Divining the right role, capabilities, structure, and Regimental System for Canada's Army Reserves

[quadrapiper]

For domestic operations, how much is expected of the "local" reserve unit as far as taking charge of activities within their footprint?

 

[GR66]

It seems fairly easy to point out may instances where the Reserves as currently organized and equipped are not in a good position to do certain tasks.  The first question then should be what SHOULD the Reserves be asked to do?

I guess the first item on the list would be mass mobilization.  Is there a need for the CF to plan for and have an organizational structure to support mass mobilization of troops for overseas combat deployment?  By this I mean adding and deploying new major combat units (Battle Group sized and above) beyond the currently existing Reg Force units as opposed to augmentation (individual or sub-unit) of existing Reg Force units.

From the 1950's on both Military and Civilian leaders questioned the requirement for mass mobilization to increase the size of the military like we did during the two World Wars.  The logic being that in a major conventional war between nuclear-armed powers either the regular forces in being would halt an enemy attack forcing a negotiated settlement long before new units could be raised, trained, equipped and transported to the front...or the conflict would escalate to a nuclear confrontation making reinforcement of the conventional front irrelevant. 

Is that still true today?  Is there a realistic scenario where a greatly expanded Canadian field force could be required to engage in extended combat operations?  Would the Canadian public support mobilization for a regional conflict as opposed to a general war between NATO and Russia/China?  Would a major NATO vs Russia/China war last long enough without resolution/going nuclear to give us time to mobilize?  Would we have any hope of being able to equip and supply an expanded army beyond just maintaining our existing Regular forces in the field?

 

[Ostrozac]

Even if we needed to mass mobilize, does the plan have to be based on existing reserve units? We only ever did that once, in the Second World War. The CEF of the First World War was mostly built out of whole cloth, largely ignoring the existing militia structure. And the Special Force of the 50's was based on expanding the Regular Force for Korea and Germany, initially on a temporary basis, then becoming permanent.

If we needed another 4 infantry battalions, right now, would we build them in armouries in Toronto or Montreal? Or is it more likely that they will stand up in a tent city in Wainwright or Suffield or Fort Irwin?

And does our current regimental system hinder us in such a task? Probably. Regular and Reserve both. The Regular Force Regiments would probably fight to have 3 battalions, or 6, so that they could be equally assigned to The RCR, PPCLI and R22eR. (Even if the estimate showed that we needed 4). The Reserve Force Regiments would probably fight to have platoons force generated completely from individual units, but this may not fit well into the actual manning situation. So if one unit had three great warrant officers, only one would go, and if another unit had one warrant officer, he would be picked as a platoon WO by default.

Honestly, I see our reserve individuals as a great pool for manning a future Special Force battalion, if it is ever required, but I'm not sure that the reserve unit is the right skeleton to build such a mobilisation around.

 

[Remius]

One interesting model adopted here is the TBG concept.  Basically the CBG is tasked with forming two companies.  Unit integrity is maintained for the most part at the platoon level but some are mixed based on what the units provide.  Stronger units form the HQ and full platoons and weaker ones may only provide a few sections.  Training becomes collective in that weekend training is done as this formation for the training year up until and including the summer concentartion.  Troops are dagged as green as can be achieved.  Platoons and companies are ready formed for whatever they are needed for with the scope of domestic ops and if needed could be mobilised for work up for whatever the flavour of the day would be.

Reservists not tasked fill other roles like battle school instruction or act as a reserve for the TBG which may have to find back fills.

So the expectation isn't to have Unit X fill a full company but contribute  something solid to a construct that is a combined effort of all units and forms a more flexible, ready formed body when needed.

A work in progress but a shift in mentality that might be exploited and developped into something better than the status quo.  The current reserve system/units would essentially become holding and recruiting units, IBTS stuff and what not,  with the TBG construct become the main effort for training.  And soldiers could move back and forth every year given the demands of civilian life.

 

[daftandbarmy]

For domestic operations, how much is expected of the "local" reserve unit as far as taking charge of activities within their footprint?

