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  • Originally posted by Come-quickly View Post
    Ours too. What's more when a bunch of our good guys worked with s bunch of PDF coy good guys on exercise they got on like a house on on fire and thus mutual respect was born.

    The only friction occurred when there were shitbirds on one side of the equation.
    Seen the exact same with ours. Everyone willing to get mucked in and do the job and then the usual faces throw their hats into the ring
    I knew a simple soldier boy.....
    Who grinned at life in empty joy,
    Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
    And whistled early with the lark.

    In winter trenches, cowed and glum,
    With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
    He put a bullet through his brain.
    And no one spoke of him again.

    You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
    Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
    Sneak home and pray you'll never know
    The hell where youth and laughter go.

    Comment


    • Originally posted by Bam Bam View Post
      But the experiences they get with yourselfs are second to none.

      Bastion is a hugely advanced facility with all kinds of injuries and cutting edge treatments.

      A few years there could set you up big style back home.
      That's the difference between most other country's reserves and the RDF in a nutshell. Other countries actively look to engage people with specialist skills and will give them opportunities to use their skills in interesting, challenging, different to normal day to day environments.

      That's a massive positive for any doctor, mechanic, etc. to be able to put on their CV. Plus potential employers see that the reservist also has the military qualities of discipline, ability to work under pressure, teamwork, etc. All positive qualities that transfer easily to most employments.

      We, on the other hand, either don't recognise specialist skills or choose to ignore them completely dis-insensitivising anybody with such skills from considering joining.

      And the situation can be only marginally better in PDF at times also.
      An army is power. Its entire purpose is to coerce others. This power can not be used carelessly or recklessly. This power can do great harm. We have seen more suffering than any man should ever see, and if there is going to be an end to it, it must be an end that justifies the cost. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

      Comment


      • Originally posted by DeV View Post
        Everyone's experiences are valid
        Your sarcasm meter was certainly switched off when you wrote this...
        "Well, stone me! We've had cocaine, bribery and Arsenal scoring two goals at home. But just when you thought there were truly no surprises left in football, Vinnie Jones turns out to be an international player!" (Jimmy Greaves)!"

        Comment


        • T
          hat's a massive positive for any doctor, mechanic, etc. to be able to put on their CV. Plus potential employers see that the reservist also has the military qualities of discipline, ability to work under pressure, teamwork, etc
          I disagree, from experience as a reservist and an employer it is often seen as a disadvantage as it may disrupt your ability to provide efficent service to an employer due to outside commitments.

          As a nation we are indifferent to the values of military service be it full time or reserve and as a result unless there has been education specific to a certain criteria military service doesn't count.

          The nature of the reserve doesn't allow facilitate civilian qualifications and as a result peoples military and civilian careers often travel in parallel direction without ever crossing to either the benefit of either employer.

          Unless you happen to live in area that has a corps with a specific skill set the chances of being usefully employed within your own trade are slim and nil.Then to make it worse you have some one , say a chemical engineer, quite successful in their own field being barked at by a NCO who still has to count the days of the week on his fingers, alternatively, some of the qualified don't relish the though of living in a hole shitting into a plastic bag for their annual leave when the could be off in the sun.Tbh the reserve has very little to offer to graduates , almost back to a school boys army.
          Covid 19 is not over ....it's still very real..Hand Hygiene, Social Distancing and Masks.. keep safe

          Comment


          • i think it is clear the government needs to pull it's finger out and change legislation to make the Reserve a better place to be for the part-time soldier, and his civilian employer.

            a Reservist shouldn't have to take his Annual Leave or Unpaid Leave to complete his military training or service, or if he does have to take either then he and / or his employer should be compensated so neither are out of pocket for his time served with the military for whatever purpose.

            better integration with the PDF and the option to be mobilised to deploy on Operations with them will benefit the public perception of the RDF and make employers and the general population take note and realise that these part time soldiers have a very important place in society and in many instances are going above and beyond what is expected of them and they have the balls, commitment and self discipline to do not only their day job, but spend a lot of their own time and down time away from friends and family to play an active role in Ireland's armed forces.

