I'm disappointed but it could be worst. A few questions.

[Lame]

Hello all,
I first off want to thank each of you who keep these forums active. I've been spending a lot of time on this forum.

A little about me :
I have 4 kids, 3 of which I share custody with. I started looking into the Forces to contribute into the reserves. After so much thinking and planning I decided to join the regs. However since I have a great civi job already, my calculations started to not add up for my family. Mostly money situations. As much as I'd absolutely love to join the regs, financially it does not add up.. It would leave my family in too much of a financial struggle at the start. Mind you that it would definitely pay in the end, but i would loose 15K the first 2 years and would take up to the end of my 4th year to catch up to the lost. 

So here's some questions that I have that I couldn't find an answer for :

- Once in the reserves, if I do my training for MSE OP(Mobile Support Equipment Operator) and down the road I decide to go Regs as a MSE OP, do I loose my time served from Reserves and start back as Private?

- I want to serve in the Forces, I have no problem with deployment, even my wife has given me the HOHAA!(yes she's a keeper). As a reservist how often are you given the opportunity to go?

I do trust my recruiters. I trust that they are giving me the information that they have. But I would love to hear from actual experiences.


I can't wait to join this family.. I'll keep pushing until I'm in..


I have a new found respect for the Forces.
There's too much talk about politics and celebs.. There should be more coverage and programs about the actual soldiers that keep this great country safe. Not to mention keeping peace all over the world..

 

[DAA]

Hello all,
I first off want to thank each of you who keep these forums active. I've been spending a lot of time on this forum.

A little about me :
I have 4 kids, 3 of which I share custody with. I started looking into the Forces to contribute into the reserves. After so much thinking and planning I decided to join the regs. However since I have a great civi job already, my calculations started to not add up for my family. Mostly money situations. As much as I'd absolutely love to join the regs, financially it does not add up.. It would leave my family in too much of a financial struggle at the start. Mind you that it would definitely pay in the end, but i would loose 15K the first 2 years and would take up to the end of my 4th year to catch up to the lost. 

So here's some questions that I have that I couldn't find an answer for :

- Once in the reserves, if I do my training for MSE OP(Mobile Support Equipment Operator) and down the road I decide to go Regs as a MSE OP, do I loose my time served from Reserves and start back as Private?

- I want to serve in the Forces, I have no problem with deployment, even my wife has given me the HOHAA!(yes she's a keeper). As a reservist how often are you given the opportunity to go?

I do trust my recruiters. I trust that they are giving me the information that they have. But I would love to hear from actual experiences.

I can't wait to join this family.. I'll keep pushing until I'm in..

I have a new found respect for the Forces.
There's too much talk about politics and celebs.. There should be more coverage and programs about the actual soldiers that keep this great country safe. Not to mention keeping peace all over the world..

With the change in CF financial policies over a year ago (ie; reduction in IR/SE benefits, senior members here can relate), the impact that I don't think anyone ever considered, is that people like you, just can't afford to joing the CF.

To answer your questions.....no, you won't necessarily lose any time served and will have vested rights to pay.  As a reservist, you are only subject to deployments if you "volunteer" and only if the opportunity presents itself, which these days, could be few and far between.

My recommendation, DO NOT join the Reserves with the "intention" of transferring over to the Regular Force, unless you are willing to commit 18-24 months of Reserve time.

 

[Lame]

Thanks.. it's really sad too.. I have 12 years of Computer tech experience(mind you it doesn't matter in a way, however it means I'm great in troubleshooting problems) and have my Class 1 licence with truck driving experience. I also have some plumbing, construction and network experience. Not to mention a great mature mind with good leadership skills. My recruiter almost jumped out of his seat when I told him that.. He's the one who asked me to take into consideration to join the Regs..

To be honest if it wouldn't be for the rations and quarters on the BMQ the first year it wouldn't be as bad.. but considering that on the 33K salary the first year I'll be giving 3-4K of it for rations(since I'm married and have a mortgage) plus all the other deductions, it's what's putting a halt in my military career. Just the first year alone I would be leaving my family with 15K less than what I'm making now.

But on what you just said, if I do go to the reserves for a couple of years and am able to pass the BMQ stage it might not be as bad.

But I agree. More insentive to join for life experience people like me would be great..

Thanks for your reply..

