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Reconstitution

I was amazed at the people who, starting off on a Class A job, were only using it as a stepping stone to slide into a cushy Class B Sgt/WO/Capt/Maj perma-positions somewhere.

I had at least three CSMs go that route, and saw two other OC peers do the same.

Organizations like the Rangers, and CBG HQs, are stuffed full with them.
I'm a bit guilty of that.

I never liked those guys on can in Cl B at Mcpl and were still there (same office) on their ALP.

I took that shinny Cl B after Afg but, I made a point, a kinda line in the sand point to parade at the Regiment, like any other Cl A. Rarely took a compensatory at work, like a Cl A in is civvie job.
 
It's a managerial decision - where to manage payroll. In 38 CBG, they decided to manage all full time employment at the Bde level, to cross level where necessary and to accrue surplus funds due to vacancies at the Bde level to apply to Bde priorities, not unit.
 
I'm a bit guilty of that.

I never liked those guys on can in Cl B at Mcpl and were still there (same office) on their ALP.

I took that shinny Cl B after Afg but, I made a point, a kinda line in the sand point to parade at the Regiment, like any other Cl A. Rarely took a compensatory at work, like a Cl A in is civvie job.

Dude... some of the people I'm thinking about didn't GAF about anyone except themselves.

You seem to be more 'corporately minded', and hats off to you for that!
 
Until late 2008 I was tracking down to the L3 within the Army (and to the L1 level outside) the Army) where full-time reservists were employed, using analytics I was later told were impossible...


Data geek time: While Res F individuals are held on a wide array of positions that may or may not have any relationship with where they are employed, the employer is paying their salary (unlike the Reg F, where all pay is out of the same source). Therefore, since the Cost Centre information embedded in the pay data for a Res M member maps to an organizational entity, extracting that data point for each full time member shows where they are employed. That data transformation reports 95%+ of individuals, leaving a relatively small number of outliers to correct manually. Within the Army I could only go down to L3 (CBG) because 38 CBG managed their Class B funding at the Bde level (all other CBGs devolved pay to the unit level); for the sake of consistent comparison we were therefore restricted to drilling down two levels (not a bad thing).
How hard would it be or why not having the PRes pay comes from the same pot, like the RegF?
 
How hard would it be or why not having the PRes pay comes from the same pot, like the RegF?

Joe Biden GIF by Election 2020
 
How hard would it be or why not having the PRes pay comes from the same pot, like the RegF?
That would be a tremendous step backwards. Fundamentally different employment models between Reg F and Res F; if anything, we need more granular Reg F employment data which a modern pay system could deliver.

For example, it would be possible to delink Fund Centre and Cost Centre for Reg F pay; maintain C103 against a central fund centre, but allocate based on posting information to subordinate cost centres, thus identifying actual payroll costs for Reg F personnel at the unit / subunit level. Use a true HR system and not the abomination that is MM, and attach-postings etc would be captured.
 
That would be a tremendous step backwards. Fundamentally different employment models between Reg F and Res F; if anything, we need more granular Reg F employment data which a modern pay system could deliver.

For example, it would be possible to delink Fund Centre and Cost Centre for Reg F pay; maintain C103 against a central fund centre, but allocate based on posting information to subordinate cost centres, thus identifying actual payroll costs for Reg F personnel at the unit / subunit level. Use a true HR system and not the abomination that is MM, and attach-postings etc would be captured.
Spongebob Squarepants Smiling GIF
 
Great conversation about how to attract and retain cbt arms Ptes. How about we pay them a year's salary to learn to code, and unleash them to break the bonds of 1950s process. How about we offer our own soldiers exactly the same thing? Do we really need one more Armoured Recce Res Pte? Another medic that is not allowed to issue Aspirin? How about we recruit people with skills like HR, Engineering, Programming, Enterprise architecture, etc, and don't make them join in an entry level position?

Jesus Wept.
 
Great conversation about how to attract and retain cbt arms Ptes. How about we pay them a year's salary to learn to code, and unleash them to break the bonds of 1950s process. How about we offer our own soldiers exactly the same thing? Do we really need one more Armoured Recce Res Pte? Another medic that is not allowed to issue Aspirin? How about we recruit people with skills like HR, Engineering, Programming, Enterprise architecture, etc, and don't make them join in an entry level position?

Jesus Wept.
We do need both actually but are completely retarded on the later category.
 
Great conversation about how to attract and retain cbt arms Ptes. How about we pay them a year's salary to learn to code, and unleash them to break the bonds of 1950s process. How about we offer our own soldiers exactly the same thing? Do we really need one more Armoured Recce Res Pte? Another medic that is not allowed to issue Aspirin? How about we recruit people with skills like HR, Engineering, Programming, Enterprise architecture, etc, and don't make them join in an entry level position?

Jesus Wept.

It's been mentioned before on here, alot, but a 'SYEP-like' summer program targeting post-secondary students might work really well.
 
