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I'm writing a paper for a university course and want to hear other reserve members thoughts on retention. My goal is to outline some issues that are present with retaining reservists and how we can fix those issues. Any feedback is much appreciated but please keep in mind that I am focussing on the RESERVES only.
I'm currently a reservist with an engineer regiment and have been for about four years now. One thing I've noticed is that most people don't make it past three years in the reserves, or past corporal. My thinking is that there is a variety of issues going on.
1) The first issue is that reserve units don’t manage expectations with what will happen during the training year. Too often I’ve been told we will conduct a Gucci explosives ex only for it to be replaced with a bridging ex in the winter, or a PWT3 range with the addition of pistols to lure people to coming only to be revealed at the range that there isn’t enough ammo for anyone under the rank of Sgt. Not to call this explicit lying, but it does reduce trust and morale in the junior ranks.
2) The second issue is with managing member commitment, and often the unit expects more than you can put in. If you can’t attend an ex you need to provide a memo with a legit excuse rather than just saying I have personal commitments, or I need a rest. Some people can’t handle a high tempo with school, or a demanding career and the only “legit” excuse is for people that either are new parents or students who have conflicting exams. Even I was once told to put off a course for a year by my troop warrant instead of going non-effective or else, he’d see it his personal mandate to release me from service… so encouraging. This can also be said for pushing troops to take courses over the summer, basically using their vacation time for training.
3) The third issue is the mundanity of the reserves. I couldn’t count how many times I’ve check toboggan stores over this past winter (at least 15) during training nights. The training nights seem to be useless when the same activities are conducted every training night, usually encompassing a maintenance task that ends up just being a method of killing time where no maintenance occurs.
I’ve recently seen most of the motivated guys in my unit leave due to a combination of the above issues. I think becoming frustrated by the lack of real training and the senseless “maintenance” has taken a toll on those that are there for all the right reasons, which is one reason why I would consider releasing. If you have thoughts on the questions below or other advice, it would be much appreciated!
Questions:
1) Does your unit look the same, or does it function better? Why and how is it better?
2) What do you think the issues are behind retaining troops in the long term?
3) Do you think the reserve units require too much time from troops (exercises, training nights, summer courses)?
I'm currently a reservist with an engineer regiment and have been for about four years now. One thing I've noticed is that most people don't make it past three years in the reserves, or past corporal. My thinking is that there is a variety of issues going on.
1) The first issue is that reserve units don’t manage expectations with what will happen during the training year. Too often I’ve been told we will conduct a Gucci explosives ex only for it to be replaced with a bridging ex in the winter, or a PWT3 range with the addition of pistols to lure people to coming only to be revealed at the range that there isn’t enough ammo for anyone under the rank of Sgt. Not to call this explicit lying, but it does reduce trust and morale in the junior ranks.
2) The second issue is with managing member commitment, and often the unit expects more than you can put in. If you can’t attend an ex you need to provide a memo with a legit excuse rather than just saying I have personal commitments, or I need a rest. Some people can’t handle a high tempo with school, or a demanding career and the only “legit” excuse is for people that either are new parents or students who have conflicting exams. Even I was once told to put off a course for a year by my troop warrant instead of going non-effective or else, he’d see it his personal mandate to release me from service… so encouraging. This can also be said for pushing troops to take courses over the summer, basically using their vacation time for training.
3) The third issue is the mundanity of the reserves. I couldn’t count how many times I’ve check toboggan stores over this past winter (at least 15) during training nights. The training nights seem to be useless when the same activities are conducted every training night, usually encompassing a maintenance task that ends up just being a method of killing time where no maintenance occurs.
I’ve recently seen most of the motivated guys in my unit leave due to a combination of the above issues. I think becoming frustrated by the lack of real training and the senseless “maintenance” has taken a toll on those that are there for all the right reasons, which is one reason why I would consider releasing. If you have thoughts on the questions below or other advice, it would be much appreciated!
Questions:
1) Does your unit look the same, or does it function better? Why and how is it better?
2) What do you think the issues are behind retaining troops in the long term?
3) Do you think the reserve units require too much time from troops (exercises, training nights, summer courses)?
