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

[MilEME09]

So as part of the changes being made to the recruiting system due to the Army taking direct control of recruiting as of april 1st 2017, I present to you the new timeline for the Army reserves recruiting process, as handled directly by the units.

On April 1, 2017, the Army takes over responsibilty for recruiting from the Chief of Military Personal. The Army Commander, General Wynnk (who started his military career with 20 Fd Regt) has directed that reserve recruitng and processing be done by reserve units. He has mandated that it be done in two days. In 3 Cdn Div, the Dep Comd, BGen Stanton, is the lead on making sure it happens.

 

[McG]

The slide says "pre-decision".

Is it actually decided now?

 

[MilEME09]

The slide says "pre-decision".

Is it actually decided now?

that is my understanding based on brains I got to poke at yesterday, including BGen Stanton who is the one making sure this timeline is accomplished for 3 Div, Well he is the Div Commander.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Doesn't matter. The system is still full of the ones that take months\ years to process the paperwork and fulfil the appointments. Nothing will change until the recruiting system is purged top to bottom and replaced with people that can follow direction and meet timings.

Sorry, finding it hard to control my cynicism today.

 

[MilEME09]

Doesn't matter. The system is still full of the ones that take months\ years to process the paperwork and fulfil the appointments. Nothing will change until the recruiting system is purged top to bottom and replaced with people that can follow direction and meet timings.

Sorry, finding it hard to control my cynicism today.

Obviously this is the for the ideal candidate with no issues, however I think the army taking direct control of recruiting from the Chief of Military Personal is a good first step.

EDIT: More info on the state of the PRes

 

[Haggis]

As Recceguy pointed out, rather bluntly, some of these activities can take months to complete, such as reliability screening and medicals, particularly as units don't have access to the resources to do them in-house.

What's the plan?  No idea, but here's what I'd suggest we do.

Send home a detailed medical questionnaire to have the applicant's GP/family doctor complete it.  Bring in the receipt and get reimbursed.
Have the applicant attend their local police department for a criminal record check.  Bring in the receipt and get reimbursed.

As MilEME09 pointed out, the timelines are great for a healthy, fit, moderately intelligent applicant who meets all the prerequisites with no criminal record.  The one thing the slide doesn't account for is how long it would take the applicant to get in to see their family doctor and get a criminal record check completed.  The time span between visits 1 and 2 could be several weeks.  The difference, this time, is that the delay would be applicant based, not system based as it frequently is now.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

I'm all for recruiting faster. If the Army taking over their own again does it, I'm all for it.

Ideally, when a person leaves the CFRC for the first time, they should be told to plan their going away party for the very near future.

Today's recruits aren't like our days. We have to get them before their short attention span gets distrac..................look a squirrel!

 

[McG]

183.5 mission sub-units for 123 unit HQs.  That we have so many units for so few sub-units is also a problem.

 

[Flavus101]

Have the applicant attend their local police department for a criminal record check.  Bring in the receipt and get reimbursed.

In my area the wait for a criminal background check to come back is several weeks if not months. I fail to see how third-partying this and medicals out will have any improvement.

The problem is the bureaucracy. If you can cut out paperwork or rungs that paperwork must travel up that is where you will see the most gains be made for decreasing time spent in the application process.

 

[George Wallace]

In my area the wait for a criminal background check to come back is several weeks if not months.

Today, that is a problem.  Back when recceguy joined, that was not as important, and likely not even a requirement.

I fail to see how third-partying this and medicals out will have any improvement.

This, however, is a very good suggestion and does take us back several decades, where a DND medical form was taken to a civilian doctor and they conducted a medical to fill in the blanks on the form.  Only delays would be a result of the applicant booking appointments in a less than a timely fashion.

The problem is the bureaucracy. If you can cut out paperwork or rungs that paperwork must travel up that is where you will see the most gains be made for decreasing time spent in the application process.

Today we have many more security concerns than we did four or five decades ago.  That part of the bureaucracy moves at a snails pace if an applicant is flagged on anything.  The Canadian military no longer has an open door policy of accepting anyone who is physically and medically fit.  There are many more checks and balances in place these days to ensure the security of the CAF and the loyalties of its members. 

 

[MedCorps]

I fail to see how third-partying this and medicals out will have any improvement.

Wait for it.  No third party medicals required. Only a questionnaire and five core medical assessments that can be done by a Res F Med A. Total time required = 30 minutes + the time to fill out of the questionnaire. 

This experiment will prove to be interesting. 

MC

 

[MilEME09]

What I have heard is that it will be forns given to the recruit to be filled out by their Dr. Or potentially having a day or two a week for a cf doctor to process people

Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk

 

[Flavus101]

Today we have many more security concerns than we did four or five decades ago.  That part of the bureaucracy moves at a snails pace if an applicant is flagged on anything.  The Canadian military no longer has an open door policy of accepting anyone who is physically and medically fit.  There are many more checks and balances in place these days to ensure the security of the CAF and the loyalties of its members.

I am not intimately familiar with the paperwork process of an applicant. If you believe that there are no parts of the paperwork trail that can be sped up (not solely related to security checks, just paperwork in general) without placing undue risk on the CAF than I will defer to your opinion. What I have experienced (not with enrollments, with releases) is that a file is mailed to Brigade HQ only to be returned with a sticky note detailing a couple minor errors that could have been sorted out through a phone call or email. This is the type of stuff that tacks on an extra couple days to a week.

 

[dapaterson]

On the release side, the CAF still has an indecent obsession with paper.  Moving to paperless, where possible, could speed things up.  But there's an aversion to electronic signatures that is incomprehensible.

 

[daftandbarmy]

On the release side, the CAF still has an indecent obsession with paper.  Moving to paperless, where possible, could speed things up.  But there's an aversion to electronic signatures that is incomprehensible.

Hand on there... next thing you'll be suggesting is that we get rid of the all hallowed pay sheet. Heretic!

 

[Colin Parkinson]

183.5 mission sub-units for 123 unit HQs.  That we have so many units for so few sub-units is also a problem.

Mind you my unit has 2 batteries, really in name only. Back in my day, one was the firing battery and the other the training battery, so you started in the training battery and then when finished assigned to a gun crew in the firing battery. The structure of the training battery was one BSM and as many Snr/Jnr NCO's as needed for the training.

 

[MJP]

On the release side, the CAF still has an indecent obsession with paper.  Moving to paperless, where possible, could speed things up.  But there's an aversion to electronic signatures that is incomprehensible.

Anyone that has signed what seems like a million leave passes will agree!  Hell I would settle for a system similar to how we approve lve for civvies. 

 

[dapaterson]

Mind you my unit has 2 batteries, really in name only. Back in my day, one was the firing battery and the other the training battery, so you started in the training battery and then when finished assigned to a gun crew in the firing battery. The structure of the training battery was one BSM and as many Snr/Jnr NCO's as needed for the training.

The count of "Mission elements" includes only the firing battery; the HQ & training sub-unit function, in the ARE, are under the unit HQ template and thus not counted against the 183.5.

 

[MilEME09]

my question is (and hopefully someone can answer), how can you have half a sub unit?

 

[Ostrozac]

my question is (and hopefully someone can answer), how can you have half a sub unit?

Some reserve units are established in the Army Reserve Establishment as a rifle company plus a rifle platoon. I'm not sure what the math is that they used, but that would be one factor I think.