OK, just looking at this with little reflection- Realistically, each brigade, for the purpose of DOMOPS, summer brigade or area exercises, etc, tends to force generate a light infantry battalion. That, at least, has seemed to be the case in Ontario, and the Territorial Battalion Group seems to be slowly, awkwardly and painfully formalizing this. We have ten CBGs currently nationwide. Creating a reserve division with three reserve brigades, each of three infantry battalions plus atts and support would give us a realistic capability of FGing nine light infantry battalions based simply on who shows up, with substantially greater turnout if Order in Council compelled reserve callup. With the existing brigade structure most of the supporting arms exist in at least reasonable strength and with at least a portion of the necessary equipment.
We face, of course, that awkward and nefarious question of 'WTF does reserve armoured recce do?', but a deliberate reroling into tasks such as mobile force protection etc whilst remaining some mounted recce capabilities would not seem to be unreasonable. The RCA and Engineers naturally speak for themselves as brigade assets, and the service battalions and sigs regiments are already part of the existing CBG structure, and could augment the echelons of the light infantry formations, form the Bde HQ & Sigs, and on an ad hoc basis form the other CSS elements necessary.
Not that any of this would be *pretty*, but it appears rational.
Challenges: The regimental system. We in the reserves are extremely prickly about identity. Tactical groupings would need to be expanded and formalized. Regiments would need to be brute forced - based on proven force generation capability - to FG a specific portion of the composite. From my very low level view, again the TBGs seem to be accomplishing this already. Not every unit frankyl justifies a LCo commanding it. When the Fort Francis Foreskin Fusiliers parade a platoon and a half on Thursday nights, they ought to be sharing a CO and regimental HQ with the Queen's Own McKamikaze Highlanders and the Royal Regiment of Goatsherds in the next couple towns down the highway. Some regiments are successfully manning and administering multiple garrisons; if a number of currently independent units are administrative amalgamated into a battalion in such a manner, that just makes sense Units such as the Hast & PER and the R Nfld R give us ample opportunity to capture lessons on how this should best work. We should accept that under a rational structure some regimental identities ought to be perpetuated by companies rather than paper battalions. I do not see that such questions as colours, battle honours, and perpetuation ought to stand in the way of formations that simply make good bloody sense.
Of course, the big question at the end of the day is whether this is a matter of administrative streamlining, saving PYs and the like, or whether this is a force that in its established structure would be intended and expected to be called up partially or wholly. Ontario providing the cleanest example with our convenient three CBGs, I'd say that yes this could be a reasonable approach, at least for DOMOPS. Nothing jumps out at me as "This is f'ing stupid!" But I've been well above my pay grade since about the second sentence of this, so I'll leave it at that.
