Women in Force: a military introduction

Women in Force: a military introduction

Peter Mallett, Staff Writer ~

A new recruiting program set to launch at two test bases will give women considering a career in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) an intimate look at military life.

The rollout of the Women in Force pilot project involves 120 participants taking part in two 10-day events.

They will be split between CFB Borden’s Logistics Training Centre for those speaking English, and for French speaking women at the Leadership Recruit School at Saint-Jean Garrison, Que. from Aug. 14 to 23.

Two shorter three-day weekend sessions will also be offered at the same venues in late October.

The program is in line with the Chief of Defence Staff’s commitment to increase the percentage of women in the military to 25.1 per cent by 2026, says Lieutenant-Colonel Suzanne Raby Deputy Commander, Canadian Forces Recruiting Group Headquarters.

“The whole purpose of Women in Force is to get the information out there and let Canadian women realize there are a multitude of career paths available to them in the armed forces,” she says.

LCol Raby is 37 years into her CAF career and can speak first-hand about the expanding role of women in Canada’s military. She was in the first wave of women to graduate from the Royal Military College in 1984.

“When I joined the military only five per cent of our membership were women, and women were restricted from serving in many of the front line occupations, such as infantry soldier, fighter pilot or submariner, so indeed we [women] have come a long way since I joined,” says LCol Raby.

The Women in Force program will emphasize the current career opportunities in all 106 occupations.

Participants will reside on base, eat at the mess and interact with military members. Tours and hands-on exercises, such as the CAF fitness test and firing a weapon, will also broaden their knowledge.

Interest in the Women in Force program has been encouraging, with all 120 spots filled and a waiting list of approximately 40 women.

The program remains a pilot project. Lessons learned from it will be reviewed, with the intention to apply this concept to recruiting and attraction initiatives in the future.

For more information about the Women in Force program visit their webpage: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/campaigns/in-demand-jobs/women-in-force.html

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  1. Terence graham says:

    As a former sailor I think it’s a good thing to offer women a look at the kind of conditions they would b living in..

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