Army Reserve Restructuring

[Kirkhill]

If you want, you can do it in less than 2500 feet according to Lockheed: https://www.lockheedmartin.com/cont...in/aero/documents/C-130J/C130JPocketGuide.pdf

But if you are crazy enough, you can do even better: Throwback: When The US Navy Landed A Lockheed C-130 Hercules On An Aircraft Carrier.

Depends on the windspeed too - a 40 knot carrier heading into the wind.

Or landing at Lethbridge on any given day. Currently we're at about 80 km/h.

 

[markppcli]

You'd be stupid not to be the class B reservist if you wanted to be a full time soldier without the bullshit. You get to be a full time soldier at the regiment of your choosing, in the position of your choosing, in the city and province of your choosing that will have infinitely more amenities and personal support structures for your family and yourself than CFB Shitsticks in rural Newfoundland and at the cost of getting tasked to the associated corps school for a couple months a year (or not at all) and 4.whatever less pay.

No brainer for the guys looking to game the system if that's what you want, to soldier full time. Perhaps the RegF needs to be made less of a shit-go if they want to avoid situations like this, as FJAG suggested.

When I was a reservist all the class be positions, which were fairly limited, tended to be CQ / SQ / RQ stuff. Limited to no career development, course, or deployment opportunities. There were also a ton of guys fear mongering about how bad the regular army was, by and large they were wrong, and by and large I dealt with much worse work place culture issues in my reserve unit. Most of the “the regs are so shit, I’d never go to Bn” guys I remember are still in the reserves and never deployed. I don’t know if call Edmonton CFB Shitsticks, especially if I was coming from the 4th most appealing city on the prairies.

The pay is a funny one - yeah it’s only 10 percent less, but the loss of allowances does make the difference a bit more substantial.

Quite frankly though we’ve had a massive class B bloat. I think those positions by and large need to gone over with a fine tooth comb and justified.

 

[PrairieFella]

When I was a reservist all the class be positions, which were fairly limited, tended to be CQ / SQ / RQ stuff. Limited to no career development, course, or deployment opportunities. There were also a ton of guys fear mongering about how bad the regular army was, by and large they were wrong, and by and large I dealt with much worse work place culture issues in my reserve unit. Most of the “the regs are so shit, I’d never go to Bn” guys I remember are still in the reserves and never deployed. I don’t know if call Edmonton CFB Shitsticks, especially if I was coming from the 4th most appealing city on the prairies.

The pay is a funny one - yeah it’s only 10 percent less, but the loss of allowances does make the difference a bit more substantial.

Quite frankly though we’ve had a massive class B bloat. I think those positions by and large need to gone over with a fine tooth comb and justified.

That was your situation, hardly the universal situation. Your reserve unit was shit, that does not mean all of them are. Anecdote is not evidence obviously but I can think of way more Reg to Res CTs currently than the other way, however that said, that could be confirmation bias on my part as I'm paying more attention to that than the opposite.

Also, Edmonton is certainly the outlier in the outlier in the CAF, not the standard Army posting.

 

[Halifax Tar]

Keep your mouth shut about the class B stuff that's my scam in a few years, don't ruin it.

And also there are other options than Army and Army bases in RegF. I know that's probably a bit shocking for most of the Army folks.

 

[markppcli]

That was your situation, hardly the universal situation. Your reserve unit was shit, that does not mean all of them are. Anecdote is not evidence obviously but I can think of way more Reg to Res CTs currently than the other way, however that said, that could be confirmation bias on my part as I'm paying more attention to that than the opposite.

I was pretty specific that it was my situation, I was pretty clear on that. You’re also in a situation with a lot of reserve infrastructure in your city - ie you have the CBG HQ, which has around 70-100 full time staff, not a universal position. Frankly I don’t know anyone who’s gotten out and wants to go to the reserves if they have more than six years in. No one wants to give up 40-80 plus grand. Of course that’s also conjecture.

Also, Edmonton is certainly the outlier in the outlier in the CAF, not the standard Army posting.

Well if we look at the army, and I assume we mean the field army because of the way the reserves skews, Edmonton and Valcartier (20 min from Quebec City) amount to about 70 percent of the units. Shilo and Pet are the outliers. Gagetown is a bit odd in the Freddy is small, but has amenities usually found in a larger city.

 

[markppcli]

Keep your mouth shut about the class B stuff that's my scam in a few years, don't ruin it.

And also there are other options than Army and Army bases in RegF. I know that's probably a bit shocking for most of the Army folks.

This just in - Army.ca mostly talks about the Canadian Army.

 

[daftandbarmy]

This just in - Army.ca mostly talks about the Canadian Army.

Don't lose hope yet... there's always the possibility for improvement

 

[MilEME09]

Keep your mouth shut about the class B stuff that's my scam in a few years, don't ruin it.

