Divining the right role, capabilities, structure, and Regimental System for Canada's Army Reserves

[MedCorps]

I am not sure if this is the thread to post this in, but mod's feel free to move if I have put in the wrong spot.

So, about 2 months ago I met this guy at a party who is a "professional" organizational management / change consultant with a big well known firm.  Essentially corporations hire him to "reorganize and re-engineer" their organizations to make them more productive, cost effective, reduce redundancy, etc. Turned out to be a pretty cool dude.  After a few drinks I told him that his ultimate challenge would be to sort out the CAF Reserve structure.  He said, he could figure it out in a week.  I laughed and said you could not even figure out the 4 Cdn Div Res F in a week. I laughed more when he asked what a division was. 

So he decided to take up the challenge, just screwing around. Now, this guy is a processional organizational design guy, but knows nothing about the military, other than his brother was in Air Cadets 15 years ago.  I reckoned that would be the last of him until Monday when I got an e-mail asking a bunch of questions, including big ones like, "Is CFDS still your organizations guiding document".  The only direction I gave him (other then giving him copies of the current ORBAT and CFDS) was that most Res F "Units" are really companies even though they looked like battalions on paper, that equipment like artillery pieces, and armoured vehicles are in short supply and that maintenance in the Res F is a bit of a nightmare.  Flash forward to Thursday he calls back, with questions about Service Support doctrine, emerging capabilities in the CA, the domestic role of the Res F and the Res F to Reg F interaction... I was then really interested to see what he came up with at this point. He also noted that the CBG structure is broken and of his initial assumptions was that Res F units would operate at the Coy level with maybe some Coy-to-Coy interaction but not train or deploy at the Bn or Bde level. He also noted the importance of force generating for the Reg F.  When he said that, I knew that he did some serious reading and was less delusional then many serving CAF members.

So here it is... an outsiders look at how 4 Div would be restructured. This is a guy with no regimental knowledge or loyalties. Some of it is painful to see, some of it funny, and the vernacular is off in places, but it is somewhat tell-tale about how outsiders see the role of the Reserve Force and some neat out of the box ideas. I asked him questions on some of the rational, and he had reasonable rational for everything and a methodology If you want to know let me know and I will shoot him an e-mail. If this gets adopted ( ) we can send a cheque to KPMG. 

Ladies and Gents, the "New 4 Cdn Div"

4 Cdn Div (Reserve Force)

Royal Canadian Infantry Corps (5 x Light Inf Coy + Ceremonial Guard)

The Royal Regiment of Canada (Toronto)
- 1 x Light Inf Coy
- Positions from QOR
- Positions from 31 Sig Regt
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada (Scarborough)
- 1 x Light Inf Coy
- Transfers Toronto positions to The Royal Regiment of Canada
The Princess of Wales' Own Regiment (Kingston)
- 1 x Light Inf Coy
Governor General's Foot Guards (Ottawa)
- 1 x Light Inf Coy
- Receives positions from 31 CER
The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Wentworth Regt) (Burlington)
- 1 x Light Inf Coy 
- Transfers Hamilton positions to ASHCAN
Ceremonial Guard (Ottawa)
- 1 x Guard and Band

Royal Canadian Armoured Corps (2 x Armd Recce Sqn)

The Ontario Regiment (RCAC) (Oshawa)
- 1 x Armd Recce Sqn
The Governor General's Horse Guards (Toronto)
- 1 x Armd Recce Sqn

Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery  (3 x Arty Bty)

11th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA (Guelph)
- 1 x Artillery Bty
- Hamilton positions transferred to ASHCAN
30th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA (Ottawa)
- 1 x Artillery Bty
42nd Field Artillery Regiment (1 Air Defence Regiment, Lanark and Renfrew Scottish), RCA (Pembroke)
- 1 x Artillery Bty

The Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers (1 x Fd Sqn, 1 x Eng Sp Tp, 1 x Const Tp)

33 Combat Engineer Regiment (Orleans)
- 1 x Field Squadron
- Transfers Ottawa positions to GGFG
31 Combat Engineer Regiment (The Elgin's) (St. Thomas, Waterloo)
- Rerolled
- 1 x Engineering Support Troop
49th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA (Sault Ste. Marie)
- Rerolled
- 1 x Construction Engineering Troop

Intelligence Branch (3 x Int Coy, 1 x Met Coy)

2 Intelligence Company (London)
- 1 x Int Coy
- Toronto positions transferred to 7th Toronto Regiment, RCA
7 Intelligence Company (Ottawa)
- 1 x Int Coy
7th Toronto Regiment, RCA (Toronto)
- Rerolled to Meteorological Coy
- 1 x Met Coy
The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC) (Aurora)
- Rerolled to Int
- 1 x Int Coy
- Toronto positions transferred to 7 Fd RCA

Royal Canadian Medical Service (5 x Med Coy, 1 x Amb Coy, 1 x FST)

