dubaipusser
Lantern Swinger

The recent strings on the Summer shutdowns at some Units combined with ongoing comments about the quality of drill night training etc beg the obvious question - Do we really need RTCs?
1. They are expensive (at a time when money is not exactly growing on trees) and only used for a fraction of the week
2. RNR personnel tend to deploy to the RN as individuals rather than as formed units (unlike the TA for example) and therefore do not 'train together in RTCs'
3. Whole wedges of time on drill nights are increasingly spent in administering a building
4. JPA is going to require even more time on 'self administration' cutting even further into the 2 hour slots
5. To sustain the training the units are going to have to invest in even more PCs and with so much training now 'e-learning viable' the best options could be a 'train at home in the week, travel to Naval Establishments at weekends' regime.
Arguments FOR the RTCs include
1. Retention (under the pride in the Ship's Company' consideration but I read regularly on RR about problems of retention so is it really working?)
2. RN Footprint (but the SCC seem to be constantly held up as the specialists in this area)
I do not advocate such a dramatic (and probably irreversible) change to the RNR as getting rid of the Units - personally I suspect that it would a decision long regretted if taken - but simply wanted to pose the question.
Any thoughts?
1. They are expensive (at a time when money is not exactly growing on trees) and only used for a fraction of the week
2. RNR personnel tend to deploy to the RN as individuals rather than as formed units (unlike the TA for example) and therefore do not 'train together in RTCs'
3. Whole wedges of time on drill nights are increasingly spent in administering a building
4. JPA is going to require even more time on 'self administration' cutting even further into the 2 hour slots
5. To sustain the training the units are going to have to invest in even more PCs and with so much training now 'e-learning viable' the best options could be a 'train at home in the week, travel to Naval Establishments at weekends' regime.
Arguments FOR the RTCs include
1. Retention (under the pride in the Ship's Company' consideration but I read regularly on RR about problems of retention so is it really working?)
2. RN Footprint (but the SCC seem to be constantly held up as the specialists in this area)
I do not advocate such a dramatic (and probably irreversible) change to the RNR as getting rid of the Units - personally I suspect that it would a decision long regretted if taken - but simply wanted to pose the question.
Any thoughts?