Army Reserve Restructuring

[Furniture]

'm not saying that we should get rid of the Cadet Program, but I am saying that it should be re-amped to have more applicability to the CAF or at least more exposure to it. At present there are no qualifications that carry over that the average cadet will have. It causes me to ask questions if someone spends seven years in the Cadet program and then is told to hide the fact that they were a cadet when they join the CAF.

Fair enough, you raise two interesting points.

Point 1; Cadet training vs. CAF training. Everything I learned on PLQ I had learned 8-10 years earlier as a cadet, even as far down as preparing and instructing lesson plans. I spent 6 weeks learning pace stick, and company parade drill as a cadet. By the time I was a Pte on BMQ I had spent as much time teaching drill in cadets as some of the instructors on my course had been in the CAF.

Point 2; Cadets hide their experience as cadets, because it is used against them by the CAF members teaching them BMQ. I didn't tell anyone I was a cadet in basic because I didn't want a target on my back. My course staff figured it out when I did too well on the individual drill test for my cornflake in week 4. I got called out by another section's MS, because my score was too high and my drill was too sharp.

Neither of those problems are problems with the cadet programme, they are problems in the CAF. Weak jr leaders pick on former cadets because they feel threatened, and want to find a person to make an example of.

I will grant you this, there are some former cadets who are insufferable, but they aren't the majority.

A Re-amp of the Cadet Program would need to start with the CIC. I'm not convinced that the vast majority of CIC need to be officers to perform their jobs. Many of them could be NCM's or we could create a third category of ranks for them similar to US Warrant Officers. Either way, I don't think that anyone who doesn't have a university degree or sufficient service that would allow them to CFR should be given a commission. I also think it would do hugh things for the Program if CIC had to go through BMQ/BMOQ mixed in with everyone else.

CIC is a bit of a separate topic from the cadet programme writ large.

I agree 100% that the CIC has no business being CAF. Like the Navy League, they should be civilians who hold military sounding titles within the cadet organization. I also think there should be more Res and Reg involvement in the programme, but that has risks.

 

[FJAG]

I'm a big fan of the cadet movement as a whole although I never was one giggle: went from boy scouts right to the Militia).

I tend to look with some envy at the UK system.

They're organizational structure is not much different from Canada, but the general appearance and deportment of their cadets (they wear a proper looking multi-cam combat uniform), and more applicable fieldcraft and other military training produces a sharper looking kid. Sharper appearance and decent training (they receive 5.5 million rounds 5.56mm every year and use a semi auto only version of the SA80) leads to more recruits and a higher transfer to reg and res forces on reaching the right age to join.

I must admit I haven't been too fond of the general CIC that I've dealt with although there are some good ones. If I can sum it up the general lot of CIC that I see are slovenly with poor standards for themselves which translates into poor standards for their kids. I doubt many of them could turn out this product.

Our kids deserve better support.

 

[ueo]

I'm a big fan of the cadet movement as a whole although I never was one giggle: went from boy scouts right to the Militia).

I tend to look with some envy at the UK system.

They're organizational structure is not much different from Canada, but the general appearance and deportment of their cadets (they wear a proper looking multi-cam combat uniform), and more applicable fieldcraft and other military training produces a sharper looking kid. Sharper appearance and decent training (they receive 5.5 million rounds 5.56mm every year and use a semi auto only version of the SA80) leads to more recruits and a higher transfer to reg and res forces on reaching the right age to join.

I must admit I haven't been too fond of the general CIC that I've dealt with although there are some good ones. If I can sum it up the general lot of CIC that I see are slovenly with poor standards for themselves which translates into poor standards for their kids. I doubt many of them could turn out this product.

Our kids deserve better support.

I remember when "Cadets" were a mandated part of high school. Each year culminated with an inspection and various demos. All participated at one level or another. Maybe a relook?

 

[Eaglelord17]

Fair enough, you raise two interesting points.

