Army Reserve Restructuring

[Remius]

That is literally the concept. everyone on the MRes would be expected to attend a yearly 5 day training event. DAG, update education/qualifications on record, weapons handling, fitness test, handful of other lectures/lessons. Start missing your 5 day event? off the list.

It will take some cooperation from all aspects of government to execute the concept that DG Mob has outlined, but if they get their wishlist from the government, it's a very feasible idea.

And I can see why the PS would be a good target to draw from.

TB could add a leave provision with pay for those five days annually.

 

[Kirkhill]

If the goal is to have a pool of many thousand people available to guard important infrastructure facilities and the like, where would be to stockpile of kit and weapons ready for them to do that? Or is the expectation that they will stand around in their own clothes carrying broomsticks until that is all sorted out?

In a reported five days of training, how much of any one topic could be imparted? While it is true that the basics of weapons handling might be remembered 10 years down the road, I would be concerned with adequate knowledge of the authority to use it. Will so-called 'citizen soldiers' deployed to multiple locations be expected to be under command of Reg/Res members? Where will they come from to babysit essentially green volunteers?

Services like Neighbourhood Watch and VFF are local matters - not national security, and VFFs get a whole lot more training than a couple of days.

What capabilities can they bring with them?

Are they mechanics? Do they work fork Microsoft, or Telus or Hydro Quebec? Suncor?
Do they own or have access to a smartphone or vehicle? Can the operate a boat, quad, snowmobile or chainsaw? Do they have medical or first aid experience? Do they have firearms trainin? Do they have access to a suitable weapon?

Etc.

If we register people we can organize them and apply them appropriately. We can find out what gaps there are and figure out how the government can cover those gaps.

It is true that many of the skills civered by homehuards in other countries are currently covered off in our 14 jurisdictions (excluding hundreds of municipalities and first nations) by a variety of clubs, agencies, associations and individuals - but how do you get them all rowing together on Day One?

 

[Brad Sallows]

The real issue is communicating all that efficiently. Even here, people think we’ll be fighting ww3 with 5 day trained public servants with diabetes and perfume allergies.

Too much speculation and not enough facts.

What's the age profile of the public service? How many would likely be deemed exempt?

I suppose that if we're scrambling to find people for home duties, we'll be able to turn out the necessary products from zero in not much more time than it takes to build from Royal 5 Days-ers.

I suppose that if we're scrambling to turn people into real soldiers, we'll be able to turn out the necessary products from zero in the same time it takes to build from Royal 5 Days-ers.

 

[Remius]

Too much speculation and not enough facts.

What's the age profile of the public service? How many would likely be deemed exempt?

Exempt? It’s voluntary. The PS is just another area that could be targeted for this.

I suppose that if we're scrambling to find people for home duties, we'll be able to turn out the necessary products from zero in not much more time than it takes to build from Royal 5 Days-ers.

Except how long do security clearances, medicals etc take already? That’s the stuff you avoid adding to the length. Most of your processing would be done.

I suppose that if we're scrambling to turn people into real soldiers, we'll be able to turn out the necessary products from zero in the same time it takes to build from Royal 5 Days-ers.

See above.

 

[Brad Sallows]

but how do you get them all rowing together on Day One?

This is all looking to me like climate change. It's a problem, but it's not THE problem. There are other much more difficult things that need to be achieved: knowing what the force structure should be and having a plan to methodically raise it; knowing what the necessary defence production base should be and having a plan to methodically develop and expand it; having stockpiles of equipment and ammunition and maintaining and cycling them appropriately; keeping national ship-building, and maybe aircraft-building and vehicle-/weapon-building going. All costly, all competing for funds with everything else.

Home guards and draft pre-registrations are just ways to fritter away money to not much effect. Take whatever allegedly small amount of funds are supposed to be needed for that and create a national civil-military mobilization planning cell and give them an actual ongoing responsibility to continuously draft and revise plans. Let them study the question of mobilizing people at length instead of jumping into ideas cooked up by handfuls of people devoting a fraction of their time to thinking about it.