            as an 'outsider' who was once and 'insider' - that is how i see it, and can only hope things head this way in the future for the RDF.
            Last edited by RoyalGreenJacket; 19 October 2013, 22:36.
            RGJ

            ...Once a Rifleman - Always a Rifleman... Celer et Audax

            The Rifles

            Comment


            • Originally posted by RoyalGreenJacket View Post
              i think it is clear the government needs to pull it's finger out and change legislation to make the Reserve a better place to be for the part-time soldier, and his civilian employer.
              Don't think that will happen any time soon. The State has been in existance 80 odd years with some form of a reserve for most of it. Even since after WW2 when paid reserves became more the norm the State has failed to keep pace with international practices or standards. Most major powers have increased reserve forces and increased their deployability / interoperability with full time forces (whether positive more or to detriment to smaller full time forces is another arguement). We, on the other hand have continuously reduced both the PDF and RDF element continuously.

              Originally posted by RoyalGreenJacket View Post
              better integration with the PDF and the option to be mobilised to deploy on Operations with them will benefit the public perception of the RDF and make employers and the general population take note
              The old chicken and egg syndrome. Employment protection or deployability first?
              An army is power. Its entire purpose is to coerce others. This power can not be used carelessly or recklessly. This power can do great harm. We have seen more suffering than any man should ever see, and if there is going to be an end to it, it must be an end that justifies the cost. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

              Comment


              • Originally posted by RoyalGreenJacket View Post
                i think it is clear the government needs to pull it's finger out and change legislation to make the Reserve a better place to be for the part-time soldier, and his civilian employer.

                a Reservist shouldn't have to take his Annual Leave or Unpaid Leave to complete his military training or service, or if he does have to take either then he and / or his employer should be compensated so neither are out of pocket for his time served with the military for whatever purpose.

                better integration with the PDF and the option to be mobilised to deploy on Operations with them will benefit the public perception of the RDF and make employers and the general population take note and realise that these part time soldiers have a very important place in society and in many instances are going above and beyond what is expected of them and they have the balls, commitment and self discipline to do not only their day job, but spend a lot of their own time and down time away from friends and family to play an active role in Ireland's armed forces.

                as an 'outsider' who was once and 'insider' - that is how i see it, and can only hope things head this way in the future for the RDF.
                We need to be treated well by the RDF CoC, the DF CoC (AKA the PDF CoC) and DOD before we are treated well by Government. I know people who have taken over a month to get paid by the DF.

                If an employer has to give additional leave to the RDF, it would probably put every RDF members' job or employability at risk. Sometimes it may suit an employer to give unpaid leave.

                Operations start at home

                Comment


                • The old chicken and egg syndrome. Employment protection or deployability first?
                  And we are right back to about 1998 when the whole thing of employment protection was first raised by RDFRA and how valid it has turned out to be given the road the reserve has travelled in the past year.

                  The realities is that government is not in any position to legislate for it, or maybe it is if private industry gets breaks around RSI contributions,but then again when you have 200,000 people out of work its an employers market.


                  As you said chicken and egg.

                  If an employer has to give additional leave to the RDF, it would probably put every RDF members' job or employability at risk. Sometimes it may suit an employer to give unpaid leave.
                  I reckon its only a matter of time that those in the public sector lose their entitlement to a weeks paid leave to undertake FTT, In fact its a wonder it was highlighted already,

                  The private sector...incentivise, and then maybe.
                  Covid 19 is not over ....it's still very real..Hand Hygiene, Social Distancing and Masks.. keep safe

                  Comment


                  • Originally posted by Fridge Magnet View Post
                    Your experiences don't fit in with the "PDF don't want us, the sky is falling down" doom and gloom attitude that some people on here have adopted.
                    I get the feeling I'm included in the latter group.

                    My experience has so far been that on the ground level, things are fine. The PDF are relatively happy with us and are impressed with our enthusiasm to soldier. At the end of the day, if the Reservists are capable and willing to do the job, the PDF are happy to engage us.

