Stay in cadets, then RMC or go reserves and then RMC

[William Hoskins]

Hey, I am 15 and a Sgt. at my local cadet corps, I was wondering whether I should stay in cadets until I am out of high school or join the reserves (Infantry) when I turn 16. But either way I would like to attend RMC. Which should I choose and also would joining the reserves as an NCM hinder me getting into RMC. My grades are all honors and I am physically fit. Feedback would be appreciated thank you.

 

[jeffb]

My  :2c: is to join the reserves first. You will make more money once you go to RMC, will get better experience and the time is pensionable. More importantly, you will gain experience as a NCM which I strongly believe will make you a better officer although I am somewhat biased in this regard.

 

[Cui]

Either way, you will gain some pretty good experience. Don't join the reserves because you feel that you have to. A large number of people entered RMC without any prior experience in cadets or reserves. Do what you think will be the best for you.

 

[AGD]

would joining the reserves as an NCM hinder me getting into RMC. My grades are all honors and I am physically fit. Feedback would be appreciated thank you.

No it will not.

I guess it depends on you and what you want to accomplish out of the cadet program. If you leave at 16, you may miss out on some opportunities for the sake of some extra pensionable time. For example, if you're after your glider pilot license/PPL, you should stick with cadets. Otherwise, I'd say go with the reserves.

 

[William Hoskins]

Really the only reason I am consitering staying in Army Cadets is the slight chance I could do para and I have heard that by the time my application goes through for reserves I will be half-way through grade 12 anyway, meaning there would be no point.

 

[Veiledal]

You will have different hoops to jump through if you go reserves, than apply to ROTP. My CT got a little mangled in the process and I missed out on ROTP. That being said,  joining the reserves,  even for a couple of years will put you ahead of the game, compared to staying in cadets.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Being in the reserves will not neccesarily put you ahead of the game. Our CF will train you to do all the 'bang bang stuff' when it's time. We are very good at that (especially our SNCOs and Captain/Majors)

Being really, really, really smart and having a big bag of life experience behind you will put you ahead of the game.

For you, if that mean joining the reserves so be it. But if it means running a restaurant or placing second in an international tennis competition or kite skiing across Greenland, then go ahead and do that instead.... please.

There's lots of time for the 'bang bang' stuff later. Not so much for the other stuff.

 

[stealthylizard]

I concur with daftandbarmy.  Get a whole bunch of extracurricular/volunteer/life experience behind you. They have a lot of applicants with high grades, and lots of applicants with cadet experience.  They don't want people that can only maintain high marks when holed up in their room studying.  RMC prefers someone that can maintain their GPA while having a busy life schedule.  The application process will be a pain if your are in the PRes.

 

[Silverfire]

Side note, but correct me if I'm wrong; isn't minimum age for PRes 17?

 

[William Hoskins]

16 with parental consent

 

[yoman]

16 with parental consent

Its been bumped up to 17 from 16.

http://www.forces.ca/en/page/howtoapply-106

 

[jwtg]

I know this is about a week old, but for anyone else wondering what the advantages are (cadets vs. reserves), if you ask anybody at RMC what they think, they'll tell you go reserves.  As has been said already, you make more money when you get there.

 

[MKos]

I don't know if you've heard or been told about the UTPNCM program the forces offer?

You can find it throughout the site if you search it but if not here:

http://www.rmc.ca/adm/utpncm-pfumr-eng.asp

This can also be an option for you if your looking at what's in front of you!

All the best with your descision!

 

[Phoebe]

Its been bumped up to 17 from 16.

http://www.forces.ca/en/page/howtoapply-106

If it is true that the minimum age requirement for the reserves has been increased, I personally wouldn't bother with it and would stay in Cadets. You would only be in the reserves for maybe a matter of months before you had to begin your application process for ROTP. Some people believe Cadets is a complete waste of time but I think those people who think this are a load of crap. The leadership and instruction skills they can teach you are fantastic. My advice though is to not let the program consume your life and all your time. You must, at all costs, continue to remain well rounded via physical fitness, community hours, academics and so on.

