Army Reserve Restructuring

[MilEME09]

...and around it goes! Done this dance 3 or 4 times, No significant changes at the unit level, just bigger HQs

Perhaps but in the past reinventing the wheel came with no budget to make it happen. The money is atleast there now.

 

[Remius]

...and around it goes! Done this dance 3 or 4 times, No significant changes at the unit level, just bigger HQs

There things happening to increase numbers. But it will take time and effort.

 

[FJAG]

They can barely provide units with RSS as it is. I’m not getting an ops WO any time soon.

I know that there are personnel shortages across most trades. Similarly there are manning priorities in play. My understanding was that RSS was a high priority manning slot. As long as that remains true then I'm okay with the fact that there will be the occasional empty slot. I'm even okay with the fact that RSS slots may be filled by personnel who have medical or physical limitations that keep them out of field units as it is - same for slots at training institutions.

I'm not as happy with the fact that many slots are being filled by Class Bs. The lack of proper training and experience makes them, on average, less useful as trainers when it comes to both senior NCM and officer slots like the OpsO or OpsWO.

My solution for Class Bs is to divide the RegF into two classes. A Class identical to what we have now and another class which would be identical in all respects but would be enrolling for service in a limited geographical area for their career - such as metro Toronto, Calgary, Montreal etc. This would provide the member a full career opportunity with family stability and provide the CAF with full-timers still able to be operationally deployed as required by it. This career class would be coupled to hybrid units in larger urban centres where the mass of our recruits come from.

 

[daftandbarmy]

I know that there are personnel shortages across most trades. Similarly there are manning priorities in play. My understanding was that RSS was a high priority manning slot. As long as that remains true then I'm okay with the fact that there will be the occasional empty slot. I'm even okay with the fact that RSS slots may be filled by personnel who have medical or physical limitations that keep them out of field units as it is - same for slots at training institutions.

I'm not as happy with the fact that many slots are being filled by Class Bs. The lack of proper training and experience makes them, on average, less useful as trainers when it comes to both senior NCM and officer slots like the OpsO or OpsWO.

My solution for Class Bs is to divide the RegF into two classes. A Class identical to what we have now and another class which would be identical in all respects but would be enrolling for service in a limited geographical area for their career - such as metro Toronto, Calgary, Montreal etc. This would provide the member a full career opportunity with family stability and provide the CAF with full-timers still able to be operationally deployed as required by it. This career class would be coupled to hybrid units in larger urban centres where the mass of our recruits come from.

What we should be doing, of course, is aligning Reserve Bdes with the Reg F CMBGs et al.

All Reserve training should be focused on providing the individual and collective skills upgrading to be able to augment CMBGs with either individuals or small units, or both.

Trying to build a stand alone 2nd Div into the 'second best Reg Force in Canada' is just nuts...

 

[Ostrozac]

Eventually the CARBs end state will be taking the roles of the ARCG, TBG, and IRUs.

The IRU role of the CARB is the most challenging one, as the timelines are so unforgiving. It’s a quick flash to bang that the Reg battalions have sometimes struggled to meet. It clearly needs a full time commitment for at least the vanguard company role.

It’s possible that there is indeed an untapped underemployed workforce that is unwilling to enrol in the Reg Force but is eager to serve on Class B or C, using their home town armouries as platoon houses waiting for the next DomOp and doing a bit of low level training.

Or possibly a CARB will consist of ex-Regulars that realize that one way out of Shilo or Petawawa is to transfer to the PRes and live in the town/city of your choice on long term Class B or C.

 

[boredtoon]

The IRU role of the CARB is the most challenging one, as the timelines are so unforgiving. It’s a quick flash to bang that the Reg battalions have sometimes struggled to meet. It clearly needs a full time commitment for at least the vanguard company role.

It’s possible that there is indeed an untapped underemployed workforce that is unwilling to enrol in the Reg Force but is eager to serve on Class B or C, using their home town armouries as platoon houses waiting for the next DomOp and doing a bit of low level training.

Or possibly a CARB will consist of ex-Regulars that realize that one way out of Shilo or Petawawa is to transfer to the PRes and live in the town/city of your choice on long term Class B or C.

