Defence Reserves Association Annual Conference 2011

1. Defence Reserves Association Annual Conference 2011 MAJGEN Paul Brereton HCRESD

2. RC Strengths

3. RC roles • Provide niche (specialist) capabilities • Provide complementary capabilities • Segments of the operational spectrum / reserve missions: e.g. lower intensity operations, civil-military affairs • Provide supplementary capabilities • Round-out, reinforcement and rotation • Provide surge capabilities • Expansion base • Provide repository for trained personnel

4. Global trends • Influences • Fiscal pressures • Altered security environment • Wider spectrum of capability requirements • Impacts • Constraints on defence budgets • Deconscription • Smaller professional standing armies • Implications • Greater reliance on (less costly) Reserves • Reserves match certain (lower-spectrum, longer leadtime, civil –related) capability requirements

5. Domestic trends • Operationalisation • Operational tempo • Cost effectiveness • Integration • In Navy and Air Force

6. Issues • Individual training burden • Time to train and qualify • Officer and NCO development • Aging demographic • Command experience • Career pathways • The governance burden • The future – “after the war”

7. Integration • Organisational integration • Personality dependant • Benefits largely illusory • Does not foster reserve careers • Less problematical in Navy and AF, but: • Limited and narrow opportunities • No assurance of employment • Service not individual • Integrated effects • Reserve and permanent components together deliver whole spectrum of operational effects, with each focussing on particular segments

8. RC capabilities • Army: • Domestic security and disaster response • Regional stability operations • Long lead time (predicted) operations • Navy: • Port security • Riverine operations • LOTS • Maritime civil affairs

9. Ways ahead • Establish enduring RC policy framework • Address Reserve repatriation • Enhance reserve support

10. RC policy framework • Overseas reviews: • Reimer Report (USA) • Future Reserves (UK) • In the present: • To avoid the no win, no loss argument • After the war: • To set parameters for when operational tempo decreases

11. Vision • RC is integral part of a total force with optimal balance of permanent and reserve components, having regard to • Capability (RC suited to certain capabilities) • Cost (RC is cheaper to hold) • Culture (RC serves as cultural bridge) • RC contributes particular capabilities to total force, freeing higher readiness permanent forces for other missions • This enables Defence to select the best balanced, most suited and cost effective force for a mission • Conditions of service that support capability requirement

12. Reserve repatriation • On redeployment, Reservists face challenges different from and additional to Regulars. Reservists find transition from deployment to civilian life challenging. • Differences in post-deployment experiences contribute to this, in particular: • absence of military support network • need to re-enter civilian workplace and community • limited comprehension of families and civilian employers • Positive factors for better outcomes are: • engagement with stakeholders (employers and family) • post-deployment support • civilian job security

13. Considerations • Predominant issues are: • Need to be understood and appreciated, not rejected or isolated; • Security of finances and employment; • Stability of relationships and living arrangements. • These issues arise in various life domains, so their effective resolution requires engagement with range of stakeholders: • Civilian employment • Family life • Social relationships • Military employment

14. Interventions • Avoid perception of rejection, in order to maintain Reservist’s sense of worth. • Ensure security of and enhanced standing in civil employment, in order to remove a major stressor. • Maintain the military support network, in order to minimise sense of loss from separation and improve ability to cope and adapt. • Maximise social participation, in order to ease reintegration into family and social life. • Maintain contact and observation, in order to detect emergent issues.

15. Reserve support • Relieve constraints on availability: • Civil employment • Financial • Family • Significant progress since 2002. However: • Limited understanding of employment protection rights and obligations • Reservists are not empowered • Employers are surprised/begrudging • Limited appreciation of existence and extent of RC role in national security

16. Objects • Enhance employment protection • Empower reservists by understanding • Every reservist understands basic rights under Act • Develop community/employer culture of embracing habitual obligation to release employees and aspire to it with pride as contribution to national interest • Senior Executive engagement • Supportive Employer campaign • Commonwealth leads as model employer

17. Defence Reserves Association Annual Conference 2011 MAJGEN Paul Brereton HCRESD