In light of the COMPLAINING around here, what would you do?

Hey shippers,

AS the title says i'mm looking for what people think should be done to improve the RNR both in the eye of the RN and from the reservists point of view?

We all know that there is no real place for democracy in the RN/R, so lets just use our imaginative freedom that we get in our spare time and have some good ideas for an ideal world.

Personally i think the problem is not the promises made in recruitment evenings. You know the ones where you are told that you can spend time at sea and you get to do all sorts of AT including sking on the alps. The problem lays in how long were told it will take. Lets face it, it is at least 24mth untill you can start to try and get time on board for any real length of time (not including days at sea for affiliates and families). Be honest about the length of time and perhaps the people who we do recruit will be williong to wait that length of time. Thus improving the standard of jack? Who knows.

 

Re: In light of the COMPLAINING around here, what would you

right,
first thing is majority of those here are fully converted and thus Matelots.....so dripping is part of what we do. :lol: :lol:
If you didn't research and took everything that was promised when you signed up then......whooops lesson to be learnt :roll: :roll:
and yes we could improve the rnr/rn but it would take huge upheaval a massive injection of cash to pay for the improvements and it would take a lot more intrest from the general public than we have at the mo. Non of these are likely to happen anytime soon. :cry:
the final point to be made is although the "bring along a mate" idea is a naff one and probably won't have a great deal of effect we are the advert for the RNR/RN and such should ensure that we are seen and noticed for all the right reasons............ :evil:
Me? I wish I'd joined the regulars when I was a nipper......having a whale of a time doin stuff I'd never get the chance otherwise and yes there is exotic AT out there you just have to chase it....

 

Re: In light of the COMPLAINING around here, what would you

I was not trying to stop the dripping, that is how most of us stop going mental.

Your points are very true, i do understand that the main two problems are money and public perception. The money will never happen and the public perception is based on whsat the papers say about us the RNR/RN and i guess that will not change quite soon.

Matelots are renouned for making the most of what they have got and that is exactly what we are doing.

Personally i cant wait to join up full time because i dont want to get too old and say i wish i had done that, if you know what i mean?

 

Re: In light of the COMPLAINING around here, what would you

okay, crack on mcshippers, good luck and put in as much as you can, coz (i didn't believe this when I joined....but it IS true in this one case) the more you put in the more you WILL get back and just remember
1. Never volunteer for anything "SPECIAL" 8O
2. No good deed goes unpunished :cry:
3. Always smile it makes them wonder what you've been up to and
4. Do eveything on purpose......... :twisted:

 

Re: In light of the COMPLAINING around here, what would you

I know what you mean, I did so for Ex Special reserve. Good weekend but i did it at a point where i knew nothing about waht was happening. I sat inromnt of a computer struggling to read signals coming through whilst trying to sort them into appropriate folders for ease of use. It was only the last 3hrs that i understood what was going on when the I/C was having his debreifs. Typical!! :lol:

 

Re: In light of the COMPLAINING around here, what would you

Good and Ex Spec res in the same sentence, what the hell's going on here. This positive attitude has gone too far now

 

Re: In light of the COMPLAINING around here, what would you

What would I do? Well the Navy is stretched, we are going to be at war for the next 40 to 50 years according to the Septics. I agree with "never volunteer for any thing". So there is only one thing to be done. Mobilise the whole RNR.

(Good job I'm not that important, eh?)

 

Re: In light of the COMPLAINING around here, what would you

I can almost hear the clamour for National Service to be brought back....elevating the RNR closer to the RN, as a true (in everyones eyes) reserve, and the "National Service" ratings carrying out less front line duties....

Don't get me started on "the youth of today" and the need for National Service...i point you in the direction (again) of, www.chavscum.com

 

Re: In light of the COMPLAINING around here, what would you

Well I certainly agree with you that people should be given a realistic assessment of the time it takes to get things done.

Other thoughts:

- People who join the RNR are interested in things nautical. There really is no excuse for not getting people away onboard ships and to sea frequently. With the technology available today the RN should be able to run a “Dating Service†whereby ships or courses with vacancies could meet people wanting to go to sea/on course. Incidentally, we seem to have so few ships now and so many perfectly good ships being mothballed/disposed of, it seems to me that it should it be possible for the RN to run a ship on a skeleton crew for the RNR in the same way that we had Dartmouth Training/Navigation Ship.

- Trust people to do the right thing. There is far too much petty bureaucracy in the Armed Forces as a whole and the RN in particular. People should be allowed much more autonomy to sort the Mickey mouse stuff like travel, kit, small purchases and so on out themselves.

- The RN must think very carefully about the suitability and quality of people it drafts to RTCs as PSI’s.

- Let’s not get too fussed about putting people into very rigid branches. We should be encouraging people to make themselves as useful as possible and to be flexible rather than only allowing them to follow really rigid “career paths†dictated centrally.

- Training should be holistic and realistic and non-proscriptive. Training should be there to enable people to do stuff rather than just pass a test at the end of it. There should also be a presumption that all training is useful and that people shouldn’t be restricted as to what they can and can’t do by branch or rate. In a branch that doesn’t normally carry weapons but want to learn to fire a rifle? Fill your boots, it’s not going to make you a worse serviceman and you'll learn lots of other useful stuff as well as how to fire the rifle.

