IN THE WORKPLACE
Reserves 2020
The Prime Minister commissioned an independent review of the Reserve Forces known as the Future Reserves 2020 Study. Based on the conclusions of the Review, the Government will now proceed with a £1.5bn investment package over the next ten years to enhance the capability of the Reserves. Here we look at the essence of the report.
T 34
he Review was led by Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir Nicholas Houghton, working alongside
Julian Brazier MP and Lieutenant General (ret’d) Graeme Lamb. By 2020, if the Reserves develop in the way that it hopes, it is envisaged that there will be a total force of around 120,000 broadly in the ratio 70:30 Regular to Reserve. Details of how this will be achieved is being considered during the next Implementation phase.
Commenting on their findings, General Sir Nicholas Houghton, said: “We firmly believe this report represents good news for the Reserves, Defence and the UK more widely. This is a once in a generation opportunity to change our Reserve Forces model for the better, to ensure the systemic decline of our Reserves is reversed and to enable our Armed Forces – Regulars
Envoy Autumn 2011
and Reserves – to better meet the security challenges of the future.”
The Commission reached four broad conclusions, all of which support the need for change and early action, they read:
“Our Reserve Forces are in Decline. By our national historic standards and by comparison with other nations, our Reserves form too small a part of our overall national military capability. The Proposition we currently offer our Reservists has declined; the opportunities for individual and collective training have reduced; the prospects for promotion and command opportunity are less. The offer that we make is ceasing to attract a sustainable Reserve; and the demands of individual augmentation for operations have accelerated the institutional decline of our Reserve Forces.
“We have failed to modernise Reservist Roles. The purpose for which we hold Reserves and
the roles to which we attribute them, have not been updated to match the demands of the new security environment. For example the Territorial Army is still structured for large scale intervention operations. We have not fully re-assessed the utility of Reserves in the context of Homeland Security, UK Resilience, wider specialist capabilities such as stabilisation and cyber, and as a formal mechanism for regeneration.
“We are not exploiting the potential of our Reserves. We are not fully harnessing the volunteer ethos of society or exploiting the best talent the country has to offer. We are denying the opportunity to adopt a far more cost-effective manpower balance across the Armed Forces. And, by failing to exploit the Reserves more fully, we are contributing to an erosion of the links between our Armed Forces and wider society.
“We are not using the Reserves efficiently. We are not using our Reserves in the most cost-effective manner. The Reserve estate
www.raf-ff.org.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56