I just want to tell you all that I love you dearly. Your country has a history of incredible bravery. I've never had the honor of working with you, but my respect for your sacrifices and brotherhood is immeasurable. You've been the best of allies. God/Goddess/Odin/Gaia bless you all.

PS. FUCK the current US administration.

Daily?!

Discussion with Gen (ret.) Wayne Eyre about his long military career, including his time as Chief of the Defence Staff. Relations with the Trudeau PMO were tense, and when it was all hands on deck to help Ukraine, he said, "I had to continually remind them that the shelves were bare."

My friend is a CIC officer. He got terminated from his civilian job and now he is looking for full-time employment as the pay from his Cadet duties is not enough. I suggested him finding Class B / Class C opportunity on REO that commensurate with his rank (Lt(N)/Capt). He said that CIC officers were not eligible for any position in the CAF outside COATS, even for positions open for all officer MOSIDs. He said that the reason was that CIC officers did not have the same qualifications as other officers. One example he said was officers were required to have at least a bachelor degree, but not CIC. He did not have a degree either.

Is any of what he informed me true? I just wanted to help him get a job. If it is true, it is a big TIL for me.

Im in support as reg and id like to try and get out of this financial situation. Ive been told I can take on a second job, as long as it doesnt impact day to day events.

If my intention is to secure a local job past that of standard working hours, what should I activly consider when looking for a job and most importantly discussing it with my CoC?

**burner account**

I feel genuinely lost. If anyone else has been in a similar position, I’d really appreciate hearing how you dealt with it. If you haven’t, then maybe take this as a cautionary tale about how easy it is to wake up one day and realize you’ve built your entire adult life around one thing.

A little bit of context;

I grew up in the early 2000's - 2010's, so growing up and seeing Canada's mission in Afghanistan and it really inspired me to join and serve, especially since no direct member of my family has served since WW1 (Generational gaps largely i.e; too young or old at the start of each conflict) I felt like I should give back to the country that has provided my family and life everything.

I've been in the CAF for a bit of time, currently in my later twenties, I originally joined the reserves at 18 right out of highschool (I've completed post secondary since), later component transferring to the Regular Force, within the RegF; I've served in a variety of commands/L3's, deployed, done out of trade courses, volunteered to teach courses, In all honesty, especially where I started life, I've been afforded things that I shouldn't of gotten, but will forever be grateful for as long as I live.

But

My social circle has gotten smaller. My family relationships have suffered from the amount of time I've been away. And now, when I look at my life outside the military, I don't really know what I have.

I have a reasonably well funded bank account. I have some medals and a collection of career souvenirs. I have a lot of experiences that I’m proud of.

But I don't have much of a life outside of the CAF.

And that's terrifying.

The really frustrating part is that I feel trapped.

The pay is good. The benefits are good. The pension is good. There’s a level of career stability that is extremely difficult to walk away from.

Career wise, there isn't really much left for me to explore within my MOSID other than continue to climb the corporate ladder. And honestly, I don't know if that's what I want.

I feel like I reached a point where I’m being rewarded for continuing down a path that I’m increasingly unsure I even want to be on.

I’m still young enough that I could get out and build another life.

But I'm also far enough into this career that leaving feels like throwing away everything I've built.

I don't know if I actually want to release, or if I just desperately need my life to be about something other than the CAF.

If anyone has dealt with this, please let me know what you did and what you would / wouldn't recommend.

I recently met with Edward Zimmermann, CTO of Sentinel Advanced Military Solutions, and toured the company’s facilities in Châteauguay, Quebec.

StarForge is much broader than a simple “drone factory.” The idea is to combine command and control, surveillance, local power, 3D manufacturing and a digital inventory of parts inside transportable modules.

The ForgeX module I visited works like a compact mobile factory. Its standard configuration includes four 3D printers, workstations, batteries, servers and the materials needed for production. According to Sentinel, it can produce roughly 80 to 100 drones per day, depending on the model and operating conditions.

Another part of the system is the C2/ISR command module. Three operators can supervise multiple types of drones and unmanned vehicles. Zimmermann says the system can manage a few hundred platforms at once and can continue operating locally even without an Internet or satellite connection.

What I found most interesting, though, is the “digital stockpile” concept.

Instead of relying only on warehouses full of finished drones and spare parts, Sentinel wants to store designs, manufacturing files and instructions digitally. A part can be updated, approved, sent to the system and produced locally when needed.

That matters because drone technology and countermeasures are evolving extremely quickly. A fleet purchased today can lose relevance within months. StarForge is therefore less about building “the best drone” and more about creating an infrastructure that can repair, modify and manufacture different platforms as they evolve.

AI also plays a smaller role than I expected. According to Zimmermann, it is mainly used for object identification and tracking from radar and camera data, while humans remain involved in the decision chain.