- More leaders less managers and machine-minders. The RN leadership courses are not necessarily suitable for RNR people – and suck up two weeks which cannot then be spent on ORT.

- In some years people can do lots of training and in others very little. Instead of a very rigid allocation of training days how about a flexi-days scheme which allows you to bank training days in the much longer term to carry over to another year?

- Reservists are different; that’s why they are such an enormous asset to the RN. The RN Diversity and Equal Opportunities policy has much to say about valuing people from ethnic minorities and different religions for what they bring to the service. How about valuing reservists for what they bring to the equation too?

- Adopt and attitude of “Let’s spend five minutes seeing how we can do this†rather than “Let’s spend an hour thinking of reasons why we shouldn’t do thisâ€


So in the future maybe things will go like this: Our reservist, Robin, suddenly finds a weekend free. Robin knows that next year is going to be really difficult training wise because of work so Robin decides to look at the “Dating Service" to see what is available†Robin finds a ship which needs some people over the weekend to help out with an AMP over the weekend because they need to be back at sea on Monday. Most of it is cleaning and painting but as a sweetener the ship has offered any RNR people willing to help out a full ship’s tour, T shirt and baseball cap.

Robin drops an e-mail to the ship offering to help and gets e-joining instructions. Robin copies these to the PSI, books a ticket on-line using an RNR credit card and pops down to Pompey for the weekend. Robin has a brilliant time, although there was a stack of cleaning and painting to be done and secure wasn’t until 18.00 on Saturday, Robin met some great people, (the run ashore was a classic) and Robin learns a lot about ship’s routines, finding the way around a ship, maintenance, the importance of securing a scrubber with a painter when working aloft, a good way to run a paint store, how to live down a mess-deck and picks up some really useful leadership tips from the PO part of ship and some equally valid tips on how not to be a leader from a rather petty minded Leading Hand.

Back at home Robin claims back the pay, travel and subsistence against the allowances clearly set out on the Internet and sends it off for payment and fills in a learning log setting out what value there was in the weekend. Next time Robin is in unit the PSI (who asked to be drafted to an RTC because working with the RNR is seen as a good career move, likes reservists and makes a lot of allowances) checks to make sure the learning log has been filled out, and credits Robin with two days flexi.

In six months time, Robin gets called up for GSSR and sent to an operational zone. Robin finds the way around the chartered merchant ship very easily, fits in very easily down the mess, helps out with sorting out the old inflam store which the GSSR team got to use for their kit, starts to show real leadership potential, and saves a GPMG from going over the side of the bridge wing whilst it was being unshipped in rough weather by fitting a retaining strap.

In nine month’s time Robin is down the pub wearing a ship’s T shirt andspinning a few dits and a friend says – “How do you join the RNR then?â€

 

Re: In light of the COMPLAINING around here, what would you

Why stop there? There are those of us out here who are still fit enough for desk jobs and could sit in an office for days on end handling signals, etc. Perhaps we could get drafts when the RN is short of people? I'm sure lots of ex-RNXS people would be interested in this sort of thing. We could always help out ashore in some way - releasing valuable personnel for other more vital tasks.

 

Re: In light of the COMPLAINING around here, what would you

AS I ALWAYS SAY >>> Iwas in the RN and RNR ... THE RNR is certainly better quality than the RN anyday ???? of course the RN doesnt like this ??? YOU LADS and LASSES do in your spare time EVERYTHING AS GOOD as what the RN does full time ... FULL STOP ???

 

Re: In light of the COMPLAINING around here, what would you

Surely you're not suggesting that bods who have not undergone the elitist training you underwent Percey are better? That cannot be true! :lol: How many RNR people could tie a knot dangling upsidedown, 80ft off the tarmac, with their eyes closed and their fingers frozen and one arm and both legs holding onto the shroud futtocks for dear life? :?: :lol: :lol: :roll: :wink: In fact if the RNR Padre was here he'd be claiming sexual and religious persecution by the mere mention of shrouds and futtocks in the same sentence, and would probably get £300K compensation for hurt feelings!

 

Re: In light of the COMPLAINING around here, what would you

Not sure in the current operation environment I would agree with this sentiment, appreciated as it is.

What the RNR provide does not directly tie in with the RN trades, there is a simple reason for this. Some of the training and experience that the regs have by its very nature, gained over a long period of time. We can never seek to emulate this, the change over to STCW95 is a case in point. Equally look in the ops room and consider how much experience it takes to operate the machine that goes 'bing'. As an organisation we can never seek to emulate that. What we can provide is specialists like nurses and doctors or perhaps people we can train in roles that are limited in either their technical aspects, GSSR, or one for which reservists may have a useful background ie media ops.

That said we tend to attract candidates that are older than those of the RN so you would expect something more switched on in the ratings in RNR units.

 

Re: In light of the COMPLAINING around here, what would you

I think what Percey probably means is that the RNR are usually a lot more enthusiastic about doing the job and therefore take pride in a job well done. RN are better trained but let's face it - who of us are 100% enthusiastic in our day jobs? I'm sure I'm not, and I'm sure RN are the same - doesn't mean they're no better at the job than RNR..... :wink: