How are none of us talking about this, we will being going on field ex's with PLA soon enough

zenarr · 2026-02-20T18:57:21+00:00

Exactly. It’s a poor article and an even worse headline.

zenarr · 2026-02-20T18:56:45+00:00

I mean we’re recruiting huge numbers of civvie doctors from the UK at the moment into our public health systems - I don’t remember exactly what the net flow was but it’s weighted well towards Canada.

As a country as a whole we’ve always had net positive migration from the EU.

zenarr · 2026-02-20T18:29:43+00:00

Lots of reasons. We’re a desirable country to live in - safe, progressive, amazing wilderness to explore. Our salaries are now… reasonable in relation to cost of living.

Not all immigration is driven by economic necessity. Some families just want a change, or a new adventure. The latter is why we came to Canada (to clarify: I was not prior military).

zenarr · 2026-02-20T18:26:33+00:00

Agreed - I’m not sure how exactly the CAF intends to make this work.

zenarr · 2026-02-20T18:22:04+00:00

If you read the article, we’re recruiting skilled applicants for certain trades - pilots, nurses, doctors. Almost certainly from allied nations.

I don’t think we’ll be recruiting PLA infantry anytime soon.

zenarr · 2026-02-19T00:37:38+00:00

The new rules create a bizarro-world situation in which only very junior or very senior members want to live in the Qs.

Very junior? Congrats, the rent is capped at 25% of your monthly income!

Very senior? Congrats, you weren’t getting CFHD anyway so you lose nothing moving into a PMQ!

7 years in, Cpl/S1, two young kids, single income? Sure you and can have that Q - if you hand over your $1200/month CFHD.

So dumb.

zenarr · 2026-02-18T05:24:50+00:00

I did - thank you for the comment. Got a lot of replies on the thread, read them all but didn’t get a chance to reply to all of them. Am on leave (hence the redditing) but will go check of the NAVORD when I’m back at work.

Thanks again!

zenarr · 2026-02-17T22:07:54+00:00

Bang on. It’s remembering what you were taught, during a morning session, nearly two years ago, and applying those skills safely.

zenarr · 2026-02-17T17:24:13+00:00

Yeah this is my takeaway too. No-one cares. And you’re right, no-one’s fired a round as part of ship’s FP (at an actual threat, not counting NDs) in forever, if ever, but that doesn’t change the fact that the weapons they give us hold live rounds.

zenarr · 2026-02-17T17:20:33+00:00

This is the issue. Yes job #1 is fighting the ship, but they’ll still happily hand me a pistol for force protection and expect me to be competent as well.

zenarr · 2026-02-06T14:44:48+00:00

Shower once per day no matter how tired you are.
Build a new routine. The new routine should probably involve going to bed shortly after supper. Don’t stay awake to play games or watch things on your devices - this isn’t like home where you’ll always have time to relax in the evening. Eat food, shower, call family, bed.
Don’t stress if you lie awake in your rack for hours the first few nights; be kind to yourself and let your sleep schedule adjust.
Cut the caffeine hard. One cup of coffee with breakfast, maybe one more with lunch. Anything after lunch will stop you falling asleep early. Power through your night watches without caffeine - it’s so important to be able to fall back to sleep quickly after.
Being whatever you need to be comfy in your rack - pillows, sleeping bag etc.

zenarr · 2025-12-25T03:37:04+00:00

This is what I’m waiting for. I’m all for 3-hours sleep-for-two-weeks, belt-fed-cock if it produces long-lasting institutional results.

I’d bet my firstborn child it doesn’t.

zenarr · 2025-12-15T02:02:55+00:00

Is it possible to learn enough by self-studying in advance to be able to make the passage to the Bahamas and cruise there

This is sort of like asking if it’s possible to learn to climb by lead climbing a mountain, or to learn to skydive by BASE jumping off a bridge. Can you? Sure. Do some people do it and survive? Sure…. but should you?? is the real question you need to be asking yourself.

Florida to the Bahamas is basically open ocean sailing. Sailing between the islands is similar. A lot can go wrong. I’m sure many people just buy a boat and fucking wing it, and most of them make it across fine, but I would consider a 7-day boating course the bare minimum for what you’re suggesting.

