Australian Army Reserve
Encyclopedia
The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units
of the Australian Army
. Since the Federation of Australia
in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen Military Forces, the Militia and, unofficially, the Australian Military Forces. In 1980, however, the current name—Australian Army Reserve—was officially adopted, and it now consists of a number of components based around the level of commitment and training obligation that its members are required to meet.
, however, this focus gradually shifted due to the changing strategic environment, and the requirement for a higher readiness force available to support collective security goals. Since then, Australian defence policy has been focused more upon the Regular Army, and there has been considerable debate about the role of the Army Reserve within defence planning circles. As the strategic situation has evolved in the post Cold War
era, the organisation, structure, training and role of the Army Reserve has undergone considerable changes, and members of the Army Reserve are increasingly being used on overseas deployments, not only within Regular Army units, but also in units drawn almost entirely from Reserve units.
Despite being the main focus upon which Australian defence planning was based, since Federation
Reserve units have primarily been used in the role of home defence and to provide a mobilisation platform during times of war. During World War I
Australia's contribution to the fighting came from forces raised outside of the citizens forces that were in existence at the time, and although many citizen soldiers enlisted in these forces, the Citizens Forces units remained in Australia. With the outbreak of World War II a similar situation evolved, with the establishment of an all volunteer expeditionary force, however, with the entry of Japan into the war the threat to Australia became more direct and a number of Militia units were called upon to fight in New Guinea and other areas of the South West Pacific.
Following the end of World War II, however, the decision was made to establish a permanent standing defence force and the role of Reserve forces was reduced to the point where for a while their relevance was called into question. Recently, however, there has been a move to develop a more capable Reserve force, as Australia's overseas military commitments in the Pacific and Middle East have highlighted the importance of the Reserves once more. As such, since 2000 units of the Australian Army Reserve have been deployed to East Timor
and the Solomon Islands
on peacekeeping duties and many more individual Reservists have been used to provide specialist capabilities and to fill out Regular Army formations being sent overseas.
controlled by the six separate, self-governing British colonies
to form a unified force controlled by the Commonwealth was an inevitable, albeit slowly realised, consequence, given that the new Constitution of Australia
assigned the defence power solely to the Commonwealth. Indeed, this process took some time as, to a large extent, matters of defence were not necessarily a priority of the new Australian legislature at the time, and there was also a considerable diversity in opinion regarding the composition and size of the new national army and role it would play at home and indeed within the wider Imperial defence system. Nevertheless, the official transfer of forces from the states to the Commonwealth occurred on 1 March 1901, and this date is today celebrated as the birthday of the modern Australian Army. At the outset, the bulk of the Commonwealth military force was to be made up of part-time volunteers.The military forces under Commonwealth control in 1901 were 28,886 men, of whom only 1,500 were permanent soldiers—mostly serving in the artillery and instructional corps. This was arguably due to two factors. Firstly, there was a widespread desire amongst Australian policymakers to keep defence expenditure low, while secondly there was a widespread mistrust or suspicion surrounding the idea of a large standing army.
After the initial transfer of forces in March 1901, further progress was slow as administrative and legislative instruments took time to develop. Indeed, it was not until 1 March 1904 that the Defence Act 1903 was proclaimed, providing the Commonwealth Military Forces a statutory framework within which they could operate. Amidst a background of political manoeuvring and personal agendas, the military forces were eventually reorganised into a more or less unified command structure. As a part of this, state-based mounted units were reformed into light horse regiments, supplemented by the transfer of men from a number of superfluous infantry units, while the remaining infantry were organised into battalions of the Australian Infantry Regiment and engineers and artillery were organised into field companies and garrison artillery batteries. Due to the provisions of the Defence Act which did not provide for the establishment of a regular infantry force, the notion that the Commonwealth Military Forces would be largely based on a part-time militia was set out in legislation.
The lack of importance placed on military matters in Australian political circles continued for some time, and the size of the Australian military in this time continued to fall, in part due to the emphasis placed upon mounted units in the new command structure. However, following a number of strategic and political "scares",For example the Japanese victory over the Russians in the Russo–Japanese War
. Grey 2008, p. 77. defence matters slowly began to take on more primacy in the Australian psyche before a review of defence needs was made in 1909 by Field Marshal Lord Kitchener
. The result of this review was the realisation of the need to build a credible defence force that could not only defend the nation, but also possibly contribute to the Imperial
defence system (although this later realisation remained little more than a consideration on paper only). The review also validated the compulsory military training scheme that was to be introduced in 1910, which was directly responsible for expanding the Citizens Forces by up to 50 percent in the three years prior to the outbreak of World War I
.
Undoubtedly, the scheme proved to have numerous benefits, as manyIt is estimated that up to 15 percent of AIF recruits had gained prior military experience as a result of this scheme. of these youths went on to serve in the First AIF
during World War I and the expanded organisation allowed citizens forces officers more experience in commanding formed bodies of men. However, it was the main factors contributing to the decision to recruit the AIF on the basis of voluntary enlistment. Because the army in 1914 was largely made up of young men aged between 19 and 21 who had been enlisted under this scheme, and due to the provisions of the Defence Act that precluded sending conscripts overseas, upon the outbreak of the war it was necessary for the Australian government to raise a separate force, outside of the Citizens Forces organisation for service overseas.
During the precautionary stage on 2 August 1914, Citizens Forces units were called up to guard essential points and man coastal forts and harbour defences. The first Australian shots (many sources report the first Allied shots) of both World War I
and World War II
were fired by the garrison at Fort Nepean
. By June 1918, 9,215 home service troops were on active duty in Australia, alongside 2,476 regular soldiers. From 1915, only skeleton garrisons were maintained at coastal forts, but the personnel manning them were forbidden to enlist in the AIF. This ban was lifted in April 1915 but the presence of a German commerce raider
in Australian waters caused a mobilisation from February to April 1916, while another mobilisation occurred in April 1918 for the same reason.
There was little support for compulsory military service amongst the public, however, and combined with the financial pressure that the government felt at that time to reduce defence spending, the 1920 recommendations were not fully implemented. Although the compulsory training scheme was retained, it was decided that it would only be focused on the more populated areas, essentially ending the scheme in rural areas. The result of this was that the course of only a year the strength of the Citizens Forces fell from 127,000 to only 37,000 in 1922. Throughout the 1920s, numbers decreased even further and although the divisional structure was maintained, it was little more than a skeleton force as units found their numbers dropping drastically.
In 1929, following the election of the Scullin
Labor
government, the compulsory training scheme was abolished and in its place a new system was introduced whereby the Citizens Forces would be maintained on a part-time, voluntary basis only. At this time it was also decided to change the name of the force, with the title of "Militia" being adopted as it was felt that it implied voluntary service rather than forced. The force would be based upon the five divisions of the old AIF, although it was decided to limit the overall number of units. This force would also be armed with modern weapons and equipment. That, at least, was the promise, however, in reality this never came to fruition and to a large extent they continued to be trained and equipped with 1914–18 equipment right up to and during World War II
. The result of this change in recruitment policy was a huge drop in the size of the Army, as numbers fell by almost 20,000 in one year as there was little prospect for training and as the financial difficulties of the Great Depression began to be felt. As a result, in 1930 the decision was made to disband or amalgamate a number of units and five infantry battalions and two light horse regiments were removed from the order of battle. The following year, nine more infantry battalions were disbanded.
Between 1929 and 1937, the number of soldiers within the Militia who could provide effective service was well below the force's actual on paper strength as many soldiers were unable to attend even a six day annual camp out of fear of losing their civilian employment. Also it has been estimate that up to 50 per cent of the Militia's other ranks were medically unfit. The numbers situation had become so tenuous that it was rare for a battalion to be able to field even 100 men during an exercise, so units accepted men that would not normally meet the medical requirements, indeed it has been stated that men who were "lame and practically blind" were allowed to join in an effort to improve numbers. To illustrate this, in 1936, the largest battalion—the 30th/51st Battalion—had just 412 personnel of all ranks, while the 11th/16th Battalion, which was the smallest, had only 156 men.
