Why does the Canadian Forces run continuous ad campaigns pushing for recruitment but when you go to the recruiting center they inform you there are no positions open and likely none until 2011? —Wants to Serve Country

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45 Comments

  1. it’s master and commander ivan!^^^i was in army cadets for one year…i was tall and could march so i got me two stripes. it was truly amazing how some peoples just couldn’t walk and swing their arms. heehaw. if i was young and wanted to join i’d go for the big machines vrrroom

  2. Fuck the Forces. I say good enough to anyone who signs up wanting to fight in Afghanistan who gets gotted. Can’t understand how anyone would want to make a living killing unarmed children so some conglomerates can have its magic pipeline.

  3. That’s an euphemism for, sorry you are not quallified for the position that is available, but if we’re desperate enough next year, we’ll call….maybe.

    Fat – go kiss K.

  4. WTSC, you might want to make a pro and con list about your career aspirations. On the con side google Colonel Pat Stogran, veteran’s ombudsman, and see what he’s got to say about recruitment. Veterans Affairs treatment of our veterans or their widows is less than admirable. Those in charge of running this country care more about money than the sons and daughters who serve it. Tsk! Tsk!

  5. That was kinda why I was asking martym… I lived with a Navy boy for 2 years and he kept coming home and telling me about the Army trying to pull Navy and Air recruits. The Army numbers were waaaay down. Navy boy was even asked a couple of times if he would ‘switch’. After 25 years with the Ready Aye Ready set he said: ‘Thank you, but no thank you.’ So, I thought maybe the OP was looking into Navy or Air Force and they were trying to steer him/her into the big A.

    (and before we start screaming at me about being an eff-ing idiot, I only report what Navy boy told me, and give my opinion based on that)

  6. fats you are an idiot.completely ignorant.wondering if your ancestors thought the same when soldiers were dying to free the slaves.selfish fuck.

  7. Well it IS a branch of the government. Maybe they keep running ads because if they don’t use their entire advertising budget this year, they won’t get the same amount next year. That’s what government departments do to keep their budget numbers intact from year to year.

    If you’re looking for excitement in a hot, dusty place with people shooting at you, I wish you luck. You might miss your chance to go to Afghanistan, though. We’re pulling out next year. Stephen Harper said so.

  8. LMAO at being called an idiot by someone with the term “fuhrer” in their screen handle.

    NGF uber allum.

  9. Ahhh! Damn! Just looked it up… although y’know the internet and all… Maude, can we get rid of my last post? The ‘military designation’ one? I’m kinda embarrassed by it now. Sorry.

  10. You a white male, OP?

    Because there are likely no positions for white males until 2011.

    I took a criminal justice course a few years back and my prof informed us of the RCMP’s hiring procedures. White males goes on one list and everyone else goes on another list and the testing cut off is usually higher for the white male list than the others.

    Also, do you know french, OP? If you know french you’ll get in no problem, white male or not. As well, a university degree is not that necessary for the non white male recruits, however without a university degree (and/or bilingualism), it’s usually hard as fuck to get into the RCMP if you’re white and have a penis.

    I’ve also heard that there’s a big push to recruit more First Nations people in the RCMP…so that could be why a lot of the posters are up.

  11. *blush* OOPS.

    I knew I shouldn’t take gravol and comment on LTWWB.

    That shit knocks me on my ass.

    Anyway, doesn’t the CF have a certain intake schedule? For instance, don’t they have basic training in the summers or something? 2011 isn’t that far off, OP, and they might not be taking anyone until then because they’ve finished training for the year?

    One thing I *do* know is that it’s a really long and selective process for people to sign up for officer status. I know a couple people who have been trying to sign up for over a year. It’s frustrating.

  12. they are counting on living bodies to stay that way. but if they want you to go to the mid east, well they will have a push on then. wait a couple weeks more, the u.s. will be starting another war, and will suck canada into that one too. then they will come begging you to join up to become a new statistic for the war machine, that never seems to stop. seriosly o.p., give it less than 6 months, then you will be in, and off to fuck knows where.

  13. I love a girl in uniform Painey. Bet you were a life taker and a heart breaker. Rawk!
    While I am “of” the military (army brat) I never actually served. Back problems – broad streak of yellow running the length of it. >; ) But I stand before those who do with humility and unconditional respect. This country has a far better military than it has a right to, and it always has.

  14. and from first hand knowledge, being in a front line thing is no fucking fun. o.p., if you want to be shot at, go to spryfield or maniac square most nights. as to serving in the military, no, it’s not all fun and games. they are hard taskmasters and you march and march, and stand on parade and all kinds of stupid shit, even if they know that you will be sent off to some god forsaken backward fucking contry. and when and if you go, and manage somehow to make it back in one piece, you are shit upon again. if you come back missing a piece or two, shit on again. that’s why no one really want to enlist or even re-up. they tried that shit with me, when my hitch was up, told thanks but see ya. i have seen first hand, what goes on in places like bosnia, falklands and even cyprus. it is none too nice. if you are old enough there to carry and fire a weapon, you are a fair game target. civillian or not. that’s what happens to these people, they get killed and who really gives a fuck, their government, big laugh there. they are the assholes resposible for starting whatever war, skirmish, or what the fuck ever. just the poor grunts that pay, never the top brass, they are a 1,000 plus miles away, sitting in comfort, laughing their asses off at you getting offed, for no good reason.should we have war, never, as it solves nothing, but the population problem.does any good ever come from it, no, just a lot of grief. that’s why you never volunteer for anything in the forces, or out of.

