ARmy Rumour SErvice

Originally Posted by Maximillian

I am not quite sure I should be posting this however it is a rumour service I wasn't sworn to secrecy and I asked a higher up a perfectly reasonable question and got an answer which will be disseminated in October. The reserve element of my cap badge will see significant cuts based on rank and deployability. Juniors are required seniors not so. Those who have no intention of deploying will be thinned out. Que all and sundry to pish and moan. Like I said this was for my capbadge alone cannot speak for the rest of you. The regs in my cap badge are taking their fair share of cuts also. I wish I could give specifics but I can't so i'll leave it there.

RMP i presume?

The important thing is that a regular who is in charge has made the decision that 10% of all my cap badge reserve element will be going on ops or will be scaled for ops when Herrick dies down. Therefore there isn't the room for masses of enablers, though those posts will exist in a much leaner form. It seems fair to me. 1 year in 5 gents more than the regs is the tour gap which is more than reasonable. Many adhere to this off their own backs anyway where I am. You want to stay in after your tour fine..just be prepared to stencil in another date and work toward that with work family etc. If you cannot do that you can always hand in your kit. Quite simple really.

RMP it is, then.

Originally Posted by YANTOFULPELT

May I suggest you try and find the "Newton Paper". Allegedly, it's signed off and published but not promulgated to the great unwashed ie. Us!. Apparently, it won't read pretty for NRPS (the only real PS in units, awaits incoming!).

Let me guess. NRPS is dead, all new contracts will be FTRS HC, existing contacts allowed to waste out. Does that about sum it up ? Old news.

seems fair to me. 1 year in 5 gents more than the regs is the tour gap which is more than reasonable

No it isn't. Who on earth would employ someone who will disappear for 12 months every five years?

Originally Posted by Maximillian

If you cannot do that you can always hand in your kit.

Why should anybody do that?

Originally Posted by Sentinel

No it isn't. Who on earth would employ someone who will disappear for 12 months every five years?

Quite. I can see:

Folk who join, do a tour and leave - indeed in my more cynical moments I can see that as the overall plan, as it saves MOD a shedload of cash on pensions and non productive time in barracks between tours. Youngsters looking for a one-off kick who lack the commitment to join the Regular Army ? Fine for producing a crop of basic one-shot spear-carriers but actually morally bankrupt because these folk will not have had the full build-up training that a Regular will have worked through ?.

Folk who do back to back tours. Older, perhaps ex Regular, few if any family ties and maybe working on a plan to build up a pot of dosh for early retirement ? Fine for producing elderly NCOs and non cutting edge SO2-3s for the in-theatre enabler type roles. Could actually be valuable in maintaining operational continuity ? This type of bod would probably be happy with a 2-3 year "tour" with a decent R&R package every few months ?

Folk from "the old TA" who sign up for a tour when the opportunity arises - pissed off at work, mid-life crisis.... but no plans at all to make it a repeat performance. Its a one off and return to normal jogging and a change of career or whatever on return

...but folk who plan to do a tour, return home to family and job then start working towards another year away in 4 years time ? For all but a very few that would be both career and marriage suicide. I just don't see that appealling to many people at all - from those already in or as a recruiting tool.

Did anyone ask us or did some thruster just nod when 1:5 was suggested ? As I 've posted before, thats actually more time on Ops than the average Regular - a rate described as "running hot" not so long ago.

Originally Posted by Dilfor

Unfortunately, in the eyes of many, the defence budget exists to preserve the career structures and benefits of two of the remaining closed shop trade unions left in this country - the Civil Service and the Regular Officer Corps.

And I thought I was cynical ! Nail smack on head if you add in "Defence - provider of jobs in building planes, ships etc." The politicians up here are up in arms ( sorry) to defend the carriers. Not with any thought for their military utility, just that they will provide a pile of jobs on Clydeside.