Informing the Army’s Future Structure

[Kirkhill]

Danish Defence

Forsvaret

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Service branches Royal Danish Army—Hæren (HRN)

Royal Danish Navy—Søværnet (SVN)

Royal Danish Air Force—Flyvevåbnet (FLV)

Leadership

Commander-in-Chief Queen Margrethe II

Defence Minister Nicolai Wammen (Social Democrats)

Chief of Defence General Peter Bartram[1]

Manpower

Military age 18–49

Available for

military service 1,276,087 (2004 est.), age 15–49

Fit for

military service 1,088,751 (2004 est.), age 15–49

Active personnel 24,200 (2011)[2]

Reserve personnel 12,000 + 51,000 (unpaid – not conscripted) volunteers in the Home Guard

Deployed personnel 1,400[3]

Expenditures

Budget 4.33 billion USD (2009)[4]

Percent of GDP 1.4% (2009)



The Home Guard is a volunteer (Unpaid) military organisation.

The Home Guard had 46,651 members as of October 2014 . (Population of Denmark 5.643 Million - < 1%)

The active force had 15,808 volunteer soldiers as of October, 2014. The remaining volunteers belong to the Home Guard Reserve.

Approximately 15 percent of all volunteer soldiers are women.

The task of the Home Guard is to support the Armed Forces – nationally as well as internationally. In addition, the Home Guard supports the police, the emergency services and other authorities in carrying out their duties.

1,845 people applied for enrollment in the Home Guard, and 1,301 volunteers signed a contract in 2014 (as of November 2014).

868 of the new volunteers (68 percent) were aged 18-32.

The appropriation allocated to the Home Guard in the Finance Bill amounted to 498,4 m. DKK in 2014.


The Home Guard has a dual military - civilian leadership:

The Commander of the Home Guard, major general Jens Garly, is responsible for the training and deployment of units and also for the overall supervision of the Home Guard

The Commissioner of the Danish Home Guard, Søren Espersen, is responsible for recruitment and gaining support for the Home Guard in the Danish population.



The members of the Home Guard take part in the defence and support of the country on a voluntary and unpaid basis.

Men and women from the age of 18 can apply for membership. A military background is not necessary. The wish to participate is more important.

When membership has been granted, members are admitted into one of the following branches:

The Army Home Guard (link to the site in Danish: Hærhjemmeværnet)

The Naval Home Guard (link to the site in Danish: Marinehjemmeværnet)

The Air Force Home Guard (link to site in Danish: Flyverhjemmeværnet)


Home Guard Mission

We contribute to the defence and protection of Denmark by providing a credible and flexible capability to deliver military volunteer forces that benefit society's needs in all circumstances.

Home Guard Vision

We strive to be an attractive and credible military partner for all who take part in the defence and protection of Denmark.

We want to develop and apply our capacities as part of the collective emergency preparedness.

We want to create relevant and challenging activities for our volunteers in order to motivate the will to assist.

 

[Kirkhill]

We worked a bit with the Danish Home Guard, and the Norwegian equivalent.

My impression was that a good Canadian militia unit is better trained, in many ways.

However, their role was mainly point site defence e.g., bridges, communications nodes etc., and they were integrated with the overal national mobilization strategy. The plan was that they would hold the vital points while the standing army bought time - by striking the Russkies - for the conscripts to be mobilized, I think.

The Noggies could mobilize about a million troops in a week, so the Home Guards kept their weapons at home with enough CSupps on hand for about that length of time.

I don't doubt that a "good" Canadian militia unit can be better trained.

On the other hand the Danes and the Swedes are unpaid volunteers and the governments are using them in places where they can be useful. Not filling the ranks of the Mercenaries hired by the state.

 

[FJAG]

The Swedish Home Guard and the Norwegian Home Guards are principally characterized by their being troops living within the local districts and familiar with its geography and population; able to react quickly within their AOs.

A large plus for them is the size of the population of each country's northern region: appx 500,000 for North Norway's 113,000 sq kms and 1.1 million in 262,000 sq km for Sweden's Norrland - a combined total of 1.6 million people over roughly 380,000 sq kms.

By contrast the Yukon has 25,000 for 1/2 million sq km; Nunavut 39,000 for 2 million sq km; the Northwest territories 45,000 for 1.4 million sq kms; and Nord-du-Quebec 45,000 for 3/4 of a million sq kms - a combined population total of 150,000 spread over roughly 4.75 million sq kms.

