Canada's tanks

[FJAG]

It would make sense to put them near the armoured units. Unless we intend to de-consolidate the tanks, Edmonton or Wainwright make the most sense. Next would be Valcartier and Petawawa.

I've been mulling that over.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that I think we need a lot more tanks than we have and that, because we use very few of them operationally at any given time, that they should be manned in large measure by reservists. And yes, I know that reduces the readiness level but that becomes a risk that can be mitigated.

What's more, most of our reservists live in areas that are not natural armour training facilities. I think its time we acknowledged that fewer and fewer people want to live in Wainwright or Gagetown.

What's needed is: a training system that trains young reservists to a proper crewman standard at the DP1 level; an appropriate annual-at armouries-training cycle using simulators, sim-munitions and annual live-fire, collective training exercises; a sufficient infusion of regular force leadership across the board to handle the roles part-timers can't; an adequate predeployment training cycle.

I harken back to GATES in Shilo, where draftees with a 9 month service cycle were operating Leopards and Marders on live fire battle runs. And then there were all those 1950s armoured regiments with Shermans in places like Toronto and Montreal and Winnipeg. Nope they're not up to LdSH standards perhaps but as we keep saying - perfect is the enemy of good. Yes, we need a centre of excellence somewhere to develop, teach and perfect the high end skills but in order to build mass at a reasonable cost, we can't carry on with the status quo. We need to go where the people are.

 

[PrairieFella]

I've been mulling that over.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that I think we need a lot more tanks than we have and that, because we use very few of them operationally at any given time, that they should be manned in large measure by reservists. And yes, I know that reduces the readiness level but that becomes a risk that can be mitigated.

What's more, most of our reservists live in areas that are not natural armour training facilities. I think its time we acknowledged that fewer and fewer people want to live in Wainwright or Gagetown.

What's needed is: a training system that trains young reservists to a proper crewman standard at the DP1 level; an appropriate annual-at armouries-training cycle using simulators, sim-munitions and annual live-fire, collective training exercises; a sufficient infusion of regular force leadership across the board to handle the roles part-timers can't; an adequate predeployment training cycle.

I harken back to GATES in Shilo, where draftees with a 9 month service cycle were operating Leopards and Marders on live fire battle runs. And then there were all those 1950s armoured regiments with Shermans in places like Toronto and Montreal and Winnipeg. Nope they're not up to LdSH standards perhaps but as we keep saying - perfect is the enemy of good. Yes, we need a centre of excellence somewhere to develop, teach and perfect the high end skills but in order to build mass at a reasonable cost, we can't carry on with the status quo. We need to go where the people are.

I don't disagree. There should be tanks in every province with a training base for the local armoured regiment as far as I'm concerned. If our allies can do it, and we could do it years ago, there's no reason we can't now. Nevermind the fact plenty of reservists already have the quals. As an aside, it's a damn shame how low we've allowed the RCAC reserve to fall. I know, I know, every arm has experience the same thing to an extent but man, is it ever acute in the armoured world. You can say it hurts to read the unit history book about reserve Shermans and Centurions and compare that to now where we're told to be happy with our stark white, dump box Polaris Ranger 1000s haha.