Army Communication & Information Systems Specialists (Sig Op, Lineman and LCIS Amalgamation)

[Brother Blue Steel]

Alright, thanks guys.

 

[IBM]

Just putting in my 2 cents on this whole new ACISS trade as someone from the Res side of the house.

Our unit was briefed a couple months ago that the new common QL3/DP1 phase training will now take at least 2 summers instead of one. This means that new folks can potentially take up to 3, maybe 4 years to get fully trades qualified instead of the 1 or 2 years with the old trades. I can see this really hurting the Comms Res units a few years into the future if there are not enough experienced people at the MCpl & senior Cpl level to provide the mentoring and leadership necessary for a unit's success. This is compounded by the fact that you have people releasing (we seem to have higher turn around than Reg, should not surprising since being in Res means we have other priorities to consider in our lives), and you have a recipe for... well, maybe not disaster, but sucky-ness for sure.

IMO if the senior leadership wants to maintain the whole "Total force" concept, they really need to rethink the whole training process for us, unless they are ok with turning Comm Res units into what will essentially be just PAT platoons. Now that's only assuming if people have to patience to stick around being paid janitors in green uniforms for at least 2~3 years. I honestly think you'll have a significant number of new recruits applying releasing before then, or trying to go Reg cause they'd rather get paid being on PAT. Either way Res units will just lose head count.

Another way they can go is abandon Total force and let Res unit stay with the old trades, but somehow I doubt they would got for that consider how many people have already staked their career on this change.

Conclusion: In the future, it's gonna suck big time being a new Reserve ACISS until you get trade quals. Also, whoever thought of the acronym obviously didn't thought of the fact that you're gonna  have a bunch of RACISS in the new year. You look me in the eye and tell me it doesn't sound bad.  :-\

 

[Sig_Des]

Just putting in my 2 cents on this whole new ACISS trade as someone from the Res side of the house.

Our unit was briefed a couple months ago that the new common QL3/DP1 phase training will now take at least 2 summers instead of one.

Hasn't the Res QL3 been separated into 2 mods for the last couple years anyway?

 

[chrisf]

It has, typical time for a QL5 qualified res sig op now is 4-5 years.

 

[PuckChaser]

I really don't see a way to reduce the 2 summers training time for a reservist and still keep the course material covering most of what's covered on RegF courses for equivalency. Yeah, the reservist may not see half the kit they're being taught, but if they ever go to a RegF unit, it easier to teach someone that's been taught and forgot, then someone who's never seen it before.

In all the briefings I've got, not once have the ever mentioned Reserve ACISS. I thought they just forgot about you guys.

 

[George Wallace]

I really don't see a way to reduce the 2 summers training time for a reservist and still keep the course material covering most of what's covered on RegF courses for equivalency. Yeah, the reservist may not see half the kit they're being taught, but if they ever go to a RegF unit, it easier to teach someone that's been taught and forgot, then someone who's never seen it before.

In all the briefings I've got, not once have the ever mentioned Reserve ACISS. I thought they just forgot about you guys.

Very good points. 

Hopefully this doesn't turn into a case where the Reg F and PRes Trades start to develop too large a Training Delta as to make the Reservists for the most part unemployable in a Class C posn, as what happened to the Armd Corps. 

I am involved in trg PRes to the same standard as Reg F and it does take longer, and can be quite frustrating at times.  The end result often sees fifty per cent of our graduates doing a CT and fifty per cent of the remainder going on Tour.  Maintaining a solid base of experienced and knowledgeable pers in the unit is difficult, but in reality we are doing what we are mandated to do: augment the Reg F.  We are desperately trying to recruit people who will be committed and have a strong tie to the city, hoping that we will keep them for several years and maintain our knowledge and experience, at the same time grow.  It is a difficult task, but must be done.

 

[Sig_Des]

Last I heard with the DP1, it was 73 training days.

When I was on the DP2. Writing board, while we were concentrating on Reg F, when it came to learning packages, we were told specifically to keep it modular so as to make it easier for Reserve training. That was the extent of it for the Res side

 

[chrisf]

I know there'd be a lot of grumblings, but given budget contraints, and more importantly, time constraints, I don't see anything wrong with including a few weekends in those training days... even if it were say every second saturday...  73 training days is what? Three an a half months approximately? Maybe a little less?

 

[PuckChaser]

73 Training days is almost 4 months, without including stat holidays (which one is in the middle of the summer). Definitely a 2x 2 month course to get it close to completed.

