Matthew Parenteau, Artillery Gunner

In the field

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"It's go, go, go all hours of the day; you've got to be sharp, you've got to be ready, you've got to be able to do the job that they give you. The stress level depends on the mission that you're given.

"You're trained on how to stay calm in situations like that. But some people panic under pressure, you've got to prepare yourself for that because that's a combat situation that readiness has to be there at all times.

"If you're not ready it could be pretty stressful on you, or you could be injured.

Workplace images

On the guns

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"I'm on a course right now so key tasks are to be here on time, make sure I follow orders properly.

"When it comes to operations, I'll be on the guns, seven people on a gun detachment.

"Number one is usually your Sergeant in-command of the gun. Then you've got your number two, which is the elevation and firing the gun, number three runs your coordinates. Number four, five and six are your loading numbers and they look after the ammo and make sure everything's prepped and seven who's usually your driver and second in command.

"I'd fall under the two, three, four, five and six gun numbers."

Interacting with civilians

We have special training regarding civilian interaction when we go through our basic military qualification. We're given a card that tells us what we can and can't say.

It's just common sense. I've been approached by people before and it's usually just people thanking us for what we do.

I've also done presentations at the Duck Bay School for the students there. It was basically just telling them what I do and showing them some pictures. It was a good experience, though.

A day in the field

A basic day usually starts at zero eight hundred, or 8:00 AM. We get ready to leave - preparing all our equipment, getting it all out, and loading it into the trucks.

We get to the firing range and we set up. Usually we're done setting up by about ten o'clock. Then we carry out whatever operational orders are for that training exercise.

We go until lights out; that's usually twenty three hundred, or 11:00 PM, so you're looking at a thirteen, fourteen hour day. On many field training exercises we spend the night on location in tents.

The next day it starts all over again at zero five thirty and we usually go again until twenty three hundred. That's a basic field day.

Physical activity

There is a lot of physical activity; you're lifting the gun, which weighs maybe thirty three hundred pounds and digging the trails so the gun doesn't move when it backfires.

The loading part of the mission: a round is about three feet long and weighs fifty, sixty pounds. So that's the physical part about the field.

Being indoors you're doing a lot of physical training. Every morning you do physical training and a standardized fitness test once a year.

Ruck marches are intense

Back in high school I was into lifting weights and working out. When I got into the military I figured the fitness training wouldn't be anything.

After I did my basic course I had to start running again. When you're doing training it's a minimum four kilometre run a day. Then you're doing what's called a ruck march: full fighting gear on with a tack vest, which is twenty five pounds along with your helmet that's another ten pounds. You've got your rucksack on, which is about fifty pounds. And you're carrying a rifle and marching at a set pace for five to thirteen kilometres.

It's pretty intense, so you have to stay fit.

Small town

Duck Bay is small. It's a Métis community about a hundred and fifty kilometres north of Dauphin.

It's a basic small town of eight hundred people; there's a school, which is run by Frontier School Division, and a community council run by Northern Affairs.

Getting into the economic part of it, there are hardly any jobs around. The only jobs are with the council or with the school and if they don't have available positions then that's it.

There's fishing and hunting and trapping, which can be good money, but it's not always reliable. Finding good, reliable employment is a big issue for a lot of residents there.

Single parent family

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"I grew up in a single mom type thing. My brother was older. I was the second oldest and I had my three younger sisters. I had one grandma and one great-grandpa.

"Basically we grew up through social assistance; we weren't the richest family in town.

"I went to Duck Bay School from nursery to grade nine. Then when you graduate from grade nine you've got to pursue high school out of town, which is either Frontier Collegiate or Winnipegosis Collegiate."

Culture shock

When I graduated grade nine I chose to attend Frontier Collegiate in Cranberry Portage. It was a bit of a culture shock because I was used to being home. I got homesick for a while until I got used to the lifestyle and began to enjoy that freedom.

Kicked out, went back

I was young and rebellious. I ended up skipping too much and drinking and doing drugs, I got kicked out of school before spring break and moved to Brandon to work full-time at a pork processing plant.

I tried to go back to school but Frontier Collegiate was upset with what had happened in the past. I was accepted at Winnipegosis Collegiate and graduated in 2004.

Note: Matthew graduated from Grade 9 at Duck Bay School, which is part of Frontier School Division.

Supportive family

My mom was shocked and scared when I first told her that I was joining the military, but it was really my choice because I was twenty by then.