Financially the Militia was neglected also. Despite the upturn in the economic situation in the early 1930s there was little financial respite for the Militia in this time. As the situation continued to improve, however, the defence vote was increased steadily after 1935. Indeed, in 1938 the government decided to double the strength of the Militia as war clouds began to loom on the horizon, and late in the year a recruiting campaign was launched that saw the size of the Militia increase from 35,000 to 43,000 men over the space of three months. This trend continued into 1939 and by mid way through the year there over 80,000 men were serving on a part-time voluntary basis. Nevertheless, there was a serious shortage of equipment and as a result, when World War II broke out in September 1939 the Militia was by no means an effective fighting force and the nation as a whole was not as well prepared for war as it had been in 1914.
As was the case during World War I, many members of the Militia would go on to serve in the Second AIF
. Nevertheless, for a period of time the government attempted to limit the number of militiamen transferring across to the AIF in order to build defences at home against concerns that Britain might not be able to fulfil its pledge to defend Singapore in the event of an attack there by the Japanese. As such, once again Australia maintained a policy of two armies. For the first two years Australia's involvement in the war was focused in overseas theatres in Europe, the Middle East
and North Africa
, and during this time it was the AIF that was involved in the fighting overseas, while units of the Militia were used in garrison duties in Australia and New Guinea
, then an Australian territory. During this time, the Militia units came to be derided by the men of the AIF units, with militiamen sometimes being labelled as "chocolate soldiers" or "koalas".The reference to "chocolate soldiers" relates to the widely held belief that the militiamen would melt the first time they were required for action, while the jibe about "koalas" is taken from the fact that at the time koalas were protected under law, in so much as it was illegal for them to be shot or exported.
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This changed dramatically, however, following the entry of Japan
into the war on 8 December 1941, with the attack on Pearl Harbor
and on the British forces in Malaya
. Suddenly the war was brought to Australia's doorstep and there was a risk that the Japanese could attempt to invade the Australian mainland. In April 1942, the threat of invasion of Australia seemed very real following the loss of Malaya and Singapore and the subsequent Japanese landings in New Guinea. Seeing the threat that the Japanese posed to Australia, the government had begun to bring AIF units back from the Middle East but the bulk of the forces immediately available for the defence of Australia came from the militia, which was at that stage an organisation of some 265,000 men organised into five infantry and two cavalry divisions.
Despite earlier derision, a number of Militia units went on to perform with distinction during the Pacific War
, especially in 1942, when they fought Japanese forces in New Guinea. As the situation in the Pacific worsened in July 1942 and the Japanese drove towards Port Moresby
, members of the Militia found themselves on the front lines. As reinforcements were brought up from Australia, the Militia units that had been sent to New Guinea as garrison troops earlier in the war were called upon to fight a stubborn rearguard action on the Kokoda Track
in order to delay the Japanese advance long enough for these reinforcements to arrive. At the same time, the Militia battalions of the 7th Brigade played a key role in the Battle of Milne Bay
, when Australian and United States forces defeated the Japanese in a large-scale battle for the first time during the war.
Later in the war, the Defence (Citizen Military Forces) Act 1943 was passed to change the law in order to allow the transfer of Militia units to the AIF if 65 percent or more of their personnel had volunteered for overseas service. Additionally, changes to the Act meant that Militia units were able to serve anywhere south of the Equator in the South West Pacific Area
(SWPA), excluding western Java and northern Borneo, and as a result of this, Militia units saw action against Japanese forces in the Dutch East Indies
, at Merauke
, later in the war. Despite this, the AIF remained the Australian Army's main combat force during the war and indeed more than 200,000 members of the Militia transferred to the AIF throughout the course of the conflict. Nevertheless, 32 Militia infantry battalions, later organised into three Militia divisions (3rd, 5th and 11th
), saw service over much of the South West Pacific and participated in the following campaigns: Salamaua-Lae
, Huon Peninsula
, Finisterre Range
, New Britain and Bougainville.
Subsequent reviews of defence policy and the strategic situation in South East Asia after the war had resulted in the formation of the Australian Regiment
in 1948, the first regular infantry unit of the Australian Army.The Australian Regiment later gained the Royal cipher, thus becoming the Royal Australian Regiment. From that time on as tension within the region increased the strength of the Regular Army increased rapidly in contrast to the CMF, signifying if not an end to Australian military planners' reliance upon citizen soldiers, at least a shift in focus and a realisation of the mistakes that had been made prior to World War II. This would see the CMF providing a platform upon which the Army could mobilise in the event of a war. Initially, the plan had been for the CMF to be made up of 50,000 men organised into two divisions and other units, however, recruitment was unable to meet these targets as initially it was attempted to achieve this through voluntary enlistment. Indeed in its first year of existence, the actual strength of the CMF was only 8,698 personnel, although this rose the following year to 16,202 and to 32,779 in 1950. In March 1951, a system of compulsory national service
was re-established.
The reintroduction of this conscription scheme saw the numbers of the CMF rise substantially but its management and administration required the allocation of a large number of resources and personnel from the Regular Army at a time when the army Regular Army already heavily committed in Korea
and Malaya
and so the scheme was suspended in 1959. This was a significant blow to the CMF and its strength fell by more than half in that year to 20,000 men. Further changes came with the introduction of the pentropic
(five battle group) division into the Australian Army. This proved a disaster for the CMF, as wholesale changes were made and units removed from the order of battle. Seven artillery regiments were disbanded from an original total of 17, while 31 infantry battalions were reduced to 17.
At the same time, it was decided to amalgamate old local and regional regiments that had existed into six new multi-battalion state-based regiments. While the pentropic system eventually fell by the wayside, these regiments have endured, maintaining the battle honours of the previously existing Militia units that had perpetuated the units of the AIF and serving as a valuable link to the traditions and service of earlier units. Nevertheless, many CMF soldiers felt that the introduction of these regiments reduced the Army's links to the community due to the move away from the traditional regionally based system and as a result many of these soldiers chose to leave the organisation. In 1965, as the pentropic system was abandoned, a further re-organisation of the CMF was undertaken as existing battalions were reduced and additional battalions were raised in the more populous areas, namely in Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales. At the same time, the concerns about the regional identity of these units were addressed by reintroducing the old numerical designations.
The subordinate relationship between the CMF and Regular Army was further underlined when the national service scheme was re-introduced in 1965, albeit in the guise of a selective ballot. Whereas previous incarnations of the system had not allowed for national servicemen to be sent overseas (within various definitions of that term), the new scheme was implemented with the express purpose of sending these recruits overseas as Australia's commitments in the region required a large-scale increase in the Army. Additionally, instead of being used to fill the ranks fo the CMF, the scheme was essentially used to expand the Regular Army. Due to the terms of service, national servicemen were required to serve two years full time in Regular Army units, after which they were required to serve a further three years in the CMF. Despite this, however, potential conscripts were given the option to voluntarily enlist in the CMF prior to their date of birth being announced, thus exempting them from being drafted for overseas service. Due to the desire of many to avoid being sent overseas, as a result of this option, it was estimated that by 1968 almost half of the 35,000 men in the CMF had joined in order to avoid being drafted.
This led to a widespread public perception that the CMF was a refuge for "draft dodger
s", and to the creation of an organisation in which the majority of its members had little or no motivation to fulfil their training obligations. Although this was not a universal experience, overall it affected the morale of the CMF and, coupled with the decision by the government not to activate CMF units for service in Vietnam, this led to a decline in genuine voluntary enlistment. To a large extent also, the government's decision to not utilise the CMF during this time highlighted the organisation's increasing structural irrelevance, and questions about the role that the CMF had to play in the defence of Australia would remain until following the end of the Vietnam War
.
came to power in late 1972, the CMF was in a very poor state. The new government moved quickly to end conscription, and this caused the CMF's strength to fall by roughly 5,000 to 23,119 by June 1973. In 1973 a committee of inquiry in to the CMF was announced, under the chairmanship of Dr. T.B Millar
and the subsequent report developed from this inquiry became known as the Millar Report. Far from being a vehicle of the Regular Army to denigrate the CMF as some opponents predicted, the report did much to highlight many of the conceptual and structural problems that the CMF was afflicted by at the time, however, the way in which the government chose to implement the recommendations, and indeed the way in which some of them were allowed to lapse, ultimately served to at least partially justify some of the cynicism voiced in certain CMF circles about the report.