 

[Tibbson]

Thanks.. it's really sad too.. I have 12 years of Computer tech experience(mind you it doesn't matter in a way, however it means I'm great in troubleshooting problems) and have my Class 1 licence with truck driving experience. I also have some plumbing, construction and network experience. Not to mention a great mature mind with good leadership skills. My recruiter almost jumped out of his seat when I told him that.. He's the one who asked me to take into consideration to join the Regs..

To be honest if it wouldn't be for the rations and quarters on the BMQ the first year it wouldn't be as bad.. but considering that on the 33K salary the first year I'll be giving 3-4K of it for rations(since I'm married and have a mortgage) plus all the other deductions, it's what's putting a halt in my military career. Just the first year alone I would be leaving my family with 15K less than what I'm making now.

But on what you just said, if I do go to the reserves for a couple of years and am able to pass the BMQ stage it might not be as bad.

But I agree. More insentive to join for life experience people like me would be great..

Thanks for your reply..

I don't know your current age but from what I've seen, with kids, all that experience and a spouse, you are not just out of high school.  You'll have to factor that into the overall equation as well.  If you do the reserve thing for a few years then you will be a few years older by the time you want to go reg...your kids will be a few years older too and perhaps costing you more or not as willing to relocate for school AND you may find that given the number of years available for you to serve you may not be in a position to build a decent pension. 

You may find it's better to bite the bullet, perhaps have your wife work if that is possible, and see if you can make a go of it now rather then later but it's all a personal choice.  Good luck.

 

[Lame]

Yeah.. I'm 32.. You might be right.. However it's hard to put my family into this situation.. Believe me we're not in a huge bind. We could make it work.  My wife makes more money than I do right now anyways. I guess a good sit down to figure out the logistics of it.

Hard decision. But I feel that it would be for the best. Not at first but in the long run.

 

[D-C]

Hey Lame,
Are you still planning on Reserves or Reg? I think you need to make that decision before sitting down for the talk.
D-C

 

[Jarnhamar]

If you're looking for opinions I would suggest you apply for the reserves.

If you join the regular force you;

1. may not get the job you're applying for. MSE op may not be available so you'll need to either wait or pick some other trade. Infantry!
2. may get posted half way across the country and have to uproot your family. Moving around is a normal thing in the military but usually husbands wives and children 'grow up' into that environment or start being exposed to it at a younger age.  Depending on your wife and the age of your kids it may be a pretty big shock for them.
3. may join the regular force and really hate it (it happens) in which case you just gave up a great job for $2800 a month that you will leave in 3 years.


With this job you could work 5 days a week and have 5 different times you start work and 5 different times you finish. If you have 3 kids at home that makes organizing babysitters, school and daycare a real bastard.


As for carrying over your rank, as noted it all depends. You could transfer as a corporal MSE op with all your truck and transformer qualifications from  the res OR you could transfer and be demoted to private and told to redo your MSE OP course again, or even retake your basic training.



With our unequivocal success in the Afghanistan Crusade not many of us are going on tour, regular force or reserve. Now that the regular force doesn't need the reserves to help fill spots there will be even less spots for reservists to do tours. (Regular force doesn't like the reserves 'doing their job').  I wouldn't have your heart set on going on a tour regardless of which route you take.   
Small however, as an MSE op you have an opportunity to get some really awesome vehicle and equipment qualifications which would make you an asset.  A well trained and qualified reservist is great because if something does pop up where they are needed it can be more economical to take a reservist and fire them into a spot for 6 months instead of pulling someone out of a regular force position for 6 months then having to pick up the slack of the missing person or back fill their spot. 

And finally, the unicorn.
My best friend left the armored reserves and while waiting for a regforce traffic tech course to start he was asked to go to Germany for a year as a driver, because of his driving qualifications.

 

[Lame]

Very interesting thoughts guys. I really would love to put all my eggs in one basket(so to speak) but I think you are all bringing up great points.

I think for the time being to make everything more convenient for my family, reserves will be my place.. I would absolutely love with all my heart to be there everyday with the regs, but my time isn't now.

My wife has a great job. The girls(4 kids) will grow up where they call home and once they are older I will make my decision.

Either way I will do all that I can and be the best reservist I can be. As for the MSE OP, I already have my class 1(tractor trailor) licence. So I'll take it as having something to offer.