Best Practices

[Docman]

Been doing some thinking (usually bad idea).

There seems to be a huge difference in standards between units around the country, even between companies. Some are excellent units with an ability to do miracles and others seem to be unable to have a piss-up in a brewery.

When I was working in an office job, there was a intranet with a forum for best practices: ideas that others had implemented that had worked in their branch and recommended for everyone. A lot of these ideas became policy after a while (The late morning opening in banks on a wednesday for training was the idea of some chap in Mayo).

Is it possible for a similiar idea in the reserve. What are the "Good" units doing that can be adopted by others.

Example: One unit I know put a load of their powerpoint lectures etc onto a cd. Other stuff was added from another unit. It was copied by a third, added to and modified, and now those units have a wealth of info on cd.

Can the same not be done regarding other things?

Other Examples: What have you found that get people to join? Do you go to schools, colleges, workplaces? How do you approach these places? What recruitment stuff do you have?

How do you retain Recruits? Does everyone leave or do you retain a lot? Why? How do you train recruits? How do you train 2/3*s?

What do you do on an Exercise that is different and works? What do you do on a training night that is different and works?

I understand that some of this may be covered under OpSec, but is it possible for people to meet up and discuss these matters amongst themselves?

Comments?

[Docman]

The CD thing is being worked on at Bde Level for the RDF

Why does that sound like a recipe for disaster? Why am I able to forsee everything that will be wrong with that Bde CD? Have I been in the Army too long? Why am I so cynical?

1. Will not be seen this side of the end of the century.
2. Will not be available to everyone and definately not Reserves.
3. Will not reflect the reality on the ground.
4. Reservists will kill themselve to get it and then realise that it is a load of bollox.
5. Sounds just like the new TAMs ie. a load of the above.
6. Probably won't work on any modern computer system.

Like all things planned by the Bde, I'll believe it when I see it.

Back on topic. Anybody have any other ideas.

[Troddyn]

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[bulldemboots!]

-Comms is a killer if you ask me. Simple comms between the chain of command as Troddyn mentioned.

- Getting simple bits of kit issued (we all know this) and kit you're supposed to be entitled to.

- Lack of appetite for recruitment by some.

-Get rid of unit politics (yeah right).

- Get decent, well motivated staff at Batt & Bde level (yeah right).

- Remember that to have a good unit you need trained privates (with as much experience as possible) and not just recruits (G1, G1, G1, G1, G1, G1) on a list of paper. - Don't build brick walls for people to be trapped behind!

[Come-quickly]

Having Cadre that arent dedicated to blocking any serious training.

[JAG]

Provide proper protective equipment while at the same time acknowledging that something is going badly wrong if no-one is injured in training.

[Docman]

aaaammmmm

I'm not looking for problems, I could list them all. I am looking for solutions.

ie. Re Coy Comms.
We have tried to have 2 yearly meetings in the unit involving all NCOs and officers. While the officers chair the meeting, it is open to anyone to make comments as to problems. I think it has worked wonders. In the past we were faced with fundemental problems about training that needed to be resolved, Currently the only problem seems to be timing of tea breaks. NCOs also inform ptes that a meeting is coming up and they can pass their comments to the NCOs. There are also 2 RDFRA meetings where rank is not a issue and all can make comments. The problem there is to get the RDFRA to do something about it.

The problem of poor cadre (not that ours is poor) was solved by people coming into the office on their days off and helping the PDF cadre with paperwork (You would be surprised how much there is). After a while of doing this, we were able to do most paperwork ourselves and did not require the cadre staff to do it for us. The cadre staff appreciate this and it has helped to enhance relations.

- Lack of appetite for recruitment by some.

This is hard. The only solutions I can see are to find an officer or NCO who is willing to put in the time. If you have a poor officer, just use him or her to sign off on the paperwork and do the work yourself. Other than that, use your CS. Explain your probs and he/she has a direct line to the CO. That is what CSs exist for.

