Quantity over Quality in the Reserves

[CrazyCanuck]

Well I know that I will hopefully be doing BMQ/SQ this summer, but it‘s only a 2 month course, and I have 4 months off, being in University. I understand that not evetyone is in the same situation, but it seems like a shame that I‘ll be doing some menial job for the first 2 months of summer, when I could be doing a reg force BMQ or getting started on QLs.

 

[Ex Ranger Instructor]

I don‘t claim to know just exactly how many people join the reserves every year, but the number is pretty high. When you add up all the personnel who take militia/naval reserve/comm reserve BMQ courses, I‘m sure that you have a number that far exceeds the number put through at CFLRS. Res/reg joint basics will never be the CF standard because the school in St Jean couldn‘t possibly handle the workload.

 

[Arctic Acorn]

I have to disagree with you, Pte. Bloggins. Reservists and Regular force members are -not- apples and oranges. We‘re all in the same business of serving Canada. The whole point of the reserve force is to suppliment, support and augment the regular force on operations, and (with budget cuts, attrition, etc etc) in day to day operations. Reservists are expected to perform the same job as our regular force counterparts. This is not an easy thing sometimes, as we‘re not trained to same standard (but still expected to -perform- at the same standard) and, frankly, our basic soldier training sucks.

As for the whole "bad reserve soldier" thread, our basic training standards stink (at least they did 5 years ago when I did mine...). The problem is how reserve brigades conduct basic training serials.

In the regular force, you join with the intent of joining a specific trade, but you are posted to the recruit school until you graduate. The school owns you, so it‘s easy to turf you if you aren‘t suitable for further training. Easy Peezy.

No so for us poor rentals. You join a unit, -then-you are usually sent to another unit and they train you. Back home, the local infantry battalion hosted the training. I work in a support trade, and we just don‘t have the cabability to run our own serials, and we contract it out, so to speak. What happens is that the course staff may really not like a candadate, but they have no authority to turf another units recruit. It remains the home unit‘s responsibility to do so. Consequently, if the unit doesn‘t screen it‘s fledgling troopies adequately, they‘re kinda stuck with them unless they volunteer to pull-pin. Not wanting to be seen as abusing another units soldiers, the course-staff pretty much has their hands tied. As much as they probably hate to do it, it‘s easier for them to give up and send the soldier back to their home unit. "Not my problem..." At least, thats how things work at the reserve bde back east. Unless they change that system by having the brigade run the basic course, with the authority to recourse-fire unsuitable candidates, things will likely not get any better.

Ask any reservist, and I bet most of them would love to do a tougher, longer basic. My course sucked, and I felt like a ‘pretend soldier‘ for years because of it.

 

[Pte. Bloggins]

I agree that units should be able to ditch you if you just don‘t measure up on course (on my basic, several individuals who had made quite clear they didn‘t want to be there couldn‘t be sent packing because, among other things, too much red tape).

As for longer basics, some of us only have 8 weeks of summer vacation (around half my basic course was still in high school) so that‘s all we have to offer for training. Never mind that, what of the people who have full-time jobs? It might be just a tad difficult to keep asking one‘s employer for even more time off for training. (I‘m talking about summer basic here- personally I think that weekend basics are a joke- two and a half days of training in a row and THAT‘S IT...groan)

 

[logau]

Check this out http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/163581_guard06.html

USA is rotating 130,000 troops and lots of them are reserves - the few the proud BS that the system gives us should be turned over and spanked.

We need more - we can afford more - tell your MP we can do more if they give more.

The only problem with the above is we don;t have anywhere to send them after they do their 3 year hitch - so send them to the reserves - active or inactive.

My main hobby horse is we (I feel) have sold ourselves on the idea that the long service regular is the model. Professionally he or she is certainly the model but to get that model requires a lot of turnover. Why not just formalize it and start the Canadian Suasage Machine. Lots of Cdn soldiers over a short period of time = GREATER LONG TERM CAPABILITY and more voices telling the MPs in Ottawa - PLEASE SIR, MORE?

 

[RCA]

Note to File: The Reservist job is not to augment the Regular force. Actually, our function has been fully determined and that was one of the reasons for LFRR. Basically the discussion is that reserves are a building block for mobilization based on the cadre system. Therefore our trg is not the same length or requirements as the Reg F. Once required for sub-unit, or unit augmentation, then the necessary trg is filled in. Indiv augmentation only became big when Yugo blow up and the Reg F wasn‘t big enough to sustain the commitment. Unfortunately, long term memory is poor and people now assume that is the Reserves raison d'être, like peacekeeping for the CF. Wrong.

 

[Arctic Acorn]

RCA, I‘ll be a bit more specific...certain reserve roles are there to augment the regular force. Maybe thats not what they intended originally, but thats the reality...

I‘m in a Combat Support trade, and our unit‘s role -is- to augment and support the regs for deployments and operations. (says so right in the mission ststement). As for the other CS/CSS trades, I -believe- that it‘s about the same. (hopefully all you CS/CSS types can set me straight). The Forces have even started to provide mixed trades courses (reg/res) in order to provide the same standard to everyone. (thankfully!)Again, this (as far as I know) is on the support/service support end.

As for the combat arms types, I guess it‘s a different story. There shouldn‘t be any individual augmentation, as you ought to be a formed unit from the onset, but there have been Composite Reserve Infantry Companies for Bosnia to take some of the PersTempo pressure for a few rotos now.

I think that keeping reservists back as a ‘building block for mobilization‘ is a waste of resources. Valuable experience is gained by maintaining the same standard as the regular force, and if we ever had to undergo a ‘mobilization‘ period, we‘re only providing more capable instructors.

When you think about it, having a pile of what are essentially ‘contract workers‘ who are able to (and do) fill gaps in the military machine has been pretty handy. It‘s not an ideal situation, but it gets the job done. As long as they are trained tot he same standard as their regular force equivalent.

 

[NMPeters]

The role of the Army Reserves is:

"The statement as approved by the CDS in May 2003 must be read in the context of the Army's purpose:

The Army purpose â Å“Made up of Regular and Reserve (Militia) components, the Army's primary purpose is to defend the nation and, when called upon, to fight and win in war.â ?

The Role of the Army Reserve â Å“Within the Army, the Reserves (Militia) provide the framework for mobilization, the Army's connection with Canadians, and augmentation within the Canadian Forces.â ?

â Å“Note: Augmentation refers to the provision of supplementary (depth) and complementary (breadth) capabilities.â ?"

Individual units do not have "roles". They are given missions and tasks.

 

[Greywolf]

I keep hearing that the reserves need more people, but it‘s pretty hard to recruit people when nobody at the reserve unit ever answers the d*** phone. I have considered applying to the reserves, but finally gave up. There is never anyone there to pick up the phone and when you leave messages, no one ever calls you back. One time, I called every 2 minutes for five hours during a weekday and still no one there. Tried calling on a parade night...same result.

 

[venero]

ahahaaha Greywolf that is so true. I must have called 20 times untill someone answerd the phone.