Don't worry, the reservists aren't the only ones getting screwed with training time. The RegF DP1 course now has to combine SigOp QL3, Basic Line, Basic Technician training all into a schedule which is less training days than the current SigOp QL3. If the goal was to create soldiers that need max supervision when they come out of CFSCE, they're certainly going to achieve it.

 

[REDinstaller]

Now the base of knowledge within the C and E branch will be sinking into the mud. Much like some of the buildings at Kingston.

 

[PuckChaser]

Much like some of the buildings at Kingston.

Spent all the money on a Battleview lab instead of buying quarters for troops that don't have 50 year old carpet in them.

 

[Sig_Des]

Spent all the money on a Battleview lab instead of buying quarters for troops that don't have 50 year old carpet in them.

Who needs comfy quarters when you can learn Battleview!!

 

[chrisf]

73 Training days is almost 4 months, without including stat holidays (which one is in the middle of the summer). Definitely a 2x 2 month course to get it close to completed.

How do you figure?

Assume an average of 28 days per month, minus 8 weekend days gives us an average of 22 training days per month.

73 Trg Days/22 Trg Days = 3.31 Months.

Work two saturdays per month, brings us down to almost 3 months exactly.

I wouldn't advocate working weekends for reg force courses, and I feel dirty advocating it for reserve courses, but we're there to work, and budgets and time are tight...

 

[PuckChaser]

5 training days a week, times 4 weeks a month = 3.7 months and change.

Your math is flawed, Reserve training is April till End August, 3 of those months have 31 days and 2 have 30 days. Where are you going to find the time to get high school students for 3 whole months? Their break goes from 26 Jun to 31 Aug.

I don't want to argue math and semantics, I just think shoving Reservists through a 1 summer course that should be 2 is ridiculous. You can't employ people solid for 3 months with no weekends, your turnover would be huge. Its the Reserve exercise syndrome. "We have you here on paysheet, so we're going to cram everything we can into every minute of your time because we can". I saw the same thing on Op Cadence. So much useless training shoved into 2 weeks in order to burn out the troops before the damn Op even started.

 

[George Wallace]

You do what we do.  We have three Mods, where we teach Mods 1 and 2 sometime between Sep to Jun (part-time) at the Unit, and then send the students off for full-time training during (End of Jun) Jul and Aug.

 

[chrisf]

5 training days a week, times 4 weeks a month = 3.7 months and change.

Your math is flawed, Reserve training is April till End August, 3 of those months have 31 days and 2 have 30 days. Where are you going to find the time to get high school students for 3 whole months? Their break goes from 26 Jun to 31 Aug.

I don't want to argue math and semantics, I just think shoving Reservists through a 1 summer course that should be 2 is ridiculous. You can't employ people solid for 3 months with no weekends, your turnover would be huge. Its the Reserve exercise syndrome. "We have you here on paysheet, so we're going to cram everything we can into every minute of your time because we can". I saw the same thing on Op Cadence. So much useless training shoved into 2 weeks in order to burn out the troops before the damn Op even started.

You're right, not sure how I got 22 days... should have been 20.  Totally out to lunch there.

Either way, wasn't referring to running it as one straight course, was thinking two 1.5 month mods would be easier for people to attend then two 2 month mods.

Even if we split four months into two mods, it still pretty much excludes anyone other then students from joining the trade, and I don't know what it's like for other reserve squadrons, but for us, we're not even coming close to filling our numbers chasing the student demographic. Students also have an automatic turn over of typically 4-5 years, so it doesn't produce much other then corprorals.

 

[PuckChaser]

You do what we do.  We have three Mods, where we teach Mods 1 and 2 sometime between Sep to Jun (part-time) at the Unit, and then send the students off for full-time training during (End of Jun) Jul and Aug.

That would work, but a lot of our teaching requires equipment or labs that only CFSCE or large RegF units have. There is a possibility to kill off some of the theory portions at the unit level as a DL package, but I don't see that being a significant time savings.

 

[Sig_Des]

That would work, but a lot of our teaching requires equipment or labs that only CFSCE or large RegF units have. There is a possibility to kill off some of the theory portions at the unit level as a DL package, but I don't see that being a significant time savings.

From what I have seen of the TP, there isn't nearly enough Theory only to justify a DL for the DP1 portion

 

[REDinstaller]

I think DL is starting to be a hassle. What ever happened to the Distance being the length of a pace stick? We lose much of our ability to mentor young troops by replacing instructors with computers.

 

[Sig_Des]

I think DL is starting to be a hassle. What ever happened to the Distance being the length of a pace stick? We lose much of our ability to mentor young troops by replacing instructors with computers.

I don't mind DL in a theory driven, more advanced level course, but at basic trade level courses there shouldn't be a DL