Bill Slim

Proud Reservist, and very, very, important...

[Bill Slim @BillSlim6]

@CharlieMartell1

[Greater - Britain after the Storm @GreaterTheBook]

Of course this country has its faults, but chief among them is its tendency to dwell on the negative. That's why we wrote the book - to lay out a plan that celebrates the positive.

[Bill Slim @BillSlim6]

I approve.

[Bill Slim @BillSlim6]

@NormanF99621763 As right hand marker I have followed that line in the tarmac so that it's burnt into my subconscious. Let her do a few donuts on it for me, please!

[Bill Slim @BillSlim6]

Baring in mind today's grim news, this is where I am today. Bugger.

[Bill Slim @BillSlim6]

Oof, another wretched urban myth: it does not take 2 or 3 Reserve units to generate 1. If you ask for volunteers, then yes, and I bet the same would be the case if you asked a Reg unit. Mobilise them. But never use it in a cost analysis because it's underhand.

[Bill Slim @BillSlim6]

@maj_retd_fox @JamesFrankFlint That's more like it. Now, talk numbers. The VHR units are not the majority of the army are they? Actually they represent the 'some' I was referring to. And the HHR, again, niche sport stuff so not really what the rest of the Army experience, Reg or Res - where they ALL DO PDT.

[Bill Slim @BillSlim6]

FFS, Reserves are not expensive. Yes, they cost money to use and to the dim-witted this will seem like an additional cost, forgetting that you've not been paying when they're not deployed. It's like choosing not to have a car, saving loads and then paying £ for a hire car.

[Bill Slim @BillSlim6]

@B_Yes_Dev @maj_retd_fox @JamesFrankFlint #BYD this is a key point. Give the Res kit that they can remain current on - the Lt Gun was a great example: a trucky sqn or Lt Cav Sqn but not stuff that you have to spend months trg on to remain qualified. We know the challenges with Challenger that the RWxY successful overcame

[Bill Slim @BillSlim6]

@JamesFrankFlint @maj_retd_fox Some wise bloke (Gen Parker? ) said something like 'Don't lower the bar, just increase the run-up' . If you are after DCC then it's long but if you are after somone to secure a FOB, pretty short, peace keeping in Cyprus, which is working pretty well, about a month perhaps.

[Bill Slim @BillSlim6]

@NotAChosenMan1 No one is suggesting that a Res unit is as capable as a Reg unit (certainly not combat) right at this moment. But at the point of use they are and have been proven to be so. No Reg unit is as capable as they are following pre-deployment trg and the same must apply to the Res.

[Bill Slim @BillSlim6]

@maj_retd_fox I think we both cherry picked to be honest - but you did it first!

You don't consider at what point you make this judgement. Is it right now? well then yes. But what about at the point of use or on the point of demobilisation. I also suspect you are being inf centric, yes?

[Bill Slim @BillSlim6]

@maj_retd_fox @JamesFrankFlint But this goes to the heart of the issue - were the Reserve companies good enough? Yes, they were. Did they cost more to deploy, well perhaps not (see your Dstl Para 9) and were they less expensive for the years before or since, yes (and by a country mile). And that's the point.

[Bill Slim @BillSlim6]

@maj_retd_fox @JamesFrankFlint I've only got 5 years Regular service and 25 years Reserve Service to judge the matter and I know Somme, Cambrai and Ypres Companies did a first class job in Iraq. And, consider, who would you prefer guarding your FOB - 4 PWRR or the RAF Regt!

[Bill Slim @BillSlim6]

@maj_retd_fox Yet Para 9 (not 9 Para) says nearly the opposite: 69% when deployed and 13% when not. That is stellar good value for money because we're not paying accommodation, schooling etc. Somme Company in Iraq were bloody good - bloody cheap.

[Bill Slim @BillSlim6]

Finally, it is worth recalling that to get a Reservist to the point of being an effective soldier is far cheaper than getting a civilian to the point of being an effective soldier. So, every time you hear the duplicitous line about Reservist costing more, challenge it or duel.

[Bill Slim @BillSlim6]

Oh bloody hell, not this again. At ACSC (R) they are still talking about how expensive Reserves are. This is an intentional/or uninformed deception, which is an accepted fact and now readily accepted by many - and must stop.

[Bill Slim @BillSlim6]

With a bit of graft I estimate a Reservist CO of an OTC or a Reserve Regt or Bn earns, at full stretch about 36k. A Regular CO somewhere 100k ish. No Regular CO has ever been worth 3 times as much as a Reserve CO - FACT.