Potential of the Army Reserve to provide the

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Potential of the Army Reserve to provide the
Shortfall
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Army Reserve Historical Legacy

• Militia formed post WWII essentially for
  continental defence of Australia
• Post-WWII a small regular Army was formed and
  committed to relatively small scale deployments
• Conscription occurred in the 1960s but the then
  Citizen Military Forces could not be used for
  legislative reasons
• Redesignated as the Army Reserve from 1974 and
  formed a base for mobilisation
• CMF/Army Reserve reviewed and restructured ad
  nauseam every restructure led to a loss of
  capability as soldiers voted with their feet and
  left
• One Army concept led to Reserve units being
  structured like ARA units and abolition of
  specialist Reserve units

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Catalyst for Change

• What organisation would raise, train and sustain
  a part time force for over 50 years and not use
  it?
• What changed?
• Large scale deployment of regular forces to Timor
  led to an increased focus on readiness by Regular
  units and the necessity to use Reservists to plug
  the gaps
• With a number of exceptions, use of Reservists
  was poorly handled many relinquished rank or
  volunteered to serve but not called upon
• Defence 2000 White Paper required land forces
  with sufficient fire power, protection and
  mobility for a clear advantage in likely
  operations in DOA or our immediate region

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Catalyst for Change (Continued)

• Legislative changes providing for call out of
  Reservists and protection of their civilian
  employment
• Hardened and Networked Army (HNA) initiative - to
  provide depth and sustainability to Army
• HNA requires Army to sustain a brigade on
  operations for extended periods and concurrently
  a battalion group for deployment elsewhere
• Recognition of significant shortfalls in ARA
  units that must be filled by qualified Reservists
  to achieve the capability requirements of HNA

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51 FNQR
NORFORCE
11 BDE
11 BDE
Pilbara
1 DIV
7 BDE
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Army Reserve Today

• Currently comprises _at_ 16,000 active personnel
• This strength is unacceptably low which
  undermines ability of the Reserve to meet the
  shortfall
• Parade on an average of 40 days per annum
• Median length of service 4 years
• Some 9,000 Supplementary Reserve personnel
  previously the Inactive Reserve

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What Capability has the Army Reserve Delivered?

• Since Jan 2000
• gt 1000 in East Timor including 3HSB, A Coy 5/7
  RAR, individual soldiers
• gt 1000 to Bougainville, Balkans, Afghanistan,
  Solomons etc
• 1300 Reservists over 14 x 3 month deployments to
  Rifle Company Butterworth
• Capability Generation
• 3 x Regional Force Surveillance Units
• 7 x Reserve Response Forces
• In last three years
• Over 500 a year transfer to ARA (18 of ARA
  target) and
• 400 to 700 each year are on full time service
• Support to domestic emergencies (bushfires,
  Tsunami)
• 230 Reservists for 3 months Xmas rotations to
  deter illegal immigrants (Op Relex now called
  Op Resolute)
• gt 300 Reservists on Op Acolyte (Commonwealth
  Games)

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Role of the Army Reserve

• To provide specified individual and collective
  capability to support, sustain and reinforce
  Armys operational forces.

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Reserve Components of the HNA

• High Readiness Reserve
• Active Reserve
• Standby Reserve

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High Readiness Reserve (HRR)

• Regular Army units will seek High Readiness
  Reservists in accordance with their unit
  establishments via Armys Capability Management
  System
• High Readiness Reservists will
• - enter a 2 year contract
• - be managed and administered regionally by
  their parent Army Reserve unit
• - be substantively posted to their supported
  Regular Army unit
• - provide 32-50 days on mandated training per
  year including one continuous exercise between
  14 and 40 days with their Regular Army unit (or
  formation for Force Protection Company Group
  members) and the remainder with their parent Army
  Reserve unit
• - be available for voluntary deployment when
  called for
• - possess all Regular Army competencies for
  their employed position (until the HNA training
  model review is complete - whereby exceptions may
  be made)

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Active Reserve (AR)

• Active Reservists will enable the High Readiness
  Reserve through support and reinforcement
• The Active Reserve will provide the Reserve
  Response Force, previously known as the High
  Readiness Reserve
• Reserve Response Force consists of around
  120 Soldiers on 7 days readiness notice to
  undertake domestic security operations
• Active Reservists will still have the opportunity
  to be selected for operations, although this
  opportunity is decreased with the raising of the
  High Readiness Reserve

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Standby Reserve (SR)

• All ARA who joined after mid 2003 are required to
  transfer to the Standby Reserve for five years
  after completing full-time service
• This provides potentially significant latent
  capability
• The who and how the Standby Reserve is to be
  managed is still under review