The committee found that the CMF was a hollow shell of its former self, depleted in numbers and in equipment and unable to adequately fulfil its tasks. However, it still found that there was a role for the CMF to play in the strategic environment that existed at the time, although it would no longer be called upon to provide the base upon which mobilisation in a time of war would be built, instead it would be used to augment the Regular Army. This was the first step in creating the concept of a total force, in which the differing virtues of the citizen soldier and the regular soldier would be used to complement each other, and in this vein the Millar Report recommended that the name be changed from the CMF to the Australian Army Reserve.
Nevertheless, due to further cuts in defence spending and an eagerness of the government to implement those recommendations that could assist in achieving this goal, units that were unable to meet attendance requirements were disbanded or amalgamated with others, thus further diffusing the community links units had established in their local areas and thus further impacting upon recruitment and retention. Further, the decision was made to abolish the old CMF divisions, as the role of the Army Reserve would no longer be to act as a skeleton force that would be filled out upon mobilisation, but rather a force that could provide individual sub-units of capability should the need arise to augment the Regular Army. Centralisation of training was also a result of the Millar Report; beforehand, recruit training had been an ad hoc process managed mainly by the units themselves. Other issues such as pay and conditions of service, protection of civilian employment and recruitment and retention were touched upon but remained largely unaddressed until more recently.
Further reviews came in this time as Defence planners attempted to grapple with the questions regarding strategy following the wars of diplomacy of the previous three decades. The emergence of the Defence of Australia doctrine
as the foundation upon which Australian defence policy would be based following Paul Dibb's 1986 review
of Australia's defence capabilities seemed to provide the Reserves with a definite role. Nevertheless, there remained a reluctance to rebuild the Reserves and despite these major reviews, as late as the 1990s the Army still had not managed to develop a well-structured reserve force, as it had continued to grapple with the competing demands of maintaining large-scale general readiness over developing a 'hard core' of capability within the Reserves that would be able to provide the Army with a nucleus force in times of national emergency.
In 1991, in an attempt to rectify this, the Ready Reserve scheme was established. Under this scheme the 6th Brigade
, an existing Regular brigade based in Brisbane at the time, was converted to a Ready Reserve formation. The majority of the personnel were Reservists who undertook a period of twelve months full-time service before returning to normal Reserve status for a further four years. The scheme showed considerable promise. Nevertheless, due to cost constraints it was abolished in 1996 by the newly-elected Howard government
.
By the time that the opening phases of the East Timor operation began in 1999, the issue regarding the purpose of the Army Reserve still had not been resolved. Instead of being able to provide formed units to augment the Regular Army, the Reserves was reduced to providing individuals for round-out purposes only. As a result, in the initial phase of the operation there were only 100 Reservists available to fill positions in INTERFET
, mostly in specialist roles that the Regular Army had trouble providing. As the deployment progressed to a second rotation in April 2000, however, a further 630 Reservists volunteered for full time service.
The deployment to East Timor
highlighted the limits of the Australian Defence Force and the need for an Army Reserve that could effectively provide deployable capabilities and individuals to round-out to the Regular Army in times of heavy operational commitment. As such, in late 2000 the government did what many governments had toyed with since the formation of the citizen force almost a hundred years earlier: enacting legislation that enabled the call-up of Reservists to full-time service in circumstances that fell short of a full scale defence emergency, thereby allowing their deployment overseas, while also protecting their employment and providing remuneration to employers.For example the Defence Reserve Service (Protection) Act 2001.
The continuing high operational tempo of the Army after East Timor further emphasised the need to develop the capability of the Army Reserve. Since then increasing numbers of Reservists have been deployed overseas in varying capacities as well as undertaking periods of full-time service in Australia in order to maintain capabilities within Regular units heavily committed to deployments to Iraq
, Afghanistan
, East Timor and the Solomon Islands
. In lower intensity areas, such as East Timor and the Solomon Islands, formed units of Reservists raised from personnel drawn from many units, have been deployed on peacekeeping duties in order to relieve the pressure being placed upon the Regular Army and allowing them to focus on the higher intensity combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan.During the second rotation to East Timor, a company of Reservists was deployed based upon the 5th/6th
, and 8th/7th Battalions
of the Royal Victoria Regiment
and 2nd/17th Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment
. Additionally, a company battlegroup formed almost entirely of Reserve personnel is deployed to the Solomon Islands with relative frequency as part of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). In addition to this Australian Army Reserve units have been deployed on border security duties with the Royal Australian Navy
as part of Operation Relex
, as well as participating regularly in multinational exercises such as Rifle Company Butterworth
.
As such, the role of the Army Reserve now encompasses the '3 Rs'—that is reinforcement, round-out and rotation. With a total strength in 2005–06 of just 15,579 active personnel, recruitment and retention remain an ongoing issue for Defence planners, nevertheless Reservists continue to have a high training obligation.The general obligation of a Reservist is four nights and one weekend a month, as well as an annual two week training exercise. Outside of this there are periods of continuous training, such as basic and initial employment training that are required to be undertaken in the first two to three years of service. Since September 2006, in an incentive to rectify sliding retention rates, Reservist salaries have been streamlined with those of regular forces as a reflection of overall higher standard of training. This initiative shows that in recent decades, there are now many positions for which there is little training gap at all between Reservists and Permanent Force members. In 2008–09 total strength included 17,064 active personnel. In addition there were another 12,496 members of the Standby Reserve.
These components are basically categories of service, which are determined by the level of training obligation and commitment that a member is required to meet.Within the Active Reserve there are two categories of service—the High Readiness Reserve and the Reserve Response Force. The Reserve Response Force are required to serve a minimum of 20 days and may serve a maximum 100, although a further 50 days may be undertaken upon special approval. Those that serve in the High Readiness Reserve have a higher minimum requirement, being required to serve at least 32 days. The Standby Reserve has no training obligation and is mainly used to maintain the administration of members upon discharge from the Regular Army or the Active Reserve in case they are required to be called back into service in a time of national emergency. Members of the Regular Army are required to remain in the Standby Reserve for five years following discharge.
The majority of Australian Army Reserve units are under the command of the 2nd Division in six state based brigades, although with the estalbishment of the High Readiness Reserve there are now a number of "integrated" units that are essentially Regular Army units within 1st Division
, that have either company or platoon-sized Reserve sub-units or have a large number of Reserve personnel in them serving alongside members of the Regular Army. There are also many Reservists serving on full-time service within Regular Army units, performing the same roles and under the same pay and conditions as Regular soldiers. 2nd Division is currently made up of the following units:
Military reserve force
A military reserve force is a military organization composed of citizens of a country who combine a military role or career with a civilian career. They are not normally kept under arms and their main role is to be available to fight when a nation mobilizes for total war or to defend against invasion...
of the Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
. Since the Federation of Australia
Federation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen Military Forces, the Militia and, unofficially, the Australian Military Forces. In 1980, however, the current name—Australian Army Reserve—was officially adopted, and it now consists of a number of components based around the level of commitment and training obligation that its members are required to meet.
Overview
For the first half of the 20th century, due to a widespread distrust of permanent military forces in Australia, the reserve military forces were the primary focus of Australian military planning. Following the end of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, however, this focus gradually shifted due to the changing strategic environment, and the requirement for a higher readiness force available to support collective security goals. Since then, Australian defence policy has been focused more upon the Regular Army, and there has been considerable debate about the role of the Army Reserve within defence planning circles. As the strategic situation has evolved in the post Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
era, the organisation, structure, training and role of the Army Reserve has undergone considerable changes, and members of the Army Reserve are increasingly being used on overseas deployments, not only within Regular Army units, but also in units drawn almost entirely from Reserve units.
