Brendan Smith urges boost for Reserve Defence Forces
Brendan Smith spoke on 18 Nov 2021 about the state of the Reserve Defence Forces and called for increased recruitment and resources, noting current personnel are at their lowest ever, only just in excess of 1,500. He said he would prioritise the future of the reserve, highlighted a recent commissioning of 29 new officers and cited defence legislation changes to remove barriers for reserve members serving overseas.
Reserve numbers and recruitment
The reserve is at its lowest recorded strength, with slightly more than 1,500 personnel. Brendan Smith said a significant recruitment campaign and additional resources are needed to rebuild numbers in the Reserve Defence Forces (RDF).
Legislative change and role expansion
He noted defence legislation was changed to remove a barrier affecting RDF members who are serving overseas. He said that reform was intended both to signal an expanded role for the reserve and to encourage more people to join.
Recent commissioning and short-term outlook
Brendan Smith attended a commissioning ceremony for 29 new reserve officers in the week before his remarks. He expressed the hope that significant progress in increasing reserve numbers will be made over the next year or so.
Historical service and partnership with agencies
He emphasised that the reserve has stood with other state agencies during very difficult times, referencing service going back to the Second World War and during the more recent era of the troubles in the Barthar region.
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Thank you, Councillor. Minister, as you are aware, this is not just a critical time for the permanent defence forces, it is also a critical time for the reserve defence forces. Unfortunately, the personnel enlisted in the reserve at the moment is the lowest ever, only just in excess of 1,500 personnel. So, there is a significant recruitment campaign needed and additional resources as well. The reserve defence forces, as I often put on the record, this House is often underutilised and many times underappreciated. They stood with the other agencies of the state during very, very difficult times. go back to the Second World War and also during the more recent era of the troubles in the Barthar region in particular. Thank you, Councillor. In relation to the reserve, I was very pleased to attend a commissioning ceremony, commissioning 29 new officers into the reserve defence force in the last week. Let me state very clearly to the House that I do want to prioritise the future of the reserve. That is why we have changed defence legislation to actually remove a barrier on the RDF members on the RDF members who are actually serving overseas. That was done for two reasons. One, to give a signal that actually we want to expand the role of the reserve, but also we want more people to join. I certainly hope that over the next year or so, we will make significant progress in terms of increasing the numbers in the reserve, because I think they have a very important role to play in tandem with the Department of Defence Forces. Thank you very much.
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