Trade

What They Do

Each Reserve Armoured Recce Soldier belongs to one of the Armoured regiments of the Canadian Army, and serves as a member of the crew of an armoured fighting vehicle (AFV). His or her primary duties are to operate and maintain the AFV, its weapon systems and its communication equipment (sophisticated sensors and radios). Armoured Soldiers are trained to fight as members of the Combat Arms team, which also includes the Infantry, the Artillery and the Combat Engineers.

As a member of a recce vehicle crew trained as a driver or an observer, an Armoured Recce Soldier has the following primary duties :

• Drive and maintain the recce vehicle;
• Load, fire and maintain the recce vehicle’s machine-guns;
• Maintain and operate the recce vehicle’s radio equipment;
• Gather and relay information about the enemy and the terrain.

Qualification Requirements

As well as courage and both physical and mental stamina, Armoured Recce Soldiers must possess good learning abilities, particularly an ability to pay close attention to detail, and a willingness to acquire specialized technical skills and knowledge.

Training

Basic Military Qualification

The first stage of training for everyone is the Basic Military Qualification (BMQ) course. This training provides the basic core and knowledge common to all trades. It is also physically demanding. A primary goal of this course is to ensure that all recruits attain the CF physical fitness standard. BMQ covers the following topics:

• Policies and regulations of the Canadian Forces;
• CF drill, dress and deportment (the “three Ds”);
• Basic safety;
• First aid;
• Personal survival in nuclear, biological and chemical conditions;
• Handling and firing personal weapons;
• Cross-country navigation; and
• Personal survival in field conditions.

Soldier Qualification

On successful completion of BMQ, Armoured Soldiers go on to the Soldier Qualification (SQ) course, which covers the following topics:

• Army physical fitness;
• Dismounted offensive and defensive operations;
• Reconnaissance patrolling;
• Advanced weapons-handling (working with grenades, machine-guns and anti-tank weapons); and
• Individual field-craft.

Basic Military Occupational Training

On completion of SQ, Armoured Soldiers attend Basic Military Occupational (MOC) Training. Basic MOC Training takes five to six weeks and teaches the following basic skills:

• Driving and maintaining recce vehicles;
• Firing and maintaining weapon systems currently used in Canadian AFVs;
• Identifying Canadian and foreign military vehicles, aircraft and equipment;
• Using tactical command-and-control communications equipment;
• Organization, roles, doctrine and tactics of armour and reconnaissance; and
• History and traditions of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps.

Career Development

Qualified Armoured Soldiers enjoy excellent opportunities for advanced training and promotion. Employment opportunities for Armoured Soldiers exist across Canada and on deployed operations around the world.