And also there are other options than Army and Army bases in RegF. I know that's probably a bit shocking for most of the Army folks.

Scam is right, we have someone riding class B till retirement and with how short we're on personal, they are handed out extentions like candy. Now they do the bare minimum to ride out 3 more years till retirement.

 

[dapaterson]

That was your situation, hardly the universal situation. Your reserve unit was shit, that does not mean all of them are. Anecdote is not evidence obviously but I can think of way more Reg to Res CTs currently than the other way, however that said, that could be confirmation bias on my part as I'm paying more attention to that than the opposite.

Also, Edmonton is certainly the outlier in the outlier in the CAF, not the standard Army posting.

Other Army postings include Quebec City and Kingston.

In raw numbers, based on the last personnel production report I saw, the number of Res to Reg CTs outstrips the other direction. When I was the one running the numbers in the Army HQ quite some time ago, the majority of Res to Reg personnel were undergoing an OT as well as a CT.

And yes, Res units are wildly variable in how they treat their personnel; and that can change quickly as leadership changes.

 

[Brad Sallows]

You'd be stupid not to be the class B reservist if you wanted to be a full time soldier without the bullshit. You get to be a full time soldier at the regiment of your choosing, in the position of your choosing, in the city and province of your choosing that will have infinitely more amenities and personal support structures for your family and yourself than CFB Shitsticks in rural Newfoundland and at the cost of getting tasked to the associated corps school for a couple months a year (or not at all) and 4.whatever less pay.

No brainer for the guys looking to game the system if that's what you want, to soldier full time. Perhaps the RegF needs to be made less of a shit-go if they want to avoid situations like this, as FJAG suggested.

There is the problem of what happens when the contract has to be re-posted and there's real competition...

 

[MilEME09]

Other Army postings include Quebec City and Kingston.

In raw numbers, based on the last personnel production report I saw, the number of Res to Reg CTs outstrips the other direction. When I was the one running the numbers in the Army HQ quite some time ago, the majority of Res to Reg personnel were undergoing an OT as well as a CT.

And yes, Res units are wildly variable in how they treat their personnel; and that can change quickly as leadership changes.

Problem is it's a slow process, I have v techs on month 7 waiting to get reg force. Still waiting on the BPSO

 

[dapaterson]

Problem is it's a slow process, I have v techs on month 7 waiting to get reg force. Still waiting on the BPSO

Parts of the process are slow, definitely. Support dependencies aren't properly defined; and that the Army gets very Army and wants everything to be Army is another friction point.

The relative size of teams doing external vs internal selections is another issue.

 

[Halifax Tar]

This just in - Army.ca mostly talks about the Canadian Army.

I'm here to broaden horizons and provide culture to you pongos

 

[Eaglelord17]

Ahh yes that ‘scam’ with no job security, a lack of progression/locking yourself in at the MCpl/Sgt level due to where most contracts are, and the requirement to generally work harder than many reg force positions due to the need to keep the employers happy with you in the position.

I have seen more than a few people who spend 35 years to get a 25 year pension, well stressing out the last few years if they will have the time to do so. Not a great career choice if avoided.

 

[ueo]

If you want, you can do it in less than 2500 feet according to Lockheed: https://www.lockheedmartin.com/cont...in/aero/documents/C-130J/C130JPocketGuide.pdf

But if you are crazy enough, you can do even better: Throwback: When The US Navy Landed A Lockheed C-130 Hercules On An Aircraft Carrier.

JATO?

 

[Rudburg]

JATO?

Those were numbers for landing distances.

 

[Rifleman62]

...CBG HQ, which has around 70-100 full time staff....

I doubt that even counting the three Public Service positions.

 

[Staff Weenie]

I doubt that even counting the three Public Service positions.

Not sure what the overall establishment is now, but a number of years ago it was approximately 44 positions (Reg/Res/Civ) for a Res F CBG HQ

 

[dapaterson]

Different CBGs behave differently. I recall a number of years ago 38 CBG would hold all class B positions and funding in their Bde HQ - making certain data analytics challenging when trying to compare units across the country.

 

[MilEME09]

Ahh yes that ‘scam’ with no job security, a lack of progression/locking yourself in at the MCpl/Sgt level due to where most contracts are, and the requirement to generally work harder than many reg force positions due to the need to keep the employers happy with you in the position.

I have seen more than a few people who spend 35 years to get a 25 year pension, well stressing out the last few years if they will have the time to do so. Not a great career choice if avoided.

Dont get me wrong, I have known a lot of people in Class B positions who do fantastic jobs, but also the other side of that coin I have met a lot who do the bare minimum to keep their jobs and do everything in their power to avoid additional work