That's about a tenth of the population for twelve times the territory. One could never generate a large scale Home Guard to cover all of the north with those numbers.

On the other hand with the current 5,000 Rangers and NWS 47 stations one should be able to generate a 100-man Ranger company for each station - if that is the limited objective one wants to cover. IMHO that makes more sense than having 51 Res F infantry battalions in southern Canada dedicated to generating a northern defence platoon each. The local Ranger forces need to be backed up with a highly trained and and very well equipped airborne/airmobile quick reaction forces from the south which, again IMHO, would be a job better tasked to a specialized battalion or two of Reg F light infantry and special forces backed up by an even stronger US Army airborne contingent considering that the NWS resources are joint NORAD ones.

 

[daftandbarmy]

I don't doubt that a "good" Canadian militia unit can be better trained.

On the other hand the Danes and the Swedes are unpaid volunteers and the governments are using them in places where they can be useful. Not filling the ranks of the Mercenaries hired by the state.

IIRC that most Home Guard members are former conscripts, who rejoin after they get a civilian job following their mandatory service, so they have some prior training.

They are also intended to 'die in place', neatly arranged around vital points of course, so their training is almost wholly defensive in nature.

As I recall, they practise repelling various deep penetration 'coup de main' type attacks such as airborne/airmobile/spetznaz type operations.

I doubt we need anything like that here and, if we do, the Canadian Rangers could handle it.

Or, you know, the boys down at the pub wit their pickup trucks with full gun racks

 

[FJAG]

Or, you know, the boys down at the pub wit their pickup trucks with full gun racks

Does a RAM or an F250 make as good a "technical" as a Toyota Hilux?

 

[Kirkhill]

IIRC that most Home Guard members are former conscripts, who rejoin after they get a civilian job following their mandatory service, so they have some prior training.

They are also intended to 'die in place', neatly arranged around vital points of course, so their training is almost wholly defensive in nature.

As I recall, they practise repelling various deep penetration 'coup de main' type attacks such as airborne/airmobile/spetznaz type operations.

Perhaps they are expected to die in place because they have no place to run to? Their kid sisters and grannies and grandpas live where you find it necessary to denigrate their messy sacrifice.

You said above that they were issued a rifle and week of rations and told to hold on.... You suggested they were waiting for the conscripts to be mobilized and show up. No. The conscripts are mobilized, with whatever training and kit they have available on the day the Home Guard types are. And they get used by the Army to do what they can.

Either the enemy is repulsed in a week, or NATO arrives en masse (and I am not sure a couple of brigades of US, Dutch and British Marines is going to get the job done) or else those people that have not died in place will be deciding whether to collaborate or resist.

That isn't a choice that we Canadians are ever likely to face. We already collaborate with the Americans.

 

[MilEME09]

Does a RAM or an F250 make as good a "technical" as a Toyota Hilux?

Give me a tool box, a welding torch, and an weapons platform and my techs could whip something together

 

[Blackadder1916]

. . . the Danes and the Swedes are unpaid volunteers . . .

It's a bit of a stretch to try to make a comparison of Scandinavian "un-paid volunteers" to "mercenary" Canada Militia. As I noted with regard to another thread/topic/circumstance, we are not Europeans (Scandinavians), we don't think like them, our government (especially with regards to social and educational benefits) doesn't function like theirs, our histories and cultures are different, our demographics are different and our sense of community is vastly different.

Writing this I am reminded about a few newspaper articles that I came upon while researching something else. The articles were from Newfoundland newspapers from the 1949/1950s timeframe following that country joining Canada and they dealt with the build-up of the Canadian Militia in the new province. While veterans of the then recent war were obviously ideal candidates, criteria for selection (they expected more applicants than positions) in the Mo' was current employment (in a civilian job) or full-time attendance in post-secondary school (not that there was a lot of post secondary education in Nfld at the time). The Militia (at least in Nfld of the time) was not meant to be a source of income for those otherwise unemployed. By the way, my uncle (who would have been around age 21 at the time) enrolled in the RCE unit that was raised.

 

[Kirkhill]

April 10-16 is National Volunteer Week, a time to celebrate and thank Canada’s volunteers. “Volunteers are the roots of strong communities.”

The next time you see a responding fire truck, consider this astonishing fact: over 90 per cent of communities across Canada are protected by volunteer firefighters. That’s not a misprint. Outside of a few major cities, you’re safeguarded by these dedicated, highly trained unsung heroes should you experience a roadside medical emergency, serious traffic collision or fire.

