Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Commission on the Defence Forces - Reserve Discussion

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #31
    Originally posted by Auldsod View Post
    Personally I think the idea of rural centres would only work if the RDF could be made a success and possibly even increase in establishment.

    Any reserve unit with it's own location should be of at least company size. I don't mean company size on paper but barely getting more than a platoon of reservists on the books - I mean genuinely being capable of reaching those numbers.

    I wouldn't see the point of a reserve centre operating out in west Cork facilitating 15-20 members assuming they all turn up for a night.
    Most definitely not. That is not my intention. My idea is more to have an address locally where the recruits for that area could respond, rather than a full time manned location (or even training room). Some seem to be getting bogged down on the idea of local centres of the past. Usually a glorified garden shed with a car park out front.
    That is not what I am talking about. My idea is an address, be it shop window or office which is a local point of contact for a potential recruit. Sign on the window saying "want to join, ring this (local) number or call here on particular time when office will be manned (preferably by reserve personnel from the area)". The state already rents offices and buildings in most towns, you just want use of a few square feet of it, for a few hours a week.
    The number at this office is the potential local recruits point of contact, not an anonymous office somewhere in DFTC.
    For now, everything hangs on implementation of the CoDF report.

    Comment


    • #32
      Rural centres mean unmanned posts.
      Rural centers mean off the IT networks ( and thats not going to change for the moment )
      Rural centres mean being unable to train except without equipment and not as you would fight
      Rural centers mean being away from the regulars and no trust being built
      Rural centers mean general service only as impossible to maintain any specialisations so useless for any real needs except "strong backs"

      Rural centers mean "FCA" and that's it - a local militia . It was a solution to a problem many years ago and the need has passed. Anyone wanting to serve the colours outside major centers can get all they want in General Service or the cadets, if they want to put their money where their mouth is. In the 2015 WP and the 2019 update the Reserve is largely viewed as a crisis augmenter yet has not been seriously used ever in that role except in early 70s. Rural centers are a sop, the time in the countryside has passed, the State gets no value from the investment ( or rather, the return is negligible for the investment, compared to that in major centers ) .
      "Are they trying to shoot down the other drone? "

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

      Comment


      • #33
        Read my last post.
        For now, everything hangs on implementation of the CoDF report.

        Comment


        • #34
          Originally posted by trellheim View Post
          Rural centres mean unmanned posts.
          Rural centers mean off the IT networks ( and thats not going to change for the moment )
          Rural centres mean being unable to train except without equipment and not as you would fight
          Rural centers mean being away from the regulars and no trust being built
          Rural centers mean general service only as impossible to maintain any specialisations so useless for any real needs except "strong backs"

          Rural centers mean "FCA" and that's it - a local militia . It was a solution to a problem many years ago and the need has passed. Anyone wanting to serve the colours outside major centers can get all they want in General Service or the cadets, if they want to put their money where their mouth is. In the 2015 WP and the 2019 update the Reserve is largely viewed as a crisis augmenter yet has not been seriously used ever in that role except in early 70s. Rural centers are a sop, the time in the countryside has passed, the State gets no value from the investment ( or rather, the return is negligible for the investment, compared to that in major centers ) .
          Also means a defence organisation without regular access to weapons

          Comment


          • #35
            (in response to NG's post)
            Still won't work - anyone wanting to join gets all their stuff online now for the age groups that matter, if you're not talking to them online you won't get them. COVID aside even then it still wouldn't matter. I've been following the US model very closely of local recruiting centers for regulars and there's something ( a tiny little bit for a known presence for regular (PDF) recruiting ) but most of the time you need to visit them where they are.

            Finally, recruiting Jane Doe in a rural location is useless as a reservist because she has nowhere to parade and its not economical or a worthwhile use of resources to send a transit 60-70 miles round trip. It is therefore counterproductive to even attempt to recruit in such locations.

            This is not even a debate. It did matter in the past but new world.
            Last edited by trellheim; 18 January 2021, 13:06.
            "Are they trying to shoot down the other drone? "

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

            Comment


            • #36
              Originally posted by na grohmiti View Post
              Most definitely not. That is not my intention. My idea is more to have an address locally where the recruits for that area could respond, rather than a full time manned location (or even training room). Some seem to be getting bogged down on the idea of local centres of the past. Usually a glorified garden shed with a car park out front.
              That is not what I am talking about. My idea is an address, be it shop window or office which is a local point of contact for a potential recruit. Sign on the window saying "want to join, ring this (local) number or call here on particular time when office will be manned (preferably by reserve personnel from the area)". The state already rents offices and buildings in most towns, you just want use of a few square feet of it, for a few hours a week.
              The number at this office is the potential local recruits point of contact, not an anonymous office somewhere in DFTC.
              So a recruiting post without a unit?

