12 The Department has set out clearly the strategic roles it envisages for Reserve Forces in the future except for the numbers of non-specialist Reservists that it would deploy on operations once its operational commitments return to planned levels. Whilst it may be some time before operational commitments diminish or Regular manning improves, it is important that Reservists understand how they will be used in the future. Having successfully established a culture of mobilisation, the Department needs to maintain it across the Reserve Forces as a whole.
Recommendation 1: The Department should clarify and communicate better its policy regarding the use of Reserve Forces when its commitment to operations is within the levels it plans for and when it nears full manning in the Regular Forces. It should develop and implement detailed guidelines about how Royal Naval Reserve personnel are to be used on enduring operations and for routine standing tasks.
13 In planning changes to the balance of roles within the Territorial Army, the Department took as its starting point that the overall number of personnel should remain the same. Within this headline figure, decisions about the size and shape of the Territorial Army infantry took into account the need to sustain a significant level of use on enduring operations. Other areas of the Territorial Army were resized to meet future requirements, particularly to mount a large-scale operation.
Recommendation 2: As and when operational commitments reduce, the Department should review the balance between the Territorial Army infantry and other areas of the force. The Department should take into account our cost analysis, recognising that the cost drivers are about the geographical distribution of the Territorial Army centres and the administrative overheads involved in managing personnel. Therefore, the marginal cost of maintaining one extra Reservist is not great.
14 The Department has made great strides in improving the processes through which Reservists are mobilised. It is crucial that the Department continues to give Reservists and their employers 28 daysâ formal notice of mobilisation and additional informal early warning of possible deployment. It is also important that the Department continues to mobilise first those who volunteer for deployment where this is consistent with operational requirements.
15 Most but not all Reservists have been called out to perform roles for which they have been trained. In particular, the Department has recognised that pre-deployment training is essential for Reservists, and has increased the length of mobilisation accordingly. All Reservists receive some pre-deployment training at Mobilisation Centres. The Department agrees that, wherever possible, Reservists should also be given training with the Regular unit they are to join but this has not happened for all Reservists.
Recommendation 3: In the light of concerns raised by commanders in the field, the Department should review the standards that Territorial Army Reservists
are required to achieve at the Mobilisation Centre. In addition, the Department should undertake to provide mobilised Reservists, whenever possible, with a further period of training to enable them to integrate with the Regulars with whom they will deploy, irrespective of the phase or type of operation they are to serve on.
Recommendation 4: The Department should take steps to ensure that commanders in the field are made aware, before deployment, of the training that individual mobilised Reservists have undertaken and of any limitations in their operational capability.