23 Field Ambulance (Hamilton)
- Receives Positions from 31 Sig Regt 
- 1 x Med Coy
- 1 x Field Surgery Team 
25 Field Ambulance (Toronto)
- Receives positions from 48th Highlanders of Canada\
- 1 x Med Coy
- 1 x Amb Coy 
28 Field Ambulance (Ottawa)
- 1 x Med Coy
1st Hussars (RCAC) (Sarnia)
- Rerolled
- London positions transferred to 4 RCR
- 1 x Med Coy
4th Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (London, Stratford)
- Rerolled
- Receives Personnel from 1st Hussars
- Receives personnel from 31 Svc Bn
- 1 x Med Coy
48th Highlanders of Canada (Toronto)
- Removed from Order of Battle
- Positions transferred to 25 Fd Amb
31 Signal Regiment (Hamilton)
- Removed from Order of Battle
- Positions transferred to 23 Fd Amb

Royal Canadian Dental Corps (1 x Dent Coy)

Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada (Cambridge, Kitchener)
- Rerolled
- 1 x Dental Coy

Royal Canadian Corps of Signals (1 x HQ & Sigs Sqn)

33 Signal Regiment (Ottawa)
- 1 x HQ & Sigs Sqn

Logistics Branch (2 x S&T Coy, 1 x CS Tn Coy, 1 x GS Tn Pl, 1 x Ammo Coy, 1 x Postal Coy)

32 Service Battalion (Toronto)
- 1 x Supply and Transport Company
33 Service Battalion (North Bay)
- 1 x Supply and Transport Company
- Ottawa positions transferred to 33 Sig Regt
- Sault Ste. Marie positions transferred to 49 Fd RCA
The Windsor Regiment (RCAC) (Windsor)
- Rerolled
- 1 x Close Support Transport Company
Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders (Cornwall)
- Rerolled
- 1 x Heavy Transport Platoon
The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment) (Brampton, Oakville, Georgetown)
- Rerolled
- 1 x Ammunition and EOD Coy
The Brockville Rifles (Brockville)
- Rerolled
- 1 x Postal Coy

Royal Canadian Electrical Mechanical Engineers  (6 x Maint Coy)

The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment (Belleville, Cobourg, Peterborough)
- Rerolled
- 1 x Maint Coy
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's) (Hamilton)
- Rerolled
- Receives positions from 31 Svc Bn, RHLI and 11 Fd RCA
- 1 x Maint Coy
The Grey and Simcoe Foresters (Owen Sound, Barrie)
- Rerolled
- 1 x Maint Coy
The Algonquin Regiment (Timmins)
- Rerolled
- North Bay positions transferred to 33 Svc Bn
- 1 x Maint Coy
2nd Battalion, Irish Regiment of Canada (Sudbury)
- Rerolled
- 1 x Maint Coy
31 Service Battalion (Windsor)
- Rerolled
- Hamilton positions transferred to ASHCAN
- London positions transferred to 4 RCR
- 1 x Maint Coy

Influence Activities Capability  (3 x IA Coy)

The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Duke of Edinburgh's Own) (Ottawa)
- Rerolled
- 1 x IA Coy
The Toronto Scottish Regiment (Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother's Own) (Mississauga)
- Rerolled
- Toronto Personnel Transferred to 32 CER
- 1 x IA Coy 
32 Combat Engineer Regiment (Toronto)
- Rerolled
- Receives Personnel from Toronto Scottish
- 1 x IA Coy

Foreign Military Training Capability  (1 x FMT Coy)

The Essex Kent Scottish (Chatham)
- Rerolled
- Windsor positions to Windsor Regiment 
- 1 x FMT Coy

Recruiting Capability (1 x Recruiting Coy)

31 Signals Regiment (Borden)
- Rerolled
- 1 x Division Recruiting Platoon

Military Police Branch (2 x MP Coy)

The Lincoln and Welland Regiment (St. Catherine’s, Welland)
- Rerolled
- Received positions from 56th Fd RCA
- 1 x MP Coy
56th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA (Brantford, Simcoe)
- Rerolled
- St. Catherines positions transferred to Lincoln and Welland
- 1 x MP Coy


MC

 

[daftandbarmy]

I am not sure if this is the thread to post this in, but mod's feel free to move if I have put in the wrong spot.

So, about 2 months ago I met this guy at a party who is a "professional" organizational management / change consultant with a big well known firm.  Essentially corporations hire him to "reorganize and re-engineer" their organizations to make them more productive, cost effective, reduce redundancy, etc. Turned out to be a pretty cool dude.  After a few drinks I told him that his ultimate challenge would be to sort out the CAF Reserve structure.  He said, he could figure it out in a week.  I laughed and said you could not even figure out the 4 Cdn Div Res F in a week. I laughed more when he asked what a division was. 

So he decided to take up the challenge, just screwing around. Now, this guy is a processional organizational design guy, but knows nothing about the military, other than his brother was in Air Cadets 15 years ago.  I reckoned that would be the last of him until Monday when I got an e-mail asking a bunch of questions, including big ones like, "Is CFDS still your organizations guiding document".  The only direction I gave him (other then giving him copies of the current ORBAT and CFDS) was that most Res F "Units" are really companies even though they looked like battalions on paper, that equipment like artillery pieces, and armoured vehicles are in short supply and that maintenance in the Res F is a bit of a nightmare.  Flash forward to Thursday he calls back, with questions about Service Support doctrine, emerging capabilities in the CA, the domestic role of the Res F and the Res F to Reg F interaction... I was then really interested to see what he came up with at this point.

