Reserve to Reg Force Lifestyle Change

[KiloActual]

Ladies and Gents, I am a fully qualified infantry reservist (Non Commisioned) for the last 3 years and my CT just went through. I am trying to get as much information of the lifestyle change before I make a final decision. My New born is due march 8th so alot to think about.

Questions Include:

If I am married is on base living mandatory?

How often are you home when you arent training on course/in the field? And if you arent away from home is there times you start and finish the day.

If there is any more information on what an average lifestyle looks like for family and beyond that would be great & much appreciated.

Cheers

To everyone who answers thank you.

 

[Jarnhamar]

[quote author=KiloActual]

If I am married is on base living mandatory?[/quote]
No you're not required to live on base. I would highly highly recommend doing everything possible to live off base. PMQs (private married quarters) or the houses on base are generally pretty dumpy, can be fairly expensive rent for what you're getting and the drama you'll find there can be beyond comprehension. Someone will call children's aid on you because they didn't like a facebook post your wife made about people leaving garbage all over their yards.

How often are you home when you aren't training on course/in the field? And if you aren't away from home is there times you start and finish the day.

Really impossible to say. You may luck in and be home a lot OR you may get a chain of command that wants you training in the field as much as possible or send your company (or whoever) on task after task after task.

If there is any more information on what an average lifestyle looks like for family and beyond that would be great & much appreciated.

Not really from me. I can tell you that you'll probably be made to work late hours and early mornings, often fairly last minute. If your wife isn't a stay at home mom you'll have a lot of ass pain trying to find babysitters.



One thing you, as a reservist infantry guy going reg force will absolutely want to do, is get in shape. The biggest area being running and the second rucksack marching (rucking is more important but falling out of runs seems to happen more often). 
When reservists transfer to the reg force infantry and show up fat or out of shape everyone hates them and thinks they're pieces of shit. You won't get put on any good courses.

You'll want to be able to run 10 to 15 kilometers without dying.  Aim for running 5 kms in 25 minutes.


In battalion who you associate with and hang around with will also impact you and you're career. You may not notice it right away but if you hang around with losers who just drink and play video games and revel in their own self-pity they'll infect you with that crap and bring you down. Stay away from chronic complainers.

 

[Loachman]

Welcome to Army.ca, KiloActual

Please take the time to read through older threads, especially those stickied at the top of each forum. There is no need to rehash things that have been discussed many times before, and you will learn much more that way. You will also likely find answers to questions before they even occur to you.