Despite being the main focus upon which Australian defence planning was based, since Federation
Federation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
Reserve units have primarily been used in the role of home defence and to provide a mobilisation platform during times of war. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Australia's contribution to the fighting came from forces raised outside of the citizens forces that were in existence at the time, and although many citizen soldiers enlisted in these forces, the Citizens Forces units remained in Australia. With the outbreak of World War II a similar situation evolved, with the establishment of an all volunteer expeditionary force, however, with the entry of Japan into the war the threat to Australia became more direct and a number of Militia units were called upon to fight in New Guinea and other areas of the South West Pacific.
Following the end of World War II, however, the decision was made to establish a permanent standing defence force and the role of Reserve forces was reduced to the point where for a while their relevance was called into question. Recently, however, there has been a move to develop a more capable Reserve force, as Australia's overseas military commitments in the Pacific and Middle East have highlighted the importance of the Reserves once more. As such, since 2000 units of the Australian Army Reserve have been deployed to East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
and the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
on peacekeeping duties and many more individual Reservists have been used to provide specialist capabilities and to fill out Regular Army formations being sent overseas.
Federation to World War I
Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the amalgamation of the military forcesColonial forces of Australia
Until Australia became a Federation in 1901, each of the six colonial governments was responsible for the defence of their own colony. From 1788 until 1870 this was done with British regular forces. In all, 25 British regiments served in the Australian colonies...
controlled by the six separate, self-governing British colonies
Self-governing colony
A self-governing colony is a colony with an elected legislature, in which politicians are able to make most decisions without reference to the colonial power with formal or nominal control of the colony...
to form a unified force controlled by the Commonwealth was an inevitable, albeit slowly realised, consequence, given that the new Constitution of Australia
Constitution of Australia
The Constitution of Australia is the supreme law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates. It consists of several documents. The most important is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia...
assigned the defence power solely to the Commonwealth. Indeed, this process took some time as, to a large extent, matters of defence were not necessarily a priority of the new Australian legislature at the time, and there was also a considerable diversity in opinion regarding the composition and size of the new national army and role it would play at home and indeed within the wider Imperial defence system. Nevertheless, the official transfer of forces from the states to the Commonwealth occurred on 1 March 1901, and this date is today celebrated as the birthday of the modern Australian Army. At the outset, the bulk of the Commonwealth military force was to be made up of part-time volunteers.The military forces under Commonwealth control in 1901 were 28,886 men, of whom only 1,500 were permanent soldiers—mostly serving in the artillery and instructional corps. This was arguably due to two factors. Firstly, there was a widespread desire amongst Australian policymakers to keep defence expenditure low, while secondly there was a widespread mistrust or suspicion surrounding the idea of a large standing army.
The lack of importance placed on military matters in Australian political circles continued for some time, and the size of the Australian military in this time continued to fall, in part due to the emphasis placed upon mounted units in the new command structure. However, following a number of strategic and political "scares",For example the Japanese victory over the Russians in the Russo–Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
. Grey 2008, p. 77. defence matters slowly began to take on more primacy in the Australian psyche before a review of defence needs was made in 1909 by Field Marshal Lord Kitchener
Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener
Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, ADC, PC , was an Irish-born British Field Marshal and proconsul who won fame for his imperial campaigns and later played a central role in the early part of the First World War, although he died halfway...
. The result of this review was the realisation of the need to build a credible defence force that could not only defend the nation, but also possibly contribute to the Imperial
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
defence system (although this later realisation remained little more than a consideration on paper only). The review also validated the compulsory military training scheme that was to be introduced in 1910, which was directly responsible for expanding the Citizens Forces by up to 50 percent in the three years prior to the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
First Australian Imperial Force
The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed from 15 August 1914, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany. Generally known at the time as the AIF, it is today referred to as the 1st AIF to distinguish from...
during World War I and the expanded organisation allowed citizens forces officers more experience in commanding formed bodies of men. However, it was the main factors contributing to the decision to recruit the AIF on the basis of voluntary enlistment. Because the army in 1914 was largely made up of young men aged between 19 and 21 who had been enlisted under this scheme, and due to the provisions of the Defence Act that precluded sending conscripts overseas, upon the outbreak of the war it was necessary for the Australian government to raise a separate force, outside of the Citizens Forces organisation for service overseas.
During the precautionary stage on 2 August 1914, Citizens Forces units were called up to guard essential points and man coastal forts and harbour defences. The first Australian shots (many sources report the first Allied shots) of both World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
were fired by the garrison at Fort Nepean
Fort Nepean
Fort Nepean is a former defensive facility occupying part of Point Nepean, Victoria, Australia. It was part of a network of fortifications, commanded from Fort Queenscliff, protecting the narrow entrance to Port Phillip.- Background :...
. By June 1918, 9,215 home service troops were on active duty in Australia, alongside 2,476 regular soldiers. From 1915, only skeleton garrisons were maintained at coastal forts, but the personnel manning them were forbidden to enlist in the AIF. This ban was lifted in April 1915 but the presence of a German commerce raider
Commerce raiding
Commerce raiding or guerre de course is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt the logistics of an enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than engaging the combatants themselves or enforcing a blockade against them.Commerce raiding was heavily criticised by...
in Australian waters caused a mobilisation from February to April 1916, while another mobilisation occurred in April 1918 for the same reason.
Post World War I
Following the end of World War I the units that had been raised as part of the AIF were disbanded, and the focus of Australian defence planning returned once more to the maintenance of the Citizens Forces. To this end, a review of defence requirements in 1920 established the need for Australia to be able to field a force of approximately 270,000 men in the event of a war, of which half of this would be maintained in peacetime through compulsory enlistment. It was also decided that the Citizens Force would be re-organised along the lines of the AIF, adopting the numerical designations of AIF units and maintaining their battle honours. The AIF officially ceased to exist on 1 April 1921 and the new organisation of the Citizens Forces was adopted a month later.There was little support for compulsory military service amongst the public, however, and combined with the financial pressure that the government felt at that time to reduce defence spending, the 1920 recommendations were not fully implemented. Although the compulsory training scheme was retained, it was decided that it would only be focused on the more populated areas, essentially ending the scheme in rural areas. The result of this was that the course of only a year the strength of the Citizens Forces fell from 127,000 to only 37,000 in 1922. Throughout the 1920s, numbers decreased even further and although the divisional structure was maintained, it was little more than a skeleton force as units found their numbers dropping drastically.
In 1929, following the election of the Scullin
James Scullin
James Henry Scullin , Australian Labor politician and the ninth Prime Minister of Australia. Two days after he was sworn in as Prime Minister, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 occurred, marking the beginning of the Great Depression and subsequent Great Depression in Australia.-Early life:Scullin was...
Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
government, the compulsory training scheme was abolished and in its place a new system was introduced whereby the Citizens Forces would be maintained on a part-time, voluntary basis only. At this time it was also decided to change the name of the force, with the title of "Militia" being adopted as it was felt that it implied voluntary service rather than forced. The force would be based upon the five divisions of the old AIF, although it was decided to limit the overall number of units. This force would also be armed with modern weapons and equipment. That, at least, was the promise, however, in reality this never came to fruition and to a large extent they continued to be trained and equipped with 1914–18 equipment right up to and during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The result of this change in recruitment policy was a huge drop in the size of the Army, as numbers fell by almost 20,000 in one year as there was little prospect for training and as the financial difficulties of the Great Depression began to be felt. As a result, in 1930 the decision was made to disband or amalgamate a number of units and five infantry battalions and two light horse regiments were removed from the order of battle. The following year, nine more infantry battalions were disbanded.
