my BA as a part time sailor. I worked my summers in the navy sailing on the training vessels or taking my courses, and I worked at every training opportunities afforded by the unit during school. For the most part it's what you make of it. You can commit as much or as little as you want ensuring you meet the minimum. I managed to pay for four and half years of university without student loans by maxing out the amount of work I could get and seeing as how we're all a little low on manpower these days, work opportunities (at least in the naval reserve) are pretty good.

So look around and see what can be offered, but don't rule out the navy. You might have more opportunities for travel as well.

Hope that helps.

[SoLO_Al]

okay pal,,,, i went through the trouble of registering on this website to answer your question(s).

i am also a in the university,,, and in the CF as well, ( with the combat engineers 32 CER).
if you are going to the infantry... the 48 Highlanders are a good choice... i have couple friends in that regiment. (training is mostly the same across the infantry units).. with bits of differences here and there.. the 48's are really big on fitness and cross fit. their RSM is cross fit freak (cross fit is a form of workout).
another good infantry unit is QOR ( they are an airborne regiment ) also in moss park (same armory as 48's )
that is regarding your first question.

2) my advice on how to join...
apply online ( through that forces.ca website).. then go to the recruiting office and finish off your application there...that is how i did it and it didnt take long before i got in . ( now most of the regiments are filling in positions.. ) but visit the regiment and have a nice tour there.. (moss park sux anyways )

3) for BMQ ( basic qualifications)... you will need to be able to run a good 5- 8 k,
do lots of pushups and pull ups ( they will make you do 20-30 push ups at a time ) as many times as they feel like for a day.. it will give u a good head start . bottom line is get in shape, visit the gym more often.

4) this answer might trouble you a bit .
first of all if you end up on a weekend course (BMQ). it will be ever other weekend (so 2 weekends per month).
also. they usually say school first, blah blah,,,, weekend courses tend to be really tight due to the lack of time and the amount of stuff to be tought.they expect you to be there regardless of your situation. ( they might give u some time to study for your test/ exam) ... this is what happened to university students on my course (including me).. usually u will come home sunday night exhausted and u end up sleeping till next day . weekend courses tend to have its major impact on your school. you really need to budget your time.
also if you want to climb up the ranks fast you need to devote the summer to training and going away for extended period of time... so no summer school or travel ...
i spent my last 2 summers in the army..

if you need any more info ..e-mail me at [email protected]
good luck on your application process..

[Shablabar]

I'm an army reservist here in Saskatoon, and I'm going to law school right now; so far no conflicts. School comes first, but you have to be committed -- that's what they're looking for. It's not just another part time job, as they say. Depending on where you are, it may take a while to get the ball rolling; it took me six months from application to swearing-in.

It's a good idea, as was said above, to be in good shape -- especially running and push-ups/sit-ups/pull-ups. Just hit up the gym regularly, you should be alright. You can get an Army fitness guide from the recruiter's office, it'll outline what your fitness goals should be.

As to which unit is better than any other -- whichever one you join is the best in the Army, and they'll tell you so