Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) training for army reservists and (b) social cohesiveness between reservists and full-time soldiers.

Mr Julian Brazier

As a result of constant reviews conducted by the Army to improve and modernise the delivery of training, opportunities for Army Reservists have never been better.

Initial training for the Army Reserve was restructured last year. This has streamlined progression through the training programme, as Reservists enjoy greater flexibility with how they complete the modules in Phase 1.

Phase 2 sees Reservists receive instruction at the same specialist training schools as their regular counterparts, equipping them with the professional skills required to fully integrate with the Regular Army.

The Army currently offers 22 bespoke overseas training exercises for Reservists, which Reserve units lead with their paired Regular units integrated to improve interoperability and social cohesion. In addition, Reservists routinely train alongside their Regular counterparts from their paired and other units, in complex exercises at home and overseas, using the same equipment.

Social cohesion between Reservists and Regular soldiers is further fostered though the growth of sports, social and Regimental events facilitated by the pairing mechanism, whereby each reserve unit is paired with a Regular Unit.