Report 5—Canadian Army Reserve—National Defence

Audit at a Glance Report 5—Canadian Army Reserve—National Defence

What we examined (see Focus of the audit)

This audit focused on the ability of National Defence to organize, train, and equip its Army Reserve soldiers and units so that they are prepared to deploy as part of an integrated Canadian Army.

Why we did this audit

This audit is important because National Defence has determined that the Canadian Army needs the support of the Army Reserve to successfully conduct domestic and international missions.

What we concluded

We concluded that although Army Reserve units received clear guidance for domestic missions, the Canadian Army did not require Army Reserve groups to formally confirm that they were prepared to deploy on domestic missions. Army Reserve units and groups did not always have access to key equipment. At the same time, Army Reserve units lacked clear guidance on preparing for international missions, had lower levels of training as cohesive teams, and had not fully integrated this training with that of the Regular Army.

We concluded that the Army Reserve did not have the number of soldiers it needed and lacked information on whether soldiers were prepared to deploy when required. The number of Army Reserve soldiers has been steadily declining because the Army Reserve has been unable to recruit and retain the soldiers it needs. Furthermore, funding was not designed to fully support unit training and other activities.

We concluded that Army Reserve soldiers received lower levels of physical fitness training and were not trained in the same number of skills as Regular Army soldiers. We found that some Army Reserve soldiers had not acquired the remainder of these skills before they were deployed.

What we found

Guidance on preparing for missions

Overall, we found that Army Reserve units lacked clear guidance on preparing for major international missions. We also found that although the Army Reserve had clear guidance on preparing for domestic missions, formal confirmation that they were prepared was not required. In addition, Army Reserve units and groups lacked access to key equipment on deployments and training exercises.

This is important because National Defence needs the Canadian Army, including a fully integrated Army Reserve, to organize, train, and equip land forces to meet Canada First Defence Strategy missions.

Sustainability of Army Reserve units

Overall, we found that Army Reserve units do not have the number of soldiers they need to train so that soldiers and teams are prepared to deploy when required. The number of Army Reserve soldiers has been steadily declining because the Army Reserve is unable to recruit and retain the soldiers it needs. We found that the Canadian Army does not know if Army Reserve soldiers have the current qualifications they need to deploy for domestic and international missions. Furthermore, we found that the Army Reserve units did not have the funding they needed to fully support all required unit activities.

This is important because Army Reserve units need enough trained soldiers and adequate funding if they are to organize and train soldiers and teams to be combat-capable and prepared for deployment.

  • Army Reserve units did not have the soldiers they needed

    Recommendation. National Defence should design and implement a retention strategy for the Army Reserve.

    Recommendation. National Defence should review the terms of service of Army Reserve soldiers, and the contracts of full-time Army Reserve soldiers, to ensure that it is in compliance with the National Defence Act.

    Recommendation. National Defence should review its policies and clarify Army Reserve soldiers’ access to medical services.

    Recommendation. National Defence should ensure that it has up-to-date information on whether Army Reserve soldiers are prepared for deployment. This information should include civilian qualifications held by Army Reserve soldiers.

  • Army Reserve funding was not designed to be consistent with unit training and other activities

    Recommendation. National Defence should ensure that budgeted annual funding for Army Reserve units is consistent with expected results.

    Recommendation. National Defence should complete planned changes to the way it reports its annual budgets and the expenses of the Army Reserve, so that National Defence can link assigned funding to expected results.

Training of Army Reserve soldiers

Overall, we found that the Canadian Army had designed its training so that Army Reserve soldiers received lower levels of physical fitness training and were not trained for the same number of skills as Regular Army soldiers. We found that some Army Reserve soldiers had not acquired the remainder of these skills before they were deployed. We also found that Army Reserve soldiers had lower levels of training as cohesive teams. Furthermore, we found that collective training for Army Reserve units was not well integrated with the training of the Regular Army units.

This is important because the Canadian Army needs physically fit, well-trained soldiers who can be deployed, either as individuals or in teams, to meet the challenges of the modern battlefield. Without the complete range of skills, Army Reserve soldiers and their teams are put at risk. Furthermore, the flexibility that commanders need to meet the challenges of domestic and international missions is limited by the skills and experiences of the soldiers under their command.

  • Army Reserve soldiers received less training than Regular Army soldiers

    Recommendation. National Defence should work with departments and agencies that have responsibility under the Canada Labour Code and the Reserve Forces Training Leave Regulations to consider including coverage of absences to attend all types of occupational skills training into the Code and the Regulations.

    Recommendation. National Defence should consider amendments to its proposed Compensation for Employers of Reservists Program to include absences for all occupational skills training of Army Reserve soldiers.

    Recommendation. National Defence needs to ensure that training of Army Reserve soldiers for international deployments addresses all known gaps in individual occupational skills training.

  • Army Reserve and Regular Army unit training were not fully integrated

    Recommendation. National Defence should improve the collective training and integration of Army Reserve units with their Regular Army counterparts so that they are better prepared to support deployments.

Entity Responses to Recommendations

The audited entities agree with our recommendations, and have responded (see List of Recommendations).

Related Information

Report of the Auditor General of Canada
Type of product Performance audit
Topics
Audited entities
Completion date 26 January 2016
Tabling date 3 May 2016
Related audits

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The Auditor General’s Comments

Large video and transcript