Reservist role changes

As new opportunities arise, reservists with the Canadian Armed Forces at 9 Wing Gander are finding different roles to play within the unit.

Capt. Paul Hamlyn, a public affairs officer for 103 Search and Rescue Squadron, said reservists in search and rescue have traditionally served the operations side of business, but have now also taken on aircrew responsibilities.

"People are retiring, people go to different employment, and doors are opening up. There's a shortage that needs to be acknowledged and filled, and reservists have filled those slots," he said.

Reservists are civilian members of the military who most often have careers outside the realms of the military. The double-life can create unique challenges for reservists, said Capt. Hamlyn, who is himself a reservists.

"Sometimes reservists require extensive periods of time to fulfil their duties," he said.

"For example, to do a tour in Afghanistan, that can entail almost a year off from work to prepare going over through training and six months (in Afghanistan). To have job security at the end is a big thing for people when they come back from serving their country."

There are 125 reservists with ties to 9 Wing Gander. Of those, 42 report directly to the base, while the remainder are supported by the Wing Commander. There are eight reservists involved with 103 SAR Squadron.

Amongst those eight are a SAR tech and flight engineer - roles that several years ago, Capt. Hamlyn said, would not have been filled by reservists.

"That's just the demographics and the way things are in this day and age. Getting the people, especially in a remote location like Gander, to keep the business rolling, a lot of reservists are filling those gaps where it's hard to get a ranked forces member into those positions."

Getting business owners onside with the Canadian Forces when it comes to accommodating reservists is the challenge tackled by the Canadian Forces Liaison Council (CFLC).

Last week, the group hosted an event at 9 Wing Gander where business owners and community leaders from across the province were given a tour of the base to show what rolls reservists can play. It was the first such event held in the community.

Bill Mahoney, chair for the CFLC in Newfoundland and Labrador, said many of the skills reservists develop at 9 Wing Gander are transferable to their civilian work commitments.

"On the personnel management, time management side, leadership skills, communications skills - all those skills are learned in the military," said Mr. Mahoney.

"If (employers) have an appreciation for the value of that, they'll see how those skills and those experiences are transferable to a civilian. I think it would give them a sense of comfort over the time off (a reservist) would require."

Rural challenges

In rural areas, an employer's need to retain reservists can be amplified, as make reservists essentialsuch employees are often key ones, said Mr. Mahoney.

"It's more challenging and more difficult for employers to accommodate the time off," he said, adding small businesses in particular may find making special arrangements for employees difficult.

Mr. Mahoney said the CFLC's work has become particularly important in recent years, given the military's international commitments.

Approximately 20 per cent of Canadian Forces personnel deployed to Afghanistan are reservists, according to the Department of National Defence.

Aside from employers, Mr. Mahoney said CFLC also works with educational institutions to find ways for them to accommodate training schedules for student reservists.

"We receive a tremendous amount of support from the employers and the educational institutions in this province."

In 1999, Capt. Hamlyn held a commercial helicopter license, and had the opportunity to fly Griffons with the 403 Squadron at CFB Gagetown in Oromocto, N.B.

"They have a program in place that takes skilled pilots, and that's what I applied for ... the opportunity to fly a military aircraft was quite appealing, so I decided to take that route."

In the summer, Capt. Hamlyn has devoted his time to commercial pilot work.

"It was a mutual understanding, which has worked in my case. There's been no problems. That's not so in everybody's case."

With the search and rescue side of operations, Capt. Hamlyn said it is important to maintain qualifications, and reservists need to work a required number of hours in order to be operationally ready to take on the necessary duties associated with search and rescue.

Having reservists is beneficial for a base like 9 Wing Gander, said Capt. Hamlyn, as they are local citizens less likely to move away.

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