Current discussions have the CARB as a 2 or 3 year Class C contract. The bulk of troops would sign a 2 year contract, spend a year training, then a year in the breach for dom/exped ops. Key leadership would be on a 3 year contract.

There are even some discussions that all exped augmentation would come from the CARBs in the future. Troop signs on for 3 year CARB class C, 1 year of training, 1 year in the breach, then 6 months deployed with the RegF in the 3rd year.

There's a lot of questions right now that nobody seems to be have answers for, such as how many CARBs will be stood up at a time. We don't know if every CBG is going to be standing up a CARB every year (well, we know it's not this because the troops don't exist), or if its every other CBG, or its one CBG at a time.

 

[PrairieFella]

Current discussions have the CARB as a 2 or 3 year Class C contract. The bulk of troops would sign a 2 year contract, spend a year training, then a year in the breach for dom/exped ops. Key leadership would be on a 3 year contract.

There are even some discussions that all exped augmentation would come from the CARBs in the future. Troop signs on for 3 year CARB class C, 1 year of training, 1 year in the breach, then 6 months deployed with the RegF in the 3rd year.

There's a lot of questions right now that nobody seems to be have answers for, such as how many CARBs will be stood up at a time. We don't know if every CBG is going to be standing up a CARB every year (well, we know it's not this because the troops don't exist), or if its every other CBG, or its one CBG at a time.

Rip augmentation from anyone higher than a Cpl haha. Most of us have work or school we can leave for a year, certainly not three.

 

[MilEME09]

There's a lot of questions right now that nobody seems to be have answers for, such as how many CARBs will be stood up at a time. We don't know if every CBG is going to be standing up a CARB every year (well, we know it's not this because the troops don't exist), or if its every other CBG, or its one CBG at a time.

PPT I saw showed a slow roll out starting with 1 CARB, and 4 coys, and then expanding from there until eventually 10 CARBs

 

[boredtoon]

Rip augmentation from anyone higher than a Cpl haha. Most of us have work or school we can leave for a year, certainly not three.

Augmentation above corporal is a joke anyways. I am starting PDT for my second deployment, I am a reserve Inf O, will I ever get to actually deploy in an infantry capacity? No, not until WW3.

 

[PrairieFella]

Augmentation above corporal is a joke anyways. I am starting PDT for my second deployment, I am a reserve Inf O, will I ever get to actually deploy in an infantry capacity? No, not until WW3.

Maybe you cant but crewmen certainly can. At least up to the Sgt level. Even if its just filling holes in staff positions, there will never be enough people who can pause their life for three years for the pleasure of being a Duty O in Kuwait. The Regs have made it clear they really dont have to be filling those onesies and twosies while there are manpower crunches elsewhere.

 

[boredtoon]

Even if its just filling holes in staff positions, there will never be enough people who can pause their life for three years for the pleasure of being a Duty O in Kuwait. The Regs have made it clear they really dont have to be filling those onesies and twosies while there are manpower crunches elsewhere.

This is my point though. Outside of the Pte/Cpls who get to be a dude in a section in the infantry company in latvia, the only deployments are staff work. My trade means nothing, it doesn't matter if I am an infantry officer or a log O, or a basket weaving O, they are all GSO positions.

 

[Kirkhill]

What we should be doing, of course, is aligning Reserve Bdes with the Reg F CMBGs et al.

All Reserve training should be focused on providing the individual and collective skills upgrading to be able to augment CMBGs with either individuals or small units, or both.

Trying to build a stand alone 2nd Div into the 'second best Reg Force in Canada' is just nuts...

How much of the initial reseve training could be done by Non-Regulars. Assume that the initial course is 10 weeks. Suppose the candidates were required to show up, not just with an expected level of fitness but a prescribed set of skills and knowledge. Every week shaved off the course is a 10% reduction in the demand on instructors.

This is another one of my silly ideas but ....

We have organizations in place that conduct that training. The Cadets and the Junior Rangers. Could they be engaged to take on a separate candidate flow that met at the armouries on a night different to the 13 and 14 year olds? Supplement them with access to the appropriate available on-line education materials.

Could you get the BMQ down to six weeks if everybody showed up with the skills and knowledge of a typical 16 year old cadet?

Add 6 weeks of conversion therapy to make them fit to fetch and carry in an a company.

