What do RNR Officers actually do?

[Karma]

Another question.

If I transfer across I'll have a specialisation which exploits my previous experience in the regular service, that's not going to require me to have much to do with a parent unit, but the option is there.

So in RNR units what do the reservist officers actually do? Given that the unit has a full time staff officer and at least one SR is there much actual administration or is the main responsibility as a DO, organising?

The fact that I don't have this knowledge to hand possibly illuminates the separation between the regular and reserve, all my experience of reserves has either been in FTRS posts or within specialisation so general RNR discussion hasn't really come up.

 

[Captain_Jacks]

The unit job is mainly recruiting and retention :mrgreen:

Give people a base to meet if they wish and the opportunity. Give some people the oppertunity to command. Experience leadership and understand our history :razz:

The main thing is to recruit and train new blood into the service, both JR's and YO's.

Us old cynical buggers will fall off the perch soon enough and we willl need new people in to keep the service going (if we can convince people to join :twisted: )

Jobs DO, training officers, leadership tasking, specialist branch training etc

 

[itsamuppet]

Good Question, Well Asked, and one heard every drill night in the SR and JR mess!

I suppose it depends on your role in the unit, if you're a DO then usual DO stuff no different from the RN, if you are given a regional role then organising training and attending planning meetings etc. Don't forget though this is on top of getting your training done and attending drugs lectures and briefings all in 2 hrs a week, so a lot of the work done in your own time.

Thats a SR view on it anyway. If I'm wrong strike me down and make me a SLT

 

[froggit]

What does Muppet stand for again?
Other than another Gin?

 

[FatBlokeonaBike]

What does an RNR Officer do? Well that does depend on the Unit. So far I've been to a few. In one I had jack, in another I had three in unit roles (DO, Audit and GP Fun Audit) and in my present I have one. This was solely related to two main things; the numbers in the W/Room and the attitude of the SM/RNSO.

By the text book, the main duty should be DO / training as there is an increasing emphasis on this now. And rightly so!!

 

[trehorn2]

Well a certain junior officer at our place seems to spend all his time sticking his nose in everyone elses business while his designated responsibilty falls apart around his ears. A chap with extremely sloped shoulders if ever i saw one. In fact i have yet to meet a single person who actually has anything nice to say about him. He piggy backs on any good ideas and prises control of them from whoever came up with it, before f*cking it right up and dropping it like a hot tatey and putting the sh*t deflectors on auto.

Thank heavens you salute the rank and not the man.

He'll also be the problem of the RN soon.

On the other hand there are other junior officers who put in tonnes of effort and have gained the respect and the loyalty of those who serve both under and over them.

 

[Jim30]

Trehorn - I though DCMR didn't want you to slag off senior management on this site - being rude about CMR is just not on anymore

 

[Six_and_a_Half]

Out of curiousity, I wonder what the officer : rating ratio is in the RNR and how this compares in the regular RN?

It occurs to me that the majority of the RNR consists of a close tie between senior officers (Lt. Cdr and above) and junior officers (A/SLt - Lt). In second place is the senior rates with the junior rates in a distinct minority.

I would like to know what other forum members opinion on this is, and whether anybody has any different ratio conclusions. Perhaps anyone could suggest a reason as to why there seem to be more officers than the ratings and how this could be remedied, or even should it be remedied?

Do we have too many officers, or do we not have enough?

 

[Brains]

It's not something that needs to be remedied as the RNR is not an operational body. It's a pool of individuals who meet a requirement for specialist roles defined by the RN.
More so now than in the RN, there are few specialisations which have both officers and ratings, with most now either being rating-only or officer-only. Air, MTO, Logs and CIS are exceptions, but I think that's pretty much it.

The apparent imbalance in ratio does present the unit-structure with challenges, but the reality is that whilst there are a significant number of officers on paper (still not enough to fill the RN's requirement), there are rarely enough who are list 3 (i.e. attending a unit for drills) and can attend regularly enough to give a unit job the dedication it requires. That's not to say that the other officers are not meeting their operational training requirement.

Of course, the DO role can and should also be performed by SRs, but there is a shortage of SRs too and the same limitations apply. SRs also generally have an additional role in delivering training within their specialisation which further limits the time they can devote to divisional duties.

It's a lot to try to cram into a 2-hour time slot, once a week. Increasing pressure in reservists' civilian employment in recent years now means that there is less personal time available to carry out this work as well. With the units' writers going, there will be en even greater demand on the officers and senior rates in unit management positions. Don't look at the numbers on paper, look at those who step up to the job.

In my opinion there are very few officers or senior rates attending units who could ever be accused of slacking off - if you don't believe me, then stop one and ask them about their workload. That's all part of the privilege of rank, so I wouldn't expect to hear anyone complaining but I am always impressed by the time and effort that people contribute to keeping the units running.

 

[bipod64]

With the mob outsourcing just about everything, to contractors and even the RNR, demands made upon RNR officers are increasing greatly. As mentioned above, it is principally DO and subordinate development responsibilities. But these are in addition to their respective specialisations. With diminishing budgets for training and T&E it is farcical how the mob expect part-timers to perform these important tasks proficiently, in time allowed..... I, for one, refuse to do anything without being paid by the mob. Why should Gordon Brown's meaness make demands on my free time ??? Something is going to give somewhere

 

[sgtpepperband]

:???:

 

[Aldis]

Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 10:28 am Post subject: Re: What do RNR Officers actually do?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What does Muppet stand for again?
Other than another

Most Useless Person Pusser Ever Trained (a MW Rating)