The Area Commander has let it be known (as if it wasn't known already) that there is to be a Reserve Coy deployed overseas within the next 18 months for a six month tour. The Coy make up is to be staffed, officer'ed, SrNco'ed and NCM'ed entirely by reservists from the 32/33 Brigade groups with some of the 'critical' positions to be staffed by Regulars.I am of two entirely separate minds on this... the first is that it isn't likely that a reserve org can be formed, trained and deployed in that time frame (especially with the known morons and s**tpumps that could be at the helm) and that to join this clusterf**k is to place you head firmly under the tracks of a Leopard A5 and give the order "Driver advance"!
The second is to think that this is a real opportunity to show the rest of Canada and the regular world that while we remain Citizen Soldiers, we are more than capable of carrying out a detail such as a rotation overseas. We are trained as Light infantry and as deployments go, Bosnia and Kosovo ar either Light Infantry or Light Mech operations and the perfect means to demonstrate skills trained into us over the last ten to fifteen years.
The Britsh TA's have been deploying overseas on rotations for years and at a substancial savings in costs to the British Army Establishment both in manpower and operational readiness.
I have probably opened a can of worms here but I would be interested in hearing from many of our long standing and not so long standing contributors. As Always...
All the Best
Dileas Gu Brath