Reservist Diver?

[Slym]

Hey so I recently found out that the Canadian Military has reservist divers, does anybody know somebody, or do this? What do you do as a reservist, how fit do you need to be, what is the difference between that and recreational diving?

I am so interested right now!!!!

 

[Diver Rick]

I wouldn't get too excited yet. I believe you need to actually be a reservist first, then apply to one of two diving programs.
A reservist has meet all the requirements and take training like a regular member (more or less) just that they do it part time, and have regular full time jobs.

And combat navy diving and clearance divers is nothing like any recreational diving.

So, you can't just sign up to be a reserve diver. You need to become a full Naval Reservist which doesn't happen overnight, then **maybe** apply to augment one of the fleet diver units. Entrance is VERY hard, and unlikely you'd get in, let alone pass the training.

I'm not involved in any of this, but I know a few Navy divers.

 

[Slym]

Haha fair enough if it were easy all of us would do it, and yea after not seeing diver listed anywhere on the government site I had figured it was a speciality. I have volunteered at a regiment as a civilian musician for quite some time now, I have always thought it would be cool to sign up for a few years just to say I've done it.

Maybe I'll give em a call this week to hear what cool stuff they do.

 

[northernone]

There's some great YouTube videos put out showing what they are up to. Currently recruiting is open. You need to pass the basic requirements if you are a successful candidate. Give them a call.

More about that here:
Training

The few I've had the pleasure of meeting are great guys.

All the best,
Cameron

 

[gcarter]

I wouldn't get too excited yet. I believe you need to actually be a reservist first, then apply to one of two diving programs.
A reservist has meet all the requirements and take training like a regular member (more or less) just that they do it part time, and have regular full time jobs.

And combat navy diving and clearance divers is nothing like any recreational diving.

So, you can't just sign up to be a reserve diver. You need to become a full Naval Reservist which doesn't happen overnight, then **maybe** apply to augment one of the fleet diver units. Entrance is VERY hard, and unlikely you'd get in, let alone pass the training.

I'm not involved in any of this, but I know a few Navy divers.

Apparently the current recruiting is open direct, does not require you to be in before applying.

 

[Fogest]

It's pretty hard to get into these kinds of specialized positions when dealing with the army/navy. Usually A LOT of people will apply for it making it incredibly hard to get in unless you really are exceptional. The general consensus I hear is that you should join the army with the idea of liking the army itself, and then getting into something like this is an added bonus. If you're just joining the army to progress into the other thing and don't care for the military lifestyle too much then you'll want to avoid it.

I considered going for a SAR tech with the army, but I realized it is a VERY popular role and it is next to impossible to get into it. I didn't think the military lifestyle is for me so instead I am training to become a firefighter and paramedic. Maybe not as intense as a SAR tech, but still a similar field and I can do stuff I enjoy.

Maybe you should look into alternate options that allow you to still utilize something you enjoy, similar to what I did as an alternative. Also I may advise caution against making something you enjoy as a hobby into a career. It did not work out for me when I tried it. Making the hobby a day to day job started to make it become work instead of fun and it no longer was as enjoyable.

 

[Jared0425]

Fogest, I would suggest also looking into becoming a diver for OPP. The last I heard they only had between 6-12 divers for the entire Ontario Province. We answered quite a few calls for SAR and recovery both on the border and inland Canadian towns. Luckily we have a strong relationship so crossing the border isn't a hassle.

 

[Diver Rick]

Again, you can't just apply to be an OPP diver. They are selected from existing OPP officers, so you ave to become one first.

 

[Jared0425]

I thought that was implied. Underwater crime scenes are a real pita to people not trained.

 

[cerich]

The Navy reserve diver is called a Port Inspection diver, and you can talk to a Canadian Forces Recruiter and apply for it. You can and should go down to your local Navy reserve unit and talk with them and get a idea of the job etc.

Good luck and ignore the why you can't or how hard it is and just start on the path.