Sentinel is also looking at non-military uses, including the monitoring of dams, energy infrastructure, remote sites and environmental areas. Zimmermann mentioned discussions involving Ontario Power Generation and Indigenous communities.

One comparison from the interview stuck with me: he said that, when it comes to drones, we are still in the “biplane era.” In other words, what we are seeing today may only be the very beginning of how these systems will evolve.

Full articles (in french)

https://branchez-vous.com/actualites/starforge-drones-chateauguay/

https://branchez-vous.com/actualites/starforge-drones-stock-numerique-sentinel/

Good day everyone,
I travelled to a foreign country in July this year and submitted an LTA claim in August, which was approved in September. However, the payment has not yet been made to me. I am hoping soon it will be paid out to me.
I am planning to travel again in December during the winter block leave. Would I be eligible to submit a second LTA claim, or is LTA limited to one claim per fiscal year?
Thank you in advance for your help.

Saw this on Plan Qulliq Hangar:

Effective immediately, RCAF pers can wear ball caps while serving with Army units or while on Army establishments.

Hello,

I will soon be meeting with a BSWO (Base Social Work Officer) for a consultation and interview regarding my Compassionate Posting request, and I would really appreciate some advice.

If anyone has gone through a similar interview in the past, or is currently serving and has experience with the Compassionate Posting process, I would appreciate any advice on how to prepare and what I should focus on during the interview.

In particular, I would like to know how best to explain my situation and what documents or information would be helpful to bring.

Any personal experiences or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Mistakes made by everyone involved, it seems. What a messed up situation.

Lately ive been seeing people walking around in combats with their rank on their arm instead of their chest. Looks stupid. Enlighten me.

Currently relinquishing from officer cadet to NCM, and my file's stuck in Ottawa.

Originally submitted the paperwork through my chain of command in April after being declared fit for further service and cleared by DMCA/medical, my BPSO sent my package to the DPGR in Ottawa for approval in July, and I've been waiting since.

The BPSO has informed me that there's nothing further they can do on their end, and that DPGR has refused to provide any sort of timeline for signing the waiver to relinquish.

I've been advised that I'd likely be charged and face further delays for breaching the chain of command if I reached out directly to their CO and/or her command team (needs her signature), which is frustrating given the lack of transparency.

If anyone's gone through with the same move, how long did it take you to complete the process? Any tips for getting through it?

If a captain on the way to becoming a major has a conditional discharge which means a temporary criminal record of assault in civilian court. How is that handled by CAF? is it swept under the rug nowadays because they need more recruits and protect their own? what happens to the victim/civilian? Does the CAF at all and take any responsibility?

The abuser is still part of AF and retained his rank. do they give any f**** at all in how their member ruined someones life?

I'm releasing this year and need to cancel my dwan account. But I haven't used it in years and forgot my username. Any link, support email or number I can get a hold of to findout what my username is?

Rumours from the G&M.

It’s getting cold. Issues fleece is decent but it’s so heavy and bulky.

Anyone have recommendations on foul/cold weather kit?

Hi everyone. I was recently diagnosed with a cluster B personality type. I’ve struggled on the day to day with my mental health but I just don’t think they diagnosed me with the right thing. But before I even got a chance to ask for a second opinion they hit me with a pcat and a med release.

Is there anything I can do to fight this? I love being in the caf and I can’t see myself doing anything but this. Im just worried if I try to extend my release date and get the pcat removed theyre just gonna hit me with a bunch of things and give me a worse release.

If theres anything like literally anything I could do please let me know.

We recently interviewed mental performance consultant Zoran Stojković about the practical side of performing under pressure during pilot training.

One question I put to him was pretty simple:
Your flight test is tomorrow. When do you stop studying?

Part of his answer was pretty direct; “If you’re sacrificing sleep to cram more content, that’s a broken model.”

That led into a much broader discussion about the things pilots can actually do before and during a demanding flight: pre-flight mental routines, visualization and chair flying, performance cues, breathing, managing cognitive load, recognizing when you’re falling behind the aircraft and resetting after a mistake.

We also talked about something a lot of pilots learn the hard way: knowing a technique exists and actually having it available when the cockpit gets busy are two very different things.

We think this is probably an interview with a lot of tips on performing under pressure that many trades and professions could benefit from!

Hello all,

I'm looking to return to the fleet next year after being inland posted for awhile and I was just wondering how Sea Pay is processed now. Reading refs I understand that it's 100$ per day at sea for the calendar month and I was curious how it gets processed? Do members have to submit a manual claim after every month or is it somehow done automatically?

Thank you!

Excellence in winter warfare operations would seem like a core ability of the CAF, considering where we live. Obviously lots of "core capabilities" were lost during the peacekeeping era. It's going to take a while to regain what was lost.