Infantry Officers' regimental postings

[ken.w2402]

I'm an Infantry DEO candidate currently a few weeks away from completing BMOQ and am in line for BMOQ-L (aka CAP) soon afterwards. Now, to date I still have no clue which regiment I am to be attached to, and all my questions to my staff have been answered with "I have no idea" or "just wait and see". From my conversations with several NCM infantry recruits here in St-Jean however, apparently they are informed of which regiment they are in on enrolment.

So, my questions are:

- When exactly will I be informed of my regimental affiliation?
- Should anything happen to me during the phases, one of the possibilities is to be RTU'ed, how can I be RTU if I have no unit to return to?

Background info: I'm fully bilingual, currently on a French platoon. Most likely, all my training will be done in French and I'd think Van Doos would make most sense. Due to my bilingualism however, I've been told by my staff not to assume anything.

Any feedback from people with similar previous experiences would be highly appreciated!

 

[MikeL]

If you get injured,  you will be put into a holding platoon aka PAT Platoon until you are healed and put on another course.  Right now you belong to CFLRS,  in Gagetown you will belong to the Infantry School.  Also,  I assume it is the same for Officers as it is for NCMs;  between courses you will be on PAT Platoon.


Those joining as Infantry NCMs choose the regiment they want to join during the recruiting process,  that is why they know.


The staff at CFLRS have no idea what regiment you will go to as it has nothing to do with them.  I assume you would find out sometime during your DP1.1/1.2 course at the Infantry School.

 

[xmarcx]

Sometime early in DP 1.2 (Ph 4) you will be asked for your top 3 posting preferences, by battalion not Regiment (true as of 2009, could have changed).  In the last week of course, the staff will look at the surviving candidates, their preferences, and the numbers the Career Managers provide as to how many people are needed where.  The course staff will try to deconflict so that everyone gets their first or second choices, with preference likely being given to the top performing candidates to end up where they want.

Traditionally, the Van Doos are short on officers, so if you want to be there, the odds are in your favor, assuming you have a workable french profile (or not, which can account for the unfortunate postings and careers of a few of my course mates).

If you get hurt, you'll end up in the Infantry School PAT platoon, where you will slowly rot inside, become a hollow shell of your former self, and eventually VOT to Log-Land.

 

[ballz]

warrior vegetable nailed it.

After BMOQ, you'll be posted to the Infantry School in Gagetown as a candidate and the PAT Pl folks will handle you. You'll most likely do BMOQ-L in Gagetown, and you'll definitely do DP1.1 and DP1.2 in Gagetown. While awaiting these courses, or if you do get RTU'd, you'll be on PAT Pl (now called OPP).

You will find out which Battalion you are going to approximately one week before you get posted there (this isn't a joke... you have to pass everything for DP1.2 before they will give you your posting message). But, as was said, if you're fully bilingual and want to go to the Van Doos, it's a fairly safe bet you'll get there.

And yes, they still ask you your 3 preferences for Battalions. It's been the norm for a while and I don't suspect it is soon to change.

This info is current as of December 2012 when I went through.

 

[PPCLI Guy]

If you are currently in a French platoon, it is very likely that you will end up with the Vandoos

 

[AmphibousAssult]

Also, don't worry about it, I was trying to get posted do a specific location based on my now fiancees location, however, wherever you end up it will be good. There are still some MAJOR hurdles in your way before you become an infantry officer (look of failure rates for phase 3 infantry (IODP 1.1)) so try not focus so much on that long term view and try to focus on topping your courses, this way you'll more then likely get your first pick (unless your like the top guy on my 1.2 who... ended up... elsewhere). Either way BOTP and CAP are fun, learn, enjoy, perform, and then get ready for your job specific training at which point you can start to think about this a little more.

 

[Conz]

(look of failure rates for phase 3 infantry (IODP 1.1))

What are the failure rates for this phase?

 

[AmphibousAssult]

There was a thread awhile ago on here, with specifics, I cant remember where off the top of my head but at times the rate will be more than 50% IIRC, with some going up to 60%+

Try the search function

 

[Ayrsayle]

What are the failure rates for this phase?

I was on the course that ran last summer - we had around 40%, which was the lowest it had been in a long time. 50-55% was not unusual in the past.

 

[Conz]

Wow!

 

[PPCLI Guy]

50% is not uncommon at all

 

[little jim]

When I was staff at the school we had a 46% success rate on Phase III/DP 1.1 - Cmdt said we had to think positive and not refer to failure rates.  (From my prespective - and this is a different thread - a lot of the failures were based on this was the candidates first real 'taste' of the infantry having done CAP before).

I would caution when requesting a regiment to not chose based on geographical locations.  I had a peer who went through RMC wanting to be with the RCR; during Phase IV he decided that living in Edmonton would give him a better chance of meeting a wife with its population so he requested PPCLI.  Sure enough he was posted to 2 VP in Winnipeg and then to Halifax;  :facepalm:

 

[AmphibousAssult]

When I was staff at the school we had a 46% success rate on Phase III/DP 1.1 - Cmdt said we had to think positive and not refer to failure rates.  (From my prespective - and this is a different thread - a lot of the failures were based on this was the candidates first real 'taste' of the infantry having done CAP before).