She's really proud of me now, she accepts my choice and she understands why I wanted to have this career. She knows I'm doing well and she's happy that I have a family of my own.

Work full-time

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"I come here every weekend Friday to Sunday. I'm a reservist which is Class A, part time. Class B is full time, twenty four/seven. Then you've got your Class C, which is overseas.

"I want to be a Working full time soldier, Sergeant at least. I think that's a reasonable enough goal for myself."

Two parts to my day

On a basic day when we're not doing field exercises or training, we're usually found doing weapon drills, marching drills, or classroom lessons.

A training unit mostly starts in the classroom. It's like attending post-secondary school and having the job you're training for at the same time - we learn things in class and discuss them and then we get the hands on training. It's a really good way to learn.

Physical activity

There really is a lot of physical activity in my job. We spend lots of time in the classroom, but when we are doing physical training or we're in the field, its non-stop activity.

We're lifting the guns, loading trucks, digging trenches and marching long distances. It can be pretty tiring sometimes, but the more work we do, the easier it becomes because our bodies are getting trained and fit.

For one of our drills we're in the Sentry position for up to three hours. We're not moving or exerting ourselves but it can still be pretty strenuous on a person's body. But that's why we train.

Sleeping quarters

On the weekends when I come to work, I spend the nights here in the barracks at the armoury.

The armoury is an old building, about one hundred years old, and we have our sleeping quarters there as well as all of our gear, weapons and ammunitions.

The sleeping quarters can hold about twenty-five people, but there are only ten of us that stay here in our class right now.

Field exercises

We have two different types of field exercises; live and dry.

During field exercises that are live, it's just like we're in a battle zone. We use real ammunition and we use all the skills that we've learned.

A dry field exercise is when we go out with the guns and no ammunition. We're basically focusing on other aspects of the exercise like communication, observation, and mapping.

When we're in the field it's more than just us and the guns. There is the echelon area, which is where the medics, the kitchen and the toiletry area are; then the actual gun line, where the howitzers would be; and then the Forward Observation Officer in the front. He's the guy calling in the bearings and he's usually based with the infantry guys who are in the front line.

*Note: Bearings are the map coordinates used to aim the gun.

Making sacrifices

My fiancée and son live in Duck Bay. It's hard being away from my family so much, but sacrifices need to be made in order to be successful.

There have been times when something has happened at home and I have had to request time off. The military is pretty understanding about family issues, so I've been able to get that time off that I needed.

Technology

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"When you're working in the command post, you've got the little laptop computer. It's got the program on it to give bearings and elevations, you just enter it in and it'll tell you if it's correct or not and it'll show you on the map where the rounds are going to land.

"That's part of the technology used there. Then you've got radios on every gun, which are used in your artillery communications

"When you're working on the gun you've got column metres, which are what you set your sight off of. This is used to double check the bearings you're given."

Really intense

Being a member of the Forces is not what you see in the movies; some things may be similar, but it's not as bad as it's sometimes portrayed.

It's more intense than it seems; especially the physical part of my job. When you see it in the movies you might think "Yeah I could do that", but when you're actually there it's much more challenging. That's when the teamwork comes in; you've got to support your comrades and work as a team.

Potential for hearing loss

There's a saying in Artillery: ‘The older the gunner, the more deaf the gunner".

It's true that there is a potential for hearing loss, we're firing big guns - sometimes all day. But if you use the proper ear protection which is provided, you shouldn't have a problem.

We have little yellow ear plugs that go in our ears, and then ear defenders, which are like ear muffs.

Many skills needed

The minimum requirement to be in the Canadian Forces is a grade ten education, but you have to have strong skills in all sorts of areas in order to be successful here.

Reading, researching, writing and working with documents are all skills I use at work. I think in any job you have to fill out paperwork of some kind. We use Math and Science when we're working the Command Post.

Communication is a very important key to success here in the army along with people skills. Being able to work as part of a team is a must. Without these skills I wouldn't be here.

Work experience

Some of the jobs that I had when I was out of school help me now that I'm with the Forces.

When I was working as a night watchman, it gave me the experience of working eight o'clock to six AM. Some of our courses and training we have to work long days without many breaks, and that's what it would be like in a battle situation.

It's not easy to get used to working on very little sleep; but my experience made it easier to deal with and get used to the twenty-four-hour days that we have sometimes.

Recruitment

I handed in my application to the recruitment officer, but I wasn't too sure about joining the military. I was so unsure that I actually withdrew my application.

