Oh no - a reputation....
I'll preface this by saying I've never worn a yellow lanyard and
@Raven22 has raised many of the issues I see. Light 'cav' for the RFSU I think is a clear match, if only to boost up their mobility assets. SOCOMD needs something like light cav (what it's called, I don't care), but that's outside discussions here.
But as for why I disagree with the role in the ARA or ARes is simple - I can't see the point of it. It's not survivable,* it has bad ISR capabilities and it adds nothing. In ARA terms I think it's a hold out from olds and bolds; CRV is too big and recce must be sneaky. As my yellow lanyard peers hammer in my head though, recce is a mindset, not a platform. So Boxer is bigger than ASLAV - ok. It's also orders of magnitude more survivable and capable, meaning you now have options you didn't in an ASLAV. Or, perhaps you consider using the smallest AFV - the M1 (with upgraded sights of course). We need to look at milking the best from this new capability (that we haven't even begun to really play with) before claiming the sky is falling and we need a new capability.
In ARes terms it's a bandaid to make senior ARes ranks happy that the RAAC units still have a role. Which has a flow on thought, and one that the senior ARes people refuse to seriously consider, about what is the role of the ARes. There are some efforts to define their role, look at some of the stuff coming out from AHQ with revised structures, but there is a senior element that seems determined to not want to consider new roles. At the moment they are neither fish nor fowl - they can't support an actual ARA deployment (see
@Raven22 and
@ADMk2 comments about training ability) but they are still part of the ADF so they can't do domestic civil support as well as a non-Defence Act agency can.
For all that doom and gloom though, the ARes RAA offers options. Sorry
@Volkodav, the only place I want to see the M777 cascaded is over the side of an LHD - preferably 20nm west of HMAS Brisbane II. But, what is something that could be considered is making the Long Range Fires platform ARes. The training needs are lower than tube arty, the maintenance easier and you get some good morale - "not only do we have more advanced tech than the ARA but they
need us. In fact, sometimes the JTF will need us
before the ARA."
* what was amusing was seeing the British Army light cav pundits on Twitter through late last year bragging about how Jackal was superior to Boxer because it could be deployed better - including to Estonia. Cue a photo in Nov / Dec that showed a Jackal a the end of a short drive and how it was fully iced up, the driver's goggles included, and the crew were near hypothermic. This led to a drastic shift in the social media reporting, as the formal army accounts started publishing imagery without Jackals, but rather with Chally 2's and Warriors. You know - survivable (in peacetime!) vehicles!
Well, while I disagree with formed units of standing light infantry in peacetime, there will always be a need to have infantry operate dismounted at points. The 81 mm offers that capability. It also allows for deployment options below the need for AFVs that will still give some fire support options (including at a base, illum). And yes, 81's should still be in the Bn.
Yep - IFV levels. I mean, I'd be happy to see all our AFVs armoured to M1 standards...
And see options for ARes above...
Oh, it's expensive and impractical now, 100%. But I'm convinced that's what the self protection assets will look like. With dedicated platforms within the BG operating similar + EW packages. The decreasing real estate is a concern, but I do know that people are looking closely at what platforms need for power now and guesses in 15 - 20 years. The RAN has learnt and relearnt that as platforms age they need more power - we have started grasping that. Which will hopefully future proof our kit for electronic systems.
Australia is more than capable of doing that. When we start taking casualties our reinforcements run out very quick, but we can sustain a Brigade(+). We do chose to not deploy assets at the moment and rely on allies (hospitals or attack helicopters leap to mind), but we can do it from FORCOMD alone.
DoA is easy, and you don't need more than a Bde for that anyhow.
And no one is disparaging the ARes. Individually they are arguably more committed than ARA - they give up spare time to do the training. But there are systemic issues with how the ARes is designed, built and their CONOPS. I've seen senior ARes personnel disparage any plans / thoughts that shift the ARes from its 1990s construct - and that is worth disparaging. The Rum Brigade has much to answer for.