Ontario has 455 fire departments of which 227 are staffed by volunteers, 196 are composite, and only 32 are full-time. Composite departments have some full-time firefighters and a pool of volunteer firefighters on call for major emergencies.


In human numbers, the province has 19,363 volunteer, 11,318 full-time, and 274 part-time firefighters.

Volunteer firefighters have paying jobs in other professions and family commitments, just like the rest of us. Yet, they are willing to answer an emergency call day or night and put their lives on the line to keep their community safe — all for little or no pay. (With few exceptions — “gas money” reimbursement seems a more fitting term than “pay.”)

Before all that can happen, there’s an extensive training commitment. Volunteer firefighters must complete 275 hours of training (Firefighter I) for smaller communities; another 120 hours of training (Firefighter II) for larger municipalities; and for cities with over 200,000 inhabitants, a vocational fire safety diploma is required. Remember, this is typically unpaid time.


If you’re wondering why full-time firefighters aren’t the norm province-wide, it’s basic economics. A minuscule township with few inhabitants has a small tax base to cover all municipal needs, including basics like garbage removal, snow plowing, etc. They simply can’t afford a full-time fire department — and the ensuing massive hike in liability insurance premiums that service entails.


For larger municipalities, a composite fire department cuts costs.

Most Ontario communities are protected by volunteer firefighters

Outside of a few major cities, you’re safeguarded by these dedicated, highly trained unsung heroes.

www.thestar.com

Volunteers​

The Auxiliary is made up of close to 4,000 dedicated volunteers. The members are primarily pleasure craft operators and commercial fishermen who use their own vessels or community owned vessels for safe boating education and SAR-related activities.

All CCGA members are dedicated to saving and protecting lives in distress. In addition to their everyday jobs, auxiliarists are ready to exchange leisure, comfort and sleep for cold, wet and fatigue in a range of situations that will test their skills, strength and nerve.

When taking part in authorized SAR activities, they are compensated only for the cost of their fuel and little else, save a thank-you from the victims or their families for their tireless efforts.

Fleet​

Currently, the CCGA fleet includes over 1,130 vessels with a combined asset value of over 300 million dollars. Vessels are either privately owned, community owned or loaned by the Canadian Coast Guard to the Auxiliary.

All vessels must meet strict standards in order to become part of the Auxiliary fleet. Members are responsible for keeping their boats maintained. In addition, they are required to equip them with specialized search and rescue gear, which can run into the thousands of dollars.

https://ccga-gcac.ca/about-us/

WHAT WE DO
Caring for communities from coast-to-coast St. John Ambulance Canada has more than 15,000 volunteers and coordinates one of the country’s largest volunteer networks. Our volunteers positively impact the lives of millions of Canadians each year.
While the financial contribution of St. John Ambulance community service volunteers could be calculated in millions of dollars, the contribution to the safety of Canadians is immeasurable. When Canadians need them, our volunteers have an unmatched record of answering the call.


3,900
3,900 THERAPY DOG TEAMS


5,300
5,300 MEDICAL FIRST RESPONDERS


15,000
15,000 VOLUNTEERS

Community Services | Become a Volunteer | St John Ambulance

More than 10,000 Canadians volunteer with SJA. Our volunteer Medical First Responders provide first aid at public events, our Therapy Dog handler teams provide friendly visits at hospitals and seniors homes. Become a volunteer and positively impact your

www.sja.ca

Our History​

Established in 1996, the Search and Rescue Volunteer Association of Canada (SARVAC) is a federally incorporated registered Canadian Charity that provides a national voice for ground search and rescue volunteers in Canada.
We address issues of common concern, to develop consistency, and promote standardization or portability of programs and volunteers, and deliver initiatives that benefit and support all ground search and rescue volunteers in Canada, as well as the general public.
SARVAC represents the thirteen provincial and territorial volunteer Ground Search and Rescue Associations in Canada. The Board of Directors is comprised of volunteer representatives from each of the provinces and territories. Ultimately, SARVAC represents the interests of 9,000 Ground Search and Rescue (GSAR) volunteers throughout Canada who provide search and rescue services on land and inland waters.

Volunteer | Search and Rescue Volunteer Association of Canada

Volunteer with SARVAC! Click the YouTube links to view brief videos of ground search and rescue in Canada.

sarvac.ca

It seems that we don't lack willing bodies.