The CAF has expanded the APS to run May through September, but the reality that people with families don't want to move in the middle of the school year, or with no time to settle into a new place before school kicks off, makes it hard to significantly change when much of the APS churn happens.
Exactly.
I also suspect there might be some pushback if it resulted in a lot of the RegF army not getting to take summer leave.
What I was saying was that after you took away the folks leaving and coming on APS and the folks who were off on leave, there was always a percentage of folks left around who weren't on leave at that time and not posted that year. Their time was usually spent in unproductive administrative or make-work projects. It's that latter category that should be harnessed.

Mathematically (and I acknowledge its a lot messier than this, but purely mathematically) in the months of July and August if you take a 500 man battalion with 20% in the APS then you have 400 left with 200 taking up to a month's leave in July and a different 200 in August. That leaves 200 in July and a different 200 in August that are available for ... something. Essentially with planning, there are a net 200 members of the battalion available throughout the summer for taskings, maintenance, whatever.

🍻
 
It's been mentioned before on here, alot, but a 'SYEP-like' summer program targeting post-secondary students might work really well.
But not to join the forces we have now. To join the Forces we needed 5 years ago.

We need to stop with the Grunt = This is the Way BS.

We will find those people, or more exactly, they will find us. But we actually need to spend way less time trying to attract members of the wrestling / hockey / rugby team, and all of our time trying to attract (and retain) more members of the Coders Club or whatever the equivalent is. And our obvious bias towards the former drives away any hope of attracting the latter.

Diversity is not just about gender, race, ethnicity, and orientation.

We need diversity of needs, desires, experiences, lifestyles, what we value as individuals, and as an organisation. We need neurodiversity.

We can no longer make pitiful efforts to adjust the mono-culture to accept the diverse. We need to be diverse enough to accept the old mono-culture as a small but necessary subset of the wider culture.

Sheldon is the new Conan.

Conan is still necessary. But not the only answer - and in fact a very limited tool.

As some of you know, I was part and parcel of the "This is the Way" thing for multiple decades, and in my worst moments probably embodied it.

But the threat is existential, and we must adapt.

2 cents from a broken retired old dude
 
Great conversation about how to attract and retain cbt arms Ptes. How about we pay them a year's salary to learn to code, and unleash them to break the bonds of 1950s process. How about we offer our own soldiers exactly the same thing? Do we really need one more Armoured Recce Res Pte? Another medic that is not allowed to issue Aspirin? How about we recruit people with skills like HR, Engineering, Programming, Enterprise architecture, etc, and don't make them join in an entry level position?

Jesus Wept.
We really need both and should do both.

We could do so much more in the way of attracting people if we offered to supplement civilian educational costs for civilian qualifications when they are young and in addition provide them with full summer employment where they learn the military aspects of the job. It can work for mechanics, cooks, health care workers, heavy equipment operators, and yes coders and numerous other necessary skills.

Make it part of the obligatory service programs that can be worked off with some time in the RegF and/or some time in the PRes. A lot of those we can do with just paying tuition and expenses at universities and community colleges but no salary except during the summer military training. Cheaper than RMC.

🍻
 
But not to join the forces we have now. To join the Forces we needed 5 years ago.

We need to stop with the Grunt = This is the Way BS.

We will find those people, or more exactly, they will find us. But we actually need to spend way less time trying to attract members of the wrestling / hockey / rugby team, and all of our time trying to attract (and retain) more members of the Coders Club or whatever the equivalent is. And our obvious bias towards the former drives away any hope of attracting the latter.

Diversity is not just about gender, race, ethnicity, and orientation.

We need diversity of needs, desires, experiences, lifestyles, what we value as individuals, and as an organisation. We need neurodiversity.

We can no longer make pitiful efforts to adjust the mono-culture to accept the diverse. We need to be diverse enough to accept the old mono-culture as a small but necessary subset of the wider culture.

Sheldon is the new Conan.

Conan is still necessary. But not the only answer - and in fact a very limited tool.

As some of you know, I was part and parcel of the "This is the Way" thing for multiple decades, and in my worst moments probably embodied it.

But the threat is existential, and we must adapt.

2 cents from a broken retired old dude

My kids did robotics club for awhile.

It was 'Holy Crap' Awesome.... these are definitely the kids we need to try and attract into the CAF. And there are thousands of them, all across Canada.

Now, would I (a retired CAF member) ever offer to try to connect the CAF recruiting system up with these people? Nope, never. Not based on the people and approaches I've seen used in the fairly recent past, nor based on the torturous recruiting process we generally make people suffer through.

After all, I don't want loads of complete strangers to hate my guts ;)

About FIRST Canada​

FIRST® inspires young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.

Mission and Values​

The mission of FIRST® is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.

