Writing this in the off topic forum serves two purposes; it allows me to partially vent to a “somewhat” objective crowd and secondly, provides insight and experience on an issue that I haven’t yet considered. So without further ado…
To say that enrolling in the military was a last minute decision would be an understatement. I had just completed my first year of secondary schooling at Carleton University in our nation’s capital. The school at that time had the most sought after program in the country and took on average 7-8 months to be accepted into. I had a passion for writing in all forms and thought that was my future in life…until I met my professor. Over the next 9 months she made me loath school, writing, and anything remotely related to her. She was a one woman wrecking crew of my passion at that time and by the end of the 2nd term, despite my marks being in the upper bracket of my classmates, I was depressed.
Now don’t get me wrong, this is not a sob story. Self-pity is not my forte and is certainly something I have done few enough times that I can count it on one hand. I was a scrawny, clueless to the real world kid living in a bachelor apartment who assumed he had life beaten and figured out. I discovered this was not reality and struggled to sort myself the fuck out. Walking out of the subway terminal one night I was confronted by a larger than life poster, a recruitment advertisement from the Department of National Defence. Plastered up on the wall were 3 members of our Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2, equivalent to SEAL teams). At that moment I knew this is what I had sought after for the last 9 months, the solution to my problem of hating my life day in, day out. It didn’t take long for me to make my decision.
3 days later
I joined the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in 2009 as an Armoured Crewman. For those who are potentially interested/curious, the CAF uses the Leopard 2A4M MBT (German tank) as their heavy armour of choice. It is for all intensive purposes identical to the Abrams that our brothers to the south use. Why? The United States and Germany designed it as a joint venture until its final stages of development, at which point they had a falling out and completed the remainder of it individually.
I began my basic training in September of 2009. I will never forget cresting the hill to see the outline of the 15 story “blue quarters”, my home for the next 3 months and change. It was gray, dull, and imposing. I was nervous and had a fear of the unknown, more so when I approached the entranceway lugging all of my kit behind me. After having my face melted off by a Sergeant for addressing him with “excuse me I’m looking for-”, I made a mental note to memorize the different rank structures asap.
Basic training, as with many experiences in life, is difficult when you’re physically doing it but once you look back on it realize it was most certainly manageable. There was sleep deprivation up to 96hrs, lack of water and food, weak minded course mates, and temperatures dipping into -50C. These processes quickly weeded out the weak links but a few were able to get by on the backs of those who were switched on units. Weapons handling was especially difficult for a vast majority. Being lazed multiple times with a loaded AR by your fire team partner who is careless with his barrel control served as a reminder of both testicular fortitude and patience. Patience I have a lot of. Tolerance I do not. I understood the difference between the 2 by the time the graduation ceremony rolled around. I was given a ceremonial award for my distinguished accomplishments during training over the past 3 months. It boiled down to me being able to keep my head down and plough through the difficulties that awaited us. Brain compartmentalizing is a wonderful tool.
Fast forward and my secondary phase of training is underway less than one week after my basic training graduation. It’s here that you begin to learn the skills associated with your trade selection which for me was Armoured Crewman. I will never forget every single detail when I first laid eyes on the most destructive yet beautiful machine I have ever come across (and I don’t mean my wife). OD green, 77 tonnes, 120 mm smoothbore cannon, V12 twin turbo diesel, 120km/hr top speed, 1600 hp and 3600 lb-ft. The looks and sounds are what I refer to as “god-killers”…nothing out there is capable of stopping you. Regardless of this being far from reality, it is the feeling that the tank inspires within you.
I was pissed to learn that we would have to prove ourselves on a light armoured vehicle before being granted clearance to be trained on the Leo 2. When you consider the average cost of a single MBT is north of 8 million dollars it’s…understandable. But as a young kid who the hell thinks like that? Anyways, onwards…
The LAV III was the vehicle I would first train on. It’s classified as an Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV) which in layman’s terms means it can fight on the open battlefield in a support role. A 25mm cannon, 8 tires, and the capacity to carry up to 8 dismounts in the rear allowed it to excel in this role. While considered “light” from an armoured standpoint it managed to tip the scales at 21 tonnes. As far as I was concerned I was in heaven and couldn’t wait to get behind the wheel. Oh how naïve I was.
First was 14 straight days of theory in a classroom. We were expected to memorize every fluid type, fluid amount, torque rating of all bolts, the path of flow of the engine, and the list goes on. While 100 repetitions of squats, push-ups, or sit-ups (at the instructor’s discretion) for a wrong answer did suck, it was enjoyable; with every question answered correctly your confidence began to rise in both yourself and your knowledge of the vehicle. Once the 14 days of theory was complete (6 of 71 students failed this portion) we moved onto the mechanics of the vehicle. I wish I was able to make this sound more exciting but it consisted of a handful of monotonous tasks:
Some of you at this point might be scratching your head and saying “don’t you have mechanics for these things?” And the answer is yes we do. And they are exceptional at working on the vehicles. However, the tactical advantage afforded by every manned position in the vehicle being a SME on their associated platform is hard to argue with. Especially if/when you start suffering casualties. “Plan for the worst, hope for the best” is the best line to live by.
***I promise there is a point/end to this long drawn out story. I want to stop here to get feedback from you fine folks, if it’s something you would like me to continue with…this isn’t exactly a short timeframe for completion and if I can save myself from wasting an hour or two on something that people won’t be interested in, then that’s good for me.
Let me know ladies and gents,
Cheers.
