That's cos no-one (anywhere) really knows what's going on with the TA and Reserve yet...literally no-one in the policy area is even passing on rumours - always a bad sign, some might say.
..or maybe a good sign?
The fact that the regular Army c*cked it up in SDSR and has to 'show again' on this might at first hand seem to be akin to prodding the dozing dragon with a sharp stick. However, if the dragon was actually not dozing but listless and at a loss as to what to do next, being poked by a sharp stick might be exactly what it needed...
I agree that no-one really knows what's going on with the TA at the moment but it's not for lack of activity. Whilst it may not be visible yet, there's plenty going on that's very positive (in my humble view). The only constraint might be the ever increasing inability of the MOD to add up some basic sums (how many new aircraft carriers do we need? 2? Hmmmm) as yet more and more budgeting errors come to the fore.
I am amazed that the Govt hasn't just simply applied a moratorium on everything (projects, reviews, initiatives, bidding scenarios, and/or anything that attracts cost) until they get themselves sorted out. It's what a business in transition would do.
In the meantime, activity on the Reserve thankfully goes ahead at pace and with the new Review, FR20, due to announce in June (I'll put money on it being just before the recess) it may be that finally, someone has realised that being part time means you cost less, and costing less is all they want to hear at the moment.
A good chum of mine works in economic forecasting and his view is that 'we ain't seen nothing yet' as far as cuts, union unrest, widening of the 'have' and 'have not' gulf, a stalled economy, beleaguered housing market and some big names going to the wall.
A part time low cost Reserve of motivated individuals to take up the slack might be just the tonic needed as further reductions in the regular force become almost inevitable. Mr Fox, take note.
Of course, the Army and the MOD still operate as if there's 500,000 regulars to play with carrying on as if nothing has changed since we had an empire, more departments doing nothing than in the Kremlin, more civil servants than a civil servant cloning factory, and more 'policy' initiatives than the Labour Party in the 70's (which, akin to the Labour party, no-one reads).
What the Army actually needs, is for someone to grip it and really cut out the endemic waste, to deliver an organisation that befits it's scale. The police have 145,000 policemen - do you really think that they have the same scale of organisation, HQs, Staff Officers and cost presented by an Army 2/3rds the size?
Change on a scale even they can't imagine is heading their way and the Government is looking for good news - the TA being increased in size might just be it.
Sign of the Times?