The Canadian Army Reserve is understaffed, in some cases under-equipped, and “not fully prepared to deploy” on domestic and international missions, according to a report by the Auditor General of Canada.
The audit examined the ability of National Defence to organize, train and equip reserve soldiers to ensure that they are prepared to deploy as part of an integrated Canadian Army. It found several gaps in training, equipment and especially, the number of soldiers.
Auditor General Michael Ferguson summarized his office’s findings in a press conference Tuesday.
“They don’t have the number of soldiers that they need. They don’t have all of the equipment they need. They don’t have all of the instructors they need. They don’t have clear directions even on what they’re supposed to be training about.”
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The report noted that the army reserve has about 13,994 active and trained members. This is less than half of the “ideal size” determined by the Department of National Defence: 29,000.
And the number keeps dropping – the report states that about 1,000 people left the army reserve per year between the 2012-13 and 2014-15 fiscal years.
“They’ve been leaving for many reasons,” said an official from the Office of the Auditor General.
Reservists have lesser pay, fewer benefits, and have to balance their personal lives and careers with their army obligations. Many reservists join as students, said the official, and the department has no retention strategy to keep them – something DND is promising to work on, in response to the audit.
Additionally, officials from the Office of the Auditor General believe that a better system for granting leave from jobs to take army training and better compensation for employers when people take time off for reserve training could help. Even more exciting training courses might encourage people to stay, they think – something Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan agrees with.
“Retention is very critical,” he said, and making training interesting would definitely help. He also said that recruitment had purposely been slowed in the years that the Auditor General studied, and that it was being ramped up again now.
Not enough equipment
Army Reserve units deployed on domestic missions don’t always have access to key equipment, according to the Auditor General.
The reserve has recently been deployed on missions like fighting floods in Alberta and Manitoba and fighting a forest fire in Saskatchewan. Upon reviewing reports filed by the Army Reserve following these deployments, the Auditor General found that there were many instances of key equipment lacking, like reconnaissance vehicles, command posts and communications equipment.
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Reserve units deployed on training exercises to the Arctic also noted that they didn’t always have access to equipment like reliable communications and vehicles larger than snowmobiles.
Training
In questioning how ready the Army Reserve was to deploy on missions at home and abroad, the Auditor General also examined the training that reserve members get.
For international missions, the audit found that reserve units didn’t always have clear guidance on what to do to organize and train soldiers in preparation for deployment.
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The Canadian Army expects 20 per cent of soldiers deployed on major international missions to be from the reserves. But reserve units aren’t given clear guidelines on how exactly to train for certain specialized tasks that they’re expected to perform, like escorting convoys and surveillance. “More training is required before Army Reserve soldiers and teams can deploy on major international missions,” reads the report.
Army Reserve soldiers also have a lower level of physical fitness training and are trained in fewer skills than Regular Army soldiers. According to the report, some reserve soldiers don’t make up the deficit before they’re deployed.
“The Canadian Army needs physically fit, well-trained soldiers who can be deployed, either as individuals or in teams, to meet the challenges of the modern battlefield,” reads the report.
“Without the complete range of skills, Army Reserve soldiers and their teams are put at risk.”
Inadequate training can cause serious problems: a 2010 training incident in Afghanistan which killed a reservist and injured four others was partly due to individuals not being properly trained in how to operate a particular weapon, an inquiry found.
According to officials from the Office of the Auditor General, the Department of National Defence says that any gaps in reservists’ training are filled before they deploy – though the Auditor General said that records on this were incomplete.
“When it gets difficult is if the mission changes while they’re there,” said one official. If suddenly new skills are required, reservists might have to be trained in theatre.
In general, DND accepted the audit’s recommendations, pledging to revise its training guidance, create a procurement plan to address equipment shortages for domestic missions, and improve the retention of soldiers. It is also pledging to review the program that compensates reservists’ primary employers while the soldiers are taking time off for training.
Sajjan said that his department intends to accept all 13 recommendations. “We have already started investing in the reserves,” he said.
Correction: A previous version of this story stated that the Office of the Auditor General did not find records of reservists’ training before deployment. They did find records, but they were incomplete.
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