              How about unit open days (so people who may wish to join don’t understand estimate the distances & time involved, a roadshow of sorts (units putting up a display in various towns in the AO during the competition window), local advertising (posters in windows, ads in papers, ads on local radio) etc etc etc

              You know what some units already do but most don’t

              What is needed is approved Unit specific recruitment on social media with an RDF unit contact who will look after it.



              Local recruitment offices would eat up several hundred personnel for little gain and they aren’t going to manned when they are most likely to get callers.

              Comment


              • #37
                But what if Jane lives in Fermoy but works in Cork then it possibly is feasible
                Last edited by trellheim; 18 January 2021, 13:10.

                Comment


                • #38
                  But what if Jane lives in Fermoy but works in Cork then it possibly is feasible
                  Then recruit her in Cork, where she'll parade. No point in false impressions. She's got a smartphone.


                  The last 3 open days we ran had a miniscule return rate when viewed at the end of the funnel "converted into attested recruits" , pre-COVID. They don't work any more.

                  Its 2021 not 1961. Service to the state should be where its' needed not otherwise.
                  Last edited by trellheim; 18 January 2021, 13:13.
                  "Are they trying to shoot down the other drone? "

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

                  Comment


                  • #39
                    Originally posted by trellheim View Post
                    (in response to NG's post)
                    Still won't work - anyone wanting to join gets all their stuff online now for the age groups that matter, if you're not talking to them online you won't get them. COVID aside even then it still wouldn't matter. I've been following the US model very closely of local recruiting centers for regulars and there's something ( a tiny little bit for a known presence for regular (PDF) recruiting ) but most of the time you need to visit them where they are.

                    Finally, recruiting Jane Doe in a rural location is useless as a reservist because she has nowhere to parade and its not economical or a worthwhile use of resources to send a transit 60-70 miles round trip. It is therefore counterproductive to even attempt to recruit in such locations.

                    This is not even a debate. It did matter in the past but new world.
                    So just exclude the majority of the population so because they don't live within a commute from a Manned post? Rename the reserve CFO. City Folk only!
                    For now, everything hangs on implementation of the CoDF report.

                    Comment


                    • #40
                      Originally posted by trellheim View Post
                      Then recruit her in Cork, where she'll parade. No point in false impressions. She's got a smartphone.


                      The last 3 open days we ran had a miniscule return rate when viewed at the end of the funnel "converted into attested recruits" , pre-COVID. They don't work any more.

                      Its 2021 not 1961. Service to the state should be where its' needed not otherwise.
                      I'm going to say you are wrong, and not only are you wrong, you are also blinkered by your own units failed experience, in one of the smallest counties in Ireland, which does not reflect the experience elsewhere. You have seen one word in most of my posts in this thread and dismissed them based on that alone. In fact, your own opinion is so entrenched you are actively ignoring the content of my posts. There is a crisis of recruitment in the Reserve and the Defence forces. Social media isn't working, anyone with half a brain has already deleted facebook, whatsapp is for jokes, instagram is for sharing photos of your lunch, twitter is for those who don't read newspapers, and I can't see the CoS doing a dance on Tic-Tock any time soon. You probably have already stopped reading this response already. Indeed if I decided to words about mix local centre reserve county training recruitment experience you won't even notice, proving my point.
                      If local RECRUITING OFFICES (not local centres, that would set Trell off on another rant) are a non runner then what is the solution to recruit those from outside the catchment area of one of the ever decreasing fully manned posts?
                      For now, everything hangs on implementation of the CoDF report.

                      Comment


                      • #41
                        So just exclude the majority of the population so because they don't live within a commute from a Manned post? Rename the reserve CFO. City Folk only!
                        meh like I said service must be where the State needs it. Also if I recall the majority of the population do live within range of a manned post.
                        "Are they trying to shoot down the other drone? "

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

                        Comment


                        • #42
                          IRT your point above

                          There is a crisis of recruitment in the Reserve and the Defence forces
                          no recruitment crisis in the PDF, its a retention crisis due to very well known causes. PDF recruitment always over-subscribed without any requirement for local centres with plenty of faces from rural locations. I'm ending this contribution here - it isn't a debate.
                          "Are they trying to shoot down the other drone? "

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

                          Comment


                          • #43
                            Originally posted by trellheim View Post
                            it isn't a debate.
                            You are correct there. Point proven.
                            For now, everything hangs on implementation of the CoDF report.

                            Comment


                            • #44
                              There absolutely isn’t a recruitment crisis in the DF

                              Most of the issues with RDF recruitment can be solved by serving RDF personnel. There was 6,000 applications to join between Sept 2015 and Dec 2016. If memory serves the actual attestations were around 350. I believe the numbers applying are now down to around 1,000. Why? Because in a lot of cases they didn’t hear anything for months later.

                              If retention had ever been addressed pre 2013, the RDF wouldn’t be in the state it is now.

                              Comment


                              • #45
                                Let’s also remember that there are 16 AR subunits and 1 NSR unit outside occupied posts, like the rest of the RDF they don’t have many personnel either

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X