So here it is... an outsiders look at how 4 Div would be restructured. This is a guy with no regimental knowledge or loyalties. Some of it is painful to see, some of it funny, and the vernacular is off in places, but it is somewhat tell-tale about how outsiders see the role of the Reserve Force and some neat out of the box ideas. I asked him questions on some of the rational, and he had reasonable rational for everything and a methodology If you want to know let me know and I will shoot him an e-mail. If this gets adopted ( ) we can send a cheque to KPMG. 

Ladies and Gents, the "New 4 Cdn Div"

4 Cdn Div (Reserve Force)

Royal Canadian Infantry Corps (5 x Light Inf Coy + Ceremonial Guard)

The Royal Regiment of Canada (Toronto)
- 1 x Light Inf Coy
- Positions from QOR
- Positions from 31 Sig Regt
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada (Scarborough)
- 1 x Light Inf Coy
- Transfers Toronto positions to The Royal Regiment of Canada
The Princess of Wales' Own Regiment (Kingston)
- 1 x Light Inf Coy
Governor General's Foot Guards (Ottawa)
- 1 x Light Inf Coy
- Receives positions from 31 CER
The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Wentworth Regt) (Burlington)
- 1 x Light Inf Coy 
- Transfers Hamilton positions to ASHCAN
Ceremonial Guard (Ottawa)
- 1 x Guard and Band

Royal Canadian Armoured Corps (2 x Armd Recce Sqn)

The Ontario Regiment (RCAC) (Oshawa)
- 1 x Armd Recce Sqn
The Governor General's Horse Guards (Toronto)
- 1 x Armd Recce Sqn

Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery  (3 x Arty Bty)

11th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA (Guelph)
- 1 x Artillery Bty
- Hamilton positions transferred to ASHCAN
30th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA (Ottawa)
- 1 x Artillery Bty
42nd Field Artillery Regiment (1 Air Defence Regiment, Lanark and Renfrew Scottish), RCA (Pembroke)
- 1 x Artillery Bty

The Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers (1 x Fd Sqn, 1 x Eng Sp Tp, 1 x Const Tp)

33 Combat Engineer Regiment (Orleans)
- 1 x Field Squadron
- Transfers Ottawa positions to GGFG
31 Combat Engineer Regiment (The Elgin's) (St. Thomas, Waterloo)
- Rerolled
- 1 x Engineering Support Troop
49th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA (Sault Ste. Marie)
- Rerolled
- 1 x Construction Engineering Troop

Intelligence Branch (3 x Int Coy, 1 x Met Coy)

2 Intelligence Company (London)
- 1 x Int Coy
- Toronto positions transferred to 7th Toronto Regiment, RCA
7 Intelligence Company (Ottawa)
- 1 x Int Coy
7th Toronto Regiment, RCA (Toronto)
- Rerolled to Meteorological Coy
- 1 x Met Coy
The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC) (Aurora)
- Rerolled to Int
- 1 x Int Coy
- Toronto positions transferred to 7 Fd RCA

Royal Canadian Medical Service (5 x Med Coy, 1 x Amb Coy, 1 x FST)

23 Field Ambulance (Hamilton)
- Receives Positions from 31 Sig Regt 
- 1 x Med Coy
- 1 x Field Surgery Team 
25 Field Ambulance (Toronto)
- Receives positions from 48th Highlanders of Canada\
- 1 x Med Coy
- 1 x Amb Coy 
28 Field Ambulance (Ottawa)
- 1 x Med Coy
1st Hussars (RCAC) (Sarnia)
- Rerolled
- London positions transferred to 4 RCR
- 1 x Med Coy
4th Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (London, Stratford)
- Rerolled
- Receives Personnel from 1st Hussars
- Receives personnel from 31 Svc Bn
- 1 x Med Coy
48th Highlanders of Canada (Toronto)
- Removed from Order of Battle
- Positions transferred to 25 Fd Amb
31 Signal Regiment (Hamilton)
- Removed from Order of Battle
- Positions transferred to 23 Fd Amb

Royal Canadian Dental Corps (1 x Dent Coy)

Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada (Cambridge, Kitchener)
- Rerolled
- 1 x Dental Coy

Royal Canadian Corps of Signals (1 x HQ & Sigs Sqn)

33 Signal Regiment (Ottawa)
- 1 x HQ & Sigs Sqn

Logistics Branch (2 x S&T Coy, 1 x CS Tn Coy, 1 x GS Tn Pl, 1 x Ammo Coy, 1 x Postal Coy)

32 Service Battalion (Toronto)
- 1 x Supply and Transport Company
33 Service Battalion (North Bay)
- 1 x Supply and Transport Company
- Ottawa positions transferred to 33 Sig Regt
- Sault Ste. Marie positions transferred to 49 Fd RCA
The Windsor Regiment (RCAC) (Windsor)
- Rerolled
- 1 x Close Support Transport Company
Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders (Cornwall)
- Rerolled
- 1 x Heavy Transport Platoon
The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment) (Brampton, Oakville, Georgetown)
- Rerolled
- 1 x Ammunition and EOD Coy
The Brockville Rifles (Brockville)
- Rerolled
- 1 x Postal Coy

Royal Canadian Electrical Mechanical Engineers  (6 x Maint Coy)