Between 1929 and 1937, the number of soldiers within the Militia who could provide effective service was well below the force's actual on paper strength as many soldiers were unable to attend even a six day annual camp out of fear of losing their civilian employment. Also it has been estimate that up to 50 per cent of the Militia's other ranks were medically unfit. The numbers situation had become so tenuous that it was rare for a battalion to be able to field even 100 men during an exercise, so units accepted men that would not normally meet the medical requirements, indeed it has been stated that men who were "lame and practically blind" were allowed to join in an effort to improve numbers. To illustrate this, in 1936, the largest battalion—the 30th/51st Battalion—had just 412 personnel of all ranks, while the 11th/16th Battalion, which was the smallest, had only 156 men.
Financially the Militia was neglected also. Despite the upturn in the economic situation in the early 1930s there was little financial respite for the Militia in this time. As the situation continued to improve, however, the defence vote was increased steadily after 1935. Indeed, in 1938 the government decided to double the strength of the Militia as war clouds began to loom on the horizon, and late in the year a recruiting campaign was launched that saw the size of the Militia increase from 35,000 to 43,000 men over the space of three months. This trend continued into 1939 and by mid way through the year there over 80,000 men were serving on a part-time voluntary basis. Nevertheless, there was a serious shortage of equipment and as a result, when World War II broke out in September 1939 the Militia was by no means an effective fighting force and the nation as a whole was not as well prepared for war as it had been in 1914.
World War II
Following the outbreak of the war, the government's immediate response was to announce on 5 September 1939 that it would begin calling up 10,000 militiamen at a time to provide sixteen days continuous service manning guard posts at selected points around the country. This was later expanded on 15 September to include all of the Militia, in two drafts of 40,000 men, for one month's continuous training, however, the suspension on compulsory training introduced in 1929 was not amended until January 1940. On 5 September 1939 it was also announced that a division would be raised for overseas service, but there was still large-scale opposition to the concept of conscription and the provisions of the Defence Act still precluded conscripts from serving outside of Australian territory, so it was announced that this force would be raised from volunteers only and would not be raised directly from the Militia. Conscripts, however, were required to serve in the Militia, with the result being that the Militia's ranks were filled with both volunteers and conscripts during this time.As was the case during World War I, many members of the Militia would go on to serve in the Second AIF
Second Australian Imperial Force
The Second Australian Imperial Force was the name given to the volunteer personnel of the Australian Army in World War II. Under the Defence Act , neither the part-time Militia nor the full-time Permanent Military Force could serve outside Australia or its territories unless they volunteered to...
. Nevertheless, for a period of time the government attempted to limit the number of militiamen transferring across to the AIF in order to build defences at home against concerns that Britain might not be able to fulfil its pledge to defend Singapore in the event of an attack there by the Japanese. As such, once again Australia maintained a policy of two armies. For the first two years Australia's involvement in the war was focused in overseas theatres in Europe, the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, and during this time it was the AIF that was involved in the fighting overseas, while units of the Militia were used in garrison duties in Australia and New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, then an Australian territory. During this time, the Militia units came to be derided by the men of the AIF units, with militiamen sometimes being labelled as "chocolate soldiers" or "koalas".The reference to "chocolate soldiers" relates to the widely held belief that the militiamen would melt the first time they were required for action, while the jibe about "koalas" is taken from the fact that at the time koalas were protected under law, in so much as it was illegal for them to be shot or exported.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
into the war on 8 December 1941, with the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
and on the British forces in Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
. Suddenly the war was brought to Australia's doorstep and there was a risk that the Japanese could attempt to invade the Australian mainland. In April 1942, the threat of invasion of Australia seemed very real following the loss of Malaya and Singapore and the subsequent Japanese landings in New Guinea. Seeing the threat that the Japanese posed to Australia, the government had begun to bring AIF units back from the Middle East but the bulk of the forces immediately available for the defence of Australia came from the militia, which was at that stage an organisation of some 265,000 men organised into five infantry and two cavalry divisions.
Despite earlier derision, a number of Militia units went on to perform with distinction during the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
, especially in 1942, when they fought Japanese forces in New Guinea. As the situation in the Pacific worsened in July 1942 and the Japanese drove towards Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
, members of the Militia found themselves on the front lines. As reinforcements were brought up from Australia, the Militia units that had been sent to New Guinea as garrison troops earlier in the war were called upon to fight a stubborn rearguard action on the Kokoda Track
Kokoda Track campaign
The Kokoda Track campaign or Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 between Japanese and Allied—primarily Australian—forces in what was then the Australian territory of Papua...
in order to delay the Japanese advance long enough for these reinforcements to arrive. At the same time, the Militia battalions of the 7th Brigade played a key role in the Battle of Milne Bay
Battle of Milne Bay
The Battle of Milne Bay, also known as Operation RE by the Japanese, was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Japanese marines attacked the Australian base at Milne Bay on the eastern tip of New Guinea on 25 August 1942, and fighting continued until the Japanese retreated on 5...
, when Australian and United States forces defeated the Japanese in a large-scale battle for the first time during the war.
Later in the war, the Defence (Citizen Military Forces) Act 1943 was passed to change the law in order to allow the transfer of Militia units to the AIF if 65 percent or more of their personnel had volunteered for overseas service. Additionally, changes to the Act meant that Militia units were able to serve anywhere south of the Equator in the South West Pacific Area
South West Pacific Area
South West Pacific Area was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific theatres of World War II, during 1942–45...
(SWPA), excluding western Java and northern Borneo, and as a result of this, Militia units saw action against Japanese forces in the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
, at Merauke
Merauke
Merauke is a town considered to be one of the easternmost towns in Indonesia, located in Merauke Regency, Papua province, Indonesia. It is next to Maro River.In 2006 it had a population of 71,838....
, later in the war. Despite this, the AIF remained the Australian Army's main combat force during the war and indeed more than 200,000 members of the Militia transferred to the AIF throughout the course of the conflict. Nevertheless, 32 Militia infantry battalions, later organised into three Militia divisions (3rd, 5th and 11th
11th Division (Australia)
The 11th Division was an Australian Army unit formed during World War II by the redesignation of Milne Force on 1 October 1942. The division saw action in New Britain...
), saw service over much of the South West Pacific and participated in the following campaigns: Salamaua-Lae
Salamaua-Lae campaign
The Salamaua–Lae campaign was a series of actions in the New Guinea campaign of World War II. Australian and United States forces sought to capture two major Japanese bases, one in the town of Lae, and another one at Salamaua. The campaign to take the Salamaua and Lae area began with the Australian...
, Huon Peninsula
Huon Peninsula campaign
The Huon Peninsula campaign was a series of battles in the New Guinea campaign of the Second World War. Australian forces assaulted Japanese bases on the Huon Peninsula....
, Finisterre Range
Finisterre Range campaign
The Finisterre Range campaign, also known as the Ramu Valley–Finisterre Range campaign, was a series of actions in the New Guinea campaign of World War II...
, New Britain and Bougainville.
Post World War II to the Vietnam War
Due to an overcommitment of resources early in the war, the Australian economy suffered badly from manpower shortages as early as 1942. As a result, the government began the demobilisation process before the war was even over, and when it had finally come to an end, the government was necessarily very keen for the demobilisation process to be completed as quickly as possible. Understandably, defence issues were not given a high priority as people tried to rebuild their lives after the war and as such it was not until 1948 that the Citizen Military Forces (CMF) was reformed.Subsequent reviews of defence policy and the strategic situation in South East Asia after the war had resulted in the formation of the Australian Regiment
Royal Australian Regiment
The Royal Australian Regiment is the parent regiment for regular infantry battalions of the Australian Army and is the senior infantry regiment of the Royal Australian Infantry Corps...
in 1948, the first regular infantry unit of the Australian Army.The Australian Regiment later gained the Royal cipher, thus becoming the Royal Australian Regiment. From that time on as tension within the region increased the strength of the Regular Army increased rapidly in contrast to the CMF, signifying if not an end to Australian military planners' reliance upon citizen soldiers, at least a shift in focus and a realisation of the mistakes that had been made prior to World War II. This would see the CMF providing a platform upon which the Army could mobilise in the event of a war. Initially, the plan had been for the CMF to be made up of 50,000 men organised into two divisions and other units, however, recruitment was unable to meet these targets as initially it was attempted to achieve this through voluntary enlistment. Indeed in its first year of existence, the actual strength of the CMF was only 8,698 personnel, although this rose the following year to 16,202 and to 32,779 in 1950. In March 1951, a system of compulsory national service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
was re-established.