To say that enrolling in the military was a last minute decision would be an understatement. I had just completed my first year of secondary schooling at Carleton University in our nation’s capital. The school at that time had the most sought after program in the country and took on average 7-8 months to be accepted into. I had a passion for writing in all forms and thought that was my future in life…until I met my professor. Over the next 9 months she made me loath school, writing, and anything remotely related to her. She was a one woman wrecking crew of my passion at that time and by the end of the 2nd term, despite my marks being in the upper bracket of my classmates, I was depressed.
Now don’t get me wrong, this is not a sob story. Self-pity is not my forte and is certainly something I have done few enough times that I can count it on one hand. I was a scrawny, clueless to the real world kid living in a bachelor apartment who assumed he had life beaten and figured out. I discovered this was not reality and struggled to sort myself the fuck out. Walking out of the subway terminal one night I was confronted by a larger than life poster, a recruitment advertisement from the Department of National Defence. Plastered up on the wall were 3 members of our Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2, equivalent to SEAL teams). At that moment I knew this is what I had sought after for the last 9 months, the solution to my problem of hating my life day in, day out. It didn’t take long for me to make my decision.
3 days later
I joined the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in 2009 as an Armoured Crewman. For those who are potentially interested/curious, the CAF uses the Leopard 2A4M MBT (German tank) as their heavy armour of choice. It is for all intensive purposes identical to the Abrams that our brothers to the south use. Why? The United States and Germany designed it as a joint venture until its final stages of development, at which point they had a falling out and completed the remainder of it individually.
I began my basic training in September of 2009. I will never forget cresting the hill to see the outline of the 15 story “blue quarters”, my home for the next 3 months and change. It was gray, dull, and imposing. I was nervous and had a fear of the unknown, more so when I approached the entranceway lugging all of my kit behind me. After having my face melted off by a Sergeant for addressing him with “excuse me I’m looking for-”, I made a mental note to memorize the different rank structures asap.
Basic training, as with many experiences in life, is difficult when you’re physically doing it but once you look back on it realize it was most certainly manageable. There was sleep deprivation up to 96hrs, lack of water and food, weak minded course mates, and temperatures dipping into -50C. These processes quickly weeded out the weak links but a few were able to get by on the backs of those who were switched on units. Weapons handling was especially difficult for a vast majority. Being lazed multiple times with a loaded AR by your fire team partner who is careless with his barrel control served as a reminder of both testicular fortitude and patience. Patience I have a lot of. Tolerance I do not. I understood the difference between the 2 by the time the graduation ceremony rolled around. I was given a ceremonial award for my distinguished accomplishments during training over the past 3 months. It boiled down to me being able to keep my head down and plough through the difficulties that awaited us. Brain compartmentalizing is a wonderful tool.
Fast forward and my secondary phase of training is underway less than one week after my basic training graduation. It’s here that you begin to learn the skills associated with your trade selection which for me was Armoured Crewman. I will never forget every single detail when I first laid eyes on the most destructive yet beautiful machine I have ever come across (and I don’t mean my wife). OD green, 77 tonnes, 120 mm smoothbore cannon, V12 twin turbo diesel, 120km/hr top speed, 1600 hp and 3600 lb-ft. The looks and sounds are what I refer to as “god-killers”…nothing out there is capable of stopping you. Regardless of this being far from reality, it is the feeling that the tank inspires within you.
I was pissed to learn that we would have to prove ourselves on a light armoured vehicle before being granted clearance to be trained on the Leo 2. When you consider the average cost of a single MBT is north of 8 million dollars it’s…understandable. But as a young kid who the hell thinks like that? Anyways, onwards…
The LAV III was the vehicle I would first train on. It’s classified as an Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV) which in layman’s terms means it can fight on the open battlefield in a support role. A 25mm cannon, 8 tires, and the capacity to carry up to 8 dismounts in the rear allowed it to excel in this role. While considered “light” from an armoured standpoint it managed to tip the scales at 21 tonnes. As far as I was concerned I was in heaven and couldn’t wait to get behind the wheel. Oh how naïve I was.
First was 14 straight days of theory in a classroom. We were expected to memorize every fluid type, fluid amount, torque rating of all bolts, the path of flow of the engine, and the list goes on. While 100 repetitions of squats, push-ups, or sit-ups (at the instructor’s discretion) for a wrong answer did suck, it was enjoyable; with every question answered correctly your confidence began to rise in both yourself and your knowledge of the vehicle. Once the 14 days of theory was complete (6 of 71 students failed this portion) we moved onto the mechanics of the vehicle. I wish I was able to make this sound more exciting but it consisted of a handful of monotonous tasks:
- Pull the pack (engine) and reinstall it within the allotted 15 minutes
- Replace both the tire and rim in the allotted 5 minutes (the tire weighed over 500 lbs, the CTIS was extra handy for this task)
- Learn to diagnose/replace vital components of the pack
Some of you at this point might be scratching your head and saying “don’t you have mechanics for these things?” And the answer is yes we do. And they are exceptional at working on the vehicles. However, the tactical advantage afforded by every manned position in the vehicle being a SME on their associated platform is hard to argue with. Especially if/when you start suffering casualties. “Plan for the worst, hope for the best” is the best line to live by.
***I promise there is a point/end to this long drawn out story. I want to stop here to get feedback from you fine folks, if it’s something you would like me to continue with…this isn’t exactly a short timeframe for completion and if I can save myself from wasting an hour or two on something that people won’t be interested in, then that’s good for me.
Let me know ladies and gents,
Cheers.