- Getting simple bits of kit issued (we all know this) and kit you're supposed to be entitled to.

Again CS. However if it your CO that is the probem.....

-Get rid of unit politics (yeah right).

Not in this lifetime.

What I am looking for is solutions, not problems. We all know there are problems. But what does your unit do that resolves those problems?

[Troddyn]

aa

[HavocIRL]

I'll take a stab at it.

Recruitment:

The Sgt. who came to my school to recruit us made a lot of statements about how much the reserve do and how active the unit was. While some of what he said was true a lot of it was b***ix. Luckily by the time we figured it out we were already stuck in kilbride with no possible escape. Maybe if the reserve kept some of the promises they made at the recruitment period then more would stay on.

Another thing that I think could help in retaining the new recruits past the boring "fill out these forms and wait in this room for two hours" bit would be if you buddied the new guy up with an experienced private who could show him/her around, help him/her out, tell them what its really like in the reserve (not the recruitment line crap) and answer the stupid questions that they're afraid to ask the NCO's. Also they could act as a motivator and get them to keep coming down. Not only would this help in keeping recruits but they would get to make mates a lot quicker.

I personally would have no problem in taking a new recruit under my wing and I could think of a few others who would do it too.

Kit:

Not only should we have what we need issued to us but we need it issued in a realistic time period. I asked for a second uniform(shirt, trousers, 2xtshirts 2x socks) to be issued to me 4 weeks before camp and got it on the 3rd last day of camp. At that stage it was of no use to me. I am not the only one whom this has happened to.

Training:

Make sure people know how to do it before they have to do it. We went on a night exercise and half the people were using white torches. When told to turn them off they simply replied "but I can't see without it" little realising that the light was in fact blinding them. Had they been informed about this back in centers this would not have happened.

On the same exercise I took part in a patrol and during an ambush after it all kicked off I had to guess what the Cpl. was trying to get me to do. I figured out what "contact right" meant but as for the rest I just followed the group. Again I was not the only one who this happened to.

On arriving back in center the following parade night, I had to give a briefing to a group of new recruits and some NCO's/Officers then get questioned by them. On finishing my heroic story of not being able to see in the night and guessing my way through the ambush I was asked about the training I got in preparation for the exercise. One of the officers seemed genuinely shocked about me not receiving any training in patrol drills before the exercise.
Better Organisation:

The round that was loaded in the wrong way was an accident due to the fact that we were loading magazines in the pitch black. This would not have happened if we loaded the magazines at the truck or even during day light. As it was all the rounds were tossed into a hat and passed from section to section.

[HavocIRL]

(it was "recovered" by an officer).

It was actually ripped from his kung fu grip by a crafty officer, as he snuggled up next to it while he slept. Him and the chap beside him were the unlucky ones who got picked for humiliation that night. They were unlucky not stupid.

[Jimmy C]

The round that was loaded in the wrong way was an accident due to the fact that we were loading magazines in the pitch black.

I'm guessing God never gave the 21st a sence of touch

The rest I agree with, especially the buddying up idea.
Another good thing we did (maybe this is common, I don't know) was to do all our theory training in a training field, as we learned about what to do we did it.

[Barry]

I'm guessing God never gave the 21st a sence of touch

You'd want to be under a pretty big amount of stress to put a round in the wrong way.

The rest I agree with, especially the buddying up idea.
Another good thing we did (maybe this is common, I don't know) was to do all our theory training in a training field, as we learned about what to do we did it.

And got rained on? And cold?

[Goldie fish]

Its almost impossible to load a round the wrong way..unless you really really try.

[Joshua]

Before we all start tut tutting about the round and how it would never happen to you, Troddyn is simply pointing out that it did happen. In fact ,he is leaving his unit up for ridicule by disclosing this new loading technique. I admire his honesty.

Move on from the round please.

[Troddyn]

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