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Advice for women on BMQ and other courses [MERGED]

  • Thread starter Thread starter the patriot
  • Start date Start date
As a female currently enduring the wonders of BMQ, I can tell you that aside from being physically weaker than the boys, you will probably have the same struggles as a majority of the guys.

Breaking down everything I have experienced as a female so far:

Physically: it's tough. Not everything is, and I definitely am one of the weaker people in my platoon, but it is quite tough. Push-ups, carrying around a 7.7lb rifle everywhere, having to stay awake even after 80 minutes of intensive drill... it's really demanding. Just remember that you have to give it your all. I can't do 25 push ups, so obviously I cannot do 25 diamond push ups during punishment pt. But as long as I'm clearly trying, the instructors half heartedly yell at me and then leave me alone. Trust me, you'll get in shape while you're there, but if you weren't able to do 25 push-ups before you got there, 12 weeks isn't going to fix that. They're aware of this, so do your best to get in shape before hand, but done sweat the small stuff if you aren't a super soldier when you arrive.

Mentally: You will be tired all of the time. And you're a girl so everyone will notice this. You get used to being tired. And by that I mean you start to just expect to be tired and you deal with it. My advice is to not waste your time in the morning putting on make up. The farther you go in your weeks, the more likely it is you'll sweat it all off anyway.

Periods: They suck. And they'll suck more while you're there. Carry whatever products you use in your combat pockets, along with your pain killers (but don't tell the guys you have those, they will pester you for them to no end). Your schedule will also probably get screwed up, but as long as you have your products in your pocket, you will be fine. You get 5 minute breaks to run to the washroom, so just try to be quick.

The Platoon: Okay, so being surrounded by guys for 12 weeks where the first 5 you're one of the only girls they see, can go one of two ways. You can be their friend, or you can be the object of their fantasies. Just... try not to flirt too much. There may be 50+ males and 5+ females. Some of those guys may start having feelings for you and if you pay too much attention to one particular guy, rumors will spread. Sounds stupid, but I've seen it happen. Other than that, it's pretty awesome. You gain so many new brothers and sisters, and they're really what make the while experience worth while. The sexual jokes really escalate the longer you're their though... word of the wise: do not date people on your platoon. Just don't. 12 weeks is a very, very long time to deal with rumors and heartache and pettiness.

Men outside the platoon: You will get stared at as you walk away, people will probably hit on you at the mess, you will always be noticed and generally all of the boys will be nice to you. Just goes with the whole "Garrison Goggles" thing. If you don't know what that is, you will learn very quickly. Just enjoy it for what it is, but remember no fraternizing is allowed on base.

Girls on your platoon: I think this really depends on who you're grouped with, but it can get really passive aggressive at times. If you're more popular with the guys (or less) jealousy can arise and make your time a living hell. Cliques form, people will whisper behind your back, and ultimately it will feel like high school all over again. But still, they will have your back when it gets rough, and it's not always like that. It's also really fun, like a group of sisters. It's just how things go.

That's pretty much all I've got for you. Just treat every minute of the day like a new minute of the day. Try not to hold grudges and your time there will go a lot faster.
 
meepers said:
Breaking down everything I have experienced as a female so far

Thank you for this! I've been reading all kinds of information (including all of the threads listed above) but this is a really helpful summary.
 
meepers said:
The Platoon: Okay, so being surrounded by guys for 12 weeks where the first 5 you're one of the only girls they see, can go one of two ways. You can be their friend, or you can be the object of their fantasies. Just... try not to flirt too much. There may be 50+ males and 5+ females. Some of those guys may start having feelings for you and if you pay too much attention to one particular guy, rumors will spread. Sounds stupid, but I've seen it happen. Other than that, it's pretty awesome. You gain so many new brothers and sisters, and they're really what make the while experience worth while. The sexual jokes really escalate the longer you're their though... word of the wise: do not date people on your platoon. Just don't. 12 weeks is a very, very long time to deal with rumors and heartache and pettiness.
Incredibly important advice.
 
