I'm Fuming, Absolutely F*cking Fuming!!!

I have today been informed that training that I have had booked for months has been cancelled by my RTC due to financial restraints!

The attendee’s even offered to ‘chip in’ with the travel costs in a bid to get the weekend back on.

I have also been informed that the MCM weekend in pompy for 25th Nov has also been cancelled.

What I want to know is if they want ‘A Reserve For Use’ when are they going to train us for use!

I’m boiling – f*cking boiling! We trust them to defend the countrys interests and they cant even make a 12 month budget last over six months!

I don’t know if it’s the RTC’s fault or if its something that’s been passed from on high but either way it’s a f*cking shambles!

We were told that so long as the training was GSSR based then there would be no restraints on attendances, less than six months later and look at the f*cking pot mess we’re now in.

Does anyone know who is responsible?

 

Could you supply more details - in plain English please (for us non-RNR types)? Who/which Section is responsible for the budget & are their details available in the public domain (ie in the Navy List/MOD website)? Is this for all RNR training or just certain categories? It the stoppage national or local? Has the House of Commons Defence Committee been notified by the the MOD?

Steve.

 

slightly off thread but-
we had 3 lads from our unit sent to jupiter point to do a mics boats course, perfectly sensible, a TEM for advancement.
on arrival- no course for you RNR's , sweep some jetties for a week.
how do you fancy taking a weeks holiday for that. retention " my arse"

 

What was the course Trehorn?
Was the MCMV weekend cancelled nationally or just those from your unit stopped going?

Too often in the past I have seen this happen at unit level. I don't think there is any requirement for units to feed reasons back to CMR when it happens. Often units will act independently without consulting CMR to see if there is a solution.

You do have the option of making a representation through your DO.

 

If it is a national problem due to a shortage of funds so early into the financial year the Commons Defence Committee should be notified if they are not already aware of the situation.

It may be of interest that they are currently investigating if the Services Complaints Commissioner should, as the Deepcut Report recommended comprise a civilian or, as the MOD demand, a service officer. Perhaps problems such as this might throw light on which might be the more suitable candidate?

Steve.

 

I too have been affected by the line of "you cant attend a course in Scotland" cos it costs too much to get u there and the "no you cant pay for the travel yourself" (I was angling to get my civvi employers to get me up there.

Also affected by the MCMV weekend cancellation. It does all seem a bit F**ked up, but what u gonna do. Best is to grin and bear it i guess. The real problem is that the powers that be, are sick of us dripping, we are "just" RNR at the end of the day and they have bigger problems to worry about.

It should be noted that when the training does come off it is in my experience excellent and so I guess we just have to assume the some of the courses / weekends just wont actually materialise. I guess I will just have to spend the 25th and 26th in the pub instead.

 

Some things never change. No doubt you'll be told it's life in a blue suit or something else similar to put you back in your box. No-one ever seems to be accountable. (But you can stand by if you pull out of a weekend at the last minute!)

When the Support Managers stop acting like they are paying for the RNR out of their own pockets things might change. Until then this will keep happening. Surely someone at CMR has to grip this?

Poor reward for getting yor life sorted 6 months in advance.

 

What do the following stand for, please:-

RTC?

GSSR?

CMR?

MCMV?

Are the Support Managers Unit based and are they responsible for the problems you are experiencing?

 

RTC: Reserve Training Centre. The facilities at which members of the RNR are trained (in other words, your unit).

GSSR: General Service Seaman Reserve. A branch of the RNR which provides reservists trained in ship protection duties and general seamanship.

CMR: Commander Maritime Reserves, the top level management of the RNR and RMR (naval reserve and marine reserve).

MCMV: Mine Counter-Measures Vessel, a fancy way of saying a "minesweeper".

I don't know the answer to the last question sorry.

 

In answer to the first part of the question, yes they are unit based and generally its a post occupied by an ex-RN officer (Lt-Cdr) - I understand that in future it may be a general Civil Service post rather than a specific RO post. In my own unit, the SM is responsible for managing the travel budget while the Training budget is managed by the Training Co-ordinator. As regards the second part of your question, you can see from my unit's case, there is a disconnect between the management of travel and training, yet both are required to allow the reservist to attend.

 

Thanks Dunkers! I take it that when I have gleaned more information here (so I know what I'm actually talking about) it would be the CMR rather than either the Director Naval Training or Director Naval Reserves whom I should contact?

 

CMR is the new title for DNRes

 

AAC
Please don't take offence, but what has this to do with you? There is a chain of command which quite frankly, you are not part of.
Your comments and advice on this forum are welcome, but please don't go wading into something you know little about and have no involvement with.
This form is good for having a rant, not for solving in unit problems.

 

Absolutely.

And before anyone else goes off half cocked. You'll find that the whole RN is under a travel and subsistence moratorium at the moment. It's not just the RNR.

I know it's narrow minded penny pinching but it is Navy-wide and should be dealt with through service channels.

 

No offence taken GCYZ. I was just trying to be helpful.
I have PM'd my reasons to you.

Steve.

 

AAC, since you are not part of any chain of command (thank you GCYZ) you can say whatever you like to any military personnel you want to. Knock yourself out.

 

Sounds like dear old Gordon and his cronies at the treasury are trying to claw back some of the money they had to give out on the last outcry (paying tax whilst on combat) so they can give it to another pet\deserving cause or illegal immigrant gay anti war campagainer.

 

OK, OK, OK! Point taken. I can indeed query it. Were I part of any chain of command I wouldn't need to pursue it at all (I wouldn't dare as a rating!!!) - I could leave it to others. One interest is as a member of the general public with a concern over an apparent discrepacy between promises given and reality on the ground. However as a member of the public I will leave well alone.

I will now rap myself hard on the knuckles with anything long and hard that comes to hand and skulk away into the Tiller Flat and await summary justice... (teeth chattering)

Pass me another slice of humble pie someone! :cry:

 

So the whole Navy is having problems with travel. What does that have to do with us? They are already at their place of work. They do not need service travel to train. They can do it where they are. (Up to a point)

Part of the economy of having a part time navy is not having to pay full time salaries. The travel budjet should be regarded as essential as kit issue and id cards. With out them all we are just another bunch of anchor faced civvys sat at home.

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again, one of the biggest problems with the travel budget is that units wait until the last moment before buying the tickets - and then they complain how expensive they are. When you see that prices can be ten times greater in the last few days compared with booking in advance then it's no surprise that the travel budget gets used up.