Our mission
Our mission is to inspire young people to pursue further studies and careers in the field of science, technology and engineering. Our vision is of a world which celebrates success in science, technology and engineering and in which young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes. We pursue our mission primarily through running robotics competitions for school-age students at the elementary, junior high school and senior high school level.

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We believe that as a society, we face enormous challenges and that to confront these challenges, we will need the full benefit of the energy, talent and dedication of our next generation of scientists, engineers and technologists. We believe that in any community, we encourage what we celebrate. When we celebrate success in sports, we motivate youth to excel in sports. When we celebrate success in entertainment and the arts, we motivate youth to excel as entertainers and artists.We believe it is important to celebrate, at the high school level and earlier, participation in and success in science, technology and engineering in order to inspire young people to pursue further studies and careers in these areas. We believe that our prosperity as a society is driven by our productivity. For our society to be as productive as it can be, it must be as innovative as it can be. Investing in programs that encourage young people to develop related skills is one of the most important investments our society can make.

Our values​

  • Gracious Professionalism™: We instill this value at every opportunity. We expect, require and reward on-field and off-field conduct that models the best values of professional respect and courtesy.
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  • judged awards: We make significant efforts to recognize and reward accomplishment, whether or not it is reflected in success on the playing field. We make it clear that our most prestigious awards are our judged awards. We deliberately seek judges of considerable standing and seniority (e.g., in the FRC context, university professors, engineering vice presidents) so that students know, when making presentations to such judges or when receiving an award from them, that the award is truly a meaningful one.
  • Indirect learning: Our mission is to inspire, not to formally educate, but participation in one of our events involves the application of a remarkable range of creative and analytical skills, as well as the development of valuable social intelligence skills. Students must learn to problem-solve collectively, as members of a team, while under constraints of time, cost, weight, size, game rules and regulations and other restrictions.
  • Learning from mentors: We believe that much valuable learning takes place when students work side to side with adult mentors who are taking time from their professional careers to share their knowledge of and enthusiasm for science, technology and engineering with students. We work hard to put strong mentoring relationships in place. We value mentors as teachers and as role models.
  • Respect for diversity, inclusion and volunteerism: Participating students fully reflect the diversity of contemporary Ontario society. Our program is volunteer-led and volunteer-delivered. Part of our mandate is to encourage more young women to consider careers in science, technology and engineering and we appear to be having some success in this regard.

 
Here's a bit of a similar but yet different idea.

Make more use of the RegF to train reservists in the summer months in the nature of the old Student Summer Employment Program but tailor it for both high school and university students in two month blocks. Change the first two month block so that in two months you'll not only complete the essentials of the BMQ but also see an introduction of the old soldier qualification and in the second two-month block complete a DP1 qualification.

If you want to create more animosity between the Regs and Res take the summer away from the Regs and tell them to go train the part timers. I cant see that going sideways at all.

I have to ask again, and maybe its a combat arms thing, but where is this mythical lay about all day in the Army guy ? If you're an MMT/Clerk/RCEME ect and you've nothing to do then you don't know what you're doing, and what you've done already, is probably a disaster.

Ah, summer leave, I've heard that's a thing.

"Ensure you have a work/life balance and take all your leave'
'make sure you cover off the other portfolios for the vacant positions until they are filled'
'ensure someone is there to cover your porfolio when you are off'
'what do you mean there is no POC while you are on leave?'
'...don't worry take your leave, we will call you if there is an emergency'

'hey, this isn't an emergency, but can you action this while you are leave?'

....'what do you mean you are burned out'?

The CAF is great for making being one deep and multi-hatted the status quo, then demanding more than you can give. I think the last time I didn't work on leave was 2020.

You're not alone. I consider it a burden/privilege of the rank, and I don't mind it at all under two conditions:

1) Its valuable work; and
2) I maintain the ability to make admin appointments during work hours.
 
I'm a bit guilty of that.

I never liked those guys on can in Cl B at Mcpl and were still there (same office) on their ALP.

I took that shinny Cl B after Afg but, I made a point, a kinda line in the sand point to parade at the Regiment, like any other Cl A. Rarely took a compensatory at work, like a Cl A in is civvie job.
You have to make sure to balance that. Militia units are notorious for abusing Cl B pers, especially the more short-term ones. I know some people who have basically worked two months straight without a day off.
 
You have to make sure to balance that. Militia units are notorious for abusing Cl B pers, especially the more short-term ones. I know some people who have basically worked two months straight without a day off.
That was a no go. It's hard to argues the voluntary side of Cl B when one of the top of the CoC comes in more then most Cl A. as a Cl B. However the rule was that if you want to contribute, we will give you a secondary task (mess admin, DUI, or any position they could do without causing them to burnout) and we didn't count on them to run the unit because they were full time. We rarely had any issue and most of the time, they were giving more than we asked. We wanted them on big events, Parade, mess dinner, etc.

We trusted them to give as much as they can and frankly, it was and still is very appreciated.
 
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