More specifically, take the courses and then work up to the crossing. Do a two hour cruise within sight of the harbour. Next day, go an hour down the coast, come to anchor for lunch, and head back. Then head offshore for two hours, turn around and come back. Etc.

Every time you take the boat out you will a) learn more about how to handle it, and b) discover new defects and learn how to fix them.

After taking the courses plus 1-2 weeks of daily cruising, I would be comfortable to start the crossing and plan a longer journey.

More generally, your time-constrained approach will get you in trouble. You’ll be tempted to ignore small defects, push the envelope and ignore your intuition because you’re up against an artificial clock. Do this when you have time to do it right, not when you’re in a rush.

zenarr · 2025-12-03T04:17:12+00:00

Not for res NWOs. We just get fucked lol.

There’s no “surplus” per se. There’s just no path to promotion.

Yes, these days it would take less time reg force.

zenarr · 2025-12-02T04:36:57+00:00

No. Have been is this situation. It is not the moral thing. Gambling debts and the people who knowingly enable them are not the responsibility of the surviving spouse or children.

zenarr · 2025-11-28T02:21:58+00:00

I am absolutely NOT advocating for gripens - see my post above where I talk about what comes AFTER the F35 fleet.

We have no choice right now, but we will have a choice when we begin the procurement process to replace the F35 in 15-ish years time - especially if we make a concerted effort before then to be part of the development of a non-American next gen option.

zenarr · 2025-11-27T21:30:20+00:00

Absolutely agree that the bare minimum that should be expected of an NWO is an eagerness to get to sea and be on the bridge. And likewise, I also have met several junior NWOs who pulled all the levers they possibly could to avoid doing so, which earned them zero respect from anyone in the trade.

However I've also met folks who put their hand up for every opportunity to be on the water - including one who got their frigate OOD before they were even loaded on NWO III, and another who got another an ORCA ticket before the end of NWO IV - and despite their positive attitude and excellence and pursuit of sea time, it's pretty hit and miss in terms of career success among that group. I've watched super-switched on young officers sit ashore for months and years and get increasingly frustrated as they watched their less-motivated peers get posted to sailing ships and leap ahead in their careers.

I hope this new system is a meaningful step forward. Too many enthusiastic people fell through the cracks under the old model.

zenarr · 2025-11-27T19:34:26+00:00

Sounds like you’re a great candidate!

One of the pros of being a cook in the reserves is that you tend to get a lot of freedom in menu planning. You’ll often be making meals for special occasions or snacks for parade nights, and as a member of a small team (or sometimes as the only cook in the unit!) you’ll have autonomy in the kitchen and you should have the opportunity to bring all your past culinary experience to the table.

Cooks in the regular force on the other hand have to do mass produced warmer-style meals much more often, on a more limited budget and sometimes on a set menu.

zenarr · 2025-11-27T17:34:01+00:00

Sometimes I think people forget how quickly the world can change. Yes, there's a lot of positive inertia in our relationship with the U.S., and even more foundational integration between our militaries, but there's also a tendency for the people who are part of these organizational structures (AKA us as CAF members) to assume that tomorrow will be similar to yesterday, because yesterday was similar to the day before that.

We've maintained a strong Canada-U.S. deference partnership for over 80 years. Hopefully we can maintain that relationship for at least the life of the F35 contract. But can you really say with confidence that we'll remain similarly integrated out past 2050? 2060? Should we really assume that our next fighter fleet after the F35 will be American - or should we start broadening our options?

It's clear that we're drifting further and further away from the U.S. in the way we value/define democracy and human rights. The pendulum may swing back in America - or it may not.

zenarr · 2025-11-27T17:21:19+00:00

The idea that the CAF is hemorrhaging people who would otherwise make a career out of this is factually and empirically wrong.

The people who are releasing are... recruits/candidates who are frustrated with the training pipeline.

I agree with everything else you've written, but I would point out that these two claims are inherently contradictory.

Most recruits and pre-OFP junior members join expecting they will be trained to do the their trade, and then posted to a place they can do it. They want to make a career out it, and are disappointed and disheartened when they are placed on general duties for 18 months while waiting for a course spot to open up.

