Posted by
"Gow" <[email protected]> on
Mon, 9 Oct 2000 23:57:32 -0400
I had an opportunity to read through some of the documentation released
on the wonderful 42 million being "invested" in the PRes Land element
this weekend. Its pretty sad. Close to tragic that command is so very
out of touch.
So all you lurkers that monitor this bb, take note as follows:
With very little time spent pondering, here would be a few of my
somewhat cynical questions:
1 The equipment on offer seems to be the sexy grenade launcher,
and the mundane 1/2 ton jeeps and 3 ton stakes. Once we get over the
grenade launcher, the sexy new toy that is the cheapest cop-out DND can
give which might not come with any great allocation of ammo what range
do you fire this thing on, anyways?..Like an RPG on an 84mm range? A
grenade range-I doubt- or what?. The "jeeps" and 3 tons, for arty,
infantry and armor units are of limited use, in integrating the PRes to
an efficient fighting force. Sigs/Navy/Air Force will be charmed with
getting these new toys. Can you hit a ship or an aircraft with a
grenade launcher?
2 "Removal of administrative burden" Ummmm what does that mean?
That you get Regular typists and adjudants to handle admin functions,
taking the PRes "out of the loop", and farming the cattle more
efficiently? Would this create a more efficient unit? Or simply create
a "Farm" environment that has no capability of operating as a formal
unit, and part of a true fighting force? A now deceased veteran Hon
LCol once told me, if the officers are any good, send them to Brigade,
or on Staff Courses if they cannot co-function on a staff level, they
are no use in the bigger picture. What does this paper tell us? That
will be denied, at a Reserve level. Just the Regs will get the goodies.
Some things do not change.
3 Enhancement of the enrolment procedure and emphasis on
Recruiting...again, ummm, ahhh...I did not see anything that was,
speaking as a sales and marketing type, attracting anybody new in. Nor
are the Regulars necessarily the best recruiters of reservists. I take
the point that allocation of unit assets limit what units could do on
their own. But that is the problem, and what‘s on offer is not a
solution.
4 I‘m not seeing any pay or benefits in this. That has long
crimped the PRes‘s appeal to the public. So why can‘t the minister
simply admit that the pay policy has been a cop out for a hundred years?
We won‘t get into the equipment cop out.
5 I‘m seeing no interest in the Sigs, the Navy or the Air
Reserves. Most ominously, the Sigs, which is where you could get some
real crossover skills. Again, my remarks on efficient cattle farming.
It makes me suspicious of what DND is shopping oooh-woo politically
correcting..."investing" for. Did I miss something? Probably not.
DND at an upper evel is very self serving for short term goals only.
This temporary one time funding spurt is about that. Give me the ten
year plan, please, before I have to buy in to say its sensible.
6 Ten grand per brigade is peanuts. Note the Air Force Geneal on
tonight‘s news bitching that the cost of gas at the pump is going to
cost him $24 million. Oh, gee, Art, your throwing TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS
oh my Christ, so much? can you afford it? into each BRIGADE! Oh my,
you really lay it on with a trowel, don‘t you? Personal taste and
preference is going to come into this at that command level, and certain
units are going to get the stick end. As ever and always. Or does
someone from DND wish to deny that their Reserve Brigade Generals do not
seem to be subject to audit?
A neat point, Minister...is your intent to put a commonality to this
funding, that every unit/sub unit gets equal funding? Or are you going
to kill off the wounded and rob the dead as you move through the
existing structure?
Again, where‘s the money for Sigs/Navy/Air Force?
7 I‘m personally terribly pleased that service of persons prior to
1993 is so well recognized. Bitter and twisted are‘t I? Twenty years
in my case that I give my weekends, put my personal life and schedule of
living subservient to DND‘s during week days -okay, part of the job, but
not recognized or acknowledged here Is this some way of saying
"Thanks"? We were trained, and worked bloody hard to the curriculum
that your NDHQ staff ordered your wording here dumps us into somewhere
that we would be reluctant to support or speak well of you. My deepest
thanks for your acknowledgement that I served as a waste of your timeand
budget. I‘ll make a point of placing my children in the same point of
honour with you.
8 Little if any mention of the parachute regulars to PRes command
slots, so evidentally it won‘t stop. Hard to evolve good senior ranks
in either officer or enlisted levels if there‘s no promotion, or the
system snatches your one chance..
9 The amalgamation is coming, and a number of units are going to
be shut down. They just don‘t say exactly when or where, but bet on it.
This paper is the confirmation. Can‘t think that a good thing, in my
opinion. Lose the "City" or "County" affiliation, and vastly deplete
the esprit de corps that we learned for hundreds of years of British
parent regiments. I‘ll grant the point there are nickles and dimes to
be saved there. Check out the concept of amalgamating Cal High with the
LER, yeah right! NSaskR with thr RRR, yes, that will be popular...go
right across the country with this gentlemen its the same all over.
10 "Formed sub units on call for a year"....might work in high
unemployment areas, probably no where else. Lack of pay, lack of
benefits, need for a career and separate civilian life...I can‘t see
this attracting the top end of the PRes, frankly. I can see more
"carrot and stick" scenarios, where units get rated on their abilities
to put people into these formed platoons and deploying them wherever. I
can see "involuntary" participants. Putting your "on call" year on the
resume isn‘t attracting any future employer, either, or was DND planning
to PAY the member for the whole year? Because nobody else is going to
employ them...
Okay, all right, I‘m a bad tempered old dinosaur, and certainly no
officer or great man manager. Nor do I know how the Forces can get out
of the hole they, and their political masters, have been digging for the
past three decades.
I just think something smells a lot more than needs be said about the
whole thing.
What say you?