The reintroduction of this conscription scheme saw the numbers of the CMF rise substantially but its management and administration required the allocation of a large number of resources and personnel from the Regular Army at a time when the army Regular Army already heavily committed in Korea
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
and Malaya
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....
and so the scheme was suspended in 1959. This was a significant blow to the CMF and its strength fell by more than half in that year to 20,000 men. Further changes came with the introduction of the pentropic
Pentropic organisation
The Pentropic organisation was a military organisation used by the Australian Army between 1960 and 1965. It was based on the United States Army's pentomic organisation and involved reorganising most of the Army's combat units into units based on five elements, rather than the previous three or...
(five battle group) division into the Australian Army. This proved a disaster for the CMF, as wholesale changes were made and units removed from the order of battle. Seven artillery regiments were disbanded from an original total of 17, while 31 infantry battalions were reduced to 17.
At the same time, it was decided to amalgamate old local and regional regiments that had existed into six new multi-battalion state-based regiments. While the pentropic system eventually fell by the wayside, these regiments have endured, maintaining the battle honours of the previously existing Militia units that had perpetuated the units of the AIF and serving as a valuable link to the traditions and service of earlier units. Nevertheless, many CMF soldiers felt that the introduction of these regiments reduced the Army's links to the community due to the move away from the traditional regionally based system and as a result many of these soldiers chose to leave the organisation. In 1965, as the pentropic system was abandoned, a further re-organisation of the CMF was undertaken as existing battalions were reduced and additional battalions were raised in the more populous areas, namely in Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales. At the same time, the concerns about the regional identity of these units were addressed by reintroducing the old numerical designations.
The subordinate relationship between the CMF and Regular Army was further underlined when the national service scheme was re-introduced in 1965, albeit in the guise of a selective ballot. Whereas previous incarnations of the system had not allowed for national servicemen to be sent overseas (within various definitions of that term), the new scheme was implemented with the express purpose of sending these recruits overseas as Australia's commitments in the region required a large-scale increase in the Army. Additionally, instead of being used to fill the ranks fo the CMF, the scheme was essentially used to expand the Regular Army. Due to the terms of service, national servicemen were required to serve two years full time in Regular Army units, after which they were required to serve a further three years in the CMF. Despite this, however, potential conscripts were given the option to voluntarily enlist in the CMF prior to their date of birth being announced, thus exempting them from being drafted for overseas service. Due to the desire of many to avoid being sent overseas, as a result of this option, it was estimated that by 1968 almost half of the 35,000 men in the CMF had joined in order to avoid being drafted.
This led to a widespread public perception that the CMF was a refuge for "draft dodger
Draft dodger
Draft evasion is a term that refers to an intentional failure to comply with the military conscription policies of the nation to which he or she is subject...
s", and to the creation of an organisation in which the majority of its members had little or no motivation to fulfil their training obligations. Although this was not a universal experience, overall it affected the morale of the CMF and, coupled with the decision by the government not to activate CMF units for service in Vietnam, this led to a decline in genuine voluntary enlistment. To a large extent also, the government's decision to not utilise the CMF during this time highlighted the organisation's increasing structural irrelevance, and questions about the role that the CMF had to play in the defence of Australia would remain until following the end of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Post Vietnam War to the new millennium
When the Whitlam GovernmentWhitlam Government
The Whitlam Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. It was made up of members of the Australian Labor Party in the Australian Parliament from 1972 to 1975.-Background:...
came to power in late 1972, the CMF was in a very poor state. The new government moved quickly to end conscription, and this caused the CMF's strength to fall by roughly 5,000 to 23,119 by June 1973. In 1973 a committee of inquiry in to the CMF was announced, under the chairmanship of Dr. T.B Millar
Thomas Millar
Thomas Bruce "T.B." Millar AO was an Australian historian, political scientist and a major figure in the development of strategic studies in Australia....
and the subsequent report developed from this inquiry became known as the Millar Report. Far from being a vehicle of the Regular Army to denigrate the CMF as some opponents predicted, the report did much to highlight many of the conceptual and structural problems that the CMF was afflicted by at the time, however, the way in which the government chose to implement the recommendations, and indeed the way in which some of them were allowed to lapse, ultimately served to at least partially justify some of the cynicism voiced in certain CMF circles about the report.
The committee found that the CMF was a hollow shell of its former self, depleted in numbers and in equipment and unable to adequately fulfil its tasks. However, it still found that there was a role for the CMF to play in the strategic environment that existed at the time, although it would no longer be called upon to provide the base upon which mobilisation in a time of war would be built, instead it would be used to augment the Regular Army. This was the first step in creating the concept of a total force, in which the differing virtues of the citizen soldier and the regular soldier would be used to complement each other, and in this vein the Millar Report recommended that the name be changed from the CMF to the Australian Army Reserve.
Nevertheless, due to further cuts in defence spending and an eagerness of the government to implement those recommendations that could assist in achieving this goal, units that were unable to meet attendance requirements were disbanded or amalgamated with others, thus further diffusing the community links units had established in their local areas and thus further impacting upon recruitment and retention. Further, the decision was made to abolish the old CMF divisions, as the role of the Army Reserve would no longer be to act as a skeleton force that would be filled out upon mobilisation, but rather a force that could provide individual sub-units of capability should the need arise to augment the Regular Army. Centralisation of training was also a result of the Millar Report; beforehand, recruit training had been an ad hoc process managed mainly by the units themselves. Other issues such as pay and conditions of service, protection of civilian employment and recruitment and retention were touched upon but remained largely unaddressed until more recently.
Further reviews came in this time as Defence planners attempted to grapple with the questions regarding strategy following the wars of diplomacy of the previous three decades. The emergence of the Defence of Australia doctrine
Defence of Australia Policy
The Defence of Australia Policy was Australia's dominant defence policy between 1972 and 1997. The policy was focused on the defence of continental Australia against external attack...
as the foundation upon which Australian defence policy would be based following Paul Dibb's 1986 review
Dibb Report
The Review of Australia's Defence Capabilities, better known as the Dibb Report, was an influential review of Australia's defence plans. While the report's recommendations were not fully accepted by the Hawke Government, they lead to significant changes in Australia's defence policy, including...
of Australia's defence capabilities seemed to provide the Reserves with a definite role. Nevertheless, there remained a reluctance to rebuild the Reserves and despite these major reviews, as late as the 1990s the Army still had not managed to develop a well-structured reserve force, as it had continued to grapple with the competing demands of maintaining large-scale general readiness over developing a 'hard core' of capability within the Reserves that would be able to provide the Army with a nucleus force in times of national emergency.
In 1991, in an attempt to rectify this, the Ready Reserve scheme was established. Under this scheme the 6th Brigade
6th Brigade (Australia)
The 6th Brigade is an Australian Army brigade. First formed during the First World War as an infantry unit of the Australian Imperial Force, the brigade served at Gallipoli and in France and Belgium on the Western Front...
, an existing Regular brigade based in Brisbane at the time, was converted to a Ready Reserve formation. The majority of the personnel were Reservists who undertook a period of twelve months full-time service before returning to normal Reserve status for a further four years. The scheme showed considerable promise. Nevertheless, due to cost constraints it was abolished in 1996 by the newly-elected Howard government
Howard Government
The Howard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the Australian House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard Government...
.
By the time that the opening phases of the East Timor operation began in 1999, the issue regarding the purpose of the Army Reserve still had not been resolved. Instead of being able to provide formed units to augment the Regular Army, the Reserves was reduced to providing individuals for round-out purposes only. As a result, in the initial phase of the operation there were only 100 Reservists available to fill positions in INTERFET
INTERFET
The International Force for East Timor was a multinational peacekeeping taskforce, mandated by the United Nations to address the humanitarian and security crisis which took place in East Timor from 1999–2000 until the arrival of United Nations peacekeepers...
