The re-organisation of the Reserve Defence Force is a key element of the response to the findings and recommendations of a Value for Money Review of the Reserve Defence Force, which was recently completed and published and which concluded that the current Reserve organisation was not fit for purpose and required radical reform. The central recommendation from the VFM Steering Committee is for the retention of the Reserve with 4,000 personnel spread countrywide to be based in barracks and in 16 other locations. This requires the consolidation of existing Reserve Units throughout the country into a smaller number of full-strength Units. The retention of all locations was not a viable or sustainable option.
A new “Single Force” concept will see PDF Units having Reserve components, rather than a parallel Reserve as at present. Reserve Units within barracks will be supported by their parent PDF Unit and the 16 Units outside of PDF installations will be supported by dedicated full time PDF personnel. This concept offers significant potential advantages in terms of training and development of the Reserve. The initiative of locating Reserve Officers within the Defence Forces command structure will likewise underpin the future of Reserve personnel.
All options to avoid the need for personnel to relocate are being explored as part of the re-organisation process. Personnel are being offered the opportunity for reassignment and every effort is being made to minimise the requirement to relocate. Inevitably, given the scale of the re-organisation, it will be necessary for some staff to move to new locations.
