Re: Reserves

by **Riverway** Sat 27 Feb 2021, 9:18 pm

TAYLOR: Funding Canada's military reserves will be money well spent

Gilbert Taylor
Publishing date: Feb 27, 2021

It was just a small item by The Canadian Press last September but in it, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan made a huge promise to Canada’s military community.

He said the Trudeau government had no intention of abandoning its plan to spend billions of dollars on new military equipment and personnel over the next two decades, despite the huge deficits and debt created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In November, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland seemed to confirm that stance in one small paragraph of her economic statement.

Yet for those of us who have been around a while, it’s pretty much a case of “show me the money” when it comes to government funding of the military in general and the military reserve in particular.

That’s especially so because Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals have never really been front-line cheerleaders about matters military.

If the defence minister was being candid, then the Liberals should think long and hard about where they are planning to invest our defence dollars.

With taxpayers already shouldering a deficit of almost $400 billion, it is essential every new expenditure be planned so we get the best bang for the buck.

When it comes to our armed forces that, undeniably, comes from investment in the reserve force.

It’s time that government and military leaders come clean on the true worth of the reserve, particularly the militia.

This is no time to be coy about its place in our military community.

When it comes to the defence of Canada, the reserve has demonstrated its value time and again, particularly in recent years.

It’s a no-brainer, really. The military can produce three or four trained reservists for every regular force recruit.

For proof, we need look no further than the Afghanistan war where reservists made up more than 25% of the Canadian forces and worked seamlessly beside their regular force comrades.

In fact, the Canadian Armed Forces could not have completed that difficult task without the citizen soldiers of the reserve.

Need further evidence? Look at the example of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On just a few days’ notice, reservists from across the country left their civilian occupations and put on their country’s uniform to fight a dangerous virus the likes of which have not been seen for over a century.

Reservists made up the majority of our military force on the front lines and performed flawlessly.

Another key factor when it comes to defence spending is having the support of the Chief of Defence Staff.

Newly-appointed CDS Admiral Art McDonald has stepped aside to address misconduct allegations, but in light of the reserves accomplishments it’s hard to believe they won’t find a champion no matter who sits in the boss’s chair.

The way forward should be clear: Increase the strength of the militia from 23,000 members to 45,000 and build on the sweeping changes initiated by retired Vice-Chief of Defence Staff Lt.-Gen. Paul Wynnyk when he was commander of the army.

He introduced new and meaningful taskings for reserve regiments, established a substantial summer employment program specifically for reservists and improved their pay and benefits.

Now, if the government and the military can clean up the notoriously unwieldy and inefficient reserve recruiting system, give the reserve force the autonomy it deserves and fully dedicate a workable budget to it, we will be getting somewhere.

It will create jobs, bolster Canada’s defence and be the best possible use of taxpayers’ dollars.

On the downside, considering the way the reserve force has been treated over the years, don’t hold your breath waiting for all of this to happen.

— Col. Gilbert Taylor (HCol. retired) is the immediate past president of the Royal Canadian Military Institute and Ontario Branch of the Last Post Fund.

https://torontosun.com/opinion/taylor-funding-canadas-military-reserves-will-be-money-well-spent

by **Forcell** Fri 26 Mar 2021, 11:29 am

Pandemic halved number of recruits for local Canadian Forces reserves

Richard Raycraft · CBC News · Posted: Mar 26, 2021

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/army-reserve-units-covid-recruiting-guelph-kitchener-waterloo-1.5964165

by Firefox Fri 30 Jul 2021, 9:29 pm

30.07.2021

by Whiskey Sun 10 Jul 2022, 4:43 pm

Local reservists will be key to Arctic mission

July 10. 2022

With equipment spread orderly across the gym-like Dyte Hall and exercises taking place elsewhere on CFB Borden, approximated 200 mostly reservists were busy preparing this weekend for a mission to Canada’s north next month.

The troops gathered at the southern area of the local base in preparation for what the Canadian Armed Forces describes as a major two-week operation in August in and around Cambridge Bay and Pond Inlet, Nunavut.

