Right you lot...form an organised huddle and administer pats on back to serving Reservist in front of you....Ready ? One, two, three...GO!
BBC, take note..... are you SURE there no TA soldiers serving in Ambridge or (Gawd Elpus) Walford ?
Don Cabra
More than 12,000 UK reservists have made a "very valuable contribution" to operations in Iraq since 2003, receiving particular praise for their adaptability and high skill levels, according to a National Audit Office (NAO) report on Reserve Forces, which will be published tomorrow.
The NAO report praises the successful development of a culture in which volunteer reservists expect and want to serve on operations.
It highlights that the training between reservists and regular personnel will be brought even closer together as a result of recent restructuring. The report also acknowledges the improved management of reservists and the improved support given to them and to their families.
The NAO finds that a majority of new recruits join the reserve forces because of "a desire to serve on operations" and that 76 percent of those who deploy on operations are satisfied with their overall experience. Around 70 percent of all reservists describe their overall experience as "challenging and worthwhile" and nearly half of all volunteer reservists remain in the service for over ten years.
13 percent of those who choose to leave the reserve forces do so in order to join the regular forces.
Although reserve forces have historically been manned below their target strength, the NAO recognises that there are early signs that manning has stabilised. In recent months, manning level for Territorial Army (TA) has improved to 82%, which is a level sufficient to sustain current level of mobilisation. recruitment has improved and recent changes to reservists' terms and conditions of service have been introduced to improve retention of personnel. For comparison, the regular forces are currently at 98.3% manning.
Commenting on the report, Under Secretary of State for Defence, Don Touhig MP, said:
"I welcome this balanced and constructive report from the NAO, which acknowledges many of the lessons learned and improvements made since the early phases of Op TELIC. We will carefully consider its conclusions and recommendations.
"I value very highly the contributions the reserve forces continue to make to military operations around the world, where they continue to perform magnificently alongside our regular forces.
"The closer integration between reserve and regular forces that we have recently announced will open up new opportunities for reservists, who will continue to be a vital part of our Armed Forces and will receive the training, equipment and support that they deserve."
The Ministry of Defence will respond in more detail to the NAO report during the subsequent Public Accounts Committee hearings
The NAO report praises the successful development of a culture in which volunteer reservists expect and want to serve on operations.
It highlights that the training between reservists and regular personnel will be brought even closer together as a result of recent restructuring. The report also acknowledges the improved management of reservists and the improved support given to them and to their families.
The NAO finds that a majority of new recruits join the reserve forces because of "a desire to serve on operations" and that 76 percent of those who deploy on operations are satisfied with their overall experience. Around 70 percent of all reservists describe their overall experience as "challenging and worthwhile" and nearly half of all volunteer reservists remain in the service for over ten years.
13 percent of those who choose to leave the reserve forces do so in order to join the regular forces.
Although reserve forces have historically been manned below their target strength, the NAO recognises that there are early signs that manning has stabilised. In recent months, manning level for Territorial Army (TA) has improved to 82%, which is a level sufficient to sustain current level of mobilisation. recruitment has improved and recent changes to reservists' terms and conditions of service have been introduced to improve retention of personnel. For comparison, the regular forces are currently at 98.3% manning.
Commenting on the report, Under Secretary of State for Defence, Don Touhig MP, said:
"I welcome this balanced and constructive report from the NAO, which acknowledges many of the lessons learned and improvements made since the early phases of Op TELIC. We will carefully consider its conclusions and recommendations.
"I value very highly the contributions the reserve forces continue to make to military operations around the world, where they continue to perform magnificently alongside our regular forces.
"The closer integration between reserve and regular forces that we have recently announced will open up new opportunities for reservists, who will continue to be a vital part of our Armed Forces and will receive the training, equipment and support that they deserve."
The Ministry of Defence will respond in more detail to the NAO report during the subsequent Public Accounts Committee hearings
BBC, take note..... are you SURE there no TA soldiers serving in Ambridge or (Gawd Elpus) Walford ?

Don Cabra