Naval Reserve
Discover how you can serve part-time
Naval Reservists serve as members of the Canadian Armed Forces on either a part-time or full-time basis. The majority serve part-time, with no obligation to deploy overseas, and contribute to the Navy through scheduled training and employment during evenings, weekends, and summer periods, within an occupation of their choosing. Full-time employment opportunities and operational deployments are also available to Reservists who volunteer.
In addition to their military service, Naval Reservists play an active role within their local communities. They routinely support emergency response efforts, contribute to charitable initiatives, and participate in a wide range of community and public engagement activities, strengthening the connection between the Canadian Armed Forces and Canadians.
Naval Reserve Headquarters, located in Quebec City, coordinates the activities of 24 Naval Reserve Divisions (NRDs) situated in major cities across Canada, including locations without direct access to the coasts. Reservists typically parade at their local NRD one or two evenings per week and one weekend per month, where they conduct training and maintain operational readiness.
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Naval Reservists
4,500+
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Divisions
24 across Canada
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Employment
Part-Time and Full-Time
Transcript
Let's go Thunder! Roll those tents up!
Our BMQ coursing is now modulated. It's broken up for reservists to make it easier for them. There's one week that you do online. Mod two will be at your home unit. And then there's mod three and that takes place here at Camp Vimy.
Wakey wakey everyone, let's go!
Down! Up! Up!
It's actually very fulfilling. Day by day they start improving. And they're starting to work as a team. And you need everybody to come together. You can't do it on your own. You need a team.
Mod three is, it's really a test of endurance and integrity, dignity, pride. You try to keep what you have left while they try to break it down.
Thunder Platoon, listen to me. That was great work, all right? I want to hear every one of you screaming your lungs off. Is that right, okay?
Yes, Core Senior!
I didn't understand!
Yes, Core Senior!
Right!
Left! Left! Left! Right! Left!
An inspection is a moment where all candidates from the course will line up next to their kit.
Stop moving! This is not a high school campus! Or college campus! This is Camp Vimy!
Inspections are important for discipline and for equipment. The reason behind it is that if we periodically verify that your equipment is taken care of, then one day you'll be able to do it without supervision. And that's when you'll be efficient for your operations and your mission.
This hammer here should never be cocked on inspection. So you want to hold it, gently press the trigger. Right now you're on safe, which you also shouldn't be. Got repetition. And then you release the hammer. I don't want the hammer to be cocked. That means your weapon is ready. I have every instructor, but that doesn't mean you can shoot at me. Make sense?
Yes, Master Corporal.
Let me ask you the faded, frequently asked question. Did you clean your rifle yesterday?
Yes, Master Corporal.
Oof! Not sufficiently, it seems.
Attention to detail is very important in the military, especially for equipment, especially for dress and deportment. So we're looking to see if the candidate, first of all, is overly stressed by the situation and if they can manage simple or more complicated tasks as the course goes along.
Back straight! One quarter.
Good teamwork is the turning point in the success of a course. The courses that are very successful are the ones that immediately develop a symbiosis, a great friendship, effective teamwork. And that's true for the rest of your military career, whatever your profession may be. We're there for the person on our left, the person on our right, and we work as a unit, as one.
Sixty seconds, you're back on your test, let's go. Move! Move!
They're learning how to maintain their service rifle. It's a lot of good teamwork so far. Everyone was trying to help each other and try to be the best you could as a group.
Try to fire your weapon. Perfect. The no sound of any hammer moving whatsoever. Your safe is working.
One of the biggest challenges facing Naval Reserve recruits on the RBMQ is the uprooting effect. Naval Reserve candidates come from all over Canada. There are a lot of cultural and linguistic differences. They come here as a group of people who generally don't know each other. And immediately, the stress increases. RBMQ activities move very, very quickly. The days are long. So a lot of fatigue builds up when they’re in a group with which they’re not familiar.
When you enter in the reserves, you've already done the force test. So we presume that everyone should come here quite prepared physically to be here. What's really going to set you apart, though, is your mental resilience. Your brain power in terms of keep going. Don't stop. Just keep on moving. You'll be tired, but it's known that your brain will want you to stop before your body's actually fully tired. So just know, your mind will play games on you, but you can do it. Just keep going.
It takes a lot of resilience to get through the RBMQ, it takes a willingness to be there, it takes a willingness to be involved in your military career, it also takes a resistance to stress, an ability to adapt to change, and also a desire to fulfil yourself.
Do you have what it takes to complete Basic Military Qualifications for Naval Reservists?
At Camp Vimy, reservists learn that success isn’t just about physical strength, it’s about mental resilience and the ability to keep going when your mind is telling you to quit.
For more NAVRES content, visit our YouTube playlist.
Find your local Naval Reserve Division
| Crest | Address | Phone/Email | Province |
|---|
NAVRES Headquarters
144 Rue Dalhousie
Québec, QC
G1K 4C4
NAVRES Command
Commodore Beth Vallis
Commander Naval Reserve
CPO1 Robert Campbell
Formation Chief Naval Reserve