Yes, NAVRES needs to manage people more effectively. Yes, we should all be on Class C TOS (full timers - that is). Sailing 130 days a year? I consider that "old hat (with the benefit of 50 more days alongside)" so I'm not too worried.
The manning situation has no easy fixes, our bleed through CT also has no easy fixes. EVERYONE I talk to really considers "pierhead" jumping the problem. The point was made that HMCS XXXX will sail for 130 days, but OS/AB/LS/MS/PO2/SLT/LT(N) Bloggins will be sent from unit to unit and he/she will sail for XXX days.
Our main problem is attraction. We can't recruit enough people. Full stop. Why? No idea.
Are we losing people to CT's? Of course we are, but we have been losing people in the past - the manning shortage (fleet wide) is a big problem, and, quite frankly, there is nothing the "reserves" can do about it. Two ships in Extended or Reduced readiness is already the past. We now have (West Coast) two ships basically out of routine, two ships restricted to 12/5 ops and 2 that are really 24/7 - kinda (every department is short, and many people are double hatted - NAVO/DECKO as one example).
I wish I had an answer to the problem, but I'm not convinced that "sailing days" are really the issue amongst the great majority of our CT or release candidates. Job satisfaction is a major problem, and my ideas to fix that would take up two threads alone (I have mentioned some ideas in past posts).
The first (and yet undone) step is admitting that we cannot, under current circumstances, fulfill our role as primary manning for the KIN class. Shut down all of the boats and people will still leave. Personally, my ship is alongside for ISSC... I am sailing in ORCA for a MARS IV as the A/NAVO. I don't mind - the work is challenging and that is what I signed up for. Fully half a dozen members of my crew are off to ORCA or other KIN class ships in various capacities to support this MARS IV - and they all volunteered.
I really do believe that if people had unfettered access to Class C (read: RegF) benefits (including PLD) they wouldn't leave in as many numbers as we are seeing now. People who think the job sucks in MCDV land will think the job sucks in K-Mart - they aren't our concern... the people we need to focus on are those who generally like the job but are sick and tired of the aforementioned (prev posts) Class B, short contract, no benefits BS.
All recorded IMHO as usual
If we simply treat our people well, give them a sailing plan in advance, and compensate them equally to all members in the ship, I think we would solve at least half our manning problems... and when you're talking about 25+ Component transfers a year on the jetty for the last five years... it is the difference we MUST make.