Informing the Army’s Future Structure

[KevinB]

What I was getting at was Guardsmen surplus to the numbers necessary to field the BCT for Federal Service.

Would the entire Pennsylvania Guard be federalized or just the SBCT? And how is the SBCT populated? Are they volunteered? Do they volunteer? How long are they tasked prior to deployment? Etc.

Okay wasn’t tracking that.
As far as scope goes it depends on what needed. For augmentation whole units are generally brought up.
As @FJAG pointed out it can be individual deployments too - but those taskings are generally voluntary calls for personnel outside the mobilized unit, but still inside that state (but not always).

The Army down here identified a lot of issues during deployments and has made changes to the employment model over time.

As far as predeployment training, that depends on the mission. I don’t know a lot of folks in the Guard outside of folks who retired into 19th and 20th Group. Their pre deployment has been generally a month.

 

[Kirkhill]

The ARNG and USAR can be mobilized as individuals, subunits, units or formations.

During Afghanistan's Op Phoenix, the training of the ANA was rotated between various ARNG brigades. Generally the entire brigade would deploy with the exception of rear parties and a few individuals exempted for various reasons. The brigades were generally understaffed and as such volunteers from other brigades would round out the establishment.

The US Army's Command and General Staff College's Combined Arms Research Library has a large collection of interviews of various individuals who deployed during the Global War on Terror many of whom are Guard and Reservist. They are very informative and can be found here:

Thanks for that FJAG.

 

[WLSC]

Let me add: there is ample time to prepare for Res F units, they just piss away most of it.

A normal month should be something like:

Evening one: four periods of lectures and rehearsals for the upcoming exercise.

Evening two: one period of rehearsals, three periods of prep of equipment etc in advance of the coming weekend.

Weekend exercise

Evening three: cleanup, repair, put away eqpt.

Evening four: various mandatory training and lectures.

Lather, rinse, repeat. It's not rocket surgery.

I would suggest that it’s about a normal month in the ARes I know.

 

[WLSC]

That last comment drives home a point.
The Reg Force units have Platoon/Det etc cages - so tents can be hung to dry and not go missing. Other items can be left to dry or soaking in oil etc whatever.

Very very few PRes units have significant controlled storage space to allow for things like toboggan groups to be left to air dry.

Res Armories need to be construct with the same concept of Ops as Reg Force buildings (those are generally the bare minimum as well).

I would say that in 34 CBG, most unit have a setup that kinda look like that, according to the space they have, of course.

 

[KevinB]

I would say that in 34 CBG, most unit have a setup that kinda look like that, according to the space they have, of course.

Interesting, for an Infantry Platoon, it needs at least a 20x20ft cage, ideally with sub areas for sections.
In the ideal world a Section would have their own 30x20 vehicle bay and secure storage - but...

 

[Kirkhill]

My concern is the ratio of "pre/post" to "exercise".

Each of the following requires some amount of time:

• pers admin - nearly inelastic, can't be evaded
• mandatory non-BTS training - completely inelastic, can't be evaded
• BTS - somewhat elastic depending on how activities are planned and due to fact not everything can realistically be done each year, so BTS must be selected and therefore time required can be tweaked
• pre/post activities for practicing and measuring BTS - nearly inelastic unless people aren't moving with purpose

Add up the time required. If it exceeds 37.5 days (or whatever the number of days is "per soldier"), less the amount of overhead skimmed by various "work parties" (advance, rear, prep for SAV, etc) and other miscellaneous activities, it is unrealistic and fated to fail; failure rests at the feet of the people not matching resources to requirements.

Shortening the time spent on BTS is an option, but is self-defeating if the aim is to increase Res F competence.

So that leaves shortening the time spent on pre/post activities (increasing the "BTS time" : "pre/post time" ratio). Either find other people to do some of the pre/post stuff (which is what advance and rear parties do some of), or plan longer exercise periods and stop wasting 2.5 paid days per soldier on 30 to 36 hour exercises.

Edit - sorry to have disrupted the flow but that 37.5 number niggled

37.5 parade days a year.

And the Ukrainians were planning to send their guys to war with 21 days of training by the Brits (for defensive roles). With 35 days they were qualified for offensive roles.

And a lot of the February Volunteers got a lot less training than that.

 

[Brad Sallows]

That 37.5 has to cover collective training up to platoon if not company and, theoretically, validation of BTS. Is the 21 (or 35) individual training?

 

[Kirkhill]

That 37.5 has to cover collective training up to platoon if not company and, theoretically, validation of BTS. Is the 21 (or 35) individual training?

What did the Ukrainians manage to accomplish in their 21/35 days?

And that would just be the Year 1 troops who walk in the gates.
Years 2,3 and 4 would be on a separate training plan presumably.
By Year 5 most of Year 1 is out.

Why not make the local armouries and naval divisions principal recruiting centres? Civilian walks in. Gets the once over. Is attested. Joins the herd. See if they survive the first year while they are going through career management. Find out if they are suited and they may learn something useful. In the meantime they are being supported and militarized.