, mostly in specialist roles that the Regular Army had trouble providing. As the deployment progressed to a second rotation in April 2000, however, a further 630 Reservists volunteered for full time service.
The deployment to East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
highlighted the limits of the Australian Defence Force and the need for an Army Reserve that could effectively provide deployable capabilities and individuals to round-out to the Regular Army in times of heavy operational commitment. As such, in late 2000 the government did what many governments had toyed with since the formation of the citizen force almost a hundred years earlier: enacting legislation that enabled the call-up of Reservists to full-time service in circumstances that fell short of a full scale defence emergency, thereby allowing their deployment overseas, while also protecting their employment and providing remuneration to employers.For example the Defence Reserve Service (Protection) Act 2001.
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, East Timor and the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
. In lower intensity areas, such as East Timor and the Solomon Islands, formed units of Reservists raised from personnel drawn from many units, have been deployed on peacekeeping duties in order to relieve the pressure being placed upon the Regular Army and allowing them to focus on the higher intensity combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan.During the second rotation to East Timor, a company of Reservists was deployed based upon the 5th/6th
5th/6th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment
The 5th/6th Battalion is one of two battalions of the Royal Victoria Regiment, and is an infantry battalion of the Australian Army Reserve. The battalion can trace its lineage back to many units that existed prior to Federation, as well as units that fought during World War I and World War II and...
, and 8th/7th Battalions
8th/7th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment
The 8th/7th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment is an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It is one of two battalions that make up the Royal Victoria Regiment , with its sister unit being 5th/6th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment...
of the Royal Victoria Regiment
Royal Victoria Regiment
The Royal Victoria Regiment is an Infantry Regiment of the Australian Army, consisting of two battalions, the 5th/6th Battalion and the 8th/7th Battalion.-History:...
and 2nd/17th Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment
2nd/17th Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment
The 2nd/17th Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment is a reserve infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Currently part of the 8th Brigade, attached to the 2nd Division, the unit currently consists of a headquarters and four rifle companies spread out across a number of depots throughout the...
. Additionally, a company battlegroup formed almost entirely of Reserve personnel is deployed to the Solomon Islands with relative frequency as part of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). In addition to this Australian Army Reserve units have been deployed on border security duties with the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
as part of Operation Relex
Operation Relex
Operation Relex is the name given to the Australian Defence Force border protection operation in the country's northern approaches conducted between 2001 and 2006. The operation was instigated following the Tampa affair in September 2001 and its focus was on illegal immigration...
, as well as participating regularly in multinational exercises such as Rifle Company Butterworth
Rifle Company Butterworth
Rifle Company Butterworth is an Australian Army infantry company based at RMAF Base Butterworth in Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia. Rifle Company Butterworth was established in 1973 to provide a protective and quick-reaction force for RAAF Base Butterworth during a resurgence of the Communist...
.
As such, the role of the Army Reserve now encompasses the '3 Rs'—that is reinforcement, round-out and rotation. With a total strength in 2005–06 of just 15,579 active personnel, recruitment and retention remain an ongoing issue for Defence planners, nevertheless Reservists continue to have a high training obligation.The general obligation of a Reservist is four nights and one weekend a month, as well as an annual two week training exercise. Outside of this there are periods of continuous training, such as basic and initial employment training that are required to be undertaken in the first two to three years of service. Since September 2006, in an incentive to rectify sliding retention rates, Reservist salaries have been streamlined with those of regular forces as a reflection of overall higher standard of training. This initiative shows that in recent decades, there are now many positions for which there is little training gap at all between Reservists and Permanent Force members. In 2008–09 total strength included 17,064 active personnel. In addition there were another 12,496 members of the Standby Reserve.
Current structure
The Australian Army Reserve currently consists of the following components:- Standby Reserve
- Active Reserve
- High Readiness Reserve
- Reserve Response Force.
These components are basically categories of service, which are determined by the level of training obligation and commitment that a member is required to meet.Within the Active Reserve there are two categories of service—the High Readiness Reserve and the Reserve Response Force. The Reserve Response Force are required to serve a minimum of 20 days and may serve a maximum 100, although a further 50 days may be undertaken upon special approval. Those that serve in the High Readiness Reserve have a higher minimum requirement, being required to serve at least 32 days. The Standby Reserve has no training obligation and is mainly used to maintain the administration of members upon discharge from the Regular Army or the Active Reserve in case they are required to be called back into service in a time of national emergency. Members of the Regular Army are required to remain in the Standby Reserve for five years following discharge.
The majority of Australian Army Reserve units are under the command of the 2nd Division in six state based brigades, although with the estalbishment of the High Readiness Reserve there are now a number of "integrated" units that are essentially Regular Army units within 1st Division
1st Division (Australia)
The 1st Division is the main formation of the Australian Army and contains the majority of the army's regular forces. Its headquarters is in Enoggera, a suburb of Brisbane...
, that have either company or platoon-sized Reserve sub-units or have a large number of Reserve personnel in them serving alongside members of the Regular Army. There are also many Reservists serving on full-time service within Regular Army units, performing the same roles and under the same pay and conditions as Regular soldiers. 2nd Division is currently made up of the following units:
- 4th Brigade — Victoria
- Headquarters 4th Brigade
- 4th/19th Prince of Wales' Light Horse, Royal Australian Armoured Corps
- 5th/6th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment5th/6th Battalion, Royal Victoria RegimentThe 5th/6th Battalion is one of two battalions of the Royal Victoria Regiment, and is an infantry battalion of the Australian Army Reserve. The battalion can trace its lineage back to many units that existed prior to Federation, as well as units that fought during World War I and World War II and...
- 8th/7th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment8th/7th Battalion, Royal Victoria RegimentThe 8th/7th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment is an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It is one of two battalions that make up the Royal Victoria Regiment , with its sister unit being 5th/6th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment...
- Melbourne University RegimentMelbourne University RegimentThe Melbourne University Regiment is an officer training unit in the Australian Army Reserve. It has a depot at Grattan Street, Carlton, Melbourne, Australia....
- Monash University Regiment
- 2nd/10th Medium Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery2nd/10th Medium Regiment, Royal Australian ArtilleryThe 2nd/10th Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery is an Australian Army regiment primarily composed of reservists. It is a general support regiment in the Australian 4th Brigade consisting of two field batteries...
- 4th Combat Engineer Regiment, Royal Australian Engineers
- 22nd Construction Regiment, Royal Australian Engineers22nd Construction Regiment, Royal Australian EngineersThe 22nd Construction Regiment is an engineer unit of the Australian Army Reserve based in Victoria, Australia. Part of the 4th Brigade it provides engineer support to the 2nd Division. It is currently made up of a regimental headquarters and two construction squadrons...
- 108th Signals Squadron
- 4th Combat Service Support Battalion
- 5th Brigade5th Brigade (Australia)5th Brigade is a brigade of the Australian Army. It is a Reserve combined arms formation based in New South Wales and forms part of the 2nd Division.-History:...
— Southern New South Wales- Headquarters 5th Brigade
- 1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers1st/15th Royal New South Wales LancersThe 1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers is a current Australian Army Reserve Light Cavalry Regiment. The regiment is based at Lancer Barracks in Parramatta, New South Wales. The regiment has recently re-equipped with 4x4 Land Rover patrol vehicles as part of the conversion to a Light Cavalry ...
- 1st/19th Battalion1st/19th Battalion, Royal New South Wales RegimentThe 1st/19th Battalion, The Royal New South Wales Regiment , is an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It is one of four battalions of the Royal New South Wales Regiment and is currently a Reserve unit attached to the 5th Brigade, 2nd Division. In its present form 1/19 RNSWR was raised in...
