The Army reserve now compare to 2010

[CaptainPlume]

That is just pure style!

 

[MongMastermind]

Bit quiet this side of arrse, Did the SDSR take the wind out of our sails all those years ago? How has the changes effected your unit? Has the dead wood from the Glorious TA days filtered out, Or are they still clutching on with their finger nails?

A bit of both i can imagine. I would say the creation of new battalions in my regiment diluted the man power quite drastically. However the type of infanteer seems to be better quality, probaby due to longer and remodelled basic training courses. NCO's seem to be improving due to beat up training and intigrated courses with the regulars, generally the attitute towards reserves has improved alot since 2010. It's not perfect, but i don't miss the cold war warrior mindset that's for sure.

The thing with the AR is it a 50/50 commitment, you need to be prepared to do your bit so the training staff can do theirs, commit time to maintain fitness and concentrate on digesting info.

Plenty of perks and oppertunities than before after viewing some YouTubers and speaking to some of the lads from the unit down the road, there is usually a seasoned mix of ex-regulars and also highly comitted SNCO's within AR units whom have tours under their belt.

The cold war warrior mindset is long gone, the renaming to AR from TA was a massive change to me, just the name to me "Territorial Army" was a bit off-ish and made us sound like a militia when really the entire purpose is to reinforce the regular army or form independant units altogether (mostly under the command and direction of regular staff).

It should be noted the first casualty of Herrick in regards to hostilities was Private Jonathan Kitulagoda whom was a member of the Rifle Volunteers, now known as 6 Rifles.

 

[delivering_capability]

Another thing I've noticed, and this means No offense to any of the understanding ones out there. Some Pte soldiers I have met are on more money than the CO and his bosses boss. However same CO (add rank here) talks to that private soldier like they are just out of school, Or when getting some resistance to a particular bone deployment resorts to "you'll get paid for it". I'm not sure that's going to win over Pte Goldman Sachs who's Army daily rate is £40

The regular chain posted in should have an all ranks brief on the complexities of the Reserves. But that might sound patronising to them, but it takes a good year for regulars to come round to the mindset of the average reservist.

I think it comes down to the over used line of 'know your soldiers'.

The really good Officers / WOs / NCOs I have worked with (regular and reserve) have had the emotional intelligence to understand the capabilities of their teams and the leadership and management skills to get the best out of them. This is magnified when working with the reserves as there's (in my experience) a much wider range of life skills available.

The link to the Defence Connect guide to the reserves above is useful but it's too long for most to read.

One concern I have is that PSI roles are increasingly a bit of a thrashing (to say the least) and will struggle to attract the really top quality regulars as word will get around. It's such a key role for success and engagement.

 

[Turret_Monster]

One concern I have is that PSI roles are increasingly a bit of a thrashing (to say the least) and will struggle to attract the really top quality regulars as word will get around. It's such a key role for success and engagement.

That stood out to me.

In recent years there's been a change in the PSIs arriving at our unit from staffies considering or heading towards retirement, to keen recently promoted sergeants. The change in attitude and enthusiasm for the job is noticable and has made a big difference to the type and quality of training and support on offer. However, there has also been an obvious increase in admin workload dropped from RHQ which can curb their enthusiasm.

 

[instinct]

That stood out to me.

In recent years there's been a change in the PSIs arriving at our unit from staffies considering or heading towards retirement, to keen recently promoted sergeants. The change in attitude and enthusiasm for the job is noticable and has made a big difference to the type and quality of training and support on offer. However, there has also been an obvious increase in admin workload dropped from RHQ which can curb their enthusiasm.

The amount of admin dumped on from up high is crazy. Some of it is needed but much of it is utterly mental make work.