Generating Readiness

The term ‘readiness’ in a military context is the capability (people and resources) of a force to carry out missions assigned to it by its government. The goal of military readiness is to ensure that a force is prepared, equipped, and able to complete tasks at any time and in any place.

One of the greatest challenges facing the Canadian Army (CA) in its ability to generate readiness is a significant shortage of mid-level leaders. These master corporals, sergeants, and captains make up the bulk of the training cadre responsible for the development of new recruits.

Immediate efforts to build up the instructor base will pay dividends in the coming years, allowing the CA to significantly ramp up recruit training.

The CA will:

• Digitalize the Army Individual Training Management System to increase efficiency;
• Better support One Army Integration with the use existing digital tools to optimize administration and personnel management in the Army Reserve;
• Prioritize training of mid-level leaders by scaling down other forms of training. This training will look different but be no less challenging or creative;
• Build predictability into training to make sure the Reserve Force is able to fully participate in domestic and international operations;
• Emphasize a culture of innovation and adopt a growth mindset recognizing failure is a normal step towards progress;
• Continue to support certification exercises in Latvia, such as Integrate Capstone Exercise (ICE), to confirm the readiness of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group and its integration within the Latvian Mechanized Infantry Brigade;
• Remain focused on Individual Training while continuing to invest in critical Collective and Foundation Training. This will ensure all operational requirements continue to be met, with a focus on generating the force elements required for the Contingency Phase of the Managed Readiness Plan (MRP).
• Include contemporary social challenges such as ethical dilemmas, discrimination, gender inclusivity, harassment, response to sexual harassment and assault, etc. in the design and review of training. This will prepare soldiers to morally and ethically handle these situations.
• Develop, in coordination with CMP, revised training and retention models to better Recruit, Train, and Retain soldiers. The CA will adopt temporary, asymmetric and distributed approaches to ensure the most efficient return to health possible while adopting better aligned cultural and professional practices that will be key to future success;
• Develop a Canadian Ranger Enhancement Strategy to review how the Rangers are tasked, equipped, administered, and integrated.