 

[GR66]

If a, lets call it Group, of 16, is on independent security tasking in the north, are they more likely to encounter tanks, or drones? Would the Group CG-84 operator be better provided with the Stingers? Or even, in flight of fancy, Flechette loaded APKWs?

They are extremely unlikely to encounter either. What they could possibly face is incoming cruise missiles. Or even more likely swarming blackflies. The most effective "weapon" for infantry posted to northern radar sites would likely be DEET.

Defending the North realistically is a role for the RCAF and possibly the RCA if we ever get into the long range AD game, not infantry...no matter how you choose to arm them.

 

[daftandbarmy]

They are extremely unlikely to encounter either. What they could possibly face is incoming cruise missiles. Or even more likely swarming blackflies. The most effective "weapon" for infantry posted to northern radar sites would likely be DEET.

Defending the North realistically is a role for the RCAF and possibly the RCA if we ever get into the long range AD game, not infantry...no matter how you choose to arm them.

Unless you want to consider the Canadian Rangers as a kind of Infantry, I guess.

The Rangers' brand is so strong if we wanted to expand community engagement in sovereignty patrols it would make sense to build on that successful model, and stand up more units, than creating something else from scratch.

 

[CBH99]

Most Ontario communities are protected by volunteer firefighters

Outside of a few major cities, you’re safeguarded by these dedicated, highly trained unsung heroes.

www.thestar.com

https://ccga-gcac.ca/about-us/

Community Services | Become a Volunteer | St John Ambulance

More than 10,000 Canadians volunteer with SJA. Our volunteer Medical First Responders provide first aid at public events, our Therapy Dog handler teams provide friendly visits at hospitals and seniors homes. Become a volunteer and positively impact your

www.sja.ca

Volunteer | Search and Rescue Volunteer Association of Canada

Volunteer with SARVAC! Click the YouTube links to view brief videos of ground search and rescue in Canada.

sarvac.ca

It seems that we don't lack willing bodies.

About 10 years ago I was involved in a multiple day SAR operation to locate a missing girl in the Rocky Mountains (Alberta side.)

I was absolutely blown away at how many unpaid volunteers not only showed up, but had solid and uniform kit, professional, and quite a few were just as well trained & competent as several paramedics I knew.

At first I had assumed they were a sizeable contingent from a town nearby, or had been brought in from a larger, non-volunteer fire service. Their working kit was high quality, bright, same shoulder patches, good radios, and were very professional.

When I learned they were volunteers, to be honest I was just blown away and grateful for them. Very appreciative.

Most of them spent the whole 3 days out there with us, with an RCMP helicopter doing it’s thing in the evening using some kind of enhanced imaging/FLIR.

 

[markppcli]

Thales is deeply ingrained in their Military -- their conventional army wanted to replace the F88 AusSteyr (AUG) a short while back and was basically told that any small arms work needed to view from a Thales based F88 upgrade as opposed to a C8 derivative.

https://www.army.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-11/ef88_lrip_poster_4.pdf

F88 Austeyr - F88A2 with ring sight and F88A2 with ACOG RMR and GLA | Army.gov.au

www.army.gov.au

But they managed an upgrade with rails and a Grenade Launcher that doesn't hang down a retarded amount "for safety"
So given the constraints of their Budget - their LCMM ran an upgrade that was head and shoulders above the CF's...

I remember seeing the Aussies show up when I was on exchange in NZ (the basis of my dislike of separate LAV Bns but I digress) and thinking it was an SF unit when they dismounted; much to my dismay they were just very well equipped infantry. Australia, in general, is an example of how to run a small military, but they have a bunch of neighbors that incentivize their defense investment.

 

[Brad Sallows]

Theoretically Canadians could almost be like one of the cultures of a nation that shared a border or neighbourhood with the Warsaw Pact, but not really given the amount of ice and water involved. That accounts for some differences.

 

[FJAG]

Unless you want to consider the Canadian Rangers as a kind of Infantry, I guess.

The Rangers' brand is so strong if we wanted to expand community engagement in sovereignty patrols it would make sense to build on that successful model, and stand up more units, than creating something else from scratch.

AND ... you could then stand up one or two southern SFCB units (either Reg F or Res F or both) whose primary task is to go north and year-by-year train the locals in the more esoteric aspects of basic infantry skills while learning from them the more esoteric aspects of life in the arctic. The SFCBs could then become your reaction force (I won't say quick because they probably won't be but they'll be experienced and more heavily equipped).

