Joining the Canadian Armed Forces

The beginning of your basic military qualification (BMQ) will be dedicated to settling into your quarters and getting accustomed to military life. You will receive your equipment and learn how to install it in your cubicle in preparation for future inspections. You will conduct medical and fitness screenings in order to determine if you are at risk of developing injuries during sustained training. For the first three weeks of BMQ, you will have to devote yourself entirely to your integration into military life.

Drill aims to contribute to operational efficiency, to promote discipline and above all it constitutes the basis of teamwork. You will begin this training unarmed. You will learn its importance, its origin and its purpose, the words of command, the regulation pauses, the length of the steps and their cadence, as well as the military salutes. In addition to keeping you in shape, marches develop resilience in the face of challenges. This will be the first challenge of your BMQ, two 3-km rucksack marches. Other marches will take place throughout your nine weeks on BMQ. You will learn how to wear your uniform for the first time and how to maintain your equipment. Many lessons and discussions about mental health will take place. You will receive tools to manage stress and have opportunities to express yourself about your successes and challenges. In addition, you will be accompanied by a health professional who will teach you good habits to keep you healthy.

In order to provide you with the skills, knowledge and confidence to respond to a medical emergency or injury, whether at home, at work or in public, the instruction of St. John’s Ambulance first aid material is used throughout the course. Offered by the First Aid Cell, the courses will allow you to cover a variety of topics, from cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills to severe injury management, without ignoring the recognition and management of common medical problems. You will be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of common medical conditions, provide basic first aid, assess the severity of injuries and illnesses, and work effectively as a team.

You will benefit from a range of courses designed to teach you the various skills necessary to properly handle the weapon safely, the shooting skills and the different firing positions. In the following weeks, you will be subjected to a variety of practice shooting exercises in the shooting simulator as well as field practice on the range. From this point on, you will be responsible for ensuring the proper handling of the assigned weapon and securing it. It will be up to you to maintain your weapon regularly and ensure its safe handling.

After learning how to handle your weapon in Week 4, you’ll train at the simulator to acquire precision and technical rigour, and to learn how to hit a target. These practical exercises will later conclude with a weapons test at the range. You will learn the codes governing military radio communications so you can relay crucial information safely and effectively, as well as the framework and limits of your field of action in the event of armed conflict, as well as the fundamental laws governing the use of armed force. Other lessons will teach you how to read distances and relief on a map, as well as how to measure angles to optimize your movements and anticipate those of the enemy in a conflict situation.

It is in week 6 that you will do your FORCE test. This test must be succeeded to continue your BMQ and it is during the preceding weeks that you will have built the capacity to meet the objectives of the test. This will also be test week for drill to assess your ability with and without weapons. Through the obstacle courses, you will develop resilience and physical endurance. The obstacle courses require teamwork between yourself and your peers.

Theoretical and practical lessons will help you understand the importance of adequate preparation under its conditions by learning about CBRN military doctrine. You will have to master various survival techniques in a CBRN environment, including masking, unmasking, drinking with a mask, changing the canister of the mask and assuming personal decontamination. All this will culminate in theoretical, but above all practical evaluations during the exercise of the gas hut, a materialization of the whole teaching that underlines the importance of mastering the various CBRN concepts.

In order to make sure that you have assimilated the theory, nothing better than practice. The entire week is dedicated to applying your newfound knowledge on the pitch in the field training environment. The final exercise consists of a mission in friendly or hostile terrain which will consolidate your knowledge acquired during the previous six weeks including the application of first aid to casualties, rules of engagement and functioning as a section to accomplish the tasks assigned. This final exercise focuses on developing your basic skills like communication and teamwork.

You will benefit from the last moments of reflection with the various mentors who will have supported you throughout your journey, a last moment of sharing on all your learnings during the 9 weeks as well as on the achievements you will bring with you in the years of service that will follow. Strength, resilience, stress management, job skills, military skills, health and well-being, the keys to success have been revealed to you and it is from then on, that the fruits of your labour begin to appear. You finally proceed to the administration of the end of the course, you bring back the supplies that have been lent to you for the duration of your course and will receive your next instructions guiding you to your respective career courses. It is with a head full of memories and a heart full of pride that the door of the School closes behind you, and that of your military future opens before you.