The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment (Belleville, Cobourg, Peterborough)
- Rerolled
- 1 x Maint Coy
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's) (Hamilton)
- Rerolled
- Receives positions from 31 Svc Bn, RHLI and 11 Fd RCA
- 1 x Maint Coy
The Grey and Simcoe Foresters (Owen Sound, Barrie)
- Rerolled
- 1 x Maint Coy
The Algonquin Regiment (Timmins)
- Rerolled
- North Bay positions transferred to 33 Svc Bn
- 1 x Maint Coy
2nd Battalion, Irish Regiment of Canada (Sudbury)
- Rerolled
- 1 x Maint Coy
31 Service Battalion (Windsor)
- Rerolled
- Hamilton positions transferred to ASHCAN
- London positions transferred to 4 RCR
- 1 x Maint Coy

Influence Activities Capability  (3 x IA Coy)

The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Duke of Edinburgh's Own) (Ottawa)
- Rerolled
- 1 x IA Coy
The Toronto Scottish Regiment (Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother's Own) (Mississauga)
- Rerolled
- Toronto Personnel Transferred to 32 CER
- 1 x IA Coy 
32 Combat Engineer Regiment (Toronto)
- Rerolled
- Receives Personnel from Toronto Scottish
- 1 x IA Coy

Foreign Military Training Capability  (1 x FMT Coy)

The Essex Kent Scottish (Chatham)
- Rerolled
- Windsor positions to Windsor Regiment 
- 1 x FMT Coy

Recruiting Capability (1 x Recruiting Coy)

31 Signals Regiment (Borden)
- Rerolled
- 1 x Division Recruiting Platoon

Military Police Branch (2 x MP Coy)

The Lincoln and Welland Regiment (St. Catherine’s, Welland)
- Rerolled
- Received positions from 56th Fd RCA
- 1 x MP Coy
56th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA (Brantford, Simcoe)
- Rerolled
- St. Catherines positions transferred to Lincoln and Welland
- 1 x MP Coy


MC

So after he shook your hand, did you check to see if you still had your wrist watch?  ;D

 

[MedCorps]

His wrist watch was much, much nicer then mine will ever be! 

 

[McG]

Sorry RoyalDrew, but the "but HQ X is special" approach is how we get big HQs - everyone demands exceptions.  If places like Army Doctrine had an accumulation of intellectual currency, perhaps we'd have an Infantry Battalion manual that has been updated since the end of the Cold War.  If a reservists wants to stay in Kingston for 10 years working full time in CADTC, maybe they should join the Reg Force?

If they want a decade in Kingston, maybe they should join the PS.

 

[McG]

Ladies and Gents, the "New 4 Cdn Div"

Some quick thoughts & questions:

• What does a PRes Postal Coy do?
• 6 x Maint Coys sounds very ambitious to support from a skills/training perspective.
• What does a PRes Ammo Coy do?
• 5 x Med Coys also sound very ambitious to support from a skills/training perspective, and these are not Army Reserve.
• 3 x Int Coys sounds like overkill (especially beside only 5 x Rifle Coys).
• Does the proposed Ceremonial Guard consist of more than a year round planning staff that is filled-out in the summer?
• The Army Reserve does not have Construction Engineers.  Like maintainers, this is difficult to support from a skills/training perspective.
• What does a Engr Sp Tp do in the Reserve?  Is this Hy Eqpt, ROWPU, a bridge train or something else?
• What does a PRes Dental Coy do?  It would not be Army Reserve if it were to exist.
• What do 3x IA Coys do?
• What does a Foreign Military Training Coy do?
• What does a Recruiting Coy do (especially when concentrated in a single geographic location)?

 

[Old Sweat]

MCG

Indeed, this order of battle seems predicated on providing what? Could it mobilize a what? How many individual augmentees could it produce for a prolonged operation with several rotos?

 

[Kirkhill]

His wrist watch was much, much nicer then mine will ever be!

MedCorps - the role of the consultant is to look at your watch and tell you what the time is....

Isn't that right D&B?  >

 

[Oldgateboatdriver]

Pardon my ignorance, as I confess here being a seaman, but ... a whole company of meteorologists??? WTF ???

I mean Metoc Halifax and Esquimalt each keep tab on the weather over half the planet, with a staff of about 15 each.

Is there something I don't get here ?

 

[Old Sweat]

The Met Company would probably provide ballistic met detachments to the artillery, including down to the detached troop level. I am not competent to state an opinion whether it is required or not, as I practiced my gunnery in the fifties to the seventies.

 

[MedCorps]

So I got the first batch of answers with the promise to have the rest tomorrow.  Here is what I have:

---START---

Indeed, this order of battle seems predicated on providing what? Could it mobilize a what? How many individual augmentees could it produce for a prolonged operation with several rotos?
---

This organizational structure is predicated on:
1) providing a qualified individual back-fill or augmentation to the Reg F be it on exercise, deployment, sick leave, mat-pat leave
2) generating (mobilizing) section to platoon (max) level formations for exercises and possibly deployments
3) generating (mobilizing) platoon level formations of "general support troops" for domestic response tasks. If you get more then a platoon to respond to the call-out for a domestic crisis then great, but plan on a platoon (30% +/-) of your Coy-sized unit. I am under the impression that many reservists are in critical jobs (police, fire, etc) and cannot respond as part of the Res F requirement and/or cannot just drop their normal jobs (doctor, CEO, self-employed) to run off at no-notice when the reserves are called out domestically. I could be wrong. 