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Future ARes Force Structure
Available for operations short of call out
1600 HNA/ 1200 FPCG
HIGH READINESS RESERVES
ACTIVE RESERVES
DEPLOYABLE THRESHOLD
12000-14000
Call out in whole or in part for mobilisation
and expansion
STANDBY RESERVES
9000-12000
6 RESERVE BRIGADES WITH 6-7 UNITS EACH
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Future ARes Brigade Structure
REGIONAL BDE HQ
CSS
MDM REGT
ENGR REGT
SIG SQN
INF BN
INF BN
LT CAV REGT
RRF
AR
HRR
FPCG
INDIVIDUALS IAW BDE MATRIX
COLLECTIVE CAPABILITIES IAW DIV MATRIX
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Implementation

• Phase One (Mid 2006 End 2008)
• Develop the approximately 1100 individual and
  collective reinforcements
• Collective capability includes raising Force
  Protection Company Groups to protect HQs,
  Logistic nodes and critical infrastructure.
  Consist of Inf, Engr, Recon, and Combat Service
  Support assets, approximately 180 HRR
• Identify additional capabilities required to be
  developed within the Army Reserve
• Review command and control at regional and
  command level

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Implementation

• Phase Two (Start 2009 - End 2012)
• Develop remaining 1700 individual and collective
  reinforcements

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Training

• The HNA Training Model currently under
  development will
• maintain the common competency model for ARA and
  ARes
• reduce the training requirement for Active
  Reservists by reducing the number of competencies
  required
• identify and develop gap training to enable
  Reservists to transition from Active Reserve to
  High Readiness Reserve
• From 1 July 2006, new Reserve Recruit Training
  Course implemented. Now 29 days instead of 45
  days with Reserve units to teach First Aid and
  Navigation modules

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Remuneration

• HRR will receive
• 10,000 Tax Free completion bonus for two years
  HRR service
• 2,500 health benefit per annum
• AR and HRR will receive
• New pay rates that are competency based
• A Reserve service allowance of up to 10 per day
• 600 health benefit per annum for AR

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Risks

• Whether size and structure of the remuneration
  package is sufficient to attract Active
  Reservists and ex-ARA from the SR to the HRR
• Whether Active Reservists will have the time to
  obtain ARA trade and rank qualifications
• The impact of training burden on Reserve units.
  Now required to provide some recruit training,
  around 75 of individual employment training,
  training of the RRF and some training of the HRR.
  Is it feasible to ask Reserve units to also
  undertake the gap training of Active Reservists
  so that they can have the same ARA competencies
  to transfer to the HRR?
• Whether retention and recruitment can improve to
  grow the Active Reserve to provide the foundation
  base for the HRR (gt 2,800 Reservists) and
  maintain the Reserve Response Forces (gt840
  Reservists)
• How to produce Reserve NCOs and Officers for the
  HRR that have ARA equivalent qualifications
• Whether sufficient equipment can be accessed by
  Active Reservists and HRR to maintain the
  necessary skill sets
• Army and Government being prepared to use the HRR
  on operations
• Whether fixed mind sets on the utility of the
  Reserve, can change

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Ideal Chance for Reservists

• ARES, specifically 2 Div, your time has come.
  With components of the ARA stretched across the
  globe, others preparing to deploy and now a
  stability and support operation in East Timor,
  your time to step up to the plate is here.
• In the not too distant future, peace in Dili and
  surrounds will be restored.
• Many question the value that the ARes provides
  Defence. Well here is your opportunity to prove
  your 950 million p.a. worth. Here is 2 Divs
  chance to bring combat power to the fore.
• In six months, if Army is still in East Timor,
  then you are well placed to assume full command
  of Op Astute and allow the ARA to focus on
  warfighting ops.
• Of the 10,000 ARes pers, dispersed across 14
  infantry battalions and associated combat, CS,
  CSS units and numerous formation HQs, surely 2
  Div can be entrusted with the forming, training
  deployment and sustainment of an appropriate
  force to assume full operational responsibility
  of Op Asture.
• If not, then it is evident that there is no
  place for the ARes in its present form in the
  current future complex warfighting environment.
• Source Army Newspaper, Circa 2006

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Strengths

• Provides a realistic and achievable role for the
  Reserve
• Provides an operational focus and fosters a
  culture of readiness in Reserve units
• Reserve tasks will be directly linked to
  generating capability for the HRR
• Core of the Army Reserve will remain the Active
  Reserve which will raise, partially train and
  sustain HRR soldiers and continue to deliver
  depth to Army
• Supported by Senior Reservists
• Maintains Reserve unit structures and formations
  and hence the footprint of Army in large parts of
  Australia

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Conclusion

• Army Reserve forces can now be concentrated on
  providing full capability as part of operational
  forces, and to provide the subsequent
  reinforcement and rotation of deployed forces.
  Expansion and mobilisation will remain an Army
  task, but the priority in the future will clearly
  be on meeting more immediate military needs
• Quote Lieutenant General Peter Leahy

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Questions?