 

[McG]

Under an MND who “understood” that PRes hiring was being held back by the incapable CFRCs, the army reserve units were given control over their recruiting and they managed to do nothing to improve their situation.

 

[KevinB]

What did the Ukrainians manage to accomplish in their 21/35 days?

And that would just be the Year 1 troops who walk in the gates.
Years 2,3 and 4 would be on a separate training plan presumably.
By Year 5 most of Year 1 is out.

Why not make the local armouries and naval divisions principal recruiting centres? Civilian walks in. Gets the once over. Is attested. Joins the herd. See if they survive the first year while they are going through career management. Find out if they are suited and they may learn something useful. In the meantime they are being supported and militarized.

They also don’t need to waste time with endless Harassment and Safety etc briefs

 

[dapaterson]

Under an MND who “understood” that PRes hiring was being held back by the incapable CFRCs, the army reserve units were given control over their recruiting and they managed to do nothing to improve their situation.

Hey! That full-time recruiter keeps the museum up to date, runs the backend for messes during the day, is working on that special project using donations from the honoraries to redo some offices, fills a role as a platoon warrant... Do you expect them to recruit as well?

Next you'll make the heretical suggestion that recruiting plans need to be aligned with training capacity.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Hey! That full-time recruiter keeps the museum up to date, runs the backend for messes during the day, is working on that special project using donations from the honoraries to redo some offices, fills a role as a platoon warrant... Do you expect them to recruit as well?

Next you'll make the heretical suggestion that recruiting plans need to be aligned with training capacity, and the mind boggling delays and frustrations related to being forced to work with CFRC.

There, FTFY

 

[dapaterson]

Funny thing - if you remain in contact, notify them of missing docs, and shepherd them through the process, you can actually do well.

Or sit, wait, and ignore applications and wonder why you can't bring anyone in.

 

[KevinB]

Funny thing - if you remain in contact, notify them of missing docs, and shepherd them through the process, you can actually do well.

Or sit, wait, and ignore applications and wonder why you can't bring anyone in.

Kind of like procurement too

 

[Kirkhill]

Funny thing - if you remain in contact, notify them of missing docs, and shepherd them through the process, you can actually do well.

Or sit, wait, and ignore applications and wonder why you can't bring anyone in.

So what you are saying is you have to make yourself an expert to ride herd on the experts that are there to expedite affairs.

 

[daftandbarmy]

So what you are saying is you have to make yourself an expert to ride herd on the experts that are there to expedite affairs.

And keep a log of every single conversation.... with name, time and date attached

 

[WLSC]

Interesting, for an Infantry Platoon, it needs at least a 20x20ft cage, ideally with sub areas for sections.
In the ideal world a Section would have their own 30x20 vehicle bay and secure storage - but...

I know for a fact that some unit have about the same setup than the LIB for a coy even if we can’t field more than a platoon. We are footborne a inclose in old building. We do what we can. The point is that there good will to make thing move forward dispite all the red tape and the « bâtons dans les roues » of the system.

 

[dapaterson]

So what you are saying is you have to make yourself an expert to ride herd on the experts that are there to expedite affairs.

No. I'm saying that someone whose role is to enroll people should be engaged and not a bloated passive disengaged do nothing.

 

[childs56]

Under an MND who “understood” that PRes hiring was being held back by the incapable CFRCs, the army reserve units were given control over their recruiting and they managed to do nothing to improve their situation.

That is not the full truth over that. Background checks, medical approvals and testing still had to be approved by CFRCs/ departments when I was Unit Recruiting.
I know we went from parading 14 Troops a Day to over 90 regular with 140ish total when we started our own recruiting.
The problem was still slow processing from CFRC, but more so the lack of budget for Courses, equipment and then pay.
people were taking the time off work to attend courses but the course was cancelled. We even had employers asking why things were so bad.
We had the numbers. we had the attrition gap filled. We did not have the commitment from higher. It was made even worse when they cut training days back, ammo allotments and no money to fix broken guns.
The system is entirely broken with no single fix other then the old school bosses need to go, the old school mentality needs to go and common sense needs to be used.

 

[daftandbarmy]

That is not the full truth over that. Background checks, medical approvals and testing still had to be approved by CFRCs/ departments when I was Unit Recruiting.
I know we went from parading 14 Troops a Day to over 90 regular with 140ish total when we started our own recruiting.
The problem was still slow processing from CFRC, but more so the lack of budget for Courses, equipment and then pay.
people were taking the time off work to attend courses but the course was cancelled. We even had employers asking why things were so bad.
We had the numbers. we had the attrition gap filled. We did not have the commitment from higher. It was made even worse when they cut training days back, ammo allotments and no money to fix broken guns.
The system is entirely broken with no single fix other then the old school bosses need to go, the old school mentality needs to go and common sense needs to be used.

So you found a doctor who could do the medicals?

What kind of wizard are you?