I have observed this with interest. Full Militia Bull: as a recent former COS of 38 CBG (in LFWA) my take is that while your unit certainly faces some problems that are common to all Res units at one time or another (and were common when I was a Militia Inf soldier 1974-1982), there are some indications of a severe lack of organization and will, possibly at Bde. (But then, I should be careful, as I don't know the entire picture, and the Bde staff aren't here to defend themselves...). I'm particularly surprised by your statement that the unit parades only on alternate Tuesday nights. Is this budget-driven? How is the unit meeting the mandated number of training days? In 38 CBG we had a few units who altered their parading schedules (generally to take into account the distances that many soldiers must travel to get to their units in SK, MB and NWON) but I am not aware that any made such a drastic reduction. One armoury parade weekend might be exchanged for two parade nights, but the total amount of time remained the same or was slightly more.
As for training activities, I can safely say that during my tenure (2002-2005) soldiers in 38 CBG took part in all of the types of training you described. Some was run by LFWA (such as adventure trg in the Rockies), some by Bde, and some by units (LSSR and 18 Svc Bn participated in a joint ex that included boat ops). Units were encouraged to make use of local facilities where it was safe and intelligent to do so. As I was leavving we were commencing planning for a spring exercise in and around the city of Winnipeg, using a "Three Block War" scenario but focussing at the platoon/coy levels.
As for the accompanying (and apparently immortal...) Regs vs Res argument...well, I guess it will go on for as long as we still have two components with their own problems and interests. The move by the CDS to break down the transition between the two components, as well the initial signs of willingness to think rationally in the Res about restructure, may lead us to something totally different from what we have grown up with. My only caveat (as I have expressed on other posts) is that any move to turn the Res into a version of the 1960's Civil Defense is misplaced. If we need more volunteer firemen and police reservists, then give the money to the appropriate governments to get on with it.
The Res exists to give us an additional capacity. Let's not be so myopic as to think that just because the last few decades have not seen Canada engage in a major conflict that required an expansion capability, that somehow we are guaranteed that history will continue to unfold in a comfortable and familiar way. Slicing the Army Res off and relegating it to sand bag filling or giving out soup and blankets may seem like a good short term move, but once we have destroyed whatever capability the Res represents, it will be very, very hard to restore it.
Maybe the most important thing about Res soldiers is not their skills (which can be taught, as we know...) but their mentality: they represent a group of Canadians who have decided that, in addition to leading their civilian lives, they are willing to take a direct part in the affairs of this country, includig by risking their lives if necessary. In this way I see them as much like the traditional volunteer firefighter, who is willing to risk his life to protect his community, but does it as a secondary calling. Do we want to make the final disconnect that would be represented by relegating the Reserve in the way some have suggested?
The Reserve will only get better as more of its members go on ops. I saw this with my own two eyes: we now have Res Bde Comds, BRSMs and unit COs with op experience, not to mention lots of soldiers at more junior rank levels. So, they do NOT all rush off to the Reg F. The goal of increasing the military capability of the Res is an important one. If it means that, from time to time, we remove a RegF battery or company from the rotational schedule in order to deploy Reservists in their place, maybe that is the cost of achieving this goal. The better way is to do it with the Res component as an addition to the TF structure, and AFAIK this is how the Army intends to go under the Army Managed Readiness Program (I will admit to being about a year or so out of the loop on this)
Cheers