 

[Kirkhill]

Unless you want to consider the Canadian Rangers as a kind of Infantry, I guess.

The Rangers' brand is so strong if we wanted to expand community engagement in sovereignty patrols it would make sense to build on that successful model, and stand up more units, than creating something else from scratch.

Rangers were among the first forces organized with local manpower to protect settlements in the Carolinas (1657)

Rangers were county officers in North Carolina from the colonial period until 1868. The post was a survival of British officialdom when royal parks and forests were patrolled against intruders and poachers. Their specific duties in North Carolina were defined by law at various times during the eighteenth century. Although rangers were expected to serve "for the Protection and Defense of the Frontier," it is unclear from the term whether some of them were engaged in the War of the Regulation to quell the uprising.

Rangers were appointed by the justices of the county court for a term of one year. One of their main county duties was to watch for stray livestock and to return it to its owner, for which they received specific compensation. They were also instructed to see that hunters did not leave deer that they had killed in the woods to attract vermin.

1675 - the first Ranger unit raised in North America

Benjamin Church (c. 1639 – January 17, 1718) was an English colonist in North America. He was a military leader of the historic predecessor of the United States Army Rangers,[1] captain of the first Ranger force in America (1675).[2] Church was commissioned by Josiah Winslow, the Governor of the Plymouth Colony, to form the first ranger company for King Philip's War. He later commanded the company to raid Acadia during King William's and Queen Anne's wars in the early 1700s, as French and English hostilities played out in North America. The two powers were competing for control in colonial territories. He was promoted to major and ended his service at the rank of colonel, as noted on his gravestone.

Church designed his forces to emulate Indian practices of warfare. Toward this end, he worked to adopt Indian techniques of small, flexible forces that used the woods and ground for cover, rather than mounting frontal attacks in military formation.[1] English colonists developed as rangers under the tutelage of their Native American allies. (Until the end of the colonial period, rangers depended on Indians as both allies and teachers.)[3]

Church developed a special full-time unit that combined European colonists, selected for their frontier skills, with friendly Indians in order to carry out offensive strikes against hostile Indians and French in difficult terrain. He used such rangers as militia where the normal practices of having troops march and attack in formation were ineffective. His memoirs, Entertaining Passages relating to Philip's War, were published in 1716 and are considered to constitute the first American military manual.

1734 - Oglethorpe's Rangers in Georgia (MacKay's Independent Coy of Rangers, the Highland Rangers, the Mounted Rangers)

1744 - Gorham's Rangers in Nova Scotia

1755 - Rogers' Rangers in New Hampshire

The various Rangers and Irregulars of the French and Indian Wars, the Revolutionary War and the war of 1812.

Arguably the Ranger "Brand" is synonymous with national defence and the militia in Canada and North America.



Question: After all these years of preaching Total Force and designating the Militia as place fillers for the Regular Force is there space to consider re-instituting the Miilitia as a separate volunteer home guard entity, either as the Militia or adopting the Ranger umbrella?

Constitute the Regular Force, and its Reserves, as a separate entity with different contracts and terms of service, open to the population at large, including Rangers/Militia?

Perrin Beatty wanted to raise the Militia numbers to a strength of 90,000 volunteers. The Danes, Swedes and Norwegians raise those kinds of numbers. In Canada we raise those kinds of numbers of unpaid volunteers, who daily put themselves at risk of physical harm, in multiple para-military organizations.

NFPA estimates there were approximately 152,650 local firefighters in the Canada during the period 2014 to 2016. Of the total number of firefighters 26,000 (17%) were career firefighters and 126,650 (83%) were volunteer firefighters.

Most of the career firefighters worked in communities that protected 50,000 or more people. Most of the volunteer firefighters were in departments that protected fewer than 50,000 people. There is an estimated 3,672 fire departments in Canada. Of these, 66 departments were staffed by all career firefighters, 44 were mostly career, 501 were mostly volunteer and 3,061 were all volunteer. In Canada, 1,626 (44%) of departments provided no EMS service, 1,860 departments (51%) provided EMS service, and 186 (5 %) of departments provided EMS and advanced life support.

NFPA report - Canadian Fire Department Profile

This report includes results on career and volunteer fire firefighters per 1,000 people protected, department type, stations and apparatus rates per 1,000 people, and whether EMS is provided.

www.nfpa.org

I don't think we are short of potential volunteers. We just need to give them a better reason to join. And it isn't always about the money. Kit, training and a useful role are more important. And many of them would be content with access to a F-150 and an ATV, a radio and a decent rifle and good navigation and observation kit.