I would caution when requesting a regiment to not chose based on geographical locations.  I had a peer who went through RMC wanting to be with the RCR; during Phase IV he decided that living in Edmonton would give him a better chance of meeting a wife with its population so he requested PPCLI.  Sure enough he was posted to 2 VP in Winnipeg and then to Halifax;  :facepalm:

That being said I knew two things coming out of phase, I don't want to live in a city, and I want to be a Patricia, so I lucked out and got Shilo... If you ask for Shilo you will never be disappointed... Get your first pick every time!

 

[ballz]

When I was staff at the school we had a 46% success rate on Phase III/DP 1.1 - Cmdt said we had to think positive and not refer to failure rates.  (From my prespective - and this is a different thread - a lot of the failures were based on this was the candidates first real 'taste' of the infantry having done CAP before).

I would caution when requesting a regiment to not chose based on geographical locations.  I had a peer who went through RMC wanting to be with the RCR; during Phase IV he decided that living in Edmonton would give him a better chance of meeting a wife with its population so he requested PPCLI.  Sure enough he was posted to 2 VP in Winnipeg and then to Halifax;  :facepalm:

What would you suggest listing your preferences as then? If you put it by regiment, each one has its crappy spots that you could end up.

My staff did their best to get us our posting preferences, probably close to 85-90% of us got the Bn we wanted, and all but 3 out of 40 got the location they wanted. Some people tried to play the game that if they put "1, 3, 2" PPCLI that it would look better and they would be more likely to get to Edmonton. The three that got 2VP when they really didn't want that location at all did that.

I put 2RCR, 1VP, 3VP based solely on geography and I didn't get thrown to Shilo like those 3 guys insisted would happen to me since I wasn't showing any "loyalty" to a certain regiment.

 

[AmphibousAssult]

IMHO, how can one show any loyalty to a regiment before they've served there? the only basis they have to make a decision is interaction with people from varying regiments/Bns, stories about Bn's and Regiments (true or not true, who knows), and geography, in my mind the most concrete factor there is geography, its really all that is known "for sure" to the 1.2 graduate. I of course, am preaching this approach but did not follow it >, I had my own reasons however which trumped geography in my mind, thus barring any reasons such as the one I previously stated (or didn't state...) geography would seem to be a sound basis for a decision.

 

[ken.w2402]

Yeah indeed I'm still far too early in my training to need to bother I guess... Thanks for all the useful info though!

This said, I was recently able to have a talk with a PPCLI captain who's in quite an interesting case; he is currently at the language school in St-Jean to undergo French language training in order to be transferred to 3 R22R... apparently the Van Doos are really that short on officers such that other regiments are being nabbed of theirs.

Hence, it's probably safe to say I'll be a Van Doo as long as I survive my phases III & IV.

 

[Old Sweat]

Yeah indeed I'm still far too early in my training to need to bother I guess... Thanks for all the useful info though!

This said, I was recently able to have a talk with a PPCLI captain who's in quite an interesting case; he is currently at the language school in St-Jean to undergo French language training in order to be transferred to 3 R22R... apparently the Van Doos are really that short on officers such that other regiments are being nabbed of theirs.

Hence, it's probably safe to say I'll be a Van Doo as long as I survive my phases III & IV.

The Patricias and the Van Doos have had an officer exchange programme from at least the 1960s. In other words, they have an officer attached from the other regiment for a fixed period, but it is not a transfer.

 

[Jungle]

The Patricias and the Van Doos have had an officer exchange programme from at least the 1960s. In other words, they have an officer attached from the other regiment for a fixed period, but it is not a transfer.

We also do it at the SNCO level now. We had a PPCLI Capt and Sgt in 2R22eR when I was there. I also saw a The RCR WO in 3R22eR some years ago.

 

[ballz]

IMHO, how can one show any loyalty to a regiment before they've served there?

That was my train of thought, other than a few guys with family history in a certain regiment of course. Some people wanted to be PPCLI because they were from "out west," which to me is also a geographical decision not loyalty to a specific regiment.

I was all about geography. No matter which regiment I went to, I'd end up buying into their way of doing things and would be proud and happy to serve in any of them.

 

[little jim]

What would you suggest listing your preferences as then? If you put it by regiment, each one has its crappy spots that you could end up.

My staff did their best to get us our posting preferences, probably close to 85-90% of us got the Bn we wanted, and all but 3 out of 40 got the location they wanted. Some people tried to play the game that if they put "1, 3, 2" PPCLI that it would look better and they would be more likely to get to Edmonton. The three that got 2VP when they really didn't want that location at all did that.

I put 2RCR, 1VP, 3VP based solely on geography and I didn't get thrown to Shilo like those 3 guys insisted would happen to me since I wasn't showing any "loyalty" to a certain regiment.

Don't write off Shilo.  When you are coming out of Gageown you are young.  2VP is traditionally closer knit than the other battalions based on geographic isolation.  The mess is better and the unit as a whole is more sync'd (pers opinion).

As a new officer to the regiment you know you are not going to be there for a while.  Pick a regiment you can sort of identify with (there is a thread around here about the regiments) and go with it.  As an officer most of your time will be spent out of a battalion (if you stay in beyond ten years) so don't get wrapped around the axle on geographical locations.

The longest I have lived in a single location has been five years.  Some postings were as short as 10 months (least the housing market worked for me).

You will have lots of time in your career to hunker down in Edmonton with two bns, a brigade and area HQ to bounce between.

Having been posted to Edmonton several times, Gagetown, Petawawa and Shilo I would not hesitiate at all if the regiment sent me back to Shilo (PPCLI Guy will probably hold that against me....)