Point 1; Cadet training vs. CAF training. Everything I learned on PLQ I had learned 8-10 years earlier as a cadet, even as far down as preparing and instructing lesson plans. I spent 6 weeks learning pace stick, and company parade drill as a cadet. By the time I was a Pte on BMQ I had spent as much time teaching drill in cadets as some of the instructors on my course had been in the CAF.

Point 2; Cadets hide their experience as cadets, because it is used against them by the CAF members teaching them BMQ. I didn't tell anyone I was a cadet in basic because I didn't want a target on my back. My course staff figured it out when I did too well on the individual drill test for my cornflake in week 4. I got called out by another section's MS, because my score was too high and my drill was too sharp.

Neither of those problems are problems with the cadet programme, they are problems in the CAF. Weak jr leaders pick on former cadets because they feel threatened, and want to find a person to make an example of.

I will grant you this, there are some former cadets who are insufferable, but they aren't the majority.


CIC is a bit of a separate topic from the cadet programme writ large.

I agree 100% that the CIC has no business being CAF. Like the Navy League, they should be civilians who hold military sounding titles within the cadet organization. I also think there should be more Res and Reg involvement in the programme, but that has risks.

100% agree on the CIC officers, no need for them to hold a commission.

It is those insufferable cadets who think they know everything joining which cause the rift. Lots of cadets also get a poor idea of what the CAF is like due to how poorly run some cadet units are. They seem to think Full Metal Jacket is the game plan.

 

[WestIsle]

100% agree on the CIC officers, no need for them to hold a commission.

It is those insufferable cadets who think they know everything joining which cause the rift. Lots of cadets also get a poor idea of what the CAF is like due to how poorly run some cadet units are. They seem to think Full Metal Jacket is the game plan.

They also seem to often have a revulsion to joining as NCMs and believe the only acceptable thing to do next is to become an officer. Not universal of course but seems like a common thing

 

[FJAG]

For @Kirkhill

I was just looking up some German army establishment issues and came across this little mention of the new German Army's Homeland Defence Division which, I expect, falls right into your view of a homeland defence force.

I've tried to gather some additional info by visiting their German websites but it's pretty sparse. It does provide the following mission statemt

The core tasks of the German Armed Forces' homeland security include:

Property protection: Homeland security forces secure and protect critical infrastructure that is important for the defense of the homeland and for the logistics of Germany as a hub: ports, airports, bridges, railway lines, energy facilities, digital networks and other defense-relevant infrastructure.

Drone defense: Homeland security forces are responsible for the reconnaissance and defense against drones that spy on and threaten critical infrastructure within the country.

Host Nation Support: Homeland security forces ensure freedom of movement for own and allied troops who are preparing for deployment in Germany, are on their way to their deployment location, or for the secure return of, among other things, damaged equipment, wounded and prisoners of war.

Training: The training companies of the home defense regiments teach soldiers the military trade and train the next generation for their own units.

Disaster relief: Homeland security forces support civilian authorities in managing natural disasters and major emergencies as part of official assistance. This official assistance is clearly regulated in the Basic Law.

They are greatly helped by the fact that every German soldier is, upon release, retained in the "general" reserve for six years. There are three types of reservist

The German Armed Forces distinguish between the General Reserve, the Territorial Reserve, and the Troop Reserve. Every reservist belongs to one of these three categories. Which one depends on whether the individual is assigned to a specific duty position. This assignment is called a posting.

Think of the "general" reserve like a mandatory supplementary reserve list; the territorial reserve as the Homeland division identified above; and the "Troop" reserve as our Primary reserve.

I don't trust the numbers that I've seen there but they consider the total general reserve force for all services (including former draftees) at around 860,000 of which they aim to have about 200,000 as "active" reservists (ie "territorial" or "troop"). The "troop" reserve seems to be around 12,500 at this time.

Reservists do not need to be former service members and civilians can enroll specifically for that. I've looked for but not found a training regime for them.