 

[Kirkhill]

Theoretically Canadians could almost be like one of the cultures of a nation that shared a border or neighbourhood with the Warsaw Pact, but not really given the amount of ice and water involved. That accounts for some differences.

Brad, we're starting to head into Saturday Night Live territory here. If we are justified in saying that CFS Alert is in our backyard then was Sarah Palin, as governor of Alaska not justified as saying she could see Russia from her backyard? Little Diomede is in her backyard just as much as Alert is in ours. Big Diomede is in Russia and is only 3.8 km away. Reachable by small boat and snowmobile. The inhabitants are related to our Inuit and Dene. We are tied to assist the US in the Continental Defence of North America via NorthCom and NORAD. The Americans invest in arctic capable forces.

I struggle to understand why we have such an aversion to at least matching their Arctic force with a Brigade of our own when most of our territory demands such a capability. A capability that would help in peacetime in Canada and anywhere else in the Arctic Region in peace and war.

Are we that tied to the asphalt?

Reserve component units located throughout the state include:

• Alaska Army National Guard:
  • Joint Force Headquarters
    • 207th Multi-Function Training Regiment
    • Recruiting and Retention Battalion
    • Medical Detachment
  • 38th Troop Command
    • 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment (GSAB)
    • 1st Battalion, 297th Infantry Regiment
    • 49th Missile Defense Battalion
  • 297th Regional Support Group
    • 297th Military Police Company
    • 208th Construction Management Team
    • 207th Engineer Utility Detachment
    • 134th Public Affairs Detachment
    • 49th Personnel Detachment
• United States Army Reserve:
  • 2nd Battalion, 196th Infantry Brigade
  • Company B, 411th Engineer Battalion

Alaska/Population
731,545 (2019)

Army Alaska wants to recruit cold-weather lovers and have them train with Norwegians, Indians in Himalayas

Army Alaska wants to source more volunteers from soldiers still in training, rather than rely solely on picking soldiers at random to head to its northern outposts.

www.armytimes.com

 

[quadrapiper]

About 10 years ago I was involved in a multiple day SAR operation to locate a missing girl in the Rocky Mountains (Alberta side.)

I was absolutely blown away at how many unpaid volunteers not only showed up, but had solid and uniform kit, professional, and quite a few were just as well trained & competent as several paramedics I knew.

At first I had assumed they were a sizeable contingent from a town nearby, or had been brought in from a larger, non-volunteer fire service. Their working kit was high quality, bright, same shoulder patches, good radios, and were very professional.

When I learned they were volunteers, to be honest I was just blown away and grateful for them. Very appreciative.

Most of them spent the whole 3 days out there with us, with an RCMP helicopter doing it’s thing in the evening using some kind of enhanced imaging/FLIR.

Spent a number of years with volunteer SAR in the Cowichan Valley. Quite a busy part of the local emergency response apparatus, and that with a patchwork funding structure that's absolutely appalling (some provincial support and governance including JIBC coursing, some regional district (but not much) support, local SAR society fundraising, and provincial SAR society fundraising/resources - I might be missing a few, it's been a while).

Like you, was always impressed with the number of trained volunteers who'd turn out, especially for multi-day mutual aid events well outside their home area. SAR hat firmly on, it's a shame there's not a more direct link between the PRes and civvy ground SAR: even just something like adding the local Army Reserve to the call list should any wish to turn out as as-available volunteers.

 

[FJAG]

I struggle to understand why we have such an aversion to at least matching their Arctic force with a Brigade of our own when most of our territory demands such a capability. A capability that would help in peacetime in Canada and anywhere else in the Arctic Region in peace and war.

I'll repeat here what I said in the Arctic Ops thread when you suggested having the existing "185" Res F units be formed into units of 100 paid troops and 500 unpaid volunteers with each generating a platoon to be paired with one of the 190 odd Ranger patrols.

I know that the 185 Reserve Units comes from an older CAF webpage but I think it's completely out to lunch.

The Army P Res has 115 Bn sized units (including arty, engr, sigs and service bns) and 10 Independent coys sized elements (incl arty and int) that may have unit status. There are an additional 4 MP Regiments and 15 H Svcs PRes units which do not belong to the Army. After that you have to start looking at 24 NavRes division and 3 AirRes squadrons and four flights. All of that combined isn't 185 Res F units

I'm not so sure of why you wish to share the misery joy of creating a large force of paid and unpaid personnel to take on both military and para or quasi military responsibilities when we can barely maintain 19,000 paid ones.