Sometimes: a lot. The Fires of 2003 were well attended by hundreds of reservists in BC, for example

Sometimes: not so much, especially during something like an earthquake where families are severely impacted

 

[GR66]

This is why I ask the question.  How do you divine "the right role, capabilities, structure, and Regimental System for Canada's Army Reserves" without first defining what is realistically expected of the organization.  While full-scale mobilization is (hopefully) the least likely thing that the Reserves will ever be asked to do, is it not still one of it's official roles? (“The role of the Army Reserve is to provide the framework to mobilize, augment and sustain the Canadian Forces and serve as a link between the military and civilian communities as guided by the key Connect with Canadians initiative"). 

However is mobilization (beyond augmentation of existing Reg Force units) a reasonable expectation?  Would Canada ever be willing to mobilize short of full-scale war between "The West" and a nuclear-armed opponent that poses an existential threat to Canada or it's key allies?  Is a non-nuclear armed country or group CAPABLE of posing an existential threat to the West since our bombs/missiles are the ultimate trump card in any conflict with them?  Does mobilization (other than for civil defence) make any sense in a conflict with a nuclear-armed enemy if we neither have the time to raise and deploy those forces, or the ability to arm, equip and sustain those forces in combat if they are mobilized?

Would the way you choose to organize, train and equip the Reserves be any different if you were to officially take mobilization off the table as a Role of the Reserves?  I think it's a fair question to ask.

 

[Eye In The Sky]

Just curious, have you ever been in the CAF, either Reg or Res force?

 

[GR66]

Just curious, have you ever been in the CAF, either Reg or Res force?

DND Civilian employee

 

[little jim]

I'll partially say it...
Realistically without legislation the Militia as a whole entity is a useless bag of hammers, as far as units are concerned.

Legislation - I agree with KevB here but would be curious if people were tracking the other side of this coin.  The various regulations like the point system and contracts that are signed by members of the National Guard.  Yes the government could enact legislation to protect members of the reserves and their civilian jobs; but with that could come the loss of the ability to 'vote with their feet.'

The requirement to have to parade and train might make some units more viable than a bag a spanners.....

 

[Haggis]

For domestic operations, how much is expected of the "local" reserve unit as far as taking charge of activities within their footprint?

the short answer is that it is situationally dependent.  During the 1998 Ice Storm, for example, many eastern Ontario/west Québec Army Reservists were also victims of the storm as well as responders in their communities.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Get rid of the 'Temp Service' approach and put all reservists on 'half pay' and you can make us so what you want... as long as there's a pension etc involved:

During the eighteenth century some nations' military systems included practices and institutions that functioned effectively as a reserve force, even if they were not specifically designated as such. For example, the half-pay system in the British Army during the eighteenth century provided the British state with a force of trained, experienced officers not on active duty during peacetime but available for call-up during wartime.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_reserve_force

 

[MilEME09]

I think part of the problem is 90% of the reserves have no defined day to day role to fill, for example reserve arty helping with avalanche control in winter (in the west), thats a role they can fit into and since the training calendar is mostly during winter its works well. What about other units, CSS supports all, but without any one having a role or a task they sit around. As for the others, except for engineers i cant really think of anything.

 

[x_para76]

Get rid of the 'Temp Service' approach and put all reservists on 'half pay' and you can make us so what you want... as long as there's a pension etc involved:

During the eighteenth century some nations' military systems included practices and institutions that functioned effectively as a reserve force, even if they were not specifically designated as such. For example, the half-pay system in the British Army during the eighteenth century provided the British state with a force of trained, experienced officers not on active duty during peacetime but available for call-up during wartime.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_reserve_force

If this is going to be fixed the CF is not going to copy anyone else's system no matter how well it may have worked. They're certainly not going to copy the Brit's as the French would complain bitterly about anything that resembled a return to our British roots. No they would much rather reinvent the wheel by creating a think tank staffed by a Brigadier, 3 Colonels, and more Captains than you can imagine. In the end nothing would change but someone would certainly get promoted to the lofty heights of CDS in recognition of their waste of time and resources. 