John
I had an opportunity to read through some of the
documentation
released on the wonderful 42 million being "invested" in the PRes Land
element
this weekend. Its pretty sad. Close to tragic that command
is so
very out of touch.
So all you lurkers that monitor this bb, take note
as
follows:
With very little time spent pondering, here would
be a few
of my somewhat cynical questions:
1 The equipment on offer seems
to be the
sexy grenade launcher, and the mundane 1/2 ton jeeps and 3 ton
stakes.
Once we get over the grenade launcher, the sexy new toy that is
the
cheapest cop-out DND can givewhich might not come with any
great
allocation of ammo what range do you fire this thing on,
anyways?..Like an
RPG on an 84mm range? A grenade range-I doubt- or what?.
The
"jeeps" and 3 tons, for arty, infantry and armor units are of limited
use, in
integrating the PRes to an efficient fighting force.
Sigs/Navy/Air Force
will be charmed with getting these new toys. Can you hit a ship
or an
aircraft with a grenade launcher?
2 "Removal of administrative
burden" Ummmm what does that mean? That you get Regular
typists
and adjudants to handle admin functions, taking the PRes "out of the
loop",
and farming the cattle more efficiently? Would this create a
more
efficient unit? Or simply create a "Farm" environment that has
no
capability of operating as a formal unit, and part of a true fighting
force? A now deceased veteran Hon LCol once told me, if the
officers are
any good, send them to Brigade, or on Staff Courses if they cannot
co-function on a staff level, they are no use in the bigger
picture.
What does this paper tell us? That will be denied, at a Reserve
level. Just the Regs will get the goodies. Some things do
not
change.
3 Enhancement of the enrolment
procedure
and emphasis on Recruiting...again, ummm, ahhh...I did not see
anything that
was, speaking as a sales and marketing type, attracting anybody new
in.
Nor are the Regulars necessarily the best recruiters of
reservists. I
take the point that allocation of unit assets limit what units could
do on
their own. But that is the problem, and what‘s on offer is not a
solution.
4 I‘m not seeing any pay or
benefits in
this. That has long crimped the PRes‘s appeal to the
public. So
why can‘t the minister simply admit that the pay policy has been a cop
out for
a hundred years? We won‘t get into the equipment cop
out.
5 I‘m seeing no interest in the
Sigs, the
Navy or the Air Reserves. Most ominously, the Sigs, which is
where you
could get some real crossover skills. Again, my remarks on
efficient
cattle farming. It makes me suspicious of what DND is shopping
oooh-woo
politically correcting..."investing" for. Did I miss
something?
Probably not. DND at an upper evel is very self serving for
short term
goals only. This temporary one time funding spurt is about
that.
Give me the ten year plan, please, before I have to buy in to say its
sensible.
6 Ten grand per brigade is
peanuts.
Note the Air Force Geneal on tonight‘s news bitching that the cost of
gas at
the pump is going to cost him $24 million. Oh, gee, Art, your
throwing
TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS oh my Christ, so much? can you afford it?
into
each BRIGADE! Oh my, you really lay it on with a trowel, don‘t
you? Personal taste and preference is going to come into this at
that
command level, and certain units are going to get the stick end.
As ever
and always. Or does someone from DND wish to deny that their
Reserve
Brigade Generals do not seem to be subject to audit?
A neat point, Minister...is your intent to put a
commonality
to this funding, that every unit/sub unit gets equal funding? Or
are you
going to kill off the wounded and rob the dead as you move through the
existing structure?
Again, where‘s the money for Sigs/Navy/Air
Force?
7 I‘m personally terribly
pleased that
service of persons prior to 1993 is so well recognized. Bitter
and
twisted are‘t I? Twenty years in my case that I give my
weekends, put my
personal life and schedule of living subservient to DND‘s during week
days-okay, part of the job, but not recognized or acknowledged
here Is this some way of saying "Thanks"? We were
trained,
and worked bloody hard to the curriculum that your NDHQ staff ordered
your
wording here dumps us into somewhere that we would be reluctant to
support or
speak well of you. My deepest thanks for your acknowledgement
that I
served as a waste of your timeand budget. I‘ll make a point of
placing
my children in the same point of honour with you.
8 Little if any mention of the
parachute
regulars to PRes command slots, so evidentally it won‘t stop.
Hard to
evolve good senior ranks in either officer or enlisted levels if
there‘s no
promotion, or the system snatches your one chance..
9 The amalgamation is coming,
and a
number of units are going to be shut down. They just don‘t say
exactly
when or where, but bet on it. This paper is the
confirmation.
Can‘t think that a good thing, in my opinion. Lose the "City" or
"County"affiliation, and vastly deplete the esprit de corps that
we
learned for hundreds of years of British parent regiments. I‘ll
grant
the point there are nickles and dimes to be saved there. Check
out the
concept of amalgamating Cal High with the LER, yeah right!
NSaskR with
thr RRR, yes, that will be popular...go right across the country with
this
gentlemen its the same all over.
10 "Formed sub units on call
for a
year"....might work in high unemployment areas, probably no where
else.
Lack of pay, lack of benefits, need for a career and separate civilian
life...I can‘t see this attracting the top end of the PRes,
frankly. I
can see more "carrot and stick" scenarios, where units get rated on
their
abilities to put people into these formed platoons and deploying them
wherever. I can see "involuntary" participants. Putting
your "on
call" year on the resume isn‘t attracting any future employer, either,
or was
DND planning to PAY the member for the whole year? Because
nobody else
is going to employ them...
Okay, all right, I‘m a bad tempered old dinosaur,
and
certainly no officer or great man manager. Nor do I know how the
Forces
can get out of the hole they, and their political masters, have been
digging
for the past three decades.
I just think something smells a lot more than
needs be said
about the whole thing.
What say you?
John
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