Seeking advice regarding commitment as a Reservist.

[21trucker]

Good day all,
Putting some feelers out there on other people's thoughts on my situation.
I have recently begun another "job" which requires me to be away from my unit the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month. I'm able to participate in all other unit training,  including weekends. I have essentially been given an ultimatum,  us or them. I uunderstand your not effective at 50%, but with weekends, i am well above that .
Thoughts?

 

[RedcapCrusader]

Is it your unit telling you "us or them" or your employer? If it's your employer - that's illegal - they hired you knowing that you are a Reservist and the commitment required. If your unit is telling you to choose it's slightly unprofessional but if you are falling into the realms of NES (which can lead to release) but not abnormal.

I work a 4-on 4-off rotation of 2 days 2 nights. Some months I only get to go in on 1 Wednesday. Some months I get to go.in all of them. Same for weekend training.

 

[21trucker]

Unit. I can understand if go nes, but I'm not there. They still have me the other Wednesday nights, plus weekends. As well, I'm told i'm a valuable (20+ years) member of the unit.

 

[X Royal]

If your unit told you that it's complete BS.
Quit your civilian job for a Class A position. :
This BS in the past has cost the Reserves many good members.
Civilian jobs are not only a 9 to 5 Mon-Fri exclusively timetable anymore & have not been for years.
Usually when a unit goes this route it is because the policy is being controlled by the Reg Force members  posted to the Reserve unit.
In the past I was told when working Fri until midnight unless I could be on the bus at 8 PM I could not go on the weekend EX even if I reported to the training area on my own time & dime.
For a Reserve unit to be functional it also has to be flexible.

 

[chrisf]

Unless you were marched in front of the CO and told this, then somone in your chain of command is talking out of their ***. If you were marched in front of your CO and told then, then your CO was talking out of their ***.

Missing a parade night will not make you NES, missing every second parade night will not make you NES.

With 20+ years of experience, you are valuble to your unit, definitely valuable enough that 50% attendance is acceptable given the circumstances...

I'm in a "similar" situation... I work away on a rotational basis, and I miss 50% unit training because of it... and while I'm at home, if the plans for the parade night are mundane, or dare I say it, pointless, and I'd rather have the evening off, then I take the evening off...

I do manage to make it to enough training that I'm not NES, and I do still show up for exercises when I'm home, and any useful training... I'm well aware that I have enough experience that I'm "valuable" to my unit... and if anyone every tried to make a threat like that to me, I'd happily call their bluff, and release... there's plenty of room in my RRSPs this year for my severance money, and I stopped depending on reserve money to pay my bills years ago.

I've seen similar situations before... if a bag-of-hammers misses training on a regular basis, no one says a damned thing... if a keen motivated troop misses one training evening, they get dragged in and called down to the dirt... if my chain of command tried that with me, I'd quit, just out of spite.

 

[Haggis]

I call bollocks on your unit.

As outlined in CF Mil Pers Instruction 20-04 para 3.12 a, in order to remain effective (i.e not NES) you must parade a minimum of once in each 30 day period during which time no fewer than three "duty periods" (parade nights, exercises etc.) were conducted by the unit.

That's also why no one can be declared NES over the summer stand down when units don't meet the "three parades in a month" requirement.

 

[21trucker]

I'd like to add that I have a longstanding  job during the week. This all started in January when I decided to serve my community. Initially there was no issue, then I had to cancel some weekends with the unit, to attend training with this new "job". One of which was a C of C parade.

 

[blackberet17]

... then I had to cancel some weekends ... One of which was a C of C parade.
[/quote]

Oops. That is a bit of a biggie...

Now, I'm not in the 20+ years, but if your a** is covered by a memo detailing the reasons for the absences, and you are in constant/consistent comms with your highers...I'd say go to the next person in your CoC and see what's up.

 

[chrisf]

That's not a biggie, its barely a smallie... got to make a living, and if the militia isn't paying the bills then the chain of command is just going to have to live with the fact that standing up and playing toy soldier back drop to a back patting session isn't worth loosing a civilian job that pays the bills.

Reality is, for a reservist with a full time job, 50% attendance is pretty good, particularly if they have their trades courses completed.