getting off course

[fuccaduck]

hey new poster here. i just started my DP1 not long ago. for a few weeks now i’ve been thinking of putting in for a VOT the more i learn about combat arms the less i want to be in them. not my thing i suppose. is there any honest way of getting removed or getting off this course? i don’t feel mentally capable of handling it or a combat arms trade. any advice or ideas how to get off?

 

[Jarnhamar]

What about the combat arms do you feel mentally unable to handle?

 

[fuccaduck]

What about the combat arms do you feel mentally unable to handle?

the training and day to day life. i guess i picked combat arms with the wrong idea of what they actually are and do.

 

[Jarnhamar]

the training and day to day life. i guess i picked combat arms with the wrong idea of what they actually are and do.

Fair enough.

If you just started your dp1 then you don't really know what day to day life will be like once you pass and get posted.

This is just my opinion but as a combat arms guy for a decent amount of time I think the non combat arms people work a hell of a lot harder than us in day to day life. Their living conditions may not be as bad in the field (though it can very well be) but their day to day life can be pretty damn stressful. I couldn't do a cooks job or a clerks job, that's for sure.

Anyways if you don't want to be combat arms and want a different trade you need to be cautious with the language you're using when you want to make it known.

If you start talking about mental health and what you're not mentally capable of that can send up redflags with you being in the CAF, not just combat arms.

I'd recommend submitting a memo to your chain of command and indicating you would like to VOT. You simply decided you want to do something else. I can't remember off the top of my head if you're able to do that while your on course or if you have to wait until you're fully trained (or after your first 3 years). Someone smarter may be able to help with that.

Be prepared to be told no and maybe you'll need to VR to get off course.

 

[fuccaduck]

Fair enough.

If you just started your dp1 then you don't really know what day to day life will be like once you pass and get posted.

This is just my opinion but as a combat arms guy for a decent amount of time I think the non combat arms people work a hell of a lot harder than us in day to day life. Their living conditions may not be as bad in the field (though it can very well be) but their day to day life can be pretty damn stressful. I couldn't do a cooks job or a clerks job, that's for sure.

Anyways if you don't want to be combat arms and want a different trade you need to be cautious with the language you're using when you want to make it known.

If you start talking about mental health and what you're not mentally capable of that can send up redflags with you being in the CAF, not just combat arms.

I'd recommend submitting a memo to your chain of command and indicating you would like to VOT. You simply decided you want to do something else. I can't remember off the top of my head if you're able to do that while your on course or if you have to wait until you're fully trained (or after your first 3 years). Someone smarter may be able to help with that.

Be prepared to be told no and maybe you'll need to VR to get off course.

i honestly hate the field. not my thing. i’m definitely going to take your adjvide and write up a memo. thank you very much for the advice. personally i’d like to be a MSE op i love driving and stuff like that so hopefully it’ll go through. if it gets denied are there steps i could take for it to be re evaluated ?

 

[Jarnhamar]

i honestly hate the field. not my thing. i’m definitely going to take your adjvide and write up a memo. thank you very much for the advice. personally i’d like to be a MSE op i love driving and stuff like that so hopefully it’ll go through. if it gets denied are there steps i could take for it to be re evaluated ?

You're welcome.

Just to manage your expectations if you hate the field you may want to consider changing your element to airforce or navy. Most trades in the army go to the field in one aspect or another. MSE ops are out living in modular tents and improvised shelters in the field right next to the infantry. A very demanding job. When vehicles are stuck up to their steering wheel in mud because infantry guys don't listen to directions guess who is out there in the mud and rain trying to pull the vehicle out.

Even in the airforce and navy if you get posted to a front line unit on an army base (which happens) you may see field time. Gotta roll the dice.

MSE Op is definitely a super cool job though.

If you're memo is denied you can try to submit a grievance but the chances are if you're being denied then it's likely due to a policy on it, which is difficult to grieve.

 

[mariomike]

. personally i’d like to be a MSE op

Can't speak for the infantry, but, in my opinion, MSE Op was a good trade.

 

[brihard]

i honestly hate the field. not my thing. i’m definitely going to take your adjvide and write up a memo. thank you very much for the advice. personally i’d like to be a MSE op i love driving and stuff like that so hopefully it’ll go through. if it gets denied are there steps i could take for it to be re evaluated ?

You could easily be an MSE op and still get posted to a combat arms unit, or to a logistics unit that exists to support those units in the field. Trucks go (most of) where troops go. Troops in the field need lots of stuff brought to them, and MSE ops do a lot of that. Just so you’re aware of the risk.

My opinion? You’re on DP1, which is a whole different world from life once you’re qualified. Stick it out, finish the course, and get a feel for what normal life looks like. And if you still really like the thought of driving trucks, infantry units have their own integral transport elements that you could work towards getting into.

 

[ArmyRick]

i honestly hate the field. not my thing. i’m definitely going to take your adjvide and write up a memo. thank you very much for the advice. personally i’d like to be a MSE op i love driving and stuff like that so hopefully it’ll go through. if it gets denied are there steps i could take for it to be re evaluated ?

I spent years instructing DP1 infantry at Meaford and once managed the holding platoon as a WO. Dealing with people like you. I can offer some insights but be warned, I will be blunt.

 

[Soldieratheart]

I spent years instructing DP1 infantry at Meaford and once managed the holding platoon as a WO. Dealing with people like you. I can offer some insights but be warned, I will be blunt.

Saying "people like you" does not sound very helpful or welcoming more I am/was a crusty WO/CSM and want to belittle someone which is likely not your intention. Fair but blunt is a good thing.
That said as a less crusty infantry NCO then logistics NCO of 27 years the truth is military life may not be for you as except for some hard airforce tech trades the field is pretty much always on the table although the combat arms is the least comfortable of the field trades.

 

[kratz]

Harbour defence and some other roles see the RCN in the field as well. This means all services have a real potential for operating in the field.
Nicer answers do not hide the hard truths. Remastering to hide from the field is a foll's errand. A trade might be less likely, but if/when it happens you'd be miserable and potentially useless for the required job.

 

[mariomike]

i love driving and stuff like that so hopefully it’ll go through.

I figured one job's as important as the next.

MSE Op was good for me. Others may feel the same way about infantry.