, Royal New South Wales RegimentRoyal New South Wales RegimentThe Royal New South Wales Regiment is a reserve infantry regiment of the Australian Army based in the state of New South Wales. The regiment consists of four battalions:-Organisation:*1st/19th Battalion*2nd/17th Battalion*4th/3rd Battalion... - 4th/3rd Battalion4th/3rd Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment4th/3rd Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment is a Reserve light infantry battalion of the Australian Army. 4/3 RNSWR has been deployed on active service on many peacekeeping operations and exercises within Australia and around the world...
, Royal New South Wales Regiment - Sydney University RegimentSydney University RegimentSydney University Regiment is an officer training regiment of the Australian Army Reserve. It can trace its lineage back to 1900 when the University Volunteer Rifle Corps was raised as a unit of the colonial New South Wales Defence Force. Over time this unit has undergone a number of name and role...
- University of New South Wales RegimentUniversity of New South Wales RegimentThe University of New South Wales Regiment is an officer training regiment of the Australian Army Reserve.-Unit history:The University of New South Wales Regiment was originally founded as the New South Wales University of Technology Regiment in 1952. Army Headquarters approval to form the unit...
- 23rd Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery
- 5th Combat Engineer Regiment5th Combat Engineer Regiment (Australia)5th Combat Engineer Regiment is an Reserve unit of the Royal Australian Engineers. It is based in Penrith, Sydney, with 4 SQN based in Canberra at HMAS Harman multi user depot.-Structure:*Regimental HQ**4 Combat Engineer Squadron*** 4 Troop...
- 21st Construction Regiment
- 142nd Signals Squadron
- 5th Combat Service Support Battalion
- 8th Brigade8th Brigade (Australia)8th Brigade is an Australian Army Reserve combined-arms formation stationed in New South Wales.The 8th Brigade is one of six brigades of the Australian Army's 2nd Division, and includes units and personnel from all Armoured, Infantry, Artillery, Engineers, Signals, Ordinance , Medical, Nursing,...
— Northern and Central New South Wales- Headquarters 8th Brigade
- 12th/16th Hunter River Lancers12th/16th Hunter River LancersThe 12th/16th Hunter River Lancers is an Australian Army Reserve light armoured regiment. The Regiment was formed on 1 May 1948, although it draws its lineage from units that were originally formed in the 1880s. It is currently a Light Cavalry Scout unit and equipped with Bushmaster Protected...
- 2nd/17th Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment2nd/17th Battalion, Royal New South Wales RegimentThe 2nd/17th Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment is a reserve infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Currently part of the 8th Brigade, attached to the 2nd Division, the unit currently consists of a headquarters and four rifle companies spread out across a number of depots throughout the...
- 41st Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment41st Battalion, Royal New South Wales RegimentThe 41st Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment, , is an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. A Reserve unit, it is one of four battalions of the Royal New South Wales Regiment and is attached to the 8th Brigade, 2nd Division...
- 7th Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery7th Field Regiment, Royal Australian ArtilleryThe 7th Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery is an Australian Army Reserve artillery unit with its headquarters based at Pymble, New South Wales, and is part of 8th Brigade....
- 8th Combat Engineer Regiment
- 155th Signals Squadron
- 8th Combat Service Support Battalion8th Combat Service Support Battalion (Australia)8th Combat Service Support Battalion is a unit of the 8th Brigade of the Australian Army.8 CSSB is a part-time Army unit co-located at the Timor Barracks at Dundas and the Bullecourt Barracks at Adamstown...
- 9th Brigade — South Australia and Tasmania
- Headquarters 9th Brigade
- 3rd/9th Light Horse (South Australian Mounted Rifles)3rd/9th Light Horse (South Australian Mounted Rifles)The 3rd/9th Light Horse is a Reserve light cavalry regiment of the Australian Army based in Adelaide...
- 10th/27th Battalion, Royal South Australia RegimentRoyal South Australia RegimentThe Royal South Australia Regiment is a reserve regiment of the Australian Army consisting of a single battalion, the 10th/27th Battalion, part of the 9th Brigade. It was raised on 1 July 1960, as The South Australia Regiment.-History:...
- 12th/40th Battalion, Royal Tasmania RegimentRoyal Tasmania RegimentThe Royal Tasmania Regiment is a Reserve infantry regiment within the Australian Army consisting of a single battalion. Formed in 1960 following a review of military formations in Australia, the Regiment can trace its lineage back the late 19th Century and as served Australia in a number of...
- Adelaide Universities RegimentAdelaide Universities RegimentAdelaide Universities Regiment is an officer training unit of the Australian Army headquartered in Adelaide, South Australia. Currently AUR maintains a cadre staff of trained Regular and Reserve personnel who oversee and administer the training of Reserve officer cadets...
(AUR) - 16th Field Battery, Royal Australian Artillery
- 48th Field Battery, Royal Australian Artillery
- 3rd Field Squadron, Royal Australian Engineers
- 144th Signals Squadron
- 9th Combat Service Support Battalion
- 11th Brigade11th Brigade (Australia)The Australian 11th Brigade is an Australian Army brigade which currently comprises most Australian Army Reserve units located in Queensland. The Brigade was first formed in early 1916 as part of the 3rd Division and saw action during World War I and World War II.-Brigade Structure:*Headquarters...
— Queensland- Headquarters 11th Brigade
- 9th Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment9th Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment9th Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment is a Reserve light infantry battalion of the Australian Army, raised and based in the state of Queensland. It is part of the Royal Queensland Regiment and is currently attached to the 11th Brigade of the 2nd Division...
- 25th/49th Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment
- 31st/42nd Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment31st/42nd Battalion, Royal Queensland RegimentThe 31st/42nd Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment is a Reserve infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Although it was officially formed as 31/42 RQR in January 2008 by the amalgamation of two previously existing infantry battalions—the 31st Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment and the 42nd...
- Queensland University RegimentQueensland University RegimentQueensland University Regiment is an officer training unit of the Australian Army Reserve, based on the campus of the University of Queensland at St Lucia, Brisbane...
- 35th Field Squadron, Royal Australian Engineers
- 141st Signals Squadron
- 11th Combat Services Support Battalion
- 13th Brigade13th Brigade (Australia)The 13th Brigade is an Army Reserve formation of the Australian Army headquartered at Perth, Western Australia and its various units have depots in Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Albany and Katanning as well as Joondalup and Rockingham in the metro area. The 13th Brigade was first created in early 1916 and...
— Western Australia- Headquarters 13th Brigade
- A Squadron, 10th Light Horse Regiment10th Light Horse Regiment (Australia)The 10th Light Horse Regiment is a light cavalry regiment of the Australian Army. Tracing its lineage back to 1900, it predecessor units served during the Second Boer War and the First World War. Today consisting of only a single squadron, the regiment is part of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps...
- 11th/28th Battalion, Royal Western Australia Regiment11th/28th Battalion, Royal Western Australia RegimentThe 11th/28th Battalion, Royal Western Australia Regiment is a Reserve infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Located in Western Australia, it is one of the two battalions of the Royal Western Australia Regiment, and forms the infantry component of the 13th Brigade.-History:The 11th/28th...
- 16th Battalion, Royal Western Australia Regiment16th Battalion, Royal Western Australia RegimentThe 16th Battalion, Royal Western Australia Regiment is an Australian Army reserve infantry battalion located in Western Australia and one of the two battalions of the Royal Western Australia Regiment.-History:...
- Western Australia University RegimentWestern Australia University RegimentThe Western Australian University Regiment is a Australian Army Reserve training unit for the 13th Brigade.-Unit history:The regiment was originally founded as the Perth University Regiment on 22 April 1949 to provide military training to university undergraduates and located at Crawley, Western...
- 7th Field Battery, Royal Australian Artillery
- 13 Field Squadron, Royal Australian Engineers13 Field Squadron, Royal Australian Engineers13 Field Squadron is a Reserve unit of the Royal Australian Engineers of the Australian Army. 13 Field Squadron provide the combat engineering capability of the Western Australia based reserve 13th Brigade.-History:...
- 109th Signals Squadron
- 13th Combat Services Support Battalion
External links
- Australian Army Reserves — Australian Army web site