I tend to agree with the thread. Here in the Yeomanry, things are very similar to the Gooners (A statement which I never imagined myself making). It would seem that, as officers, we spend our time going on career courses learning things which we will never get to practise but merely achieve an awareness of. I think of CATAC and the different BG roles, and JOTAC and the 7 questions. As officers we are becoming adept in breeding a mass of Staff College/Doctrinal walking dictionaries who may well know the theoretical side but have no concept of practical implementation.

I think that what I'm getting at, and I've recently finished squadron leading, is that I turned into an admin nazi opposed to the dashing cavalry officer I always aspired to be. The old retention positive (eugh!) weekend regimental exercises have allbut vanished, there are less and less MTDs for the fun sqn exercises and we end up having to look at Yeo Gny Trg stats, CCRF, DDI and a host of other regular army bo**ocks that has been introduced to make us ONE ARMY!

To have done this for over 20 years (full and part time) and seen the degradation in terms of the 'fun' and other reasons we all originally joined for, I fail to see how the TA is sustainable in the current scenario. Lets all get back to the enjoyment of soldiering and leave specialisation as part of mobilisation training, for those lucky enough to get the chance. It may sound horribly merecenary but I only now stay in as I can get an FTRS job incase I get bored doing what I do in real life. I've had 20 odd years to become this cynical - I find it terribly sad when I hear the same from new subbies.

I couldn't agree more with Blyth Spirit but I would add in the old days TA officers not only got to do more FTXs and field training with their own soldiers, they got to do it with anyone else's too! The regular regiment was under-recruited for junior officers and a heavy training diary meant that they needed lots of subbies, if their own subbies were to be given other sorts of development and training. four or five of usin 101 in the early 80s did so much regular army training that we were asked if perhaps we could do some more TA duties, like ROO et cetera.

We pointed out that we had all done over 75 days of battery and regimental training and if the Adjutant couldn't nail us down for a duty on one of those days, then he wasn't much of an adjutant? The 2i/c was properly chastised and agreed that it wasn't as if we were jetting off to Canada, Norway, Belize etc. to avoid Queens Cup or Martial Merlin weekends (as we had won both!).

He cogitated and then suggested that we needed to spend more time on our civilian careers than on the Regular Army or join it. Three months later his well populated for subalterns regiment was dining three out of five out - to RMAS!

Speaking of duties, the orderly officer now has to do a 100% armoury serial check every tuesday. The bullshit scales just keep tipping.

Originally Posted by barbarasson

Speaking of duties, the orderly officer now has to do a 100% armoury check every tuesday. The bullshit scales just keep tipping.

That's been the situation for 2-3 years. I had all my weapons withdrawn to Coy so they could be checked off weekly. A rifle platoon without rifles....

However, this was when DInf had directed the closing off all Platoon detachments (and lo, that county has no TA Inf now....)

I think that the figures speak for themselves.

The 2005 and 2006 figures are the 'paper strength' the real? ones are an estimate of actual attenders.



I believe that Maj -> Capt -> (2)Lt should be approximately in the ratio of 1:3:9, but will gladly stand corrected.

MSR

I would have thought that crusty Majors would outnumber everyone by now - particularly now that we can cunningly make them serve until they are eligible for a Bus Pass. Has the recent proliferation of very high ranking TA posts distorted the inverted pyramid ?

Seems we've had the problem (although this includes OR's) for a while.

Originally Posted by AA Command by Colin Dobson

It was one thing to form the new Territorial units, quite another to bring them up to strength and ready them for war. In fact no single AA brigade came anywhere near reaching its authorised establishment during the 1920s, despite the modest commitment asked from the volunteers. Understandably enough, perhaps, no one was much attracted to the military reserves in the decade following the Great War and those that did nurse and appetite for TA service generally signed up for venerable infantry with strong local ties and thriving corporate pride.

I think the same book also quotes blames the lack of recruitment on competition from other leisure activities.

[please keep this thread on topic ;) MSR]

Originally Posted by who_cares....

I would have thought that crusty Majors would outnumber everyone by now - particularly now that we can cunningly make them serve until they are eligible for a Bus Pass. Has the recent proliferation of very high ranking TA posts distorted the inverted pyramid ?

That has only happened in the last year or so - it will take a lot longer to distort the figures.

The real panic should be ensuing over the 2Lt / Lt numbers, as those are your DEs.

MSR

Originally Posted by Sapukay

However, this was when DInf had directed the closing of all Platoon detachments (and lo, that county has no TA Inf now....)

I hadn't heard that one...

I'm a great believer in platoon locations; I wonder if this is another "DInf fad that will be ignored until the new DInf turns up". I hope so - it sounds like lunacy to me. For a start, it means nearly no TA Inf north of Stirling.

That DInf can't have been either of the brothers who wore blue hackles - their regiment wouldn't have had a TA battalion if it didn't have platoon TACs, and they knew it.

I was being slightly facetious - but only slightly !

It would be interesting to see an age/rank distribution as well. The officer shortfall has been critical for years (although obviously worsening as your graphs show) and I suspect that the average age has been increasing by about 1 year every year as well - hence the change to the rules last year.