The Res F needs to get away from the concept that it will deploy or exercise anything larger than a platoon.

How many individual augmentees can this structure provide for prolonged rotos?.  Excellent question.  How many can the current 4 Cdn Div produce? Does anyone really know? Seems like an unmeasurable metric.

---
• 6 x Maint Coys sounds very ambitious to support from a skills/training perspective.
---

This is to address what I am told is a problem, the Res F having to rely totally on the Reg F for equipment maintenance and being the "poor step-brother".  A Maint Coy would ideally attract people with civilian vocational training in the field they are employed in the reserve. They would concentrate on vehicle repair, towing operations and weapons repair. Maybe less comprehensive occupations need to be made for Res F versus Reg F in these areas. 

The coy tasks would be:

1) provide qualified maintenance individuals to back-fill or augment the Reg F be it on exercise, deployment, sick leave, mat-pat leave. Especially in the summer.

2) Field two or three of each vehicle repair, tow truck, weapons repair teams (I have seen these referred to as light aid detachments / mobile repair teams) for exercise or deployment.

3) Provide support to other reserve units in garrison. Especially for the Maint Coys in Windsor (Close Support Tn Coy) and Hamilton (Medical Unit), but also for other units where weapons and vehicles could be sent. 

4) Provide support to the EME School / Base EME for the Maint Coy in Barrie.

I find it odd that Maint is grouped with Log in the Service Bn in the current Res F structure. They seem to get forgotten about in the Res F because of this (I suspect most of the Svc Bns are led by Logistics Officers).  They need to be separated out.  I was also amazed by the training lengths to get someone qualified.  I do not know the answer to this, but someone needs to figure this out if Maint is going to work in the Res F. 

---
• Does the proposed Ceremonial Guard consist of more than a year round planning staff that is filled-out in the summer?
---

I did not know that CG was not full all year. Their website is misleading. I would suggest they have a standing cadre and standing full ceremonial band for NCR use (there must be all sorts of functions in the capital) and then fill out the guard and band for the busy summer season. Maybe by having a standing band, redundancy could be found in the Ottawa Reg F band? 

----
• What does a Recruiting Coy do (especially when concentrated in a single geographic location)?
---

Should have read Recruiting Platoon, my error. A 4 Div HQ asset.  Co-located with your National Recruiting HQ. They are personnel dedicated (part-time) to respond to shortfall in units. They design and distribute targeted regional advertising within the 4 Div area. Can do roadshows on the weekends (Lots of units within a 3 hour radius of Borden), again in a targeted manner. The backup to the unit recruiting cell. For instance, the Maint Coy Sudbury short mechanics?  Then they would come up with a solution to target mechanic students at the local community college and licensed mechanics in local heavy equipment shops.  MP Coy needs recruits, they would target police officers in Brantford / Simcoe / St Catharine's / Welland and those people in similar type civilian occupations.  They would also run yearly(?) training for unit recruiting staff in 4 Div. The Pl would be made up of people who have worked in the National Recruiting HQ or in a Recruiting Centre, Personnel Selection Officers, or who have training in civilian media, social media, marketing, graphic design or advertising. 
---

Looking forward to replying more.  Thank you for the interest.  I hope I have not offended anyone.  This has been educational (and fun) for me! 

--- END ---

Cheers,

MC

 

[daftandbarmy]

MedCorps - the role of the consultant is to look at your watch and tell you what the time is....

Isn't that right D&B?  >

Yes. And then give it back to you broken

 

[Kirkhill]

Yes. And then give it back to you broken

I generally prefer to leave it on the client's wrist - maybe that is why KPMG charges more.

 

[MedCorps]

The next round of answers.  More to follow as he missed some of the questions and I reminded him.

I have done a little editing for format and clarity.

MC.

---START---

----
• What does a PRes Postal Coy do?
----

A Res F Postal Coy:

1) provides qualified postal clerks / officers (?) to back-fill or augmentation to the Reg F be it on exercise, deployment, sick leave, mat-pat leave.  Especially during the summer employment period.

2) generating (mobilizing) up to three mobile military post offices for larger exercises and deployments. I suspect these are not large organizations in terms of personnel requirement.  It is my impression from some of my reading that the Reg F is starting to civilianize the military postal system and the Res F might help that process along. 

3) generating (mobilizing) a platoon sized formation of "general support troops" for domestic response tasks in the Brockville area.

4) generating subject matter experts for civil-military cooperation tasks where the GoC wants to “globally engage” a country to re-establish their civilian or military postal system post crisis or improve an existing postal system (delivery networks, parcel services, mail processing, physical delivery, customer engagement, commercial products and government postal policy). It is my impression from reading a few things that this is a new and upcoming area the CAF is becoming more interested in. This task requires special expertise and training both in mentoring, teaching and in providing foreign assistance. Canada Post is not in a position to deploy employees overseas (especially where unlimited liability is a factor) despite being part of the "Whole of Government" approach to global engagement.

---
• What does a PRes Ammo Coy do?
---

1) provides qualified ammunition technicians / ammunition officers to back-fill or augmentation to the Reg F be it on exercise, deployment, sick leave and mat-pat leave.

2) generating (mobilizing) a field ammo storage team and up to three EOD teams.

3) generating (mobilizing) a platoon sized formation of "general support troops" for domestic response tasks in the Brampton / Oakville / Georgetown area.

