Defence Update – RAAF Ready Reserves

There is also provision for 206 other personnel to make up the RAAF Ready Reserve, by either transferring non aircrew personnel with the required skills from what is known as the Air Force Active Reserve, or recruit more personnel from the civilian community. Currently Group Captain Arthur White, the Director of Reserves, is writing a paper for the Chief of the Air Staff, on possible future options for the Ready Reserve in the RAAF. While problems of maintaining currency, not just in flying skills but in tactics are likely to continue to make it difficult for Ready Reservists to fly the fast combat jets, the question of reservists being employed as flight engineers and perhaps navigators on other aircraft types will be examined.

Women are not recruited as Airfield Defence Guards because it is listed as a combat arm, the only area in the RAAF now restricted to men. However if other skills are introduced within the Airfield Defence Guards category, it is possible that women may be recruited in the future. Group Captain White explained that recent history shows that the RAAF consisted of three parts – the Permanent Air Force, the Reserve Air Force, and what was named the Emergency Force. In the Air Force Reserve there now is the newish Ready Reserve, the Active Reserve, the Specialist Reserve and the General Reserve.

The General Reserve consists of a pool of previously trained personnel, but who are not required to train at all, and who do not get paid. The Specialist Reserve covers medical, dental, legal experts and chaplains. A public relations arm was introduced about a year ago. The Ready Reserve aircrew strength of 44 actually came from the Active Reserve members switching across. The Active Reserve is a pool with an establishment strength of 1550, and actual participants of around 1000. They are required to train 32 days a year.

Most of the aircrew crew RAAF transports like the Boeing 707, C-130 Hercules and the Caribou. A large percentage of the 15 pilots fly with the national airline, Qantas. RAAF Ready Reservist aircrew, qualified say for the 707 tanker/transports, mostly are restricted to flights within Australia. Training Ready Reservists to be Airfield Defence Guards is a different kettle of fish. A particularly pleasing aspect of the scheme is that two batches of 24 RR ADGs already have transferred to the Permanent Air Force.

The Air Force Ready Reserve scheme started in January 1992 with an intake of 90. They qualify for “jobsearch or education assistance”. They do 50 days a year part time training for the next four years, and get a $1500 bonus for each year of part time service completed. Another 90 Air Force Ready Reservists started the year’s full time training in January 1993. A year later the intake was 64 airmen and, for the first time, four cadet officers who went on to graduate through the Royal Military College. The ready reserve airmen do the same training as the airmen in the Permanent Air Force, with the Airfield Defence Guards doing three months recruit training at the RAAF base at Edinburgh, South Australia, then three months at the School of Fire and Security at Amberley. The remaining six months usually is taken up with No 1 Airfield Defence Squadron at Tindal or No 2 Airfield Defence Squadron at Amberley.