Now, if money is becoming the problem like for me at age 16 (had to start paying rent), find a part time job that will possibly allow you to demonstrate leadership. 

Any ways, good luck!

 

[Griffon]

A couple of things:


First:

I don't know if you've heard or been told about the UTPNCM program the forces offer?

- this program is for regular force NCMs only, not Reserves or civilians.  In order to qualify you would need to serve in the ranks as an NCM for approx four years, and the program is EXTREMELY competitive, depending on desired Officer occupation (e.g. three spots for Pilot, five for AERE, etc).

Second:
Since you already have cadet experience, stick with that.  You say that you intend to apply to RMC, which means that you are going to apply to become a leader in the CF.  This means that you will need to demonstrate leadership experience to be a competitive applicant.  Look at the qualities of a good Officer, and think of ways that you can demonstrate those traits in yourself.  For example - good grades demonstrate intellect, seniority in cadets can show leadership ability, responsibility, and a desire for the CF way of life.  Community involvement gives the CF an idea of your moral alignment.  In the end, the Reserves can give you a bit of a leg up in the event you are selected, but you have to be selected first.

 

[MKos]

A couple of things:


First: - this program is for regular force NCMs only, not Reserves or civilians.  In order to qualify you would need to serve in the ranks as an NCM for approx four years, and the program is EXTREMELY competitive, depending on desired Officer occupation (e.g. three spots for Pilot, five for AERE, etc).

Second:
Since you already have cadet experience, stick with that.  You say that you intend to apply to RMC, which means that you are going to apply to become a leader in the CF.  This means that you will need to demonstrate leadership experience to be a competitive applicant.  Look at the qualities of a good Officer, and think of ways that you can demonstrate those traits in yourself.  For example - good grades demonstrate intellect, seniority in cadets can show leadership ability, responsibility, and a desire for the CF way of life.  Community involvement gives the CF an idea of your moral alignment.  In the end, the Reserves can give you a bit of a leg up in the event you are selected, but you have to be selected first.

Overlooked that, my bad,

Thanks for clearing that up Griffon! Also agree with what Griffon has to say.

 

[Pusser]

A lot of this depends on when your birthday is and what you want to get of all this.  I would say that if you turn 17 while you are in Grade 12, then stick with Cadets and start your ROTP application in September of your final year.  If you don't get into ROTP, then turn your application into one for the Reserve and hopefully start in the Reserve at roughly the same time you start university on your own (make sure you apply for schools other than RMC).  Once you start university, if you still want to be an officer in the CF, you can apply for one of the Reserve officer programs or try for ROTP again.

Here's what I did:

I was a cadet who grew disillusioned with the corps I was in (but not the movement).  My corps was co-located with a Reserve unit, and so when an opportunity came up, I joined the Reserve (but didn't leave cadets until I was actually enrolled).  I don't regret joining the Reserve while I was still in High School, but sometimes regret having left cadets too soon.  I was fairly senior by that point.  I had even spent one summer as a staff cadet and was in a good position to be able to do it again (I actually took a pay cut by joining the Reserve!).  I loved being a staff cadet and being a senior cadet was pretty cool too (I was on track to be the Coxswain of my corps at some point).  I went form being top dog to bottom of the heap.  However, I was also born in January, which means I was older than most of my classmates at school and Ontario had Grade 13 then, so I was able to put in two solid years in the Reserve before even thinking about university.  I would argue that unless you can put in a decent amount of time (i.e. finish some courses) in the Reserve before actually transferring to the Regular Force, then don't bother.

It's also important to have a back-up plan.  My intent had always been to use the Reserve as a stepping stone to a Regular Force commission, but ended up spending a little longer in the Reserve than originally intended.  In my last year of high school, I applied for ROTP and didn't get in (despite a good record of cadets, Reserve and varsity sports - perhaps, I should have spent more time studying? ;D).  I was devastated, but at least had luckily been accepted to a university.  I stayed with the Reserve and went off to first year university, paying for it myself.  I was much more successful academically in university than in high school and got accepted into ROTP on the second try.  Since I had already started at Civvy U, they left me there.