Spread across the hall are toboggans filled with the necessities of life for 10 people, tents which troops have learned to assemble in seven minutes, and even a parachute slung out on the floor to be used for equipment drops.

Maj. Mike Lacroix, of the Barrie-based Grey and Simcoe Foresters, is commanding the Arctic Response Company Group.

Lacroix, who has been living in Barrie since the 2003 blackout, is a constable with York Regional Police during work hours and for the past 33 years has been a member of the Canadian Forces reserves in his off time.

He’s heading up the land task force for the Canadian Army in the joint surveillance mission which also includes Royal Canadian Navy ships and aircraft from the Royal Canadian Air Force involving more than 200 reservists.

Operation Nanook, according to the Canadian Armed Forces, is “designed to exercise the defence of Canada and to secure our northern regions” with a later phase following next winter.

It aims to assert Canada’s presence in the area and the role of reservists, said Lacroix, is to observe the activity there.

“This is a presence mission. Our role is to be visible in the community, to be visible on the shoreline,” explained Lacroix. “We’re there to observe and to see who is using the Northwest Passage, whether they’re using it legitimately or lawfully or whether they’re using it without Canada’s official acknowledgement.”

The summer time allows the troops to witness activity of the Northwest Passage — the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific through the Arctic Ocean — which has become more navigable in the past decade because of the Arctic sea ice decline and because it avoids longer or more dangerous routes.

“The Grey and Simcoe Foresters… have a unique capability and skillset that is used for different missions in the Arctic,” said public affairs officer Lt(N) Andrew McLaughlin.

Members of the Arctic response company group are trained specifically to operate in harsh climates and deploy annually on a northern exercise to test their capability to move, communicate and survive in the Arctic, McLaughlin added.

This time they’re part of the larger Operation Nanook, a series of deployments to the Arctic including all three elements of the Canadian Armed Forces over a vast area in the north.

“Operation Nanook is mainly a sovereignty and presence operation, so basically showing the Canadian public and the world at large that Canada has a presence in the Arctic, we are an Arctic nation and we have the capability to project our forces there as well,” said McLaughlin.

Cpl. Jacob Kelly, a Simcoe County paramedic who lives in Orillia, serves as a rifleman with The Grey and Simcoe Foresters. He has been deployed to the north previously during his seven years with the reserves, but the August trip will be his first during the summer.

“Usually we go in the winter time to maintain our Arctic survival skills as well as our sovereignty patrols. That’s part of the great thing about this unit is that we practise in that harsh climate and it’s one of things that few Canadians get to do,” said Kelly.

Kelly will be part of the advance party leaving Aug. 9 to return at the end of the month.

Lacroix emphasized that the mission is observation and reporting only; no action will be taken.

The Grey and Simcoe Foresters, which is based out of the Barrie Armoury in Queen’s Park, is the lead element of the land taskforce with about 50 members participating.

Lacroix marvels that the troops are hauling plane loads of equipment in order to operate in the area where the Inuit have long lived without any of that support.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to engage with the Inuit,” said Lacroix.

Orillia News

by **Accer** Tue 16 Aug 2022, 1:46 pm

Reservists head north for Arctic 'surveillance activities'

Aug 15. 2022

Throughout the exercise, soldiers will demonstrate arctic survival skills in harsh climate, including maintenance and operation of specialized vehicles and communications gear.

Approximately 200 soldiers from local Canadian Army Reserve units deployed from CFB Trenton on Aug. 15 to the Canadian Arctic. Troops from multiple communities across southwestern Ontario and led by those from Barrie will form the land component for Operation NANOOK-NUNAKPUT 22 (Op NA-NK 22), a series of presence and surveillance activities along the Northwest Passage, which will build on existing Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) capacity to operate in the Arctic while fostering greater interoperability with northern partners.