4) generating subject matter experts for civil-military cooperation tasks where the GoC wants to “globally engage” a country to re-establish their military ammunition storage system. It is my impression from reading a few things that this is a new and upcoming area the CAF is becoming more interested in. This task requires special expertise and training both in mentoring, teaching and in providing foreign assistance.

5) generating subject matter experts for deployment to teach civilians (especially children) in post-conflict area of the risks of mines and un-exploded munitions. 

6) Consideration could be given to establishing a standing ammo storage facility for the large number of Res F units in the Brampton / Oakville / Georgetown area.  This would be run by this Res F Coy and would save the drive to Borden.

---
• 5 x Med Coys also sound very ambitious to support from a skills/training perspective, and these are not Army Reserve.
---

They should be Army Reserve.  Not having your field medical support owned and tasked by the Army is strange. Not having some dedicated garrison medical support for the Res F is counter-productive given the business hours of the Res F vs. Reg F.  These Med Coys are all in areas where there are medical / nursing or paramedic schools (McMaster, U of O, U of T, Western).  Recruiting would be targeted on these civilian professionals. These units would also provide medical screening support to Res F units in area (or via a mobile road show) to conduct medical screening (which I am told the Reg F does poorly for the Res F). Deployment of these folks (like the recent Ebola) thing I think will be on the rise as part of the GoC “global engagement” movement. 

---
• 3 x Int Coys sounds like overkill (especially beside only 5 x Rifle Coys).
---

Units are not linked like they are now, so do not use ratios like 3 Int Coys to 5 Light Inf Coys as it does not matter as they will never deploy as a Bde. I read that the ASIC / Army Intelligence Regiment concept is the rage and it seems like the Reg F is sucking positions away from the combat arms to staff these large organizations.  Having 3 x Int Coys could help offset these Reg F position shifts.  It also seems like military intelligence world is well suited for reservists who may have a number of civilian occupations / education that would be useful to the military on a part-time basis. 

---
• The Army Reserve does not have Construction Engineers.  Like maintainers, this is difficult to support from a skills/training perspective.
---
I think they should have a Troop of these guys. It seems like a hole in the current establishment. 30 guys who do the skilled trades in their civilian Brick and Stone Mason, General Carpenter, Plumber, etc Monday to Friday then you would just need to learn and master the solider and leadership skills and learn the army way of doing construction engineering. Two weeks of training in the summer could be spent working on a base, etc learning the organizational culture while still doing your trade.

---
• What does a Engr Sp Tp do in the Reserve?  Is this Hy Eqpt, ROWPU, a bridge train or something else?
---

1) provides qualified combat engineers to back-fill or augmentation to the Reg F be it on exercise, deployment, sick leave, mat-pat leave.

2) generating (mobilizing) a ROWPU for exercises and deployments. 

3) generating (mobilizing) a section of "general support troops" for domestic response tasks in the Waterloo / St Thomas area.

4) generating subject matter experts (officers) for civil-military cooperation tasks where the GoC wants to “globally engage” a country using civil-engineering. This task requires special expertise and training both in mentoring, teaching and in providing foreign assistance.
This Tp has a foot print in Waterloo which has a big engineering school. 

---
• What does a PRes Dental Coy do?  It would not be Army Reserve if it were to exist.
---

They should be Army Reserve.  Not having field dental support currently owned Army is strange. It is also strange that Res F personnel do not get Reg F dental support when dental fitness is required for deployment I am told.

1) provides qualified dental technicians to back-fill or augmentation to the Reg F be it on exercise, deployment, sick leave, mat-pat leave.  You will never get a dentist to leave their civilian practice to do back-fill, especially given the rates of Res F pay.

2) generating (mobilizing) three mobile dental clinics for exercises and deployments.  These mobile clinics could also visit Res F units in 4 Cdn Div to conduct periodic dental examinations (and minor repairs) for Res F personnel.

3) generating (mobilizing) a platoon of "general support troops" for domestic response tasks in the Cambridge / Kitchener area. 

4) generating subject matter experts (officers) for civil-military cooperation tasks where the GoC wants to “globally engage” a country using dentistry. This task requires special expertise and training both in mentoring, teaching and in providing foreign assistance.

---END---

 

[Kirkhill]

MedCorps - It sounds like your contact took CFDS to heart - and also appears to be reacting to what could be described as an "anything but bullets" foreign policy.

 

[FJAG]

Indeed, this order of battle seems predicated on providing what? Could it mobilize a what? How many individual augmentees could it produce for a prolonged operation with several rotos?

I haven't posted in this thread for some time but have been following it and the recent efforts that MedCorps and his "consultant" went through does show the problem you get into when self-acknowledged non-experts start playing numbers games - one ends up playing with details rather than setting out the fundamental principles that should apply.

