CONTENTS

Royal Australian Naval Reserves (RANR) - loss of support by the RAN?
Royal Australian Naval Reserves (RANR) - Loss of traditional Awards.

Royal Australian Naval Reserve The civilian direct entry recruitment for the RANR seems to have all but ceased to exist in the local communities as an identifiable part of the Defence Navy structure. Indeed, in the Defence Internet pages, the Naval Reserves hardly exists at all and references to past RANR historical performance and honours now appears to be claimed as RAN only. Whilst the RANR were an integral part of Defence Navy the current RANR policy seems to be focussing on recycling ex RAN into the RANR with very little direct entry civilian recruitment. If this is the new policy then this is a major shift with respect to the RANR which, in the past, was primarily a Citizens' Naval Force comprising direct entry civilians from the civilian workforce. The Victoria Division believes that Federal Government has not understood the issues - the economic and practical benefits arising from using part time civilian educated and trained direct entry recruits for the RANR in support of defence. It is observed that in the past these type of recruits brought with them, from their professional civilian workplaces, considerable skills and expertise to complement and support Defence Navy. The loss of State based recruitment for RANR personnel and administration in centralised Naval (Reserve) depots has resulted in the loss of the historic RANR identity. The appearance now is that there is no real understanding of, or planning, to utilise, in the long term, the volunteer service available in Australia. Career defence personnel give the impression of a complete lack of understanding about the basic concept of reserve volunteer service and the cost effective benfit to Australia's Defence. This comment is further reinforced by the career Defence Senior Officers' support for the recent deletion of the Reserve Forces historic Decoration (RFD) and Medal claiming that their career service equates to the second career that volunteers offer to give, in their spare time dditional to their normal civilian careers, to support Australia's Defence. The Careers Defence structure have now openly declared their ignorance about the true nature of the service provided by their own Reserve forces. (Jan 1999 Comment By President CMDR John M Wilkins RFD* FIEAust CPEng RANR Ret'd).

Awards and Decorations - Defence Force Reserves Awards - This matter concerns members of the Royal Australian Naval Reserve (RANR) and therefore was considered by the Navy League of Australia - Victoria Division Committee. A Government special committee set up in 1994 examined the existing awards and recommended the cancellation of Australian Reserve Forces Awards introduced by the Fraser Liberal Government in 1982. To understand some of the principles resulting in the issue of the new Australian Reserve Forces Awards in 1982 it is necessary to go back a few years. A special Reserve Forces Awards committee, comprised of an Army Reserve Brigadier, an Air Force Reserve Squadron Leader and a Royal Australian Naval Reserve Lieutenant-Commander, was formed in the late 1970s to co-ordinate the restoration of the joint UK/AUST traditional Reserve Forces decorations and medals dispens ed with by the Labor Government's The Hon. The Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, in February 1975. These were the RD (Naval Reserve Decoration), ED (Army Efficiency Decoration) and AEA (Air Efficiency Award), LSGCM (Naval Long Service & Good Conduct Medal). Many petitions were subsequently received Australia wide from Reserve forces personnel and submitted to both houses of Federal Parliament. Subsequently the Hon. The Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, acted, seven years later in 1982. All government backbenchers had, for the third time, unanimously supported the Reserves Forces personnel's fight for their own Australian Reserve Forces medals. In response to these petitions the Hon. The Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, instituted two new Australian Awards, the RFD (Reserve Forces Decoration) and RFM (Reserve Forces Medal), to replace the joint use of UK/AUST 'Imperial Awards' unilaterally discarded during Gough Whitlam's term of office. The career uniformed Defence personnel on the 1994 committee have now incorrectly equated their full time professional service as being identical to that of Reservists arguing that the RFD and RFM are not applicable and that a common award must apply to everyone, 'Permanent' and 'Reserve'. These career Naval & Military personnel appear to have arrived at this decision without any real understanding of the previous recognition given for dedicated Volunteer service of Reservists carried out in their own spare time and in addition to their full time professional civil employment. This Reserve support for the Defence of Australia, with its fundamental volunteer aspect, is the real reason for the application of the awards, RFD and RFM. The awards provide a tangible Government recognition of that unique volunteer Reserve service which also acts as an additional incentive. The Victoria Division supported the retention of existing Australian Reserve Forces Awards, introduced by the Australian Government in 1982 and is astounded that they have now been cancelled due to the active support of career Defence Personnel and federal civil servants.

Click here for 1900-1998 NRC history

Complied by Navy League of Australia - Victoria Division - 2001