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/03/14/looking-for-a-few-good-women-canadas-military-goes-on-a-hiring-spree.html

Mods, feel free to move this as you see fit.
 
Why focus on the potential to do well in the organization when you can focus on your gender/race/color to fill some quota?
 
Canada could hit all the targets quite easily.

Conscription! Even better, Profiled Conscription!

Do you think all the advocates would support that idea? Especially if they were the ones conscripted? They shouldn't be too annoyed at walking the walk right?


All kidding aside, the door is wide open for everyone to join up, people just have to walk through the door and meet the (low) requirements to get to BMQ/BMOQ.
 
Rifleman62 said:
Canadian Values???

I have a hard time deciding whether it is sarcastic or not...  If not, I can't really see which Canadian value you are referring to.  I believe our values are more about giving equal opportunities to everyone, which we already go to great length to do so. 

Does the provincial governments also have similar quotas for male nurses? Are they trying to make it 75% male/25% females?  Could it be that some jobs attract males more than females (and vice versa)?  Should we attempt to force a change in demographic when we actually don't favor one gender over the other?
 
SupersonicMax said:
Could it be that some jobs attract males more than females (and vice versa)? 

Well...yeah. That's pretty much the gist of the article.
So they will now try to aggressively market the military to women. The "quota" is more like aspirational goal - they first have to get enough interested potential recruits to even show up for selection, which is where the marketing comes in. There's nothing wrong in that kind of targeted marketing; many women simply don't consider the military because they don't really know anything about it, what kind of jobs it offers (except combat arms as per popular media), etc.
 
25%?  That's bull shit.  Is Canada made up of female population of only 25%?  We need to have at least 50% male/female ratio.

Those females better not be predominately white either.


We can get rid of TWO infantry rifle companies per battalion if need be.

 
SupersonicMax, I was being facetious. I always hear about Canadian Values, the buzz words of the progressives. Get on a high horse and sprout "Cdn Values" and it will be sunshine and butterflies.
 
They have been trying to achieve that goal for as long as I have been in (and probably longer) so at least 25 years.  I don't think that they will ever achieve it, or if they do it will just be for a short period of time and then will go down.  Due to a variety of factors, which I think have been studied by people a lot smarter than me, it is mostly males interested in the CF.
 
Too hard, so don't try?

Easy to fail when you start with the assumption that you will.
 
DAP, that's a bit hard. You know what he means.

I doubt if you stopped recruiting men entirely the CF would not get to 25% within ten years even after releases and force reductions of male oriented trades.
 
I know that institutions will argue that problems can't be solved when they don't want to solve them.  As long as we sit smugly and say it can't be done, we won't look at ways to make it happen.
 
Pretty hard to attract women to serve in the profession of arms when there is constant references to the Dechamps report in which we're all rapists and misogynists. Look at some of the things families are telling their daughters that is posted here.

The US is running at about 15% across all services, and we're roughly the same. Some occupations just don't appeal to certain genders. Where's the push to have more male nurses?
 
PuckChaser said:
Pretty hard to attract women to serve in the profession of arms when there is constant references to the Dechamps report in which we're all rapists and misogynists. Look at some of the things families are telling their daughters that is posted here.

The US is running at about 15% across all services, and we're roughly the same. Some occupations just don't appeal to certain genders. Where's the push to have more male nurses?

Right, because prior to the Dechamps report women were flocking to recruiting centres in droves  ::)

And males are actually being targeted for recruitment as nurses. There are targeted ad campaigns by nursing schools to reach out to minorities in their field (which definitely includes males, in the nursing field). There are even some scholarships for males entering the nursing field.
 