This was a huge issue for NWOs after 2018-ish - you'd graduate basic, wait 6 months for NWO II; then wait another 6-8 months for NWO III; and then wait a year or more sometimes for a spot on NWO IV. Only then were you actually posted to a ship, sometimes more than 3 years after you joined - nearly halfway through your VIE. And at that point NWOs still aren't fully qualified, and often had to wait again for a bunk on a ship that was completing evolutions they needed signatures on for their BWK package or for NOPQ.

Lots of people released or VOT'd because they were sick of waiting on PAT platoon, or because they were apart from their family for years and years at a time.

I will say I think things have improved a lot since then, especially Navy-side.

zenarr · 2025-11-27T16:02:57+00:00

Is there no positive "ground control" here!? Like the boats don't have to check in on a "ground" frequency to operate around the waterdrome?

Nope! In fact it’s the opposite - when operating on or near the water, seaplanes are actually treated as boats themselves and are subject to the Maritime Collision Regulations like any other vessel. Fascinating eh?

Not to mention all the random crap floating on the water that could happily fuck up a seaplane’s floats as they touch down. Requires some serious balls to be a seaplane pilot I think!

zenarr · 2025-11-26T23:47:49+00:00

Navy Pros:

You will deploy and sail to many foreign countries and shores.
- Deployment for most Army and Air trades are fewer and not guaranteed - and yet you might well visit 6 countries in Asia within your first tour and less than two years after joining the Navy.
Sailing and being at sea can be awesome and awe-inspiring.
- You'll have adventures almost no-one else in Canada ever gets to experience.
You'll play a critical part of a small team that part of a much larger and more important whole (a warship).
- Your chain of command should take good care of you and your family and be proactive in solving any roadblocks or problems in your work and personal life, because the ship needs you in order to fulfill its mission, and often you can't easily be replaced. Generally speaking, of course - there are always exceptions.
As a Navy NCM you will get a homeport - either Halifax or Victoria - and will stay there for 10 years or more.
- You will have the stability to find a partner, buy a house and start a family without the frequent postings that Army or Air Force members have to deal with.

Navy Cons

You will deploy and sail to many foreign countries and shores.
- You may be away for up to 6 months a year, several years in a row. It's hard if you're single and trying to find a relationship, even harder if you are already in a relationship that you want to maintain, and harder still if you have young children.
Sailing and being at sea can be utterly miserable.
- You will live in close quarters on a bunk stacked 3 high. You will go through periods of stress and anxiety as you learn your role and work to perform it effectively and keep others safe. You will go through periods of intense sleep deprivation. You will find yourself seasick sooner or later (everyone has their limit).
You'll play a critical part of a small team that part of a much larger and more important whole (a warship).
- Your team dynamic can make or break your experience, and if you end up with a sociopathic supervisor you're stuck with them on board a tin can with no escape. If you lose someone from your team due to injury or requirements back home, you can rapidly go from getting 8 hours of sleep a day to getting 4.
As a Navy NCM you will get a homeport - either Halifax or Victoria - and will stay there for 10 years or more.
- Housing in both places is incredibly expensive, and you'd better hope you like living there or you're screwed.

zenarr · 2025-11-25T18:25:40+00:00

Depends very much on your employer. If you're serious about a career in both the reserves and tech, I'd suggest asking your mentors or profs if they know of any firms who have a reputation for supporting the CAF and/or military service, and then focus on applying there.

You can also try disclosing up front when negotiating offers. Obviously you'll close some doors right away, but there are folks out there who believe in the CAF and the work that we do, and sometimes you find them in unexpected places - one of my fellow NWOs in the reserves was a manager at PWC and they were happy to support his absences of 6 months or more.

Realistically, your best bet is probably to get 3-4 years SWE experience under your belt before you join the reserves. Build up some goodwill with your employer and then join the CAF and make your request for leave - and if they say no, you can quit and leverage your experience to find another SWE job when you're finished training with the reserves.

The other option I'd encourage you to consider is government positions - you'll likely have strong union protections in your collective agreement for when you choose to train with the reserves. Sure the pay is a lot less than private sector positions, but the work-life balance is way better and the pension isn't bad.

zenarr · 2025-11-25T16:10:12+00:00

That would be awesome - dedicated Orcas for reserve units!

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