Op NA-NK 22 will take place from Aug. 15 to 29, seeing the deployment of a Joint Task Force led by the Grey and Simcoe Foresters (G&SF) of Barrie and Owen Sound, Ont. Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) members will operate in and around Cambridge Bay, Nvt., and will be supported by Canadian Army Rangers of the 1st Canadian Ranger Patrol Group (1CRPG). The Joint Task Force will be headquartered at the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS).

Around 200 personnel arrived on Aug. 15, and about 100 will form a Land Component, made up primarily of Canadian Army Reserve soldiers from 31 Canadian Brigade Group (31 CBG) in southwestern Ontario and supported by 1CRPG. These troops will deploy further to outlying areas via RCAF aircraft, providing the fourth Canadian Division Arctic Response Company Group (ARCG) as the main land force for the operation.

The ARCG is a specialized sub-unit that maintains an ability to command, move, and communicate under harsh weather conditions in remote locations and is the mission task of the G&SF. It is reinforced with soldiers drawn from across 31 CBG, which is headquartered in London, Ont.

Op NA-NK 22 will fulfill several pillars of Canada’s defence policy - strong, secure, and engaged - to enhance the Canadian Armed Forces' presence in the region by demonstrating mobility, reach, and footprint. These capabilities are required to ensure Canadian sovereignty in the region and to better respond to the needs of those residing in Arctic and Northern communities with humanitarian assistance and disaster relief whenever needed.

CAF participants and leaders will also engage local community leaders and citizen groups to enhance emergency preparedness and foster the lines of communication required to respond to crises in isolated communities. Local Northern experts from 1CRPG will also support this effort to reinforce partnerships in the area and help ensure readiness to respond to various contingencies.

Throughout the exercise, soldiers will demonstrate arctic survival skills in a harsh climate, including the maintenance and operation of specialized vehicles and communications gear, operating survival equipment, and conducting patrols in austere environments. They will adhere to local Public Health guidelines while employing strict Force Health Protection Measures.

***************************

Barrie Today

by Firefox Tue 13 Sep 2022, 4:26 pm

Man facing Moncton murder charge is military corporal

Jerek John England, a reservist, 'relieved of duties' by military

Shane Magee · CBC News · Posted: Sep 12, 2022

Reserves - Page 2 Joedin-leger-murder-scene

CBC News

by Lonestar Wed 19 Jul 2023, 4:55 pm

Canadian Army highlights benefits of hiring reservists

Quinn Keenan . Published July 18, 2023

Reserves - Page 2 Canadian-army-reserves-in-alberta-1-6484925-1689720996165

Alberta is home to roughly 1,700 members of the Canadian Army reserves.

Those reservists train several times a month and can be deployed in times of disaster.

"We have nine units spread out across the province, from Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton," said Col. Christopher Hunt, commander of the Alberta-based 41 Canadian Brigade.

"The army reserve is a part-time professional component of the Canadian Army. Our soldiers serve from their communities."

Because these reservists are part-time, most will need to find other work.

A spokesperson for the Canadian Forces says the training they have received makes reservists leaders in the workplace and ideal candidates for many jobs.

"Reservists are fantastic for employers because they bring very special skills that they obtain in the military, such as leadership," said Carolyn Patton, the Alberta chair for the Canadian Forces Liaison Council.

"What they learn in the workplace they also bring back to the military. So it's a win-win situation."

While some businesses may be hesitant to hire reservists due to the fact they could be called away from work for extended periods of time, the federal government has set up a grant to help cover the costs of temporarily replacing a reservists who has been called away to help alleviate any concerns.

"Sometimes reservists need to deploy and that can be challenging for employers, so what's available is a federal grant and it's called CERP, Compensation for Employers of Reservists Program," Patton said.

"It can help backfill that position while the reservist deploys."

The Canadian Army is also reminding potential employers that reservists do have a say in when and where they're deployed; baring a major conflict or disaster reservists have to volunteer to be deployed.

"For both domestic and expeditionary operations, they're trained up to a certain level of readiness, but they have to volunteer for operations, so it also people to balance with their other civilian and career commitments," Col. Hunt said.

CTV News Lethbridge

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