Here's my shot at some principles:

1.  We need to acknowledge that we are not going to do World War 2 mobilization ever again and therefore we do not need 100 man battalions led by LCols and battalion staff. Whatever structure we adopt should as a starting point be based on fully manned and appropriately staffed establishments;

2.  We need to determine if, in the event of an operational deployment, we will, in appropriate circumstances, "call up" reservists or simply ask for volunteers. The actual structure of our total force will very much depend on determining this willingness and perhaps setting the threshold when we will use "call ups" (and making any legislative/regulatory adjustments necessary to make this process effective);

3.  The fundamental role of reservists should remain the concept of adding "breadth and depth" to the regular forces. "Breadth" constitutes providing individuals and units/subunits that do not exist as part of the regular forces; "Depth" constitutes providing additional individuals and units/subunits that already exist in the regular force but which may be in insufficient numbers or to provide casualty replacement or follow on rotations;

4.  There needs to be a realistic appraisal of what branches of the military should be regular, reserve or mixed units based on the likelihood they will need to be immediately deployed. As an example, there is only a moderate need within our peace-time army for armoured crewman or artillerymen as in most situations they will not deploy immediately. On the other hand, a standing force of various infantry battalions seem necessary for rapid deployment. In my mind this leads to several likely scenarios:

4a.  Rapid deployment forces need all their organic elements as part of the regular force (for example infantry battalions need their integral mortars and service support. If we accept compulsory call-up then some of these can be reservists, but if so should they should be hat-badged and be on the establishment of the battalion);

4b.  Follow on combat forces such as armoured, artillery and engineer regiments should most likely be mixed organizations with core leadership and technically advanced skills being regular force while the remained are reservists. (again all personnel would be on strength so that the total of all regulars and reservists equal a full establishment);

4c.  Support forces (transport, maintenance, CIMIC, etc etc) need to be rigorously reviewed to determine those whose principle role is day-to-day support of the CF and those only required for operational deployments and designated regular or reserve as appropriate;

4d.  All forces, regular and reserve, designated for deployment purposes must be fully equipped. In this respect Canada must determine and designate what is the appropriate maximum force we will ever deploy operationally and acquire sufficient equipment for 1) deployment; 2) for casualty replacement; and 3) for an additional pool of training stocks;

4e.  Recruiting and manning for reservists should be above 100% of establishment level to allow for attrition and troops in basic training.

I think that will do for starters and re-rolling units and re-badging individuals can wait until those issues are settled. There are a few attitude adjustments necessary:

1.  The regular force needs to accept that they can't afford to protect their PY rice bowls much longer and that the only way to have an effective large scale force is to convert more of their massive regular force pay envelope for a more numerous, better equipped, and better trained reserve force;

2.  The regular force needs to re-evaluate training standards across the board. We've become so risk adverse that we've lost the concept of what a given soldier's "must knows, should knows, and could knows" actually are and how training should be delivered - reservists can spend significantly shorter durations on courses if we eliminate the chaff and train six days per week and 10-12 hours per day.

3.  Reservists must accept that there will be an across the board reduction in units and re-badging and re-rolling. Fully manned units must be cap badged and uniformed the same (whether a western reserve infantry battalion has a company nicknamed the Calgary Highlanders is immaterial) - while there are initial morale issues in the short term eventually (after the old sweats die out - no pun intended OldSweat) the morale level of a fully formed and equipped battalion will far exceed that of our current situation.

My  :2c:

:cheers:

 

[MedCorps]

And the last installment

MC

---START---

---
• What do 3x IA Coys do?
---

I think the Army / Res F has done a poor job at developing the concept of Influence Activities. These organizations would do psychological operations, deception, public affairs and CIMIC for the Div.


The IA Coy:

1) provides IA NCOs and Officers to back-fill or augmentation to the Reg F be it on exercise, deployment, sick leave, mat-pat leave.  Especially during the summer employment period.

2) each unit would generate (mobilizing) a tactical psychological operations team, public affairs team, CIMIC team and a small cadre of HQ Information Operations Coordinating Centre officers for exercises and deployments.

3) generating (mobilizing) a platoon sized formation of "general support troops" for domestic response tasks in their respective areas.


---
• What does a Foreign Military Training Coy do?
---

This unit would be specialists at training foreign armies in basic solider skills, a well defined list of specialty solider skills, and low-level NCO / Officer leadership. For specially solider skills I might suggest (stole from a US publication – driving training, section tactics, shooting, crew served weapons, first aid and sensitive site exploitation.)

They are part of the GoC government of Canada engagement strategy.  It is a capability that I think is unique enough to warrant having a small cadre of dedicated personnel and a unique skills set not existing in the Army (it does seem like your SOF is doing a lot of this stuff though, even when the Army could do it if they had trained people).  These guys are not only experts at the skills they teach but experts at cultural engagement, use of interpreters, and evalating the requirement for foreign military assistance training.

This Coy would be tasked to:

1) provide NCOs and Officers to back-fill or augmentation to the Reg F be it on exercise, deployment, sick leave, mat-pat leave.  They would concentrate backfill at your national leadership and recruit school, divisional training centre and national combat training centre. 

2) the unit would generate (mobilizing) a up to three training teams (Common Solider Skills, Leadership, Specialty Solider Skills) for deployments.

3) generating (mobilizing) a platoon sized formation of "general support troops" for domestic response tasks in the Chatham area. 
4) Assist in the running of Div weekend basic training and specialty soldier skill courses.

---
a whole company of meteorologists???
---

Yes, a company. 

Well... meteorological technicians with a few meteorologists as officers (not sure if exist in the Reg F?).

Remembering that you are likely only ever going to force generate for exercise / deployment three meteorological sections from this company.  These sections will provide meteorological data to artillery formations that requires it for the correction for firing and locating and in the ASICs. 