Japan is an excellent example of how the civilian population and volunteers are integrated into natural disaster programs. Canada has both federal and provincial Emergency Management organizations. It would behoove our government to leverage those systems with increased specialized and general service volunteers tailored to the most likely disasters specific to each district/region.

I know the Res F has once again started dabbling in the snakes and ladders field (I'm a victim and survivor of the 1960s Militia debacle) and quite frankly I'm agin' it. The Res F has little enough time and resources to become proficient in its military roles much less the personnel training and logistic requirements of HADR including the cat herding 90,000 volunteers. If the Army wants the Res F to be a pseudo ARNG then get them properly organized, equipped and trained in their military roles first.

The way the P Res functions now is dysfunctional. The suggested method is not only impractical but would gut any possibility of creating truly operational units. Sorry, IMHO, its a solution looking for a problem based on some vague European Landwehr concept that has basically died out.

With respect to the "Alaska" proposal, the limitation is the same as for North Norway/Sweden - the lack of population vs the scale of the territory involved. Alaska has a population of 731,000 with an area of 1.7 million sq km compared to our North's 150,000 spread over roughly 4.75 million sq kms. Almost half of those people live around Anchorage which is also where the majority of the Alaska ARNG come from. There are only some 1,850 soldiers in the Alaska ARNG (which is admittedly a higher ratio that P Res personnel in Alberta).

Should we designate a Reg F brigade for the Arctic. Yup. I've said this a long time ago - we should form into heavy, medium and light brigades (a Reg F brigade of each) with the heavy targeted at NATO, the medium to peacekeeping/failed states scenarios and the light to quick reaction and defence of Canada (including the Arctic). Right now there are three light battalions which amongst other things have a capability to deploy North including a para capability. On top of that we have a Special Forces Regiment that has even better capabilities to deal with small incursions and is advertised as being able to operate in harsh conditions with a mandate to be deployed domestically as well as abroad).

But let's remember the scale here. The US has 2 of its 45 Active Army manoeuvre BCTs in Alaska. That's 5% of the Active US Army. 5% of Canada's 12 Reg F Manoeuvre bns/regts is a little over 1/2 a battalion. We already have JTF North in Yellowknife with some 314 staff plus some minor assigned units (1 Ranger Patrol Group [with roughly 50 full-time staff and 2,000 part-time Rangers], a coy of the LER, and 440 Trans Sqn). That's almost half a battalion right there. In addition there are 3 other Ranger Patrol Groups and their full-time staff and four northern response companies, one with each Division) That's a full battalion.

We might have a massive amount of territory to deal with but we only have a tiny military which seems to be doing what is reasonable as far as allocating troops. Do we need a better infrastructure and sustainment system - sure - we need a better system for a lot of things but that isn't to say we have an aversion to matching the US's Arctic force. Within the limits of what we can do, we're doing okay.

 

[CBH99]

Spent a number of years with volunteer SAR in the Cowichan Valley. Quite a busy part of the local emergency response apparatus, and that with a patchwork funding structure that's absolutely appalling (some provincial support and governance including JIBC coursing, some regional district (but not much) support, local SAR society fundraising, and provincial SAR society fundraising/resources - I might be missing a few, it's been a while).

Like you, was always impressed with the number of trained volunteers who'd turn out, especially for multi-day mutual aid events well outside their home area. SAR hat firmly on, it's a shame there's not a more direct link between the PRes and civvy ground SAR: even just something like adding the local Army Reserve to the call list should any wish to turn out as as-available volunteers.

Such a simple thing to do, as well. It would be great if the CO of a unit, or the senior leadership of an Army Reserve area would reach out and do just that.

- Great PR to have the local Army Reserve involved in SAR. Coordinate with responsible agency, re accommodations & meals

- To add to the above, it would give the CAF some much needed positive PR, even if just local. Good to remind people that a vast majority of our members are NOT involved with current scandals at the top.

- A great opportunity to be more in the public eye, which if played correctly could eventually mean decently useful reform, reliable funding, etc.

- Gives interested troops an opportunity to help with something meaningful, which is why I think most of us joined up in the first place


The best ideas are usually the simplest. That’s a great one