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Recruiting: What is the Infantry, and what do they do?

The Infantry is the backbone of any fighting force; its classic role is "to close with and destroy the enemy."  In modern warfare, the infantry works closely with the Artillery, Armoured, and Field Engineers as part of the Combat Arms team.  While the Regiment is a dismounted light infantry unit, recent years have seen training in airmobile and amphibious operations.

The Calgary Highlanders train as a unit for not only modern warfare operations, but also other missions such as aid to the civil power.  Individual Highlanders have the opportunity to accompany Regular Force units on overseas missions; in recent years many Calgary Highlanders have served in places like Cambodia, the former Yugoslavia, and Afghanistan.

Infantrymen in the Calgary Highlanders train with all types of weapons, including pistols, rifles, grenade launchers, light machine guns, general purpose machine guns, heavy machine guns (.50 calibre), mortars, light anti-tank weapons, hand grenades and pyrotechnics, and the 84mm rocket launcher.

A variety of training is provided in basic navigation, field communications, driving military vehicles up to 2-1/2 ton trucks and armoured personnel carriers, basic survival skills, defence against nuclear-biological-chemical weapons, fieldcraft and battle procedure (including camouflage and concealment, internal security, patrolling, and escape and evasion tactics.)

The men and women of the Infantry perform their duties outdoors, by day or by night, exposed to all weather conditions. The work is physically and mentally demanding and is often carried out for long periods of time with little chance for rest. In combat or operational situations, the job is mentally stressful and the risk of physical injury is always present.

Qualifications and Interests

Infantry soldiers must be dependable and self-disciplined. They must be able to react quickly, and adapt readily to changing situations. Courage, physical and mental stamina and positive attitude are essential attributes. The ability and willingness to learn new skills and techniques is also necessary, as the diverse nature of infantry operations requires the development of many specialized skills. Leadership and people management abilities are very important and the ability to work well as part of a team is essential.

Frequently Asked Questions

For further information, contact your local Reserve recruiting staff at 310-ARMY, a local call anywhere with in Alberta.

APPLICATION FOR ENROLMENT (QUICK REFERENCE)

REQUIREMENTS

Entrance/Requirements:

• Canadian citizen or landed immigrant;
• at least 16 years of age;
• minimum of Grade 10 education; and
• able to meet Canadian Forces medical standards and to go through a range of tests, background checks and interviews.

Everyone seeking employment with the Canadian Forces must provide the Recruiting Centre with the following source documents before the application can be accepted. If you do not possess these documents but believe you have acceptable alternatives, you must discuss this with the Recruiting Officer at Mewata Armoury. He will determine the acceptability of your alternate documents. The source documents that you must provide are:

• Social Insurance card (see note 1);
• birth certificate or equivalent (see note 2);
• proof of education (see note 3);
• two letters of character reference (see note 4);

Also provided to you are the following two forms to be completed and included with the above documents:

• Canadian Forces employment application; and
• Personnel Security Assessment Questionnaire.

All documents must be originals. The SIN card and birth certificate will be returned to you, whereas the other source documents will be retained.

Other documents may be required before your processing can be completed. Some of these documents may generate activities that may take some time to complete. For example, if it is necessary for you to provide a fingerprint card, your processing may be delayed between six to 12 weeks from the date you provide the card.

Please remember that you are seeking entry into an organization that has as one of its roles the application of lethal force. The Canadian Forces screening processes are demanding and very competitive because we want to be reasonably certain that you understand and are suitable for our lifestyle and job requirements. The hurdles you must cross are:

• Canadian Forces general aptitude test (1.5 hours);
• Medical (1 hour with 2-week processing time);
• Reliability check (1 week to 3 months processing time);
• Pre-enrolment physical fitness evaluation; and
• Interview (1 to 2 hours).

NOTES:

Social Insurance Number. An official SIN card is required. Anyone who has never had a card will have the application accepted if he/she can produce a Canada Employment receipt. However, you may not be enrolled until the card is issued. Anyone who has lost his/her SIN card may have the application accepted by producing proof of a SIN (eg. Revenue Canada T4 slip or Application for Replacement Card). Notwithstanding, the card will still have to be produced within a reasonable time.

Birth certificate or equivalent. There are many documents that may substitute for a birth certificate. In some cases, one will do, while in other cases two are required. The Military Career Counselor will tell you what is acceptable.

Proof of education. You must provide original school transcripts from Grade 10 up to your highest level of education. This includes all diplomas, certificates or degrees. Request forms are available at the Canadian Forces Recruiting Centre for Alberta Provincial Education Certificates. The addresses of the transcript authorities for the other provinces are available at the Centre. If your education documents are in any language other than English or French, you must have them translated. Foreign education documents must also be converted to the Alberta system. You are responsible for any cost associated with the acquisition of any education certificates.

Original letters of reference. All applicants are required to obtain at least two letters of reference from sources who know the applicant well enough to comment on his/her personal characteristics and attributes. Letters from current or previous employers, teachers and community or organization leaders (eg. Scouts, Cadets, church) are acceptable. Letters from friends, relatives or those who know the applicant solely through business transactions (eg. dentist, landlord) are not acceptable. In addition to describing the applicant’s personal qualities, the letter must include the period of time the author has known the applicant. All letters must contain the author’s address and phone number and be dated within the last six months.

Other documents which may be required include a Canadian Citizen Certificate, Record of Landing or Landed Immigrant Status and Proof of Legal Name Change.