  15. Lots of comments here from folks who don’t know how the CF actually work. A bit of hatred thrown in the mix too, (that’s always nice).

    Gender, race or linguistic profile does not determine if the CF have a position for you, and how quick you’ll go through the process. It only depends on the trade you’re applying for. The manning levels of each trade is assessed each year. When a trade is full, intake stops. Some trades have selection boards that take place once a year…depending when your application was dropped off, it may take a full year before you hear from them. In some cases, it takes 2 years or more from the moment the candidate first walked into a CFRC to the moment he/she is off the bus at St. Jean for basic training.

    My advice OP: Follow up with the CFRC clerks regularly, but don’t put your life on hold…it isn’t going to happen overnight. Keep your current job, or find one if you are currently unemployed: recruiting can be a ridiculously long process. When you finally get an offer from the CF, you’ll see if the time is still right for you to join, or if you’d rather carry on as a civilian.

    Also, DO NOT take information from a recruiter at face value: there are way too many trades in the CF for them to know them all in detail. Request to be put in contact with someone in the trade you’re interested in, meet up with the individual, if possible shadow him/her for a day during routine garrison work, etc. You can ask for those things and it will give you a far more accurate picture of a trade than a brochure and the recruiter’s spiel.

    And for the record PK, individuals get their linguistic profile tested once they are hired (towards the end of basic training for officer candidates). The entire recruiting process (tests, interviews) is conducted in either language (usually the candidates’ first language). Bilingualism gives you extra points later in your career for promotions and senior appointments, but it gives you zero edge at the recruiting center.

  16. i have been trying to get in the forces for over a year now.i have prior service(going into the same trade),degree,speak french.

    if you are getting impatient,do what i am doing.look into the french foreign legion.they are always recruiting.if you take this approach, i would advise you to start training harder then you ever have before.there is no handholding there.

  17. What?
    you mean they aren’t recruiting for operation ‘human shield’ ?
    I would have thought they’d take all they can get.

  18. NGFat i never pegged you for a hippie, tree-huggin, sissyboy…either be prepared to press the red button or move out da way for someone who will…and wow Life Sucks, you sound just like Switzerland…or maybe Poland actually..have fun being Hitler’s plaything…War or action is sometimes necessary ..we cant always count on undesireables killing each other off, or being rehabilitated…sometimes they need a bit of help. You dont let a mosquito keep biting and biting you…you fucking end its very existence…

  19. French Foreign Legion: Perhaps the OP isn’t interested in (potentially) making the ultimate sacrifice for a country other than his/her own?

  20. Those ads are a crock of shit. They should be showing videos of IEDs blowing up allied vehicles, dismembered soldiers, and funerals. That’s the true military.

  21. shaker542 wrote: “either be prepared to press the red button or move out da way for someone who will.”

    I don’t understand. What does pressing the red button do?

  22. The CF is like any other potential employer, when they have droves of people wanting to join, they get picky and want only the top of the pile. When times are tough, and the recruiting centers are empty, they’ll take anyone with a pulse. No different. If you wanna join, keep calling them and getting updates. The next 10 years, people are going to be retiring in big numbers, most because they’ve had enough of the bullshit, and endless deployments. Like has been said, do your homework, talk to people that actually DO the job, not some mindless officer who sits in a fucken office all day.

  23. @ Infantry. There are plenty of entertaining and eminently readable Legionnaire autobiographies floating around, but Evan McGorman’s “Life in the French Foreign Legion” is one of the better ones since he keeps the “This is no shit…” stories to a minimum and specifically wrote the book to detail the enlistment and training processes for those considering joining. It should be available on ABE
    Happy Camerone Day.

  24. Well, Infantry, if you have a degree and you can’t be hired, it might be because your writing suffers from a lack of capitalization and proper use of the space bar.

    Spell check, then try again.

  25. To those who would follow the sea I have this bit of sage advice:

    Thou shalt not sail with Captain Morgan, for he will leadeth thee astray into strong drink and leave thee with a sore head for thine troubles.

    Neither shalt thou sail with Captain Highliner, who also goeth by the name Hindgrinder, for he shall lead thee to his bunk and leave thee with a sore ass in the name of adventure on the high seas.

    Verily I say unto thee, if thou wilt follow the sea, thou shalt sail with Captain Ahab, for though he did get swallowed by the leviathan of the deep, he did keep to the path of righteousness everlasting.

  26. Oh, and say “hello” to Beau, Digby and John when you see them. Tell them Sergeant Lejaune sends his best

    is that their old names, or their new ones.

  27. Hey Death’s Head: the Messenger biography of S.D. showed up this week. I’ve put 2 cps (1 HC/ 1PB) behind the counter in the name of Todd N. Koff. We can hold them for a week. You know the place?

  28. thankyou my friend i will be there this week starts with juliet if i am correct on barrington.thank you again correct me if i am wrong

  29. Totenkopf

    Keep us posted about the French Foreign Legion thing. I’m looking forward to reading about your adventures.

  30. Commandante Esposito

    my first goal is to run 3km in 12mins.so i started running.i will let you know when this obstacle is passed.

    also with this running i have also decreased my calorie intake.i heard you are not fed a lot in the ffl.also i have started to cut back on my sleeping time.another thing you get very little of in the legion

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