And I know this doesn't address the trades gap but we can't make experts and soldiers in a year let alone a couple of months. So you have to recruit/buy experts and show them what their conditions of employment are going to look like. An adult path through the the Cadets might be one option to accomplish that without tying up military resources.

Would the CIC/COATS system be adaptable?

 

[Kirkhill]

The Cadet Instructor Cadre (CIC)—formerly known as the Cadet Instructor List (CIL)—is a sub-component of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Reserve Force dedicated to the safety, supervision, administration, and training of Sea, Army, and Air Cadets across Canada.
Canada.ca +1
Here is an overview of the CIC based on the latest available information:

Role and Function

• Primary Duty: CIC officers are responsible for training over 52,000 cadets aged 12–18 in more than 1,100 corps and squadrons.
• Not a Combat Force: CIC officers are not trained for deployment, and their role is focused on youth mentorship and leadership.
• Time Commitment: They typically work with cadets one night a week and one weekend per month, along with planning and summer training opportunities.
• Summer Employment: Full-time summer positions are available at over 20 Cadet Training Centres (CTCs).
  Canada.ca +3

Membership and Requirements

• Background: The force consists of approximately 7,500–7,800 commissioned officers. Many are former cadets, former Regular/Reserve force members, parents, or community members.

 

[FJAG]

Augmentation above corporal is a joke anyways. I am starting PDT for my second deployment, I am a reserve Inf O, will I ever get to actually deploy in an infantry capacity? No, not until WW3.

We did deploy reserve artillery officers to Afghanistan up to and including LCol. The current Latvia commitment is almost as big and looking for folks.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Augmentation above corporal is a joke anyways. I am starting PDT for my second deployment, I am a reserve Inf O, will I ever get to actually deploy in an infantry capacity? No, not until WW3.

Which is why there are far more NCMs with tours under their belts in the Reserves than Officers.

Some manage to get overseas, of course, but even then Officers usually get 'non-combat' jobs behind a desk versus commanding troops in the field. Or used to at any rate.

That's not their fault, and it's a big professional development gap unfortunately.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

The Cadet Instructor Cadre (CIC)—formerly known as the Cadet Instructor List (CIL)—is a sub-component of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Reserve Force dedicated to the safety, supervision, administration, and training of Sea, Army, and Air Cadets across Canada.
Canada.ca +1
Here is an overview of the CIC based on the latest available information:

Role and Function

• Primary Duty: CIC officers are responsible for training over 52,000 cadets aged 12–18 in more than 1,100 corps and squadrons.
• Not a Combat Force: CIC officers are not trained for deployment, and their role is focused on youth mentorship and leadership.
• Time Commitment: They typically work with cadets one night a week and one weekend per month, along with planning and summer training opportunities.
• Summer Employment: Full-time summer positions are available at over 20 Cadet Training Centres (CTCs).
  Canada.ca +3

Membership and Requirements

• Background: The force consists of approximately 7,500–7,800 commissioned officers. Many are former cadets, former Regular/Reserve force members, parents, or community members.

It only took them a year and half to make me a CI, I am to old to be a CIC. I think they have improved their processing times somewhat. There has been an effort to move Cadets away from the military connection. I think that this has to stop. After the first year in Cadets, they should be asked if they have an interest in going to a military trade, at which point those Cadets are flagged for opportunities that allow them to do stuff with the military. The rest can continue down the usual Cadet career progression. I used to have Cadets supplementing my gun crew, most of those Cadets joined the Reserves and some went Reg force.
Getting a 18 year kid that can run a marchpast, some experience commanding people, knows how to teach lessons. Understands how to treat subordinates, if they are ex-Army Cadets, already have some experience in fieldcraft and winter exercise and most Cadets are exposed to the principles of marksmanship. That reduces your your training requirements, improve retention and creates a pool of junior leaders.

 

[Kirkhill]

It only took them a year and half to make me a CI, I am to old to be a CIC. I think they have improved their processing times somewhat. There has been an effort to move Cadets away from the military connection. I think that this has to stop. After the first year in Cadets, they should be asked if they have an interest in going to a military trade, at which point those Cadets are flagged for opportunities that allow them to do stuff with the military. The rest can continue down the usual Cadet career progression. I used to have Cadets supplementing my gun crew, most of those Cadets joined the Reserves and some went Reg force.
Getting a 18 year kid that can run a marchpast, some experience commanding people, knows how to teach lessons. Understands how to treat subordinates, if they are ex-Army Cadets, already have some experience in fieldcraft and winter exercise and most Cadets are exposed to the principles of marksmanship. That reduces your your training requirements, improve retention and creates a pool of junior leaders.