I was working in Brandon, barely scraping by, and I figured "Why not give it another shot?", I phoned the recruitment centre and they put my application back in.

It took a couple of months, but they called me and offered me a few dates to go in for the interview. So I went to Winnipeg, and they paid for everything: my meals, the hotel, travel expenses.

I passed the interview, the fitness test, knowledge test and physical exams all in one day.

A bit like university

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"There is a lot of homework. When you're sitting in a classroom it's run like a university course.

"The instructor will sit there and read and you're taking notes. For myself it was pretty hard to keep up,but
if they see that you need personal assistance they'll give it to you. They don't want you to fail.

"You need that high school experience to prepare you for being in the classroom here."

Need to write

Being able to write well is very important. That's why I think anyone who wants to join the Forces should complete their high school diploma. You should make sure your skills are developed before joining.

On every course we're given an autobiography assignment; it gives our instructors a chance to get to know us and where we came from. You need to know how to write to complete even the easiest assignments. Every course requires a lot of paperwork and class-work; things like handouts, layouts and maps.

Even though the minimum education requirement is a Grade 10, you probably won't be as successful as someone who has their Grade 12 diploma.

Completing high school prepares you better for the learning environment and makes you more aware of the situations you could find yourself in.

Great at English

When I returned to school my strongest subject was English.

I remember one situation when the teacher was giving test outlines to the students; he didn't give me one. Another student asked him why and he responded "every assignment Matthew's handed in, he's received one hundred percent; however he's been studying so far seems to be working"
I finished Grade 11 English with a ninety six, and Grade 12 with a ninety.

Small family

I got engaged last September and I have a six year old son. My fiancée is taking the Adult Education course in Duck Bay right now, but when she graduates I will begin working full-time and they will be able to move out here.

I'm excited for my son to move out here with me because there are much better opportunities here for him and we will all get to be together.

Getting posted

I haven't decided if I would take the opportunity to get posted somewhere else or stay here in Manitoba. Some people get posted to other provinces like Alberta or Ontario. The option will be there for me if I decide that's what I want.

Right now I'm just focused on getting my family closer to me here and being successful in the Forces.

Improve leadership

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"I would like to improve my leadership skills; that way it would better prepare me to be in a leadership role, like a Master Bombardier Sergeant.

"I would like to get some overseas experience before I take that leadership position. Those are the two main things right now that I want to work on."

Wants to go overseas

I'd like to go on an operation in Afghanistan or on a peacekeeping mission.

I think there is a lot to be learned in the classroom and on the training exercises we do, but doing a tour overseas would give me the experience to back it all up. Once you have that experience it makes learning easier because you have a real situation that you can look back on. You also gain a lot more respect for the learning environment after you've done a tour.

Opens doors

Lots of people think that when you join the army you don't have many choices and that you have to just do what you're told. But you actually have a lot of say in what you do, whether it's taking a course, signing up for overseas duty, or even getting posted elsewhere in Canada.

For the most part, being in the military is like going to college or university; we're getting trained to go on tour or defend our country.

There are all sorts of positions with the military that people don't realize exist. There are mechanics, and cooks and electricians, for example, not just what you see in the movies.

Job Market Info

The links below take you to regional and federal government information on employment, education, salary ranges and long range prospects for this career.

The official title for Matthew Parenteau's occupation is "Artillery Soldier", however, all occupations unique to the Armed Forces share the same NOC* code which is 6464.

Manitoba Job Futures

Employment Prospects - Labour Market Information

*Each occupation has an official name and unique number called the 'National Occupation Classification' code or 'NOC'.

Education

Useful High School subjects

- Math
- Science
- Computer-related courses
- Language Arts

There was no information regarding useful high school subjects on JobFutures.ca but Matthew believes that the subjects listed above would be useful for the position he has.

For those out of school, Adult Learning Centres can help you get or upgrade your high school diploma, including adding subjects that are required for work or further education. All Manitobans are normally entitled to four free courses.

Below are links to various programs and courses that will help you on the path to a career as a member of the Canadian Forces.

Skills

The most important skills for a member of the Canadian Forces as well as other related occupations are:

- Physical fitness
- Manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination
- Dependability
- Self-discipline
- Leadership ability

Source: JobFutures Manitob

Professional Resources

Canadian Armed Forces Recruiting Centre
391 York Avenue, Winnipeg, Mb

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