                    The problem I have is that all the good will in the world at ground level isn't going to change the fact that the Reserve as an organisation is going nowhere fast. The building blocks aren't there to develop an operationally viable Reserve and if the MA and DoD continue to regard the RDF as the boy scouts with rifles, then it is clearly engineered to fail.

                    My frustrations are often amplified when I read about the attitude my former employers take towards their Reservists:

                    The Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir Nicholas Houghton argues that an Army that is smaller in numbers will be more capable rather than less


                    No one is pretending that there is an equivalence between 20,000 regulars and 30,000 reservists: that has never been the argument. But a healthy and vibrant Reserve does give you cost-effective resilience for enduring operations. And it offers part of the mechanism for regeneration if the future security context changes.

                    Moreover, a healthy Reserve offers access to a range of skills that defence struggles to sustain within its regular structure. The Defence Medical Services are very reliant on the civil-sector, but Reserves also supply some of our most talented cyber experts, intelligence analysts, logisticians and civil engineers.

                    And of course there are much wider benefits of a larger and vibrant Reserve. It better anchors the Armed Forces to the society it represents. It safeguards the regulars from professional isolation.

                    And it offers individuals opportunities for professional betterment that are not matched anywhere else. So Defence’s ambition for its Reserve forces will not be allowed to falter.

                    ....

                    Indeed it is our intent that the future Army will be more capable and have wider utility than ever. And, although the future Reserve undoubtedly seeks to add-in levels of resilience to the future Army, it also stands on its own merits as a vital part of the force structure.

                    And it is a part that I have absolute confidence that the nation can deliver.

                    Comment


                    • this is the problem.
                      Upcoming 1 week course Id give my left testicle to participate in, no annual leave left, no chance of unpaid leave - and if I did, the salary id earn from the DF, after taxes, will leave me short a few bob at month end compared to normal.
                      :(
                      "He is an enemy officer taken in battle and entitled to fair treatment."
                      "No, sir. He's a sergeant, and they don't deserve no respect at all, sir. I should know. They're cunning and artful, if they're any good. I wouldn't mind if he was an officer, sir. But sergeants are clever."

                      Comment


                      • livid..... thanks minister for the help . Finance act came out yesterday. Yeeehhh now you know where you are on the totem p

                        Exemption in respect of annual allowance for reserve members of the Garda Síochána
                        10. The Principal Act is amended by inserting the following section after section 204:
                        “204A. The annual allowance payable under Regulation 15 of the Garda Síochána
                        (Reserve Members) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 413 of 2006) shall be
                        exempt from income tax and shall not be reckoned in computing income
                        for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts.”.
                        Act to provide for the imposition, repeal, remission, alteration and regulation of taxation, of stamp duties and of duties relating to excise and otherwise to make further provision in connection with finance including the regulation of customs
                        "Are they trying to shoot down the other drone? "

                        "No, they're trying to fly the tank"

                        Comment


                        • we need to ask for the same

                          what we need is a representative associat.... oh wait....

                          "He is an enemy officer taken in battle and entitled to fair treatment."
                          "No, sir. He's a sergeant, and they don't deserve no respect at all, sir. I should know. They're cunning and artful, if they're any good. I wouldn't mind if he was an officer, sir. But sergeants are clever."

                          Comment


                          • Originally posted by trellheim View Post
                            livid..... thanks minister for the help . Finance act came out yesterday. Yeeehhh now you know where you are on the totem p



                            http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/b...13/b10213d.pdf
                            So the RDF get their unvouched expenses (grat) cut to zero and a 10% pay cut (on top of pay cuts across the DF) and the GR get their unvouched expenses made tax exempt

                            Comment


                            • Exactamundo ..... And its the same minister. Ffs.

                              Where the fk is RDFRA, we should be out there DEMANDING that the AR get the same
                              Last edited by trellheim; 25 October 2013, 14:52.
                              "Are they trying to shoot down the other drone? "

                              "No, they're trying to fly the tank"

                              Comment


                              • Originally posted by trellheim View Post
                                Where the fk is RDFRA, we should be out there DEMANDING that the AR get the same

                                Comment

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