 

[Kirkhill]

After following the latest comments I am drawn to the following:

Canada is a "victim" of its geography - not a new concept
Every organization, even a virtual one - requires full time administration

In Denmark and the Scandinavian countries administration, recruiting and training appear to be managed by full time staff - both civilian and regular force personnel.

That suggests to me a greater role for RSS or whatever they are called now in operating the Reserves/Militia.

None of the Scandinavian countries have the geography problems of Canada - but ultimately that is a problem of our own making.  It is what happens when California claims the whole land and sea area of the United States all for itself.  Some others might see that as being greedy.

I our case it also makes us impossibly wealthy.

If we are going to claim this land for the small number of bodies we have then we are going to have to convert some of that wealth into funds to support the increased administrative overheads resulting from our large territorial claims.

A couple of additional observations on the Danes that I think are applicable to our situation

The Danes don't lose touch with their volunteers.  Upwards of half of their Homeguard Volunteers are on reserve status because they parade less than 24 hours a year.  They stay on reserve status until they are 60.

The second thing is, like any voluntary organization they have to accept whatever time commitment volunteers are able and willing to give and manage around that.

The Danes conscript every male over 18 but only some of them are required so the ranks are filled by volunteers from that pool.

Service for a basic conscript is 4 months.  After that, depending on units or commitment contracts are longer.  And then there are the career soldiers.

The Homeguard extends this concept of "flexible working hours" further.

Interestingly the Danes also manage their Conscientious Objectors.

What it means is that in time of crisis the Danes have the ability to coordinate all of their population.

 

[little jim]

If this is going to be fixed the CF is not going to copy anyone else's system no matter how well it may have worked. They're certainly not going to copy the Brit's as the French would complain bitterly about anything that resembled a return to our British roots. No they would much rather reinvent the wheel by creating a think tank staffed by a Brigadier, 3 Colonels, and more Captains than you can imagine. In the end nothing would change but someone would certainly get promoted to the lofty heights of CDS in recognition of their waste of time and resources.

Nice - don't forget that the Brig and the Col's all would have an RSM in the outer office telling what a good idea it was and half of the Capt's would be CFRs working their retirement.

Yeap, my post adds nothing to the thread.

In my opinion we would be better off looking at the government enacting legislation to give the reserves some protections while at the same time requiring the reservists to fulfill mandatory employment windows - sort of your sign up for the PRes for min three years being required to work at least one training day a month with a certain number of required days during summer IT.  If you are unable to fulfill your yearly requirements (think NG points) then that year doesn't count towards your reserve pension.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

The legislation would need to offer something positive to the employer, not just a responsibility. Make it attractive to hire a Pres person rather than a hindrance. Also make being posted RSS a plus for career development, not part of the endgame.

 

[KevinB]

Tax breaks for entities that hire Reservists...

3yr contracts
  6 months (or more) on initial - so they can go to the same schools as reg force for trade training.
  21 days / year full service (MilCon whatever)
  1 weekend / month (except the 21 exercise period, or full employment for courses etc.) min
  2 weeknights/month min - and guaranteed employment for 1 night/week

Run Reg Force Course Serials during summer and integrate reservists into training (and teaching)

 

[PuckChaser]

What happens for the trades that have longer than 6 month courses? It's a great idea, but considering BMQ+SQ is 17 weeks, you're down to 2 months for a DP1 course if the timing lines up perfectly.

 

[George Wallace]

What happens for the trades that have longer than 6 month courses? It's a great idea, but considering BMQ+SQ is 17 weeks, you're down to 2 months for a DP1 course if the timing lines up perfectly.

They get broken down into Modules. 

It already takes some/many Reservists more than a year to get a Crse completed due to their availability or the availability of a crse, in order to complete all Crse Mods.

 

[OldSolduer]

They get broken down into Modules. 

It already takes some/many Reservists more than a year to get a Crse completed due to their availability or the availability of a crse, in order to complete all Crse Mods.

It can be worse for officers. It may take up to three years to qualify a young officer as a platoon commander.