Otherwise it will provide individual augmentation to tri-service meteorological units, the meteorological school, ASICs, nuclear, biological chemical warfare coordinating centres, UAV operations, tactical helicopter units, and Reg F artillery units that hold standing meteorological sections.

---END---

 

[daftandbarmy]

Well, Uncle Rick has it all figured out: we'll just become part of the CBSA

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-election-2015-rick-hillier-refugees-military-christmas-1.3225732


At least we've got a chance for some PR coverage as part of their TV program  ;D

 

[daftandbarmy]

And the last installment

MC

---START---

---
• What do 3x IA Coys do?
---

I think the Army / Res F has done a poor job at developing the concept of Influence Activities. These organizations would do psychological operations, deception, public affairs and CIMIC for the Div.


The IA Coy:

1) provides IA NCOs and Officers to back-fill or augmentation to the Reg F be it on exercise, deployment, sick leave, mat-pat leave.  Especially during the summer employment period.

2) each unit would generate (mobilizing) a tactical psychological operations team, public affairs team, CIMIC team and a small cadre of HQ Information Operations Coordinating Centre officers for exercises and deployments.

3) generating (mobilizing) a platoon sized formation of "general support troops" for domestic response tasks in their respective areas.


---
• What does a Foreign Military Training Coy do?
---

This unit would be specialists at training foreign armies in basic solider skills, a well defined list of specialty solider skills, and low-level NCO / Officer leadership. For specially solider skills I might suggest (stole from a US publication – driving training, section tactics, shooting, crew served weapons, first aid and sensitive site exploitation.)

They are part of the GoC government of Canada engagement strategy.  It is a capability that I think is unique enough to warrant having a small cadre of dedicated personnel and a unique skills set not existing in the Army (it does seem like your SOF is doing a lot of this stuff though, even when the Army could do it if they had trained people).  These guys are not only experts at the skills they teach but experts at cultural engagement, use of interpreters, and evalating the requirement for foreign military assistance training.

This Coy would be tasked to:

1) provide NCOs and Officers to back-fill or augmentation to the Reg F be it on exercise, deployment, sick leave, mat-pat leave.  They would concentrate backfill at your national leadership and recruit school, divisional training centre and national combat training centre. 

2) the unit would generate (mobilizing) a up to three training teams (Common Solider Skills, Leadership, Specialty Solider Skills) for deployments.

3) generating (mobilizing) a platoon sized formation of "general support troops" for domestic response tasks in the Chatham area. 
4) Assist in the running of Div weekend basic training and specialty soldier skill courses.

---
a whole company of meteorologists???
---

Yes, a company. 

Well... meteorological technicians with a few meteorologists as officers (not sure if exist in the Reg F?).

Remembering that you are likely only ever going to force generate for exercise / deployment three meteorological sections from this company.  These sections will provide meteorological data to artillery formations that requires it for the correction for firing and locating and in the ASICs. 

Otherwise it will provide individual augmentation to tri-service meteorological units, the meteorological school, ASICs, nuclear, biological chemical warfare coordinating centres, UAV operations, tactical helicopter units, and Reg F artillery units that hold standing meteorological sections.

---END---

So .I assume that you will now send him your invoice for the number of hours you have invested in replying to his asinine questions X $250 USD/ hour, right?  :nod:

 

[a_majoor]

It is pretty horrifying to see what a crapshow IA has become. While everyone acknowledges that IA as a concept and capability is useful and even decisive (see Russia, or ISIS for two top notch examples), IATF has essentially devolved to a training aid for the IA coys and the IA coys are like every other reserve "unit"; you never know who is showing up until you see who gets off the bus.

What is even worse is there seems to be no acknowledgement of lessons learned, for example in MR13 the coy was so ineffectual and virtually un integrated in the Bde, so we went all out to change how things were done for MR 14 (including setting up the IACC from IATF full time assets so we could train and integrate for virtually a full year before MR), which was successful, only to see 2 Div entirely disregard the lesson and set themselves up for failure in MR 15. An entirely different approach yet again seems to be in development for MR 16...

WRT how it should be done, I am looking at the UK's 77 Brigade, which has an almost 50/50 split between full and part time elements. The full time is important because this provides continuity and corporate knowledge, as well as a Roto 0 capability and the ability to undertake research and development of the capabilities. The part time elements provide the "surge" capabilities and manning for follow up Rotos. The 77 Bde model provides an outline as to how *we* could actually create an IA capability.

Of course we also need to actually resource it and employ it (NO IA troops from IATF have deployed or are going to OP Impact or to support the activities in Ukraine, for example, and there was no representation in other post Afghanistan actions like Lybia, which means our skills and experience in using IA in a war fighting context is rapidly fading), and I see a danger in Canadian IA eventually becoming irrelevant in terms of being a "value added" organization for the CAF, despite the very real value IA adds to the modern battlespace.

 

[quadrapiper]

Here's my shot at some principles:

2.  We need to determine if, in the event of an operational deployment, we will, in appropriate circumstances, "call up" reservists or simply ask for volunteers. The actual structure of our total force will very much depend on determining this willingness and perhaps setting the threshold when we will use "call ups" (and making any legislative/regulatory adjustments necessary to make this process effective);

Is the Naval Reserve Division an alternate model worth considering - entirely force-generation, without even the pretense of being any kind of "field" or fighting formation?