Save Our Army Regiments!

[rob love]

When was the last time any reserve unit deployed onto an operation as a self standing unit? They have become manpower pools to augment the regular force. So if their command structure is somewhat remote to some of the units, it will not be the end of the world. It is not desirable to have your CO in the next city or province, but at the end of the day, anyone heading for ops will still get the usual 6 months to year of pre tng and get placed in a role suitable for their skill set.
Of course, tradition and history are important (vital) to the military, always has been. As to unit history, that's what their museums and associations are going to have to be responsible for. When we withdraw from this war, there is going to be a lot of high tech combat equipment that is going to have to be housed and maintained, and those 90 year old armouries with their steam heat looking after 45 guys on a parade night twice a month are doomed.

[Mike Timoshyk]

If there was a dictionary specially designed and maintained for our ever changing military jargon and one looked up Militia, ARAF or NRD it would direct you to the term "Force Generator".

I believe this is now the primary role of the Primary Reserve. It may be a new term but it is an old idea. Always the poor cousin, the PRes will be called upon to fill up the ranks of the Regular Force. This even more so considering the latest operational tempo of the last 12 or so years. One only needs to revue recent changes and "streamlining" to transfer from PRes to Reg Force to see the "writing on the wall". Look at the last few months for the Militia units...forced to reduce parading and eliminating so many class B posns.

Old prides die hard... I used to wear two cap badges...one inside my beret and one outside.

Mike in Windsor

[malcolm erik bogaert]

the Goverment here has stated there is no cash for Cadet Units or the University OTC always a good recruiter and my original point was....The Generals/Admirals/Air Marshal's at the top are penpushers not fighting men...they have all resigned in disgust..best regards malcolm

[maple_leaf_eh]

The first shoe (er, boot) to drop was announced a few days ago. The two service battalions in New Brunswick and Newfoundland have been merged. (I always wondered how functional the reserve battalions really were, when the regular force ones have been befuddled as far back as 1970.) The news release had all the right words that have been mentioned above.

There were grumbles about amalgamating the bilingual armoured unit in my hometown with the franco infantry unit. Some sharpie read that A and C Companies of a long gone predecessor 1940 mobilization regiment were rebadged to one corps while the B and D Companies became another corps. In true Canadian compromise fashion, the equivalent of US Civil War division of loyalties, one went overseas, landed on D-Day, produced many fine battlefield results and came home as heroes. The other .... did nothing even close. In fact, its battle honours are the same as the other regiment's without having left Canada. Compromise is a funny thing.