I believe that extending the Cadet level of engagement into an Adult league might be worth the experiment.

 

[daftandbarmy]

I believe that extending the Cadet level of engagement into an Adult league might be worth the experiment.

And then you get HCols like this, with no military experience themselves apart from the honorary role


Cadets should be mandatory for young Canadian newcomers, says former honorary colonel

'We have to get to a point where you have to serve the nation somehow, somewhere, sometime during your life'

Canada should make it mandatory for young newcomers to join the cadet corps to learn more about this country’s history and values, says the former honorary colonel of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry.

“We have to get to a point where you have to serve the nation somehow, somewhere, sometime during your life,” said Donald Cranston, a senior investment counsellor with Fiera Capital, who just stepped down last week from the honorary military appointment.

Canada gained more than 483,000 permanent immigrants in 2024, the highest number this country has seen since 1972. Cranston believes that if the people in that group between the ages of 12 and 18 joined Cadets Canada, a youth program that’s a partnership between the Department of National Defence and civilian organizations, it could help them find their feet here.

Joining the cadets would help newcomers with “better inclusion into society,” Cranston said.

“I’m a big believer in multi-ethnicity; I’m not a big believer in multiculturalism because this is why we have such divides in our society,” he said.

Cadets would serve as “an integrator” for young newcomers, Cranston said. “We’re more alike than we are different, but people focus on the differences all the time.”

Cadets would also provide young newcomers with a structured environment and leadership opportunities, he said.

“You’d get some push-back for sure,” Cranston said, noting most of that would come from “the left peaceniks that are out there.”

Cadets should be mandatory for young Canadian newcomers, says former honorary colonel

How Canada Wins: 'We have to get to a point where you have to serve the nation somehow, somewhere, sometime,' says former honorary colonel

nationalpost.com

 

[Kirkhill]

And then you get HCols like this, with no military experience themselves apart from the honorary role


Cadets should be mandatory for young Canadian newcomers, says former honorary colonel

'We have to get to a point where you have to serve the nation somehow, somewhere, sometime during your life'

Canada should make it mandatory for young newcomers to join the cadet corps to learn more about this country’s history and values, says the former honorary colonel of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry.

“We have to get to a point where you have to serve the nation somehow, somewhere, sometime during your life,” said Donald Cranston, a senior investment counsellor with Fiera Capital, who just stepped down last week from the honorary military appointment.

Canada gained more than 483,000 permanent immigrants in 2024, the highest number this country has seen since 1972. Cranston believes that if the people in that group between the ages of 12 and 18 joined Cadets Canada, a youth program that’s a partnership between the Department of National Defence and civilian organizations, it could help them find their feet here.

Joining the cadets would help newcomers with “better inclusion into society,” Cranston said.

“I’m a big believer in multi-ethnicity; I’m not a big believer in multiculturalism because this is why we have such divides in our society,” he said.

Cadets would serve as “an integrator” for young newcomers, Cranston said. “We’re more alike than we are different, but people focus on the differences all the time.”

Cadets would also provide young newcomers with a structured environment and leadership opportunities, he said.

“You’d get some push-back for sure,” Cranston said, noting most of that would come from “the left peaceniks that are out there.”

Cadets should be mandatory for young Canadian newcomers, says former honorary colonel

How Canada Wins: 'We have to get to a point where you have to serve the nation somehow, somewhere, sometime,' says former honorary colonel

nationalpost.com

We have to change the mindset of society.

We have to engage society and convince them that defence of their country and family is an honourable vocation and that each and every member can contribute to the effort.

And if that means that you have to put up with some well meaning old duffers then so be it.

Obviously hiring 5000 rifles to head out of country occasionally isn't getting the job done.

 

[Brad Sallows]

Could you get the BMQ down to six weeks if everybody showed up with the skills and knowledge of a typical 16 year old cadet?

SYEP GMT was five or six weeks, and no prior experience of any kind was required.