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RCN Not Hiring New Reserve NWO

Calvillo

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I heard the scuttlebutt that the NAVRES is currently not hiring new NWO. Is that true? What about RegF? It is kind of weird that while the CAF in general is expanding, the Navy is not hiring new NWOs.
 
I heard the scuttlebutt that the NAVRES is currently not hiring new NWO. Is that true? What about RegF? It is kind of weird that while the CAF in general is expanding, the Navy is not hiring new NWOs.
It is complicated. The RCN is hiring NWOs, but…there is a pretty big training backlog, so they might not be adding very many NWOs in order to beat down the backlog.

Reserve NWOs are even more problematic for training…
 
When I retired last year, I was lead to believe that there were more than 200 reserve NWO waiting for training.
 
Reserve NWOs are even more problematic for training…

That, of course, is an entirely Reg force created problem: When the RCN decided that every body had to be trained to be a full Bridge Watch-keeping Officer, as opposed to being OK with Minor Warship Watch-keeper, it created a stream where reservists, being mostly available for four months a year, for three, maybe four years in a row at max, could not get all the training (NWO II to NWO V) and the time in service on ships, including the actual frigates, required to qualify. As less and less reserve officers qualified but stayed in to get "time" whenever they could muster a few weeks or a month here and there to get sea time, they accumulated and clogged up the system. Add to that the fact that you have a reduction in available platforms for everyone, including the reg force, and what you get is an ever increasing backlog.

There is, of course, a solution. Get some 600 to 750 tons OPV, lightly armed, with a crew of about 35 and extra room for 12 trainees (6 NWO and 6 other ranks) and designate them as Minor Warship, then make absolutely sure that they are for , and only for, reserve training and employment. the idea here is to generate a whole bunch of officers and engineers (sorry "other" trades in the reserve) that are competent basic mariners to operate these ships while imbued with the naval methods of the RCN, so that if war breaks out or mobilization is required, they can very quickly be brought up to reg force standards to fill the lower levels of the frigates officers and engineers needs, while the reg force personnel gets "promoted up" to fill the higher levels.
 
The Reg F has demonstrated, time and again, their inability to train and develop the workforce they need. Annuitant emploi, IREM, Res F in support of the Reg F and CRA extensions are all evidence of the ongoing failure of the Reg F to manage themselves.
 
That, of course, is an entirely Reg force created problem: When the RCN decided that every body had to be trained to be a full Bridge Watch-keeping Officer, as opposed to being OK with Minor Warship Watch-keeper, it created a stream where reservists, being mostly available for four months a year, for three, maybe four years in a row at max, could not get all the training (NWO II to NWO V) and the time in service on ships, including the actual frigates, required to qualify. As less and less reserve officers qualified but stayed in to get "time" whenever they could muster a few weeks or a month here and there to get sea time, they accumulated and clogged up the system. Add to that the fact that you have a reduction in available platforms for everyone, including the reg force, and what you get is an ever increasing backlog.

There is, of course, a solution. Get some 600 to 750 tons OPV, lightly armed, with a crew of about 35 and extra room for 12 trainees (6 NWO and 6 other ranks) and designate them as Minor Warship, then make absolutely sure that they are for , and only for, reserve training and employment. the idea here is to generate a whole bunch of officers and engineers (sorry "other" trades in the reserve) that are competent basic mariners to operate these ships while imbued with the naval methods of the RCN, so that if war breaks out or mobilization is required, they can very quickly be brought up to reg force standards to fill the lower levels of the frigates officers and engineers needs, while the reg force personnel gets "promoted up" to fill the higher levels.
While they are waiting on the OPV's they could lease this as a floating classroom SCRUTON MARINE - 72M Arctic Ice-Class Offshore Support & Research Vessel
 
Yes I know, hence the question. We really need a training vessel like the Kingstons to supplement the Orca's

Full circle here. The Orcas were originally to a basic supplementary training platform, with one of it's aims to allow for NavRes to man the MCDVs.
 
Full circle here. The Orcas were originally to a basic supplementary training platform, with one of it's aims to allow for NavRes to man the MCDVs.

That is incorrect. And it cannot even be correct chronologically: The Orca's were built and entered service seven years AFTER the last MCDV commissioned, and the MCDV were, until taken over by the reg force about five (not sure the exact time anymore) years ago, manned by naval reservists, so they didn't need the Orca's to allow them to do so.

The Orca's were built to replace the YAG's as the basic introductory vessel for officer training ( regular and reserve).

The MCDV were meant to replace three class of ships: The 6 PB's of the reg force, the Five Gate Vessels of the reserve, and the Fort Steele, also of the reserve.

The officer progression in those days (prior to the Orca's) was as follows:

Regular: YAG's for basic training, to PB's for advanced training, to Destroyer (the old steamers) for Watchkeeping certificate.
Reserve: YAG's for basic training, to PB's for advanced training, to Gate vessels for minor Warship watchkeeping certificate.

The primary problem with the replacement plan of getting the MCDV is that the Reg force wanted the reserve to man all twelve MCDV (double the number of ships) on a full time basis (three times the normal amount as reserve Gate vessels were manned full time for only four months a year). Basically, they were suddenly asking the reserve to multiply it's service at sea six folds. It obviously lead to the same reservist doing all the manning all the time (something derisively known as "perma-shading"), in other words, regulars disguised as reservists.

That's why it failed, and affected the true reservists morale in the bargain.

They then proceeded to screw up again in their attempt to fix the problem they created (my personal opinion here).
 
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