Publication:Sea Talk Summer 2005/Naval Reserve personnel update

from the office of CSO(R)

The Naval Reserve has continued to operate at a high level through 2005 to provide a valuable contribution to the Permanent Navy.

With a healthy strength of 8177 personnel, more than 250 Reservists are currently committed to Continuous Full Time Service (CFTS), with this level of involvement steadily increasing.

A further 1600 have been working on a part-time basis this financial year, providing Navy with the equivalent of 327 full-time personnel.

Concurrently, the NR organisation has seen a change of command, with CDRE Ranford Elsey, RANR, assuming the role of Director General Reserves Navy (DGRES-N) on October 1.

The Director-General Navy Personnel and Training (DGNPT) is allocated a budget of over $13M to cover Naval Reserve salaries and Cadet Forces allowances. The Defence White Paper committed to `Enhancing the Reserve Contribution to ADF Capability', noted that Reserves are likely to be used increasingly for 'contemporary operations', a statement borne out by the recent deployment of Naval Reservists to Operation Sumatra Assist.

Composition

Integration of the Navy Reserves with the Permanent Force allows for a structure with approximately 761 positions that are able to be 'job shared' for the part-time employment of Naval Reserves. The strength of the NR has increased by 13.2% since January 2005, so that as at October 1, it comprises 4958 Standby Reservists, 2965 Active Reservists and 254 members rendering CFTS. The number of Active Reserves has increased due to the requirement for members to be Active Reservists to render service. Standby Reserves are maintained as a trained pool of inactive personnel available for call-out. For personnel who joined the PN or Active Reserve after July 1, 2003, it is mandatory to transfer to the Standby Reserve on completion of their permanent or Active Reserve service. Defence (Personnel) Regulations of 2002 detail this requirement.

Programs

There are currently four budgeted Reserve employment types, with specific purposes:

• Funded Reserve Commitment (FRC) positions, fully integrated into the RAN structure, and aligned to Navy's capability outcomes;
• Permanent Navy (PN) relief positions, a means by which Defence managers obtain NR support when a permanent member is on approved absence and the position has a significant requirement to remain filled, such as when the PN person is on course, temporary medical disability or recreation leave;
• Project Program (PP) positions, a scheme by which managers in Navy and the other services bid for funding to complete a project in which Reserve personnel will be employed on part-time service, budgeted for as a small percentage (approx. 11%) of the overall NR budget, and managed by NPT staff; and
• Continuous Full Time Service (CFTS) positions, counted among the PN force (Average Funded Strength (AFS)), paid from PN funds, and filling permanent positions for which no PN member is available. As the permanent force reaches AFS, funding for Reserve CFTS will reduce accordingly.

Initiatives

A number of initiatives, including the Employer Support Payment (ESP) scheme, were introduced in 2001 and enhanced in 2005. Within Navy the approval and administration processes for the ESP scheme have been centralised into a single office, to ensure a consistent approval process, standardised audit trail and the timely turnaround of claims. Navy is currently reviewing the capabilities provided by the NR and is determining future reserve requirements as part of the integrated workforce model. It is anticipated the outcome will be announced in early 2006.