Hello, I am just looking for some advice and perhaps some lady knowledge. I've been applying to the CF for 3.5 years now and I'm finally in. My dates are May 08,2016-August 20, 2016.
I am a 20 year old female. I am pretty fit and do not struggle with long distance running or lifting weight.
My main concern is that I am doing all 3 courses for an Armoured Crewman this summer. I don't know what to bring, I have no received my kit yet and I just do not know anything. I am afraid to ask someone for a list but I'm unsure. The base is 4 hours away from where I live so it's not like I can just go home after BMQ and pick up what I need.
It's just about a month away and I am worried as to what I need, and how I should prepare myself. What will I do with my vehicle when I bring it there? Etc.
All the help I could get is appreciated.
I'm worried about the showering thing every day. I don't shower every day because I get very dry skin. I also have to use non scented products which don't usually come in a bar, so any info on that would be awesome.
Has anyone else done all 3 courses before? Will I have leave at all?
I still have rent, hydro, wifi and car payments to make while I'm there. Will I be getting paid like normal?
If I'm taking birth control, do I have to present that? Will I be able to bring a journal? All types of stuff like this haha.
I'm probably getting over excited about this but I finish my last exam on the 29th for school and not even a week later I'm gone, so it's crunch time. Thanks for any reply that may come to this. All the help is appreciated.
 
Are you a Reservist?

Have you been fitted and ordered your kit through your unit/local supply unit?

Once you receive your kit, you'll take everything with you. Literally everything. If you don't get any kit before you leave, bring business casual wear, and a few sets of casual wear; the base will hopefully kit you out with everything you need. Bring toiletries.

As for non-scented products, not a problem. As long as you have it recorded in your personnel file (and inform your Course Staff); you are certainly welcome to use it. You may be required to simply have a bar of soap out for the purposes of inspections, or not.

You will not be forced to shower every day if it's not something you do regularly; however in my experience the amount of work involved especially for BMQ and BMQL, you may find yourself wanting to (caked in gun oil, dirt, carbon, mud, bugs after a week in the field... I showered 3 times on the Sunday we returned).

If they are permitting you to drive to your training location, you'll simply park your car on the base (likely at whatever accommodations you're staying in).

As for leave, you may have weekends off and restricted to the base and eventually be granted leave passes on weekends which would allow you to leave the base. Depending on how much time is between each course, they may grant you leave for those days as well. The Course Staff will explain what you do and do not get, how long you're allowed to leave for, how far, and what time you need to return. Also the usual "Don't get arrested, don't drink and drive... Etc." speeches.

As for medications, it's been a while since I've been on a course longer than a week or two. You may have to declare any medications you're taking, it will be done in private and will be kept confidential. Really the only time it needs to be declared is if it is something that can have an affect on say... Driving, ability to do certain tasks. The only people that need to know is CF Medical Services, which would give you a note saying "Troop Y is on a medication for X days. Troop Y will not be able to do Z tasks for duration" which a copy be provided to your Course Staff.

You will get paid like normal. If you haven't received any pay from the CAF yet, just be warned that rather than your pay coming in after 2 weeks, it may be 3 the first time round and will then normalize. If you're not getting paid, inform your Section Commander.

You can bring a journal, keep it in your personal items area and write in it on your down time. I've kept a not-so-small book of everything I've done in the Army so far so that I can share it with my family etc.

Bring shower shoes. You'll thank me later.
 
Hello everyone,

This is my first post. I am a woman of 34 yrs. I am in the process of joining the Reserves. The Mil world is not new to me as I have worked in one as a civi for a few years. I have been going through these forums and getting info but I have not come across any ladies around my age group. (Or rather, I cannot tell by the usernames.)

I want to know if any women joined the CAF in their later years? How did you find the initial fitness test? What were some of the challenges you faced as women in that age group? Did you have kids? (I have 1 toddler.)

Thanks guys!
 
I joined the Reg F when I was your age. My daughter was 6 at the time.
I didn't really have any age-related issues. I missed my husband and daughter while I was away, but he was military also, so I was used to being separated from him for periods of time. My fitness tests went fine. They were available online prior to basic, so I was able to look them up and train for them somewhat.
On platoon you may end up in the "den mother" role, herding your mates back to their bunks after a night at the mess, or just being the mature one/voice of reason.
Sorry I don't have more to add though.
Good luck with your recruitment process!
 
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