Horse, we experienced much the same phenomenon. Even when we were training, most of the time was spent lounging about waiting for the next thing. There was one day on one drill when we had lanes set up so that everyone was kept busy about half of the time. This was good stuff, if very basic. The RA functions the same way, lamentably, but at 18+ training days per month they can waste a little time.
Dragoon, I don't mean that all of the support functions should be turned over to the reserves. I think, though, that the reserves should turn all of their combat brigades into support brigades, while the RA should turn a like number of support brigades into combat brigades. The RA should retain enough support capacity to get the ball rolling at the beginning of the next deployment and to act as a nucleus around which reserve brigades can be arranged to build corps-level assets. The modular brigade system would allow support packages to be tailored on both sides of the street. Perhaps all divisional support should be active duty, while corps and army support assets would be a mixture of active and reserve brigades.
Warning: tangent follows:
Of course, having a more robust reserve system would help a good deal. I engaged in a lengthy exchange with a very well-read gentleman regarding the obligations implied by the Second Amendment. He had a wealth of good source material, although he not always skilled at separating his predispositions from the words on the proverbial page. In any event, by the end of the exchange I was convinced that the Second Amendment and other associated documents mandate membership of the citizenry in a militia. Whether one agrees with this position or not, I think we can all agree that at this point in American history universal conscription into any form of reserve force is both undesirable and politically unfeasible. However, if the various states were to connect their various SDF with the “well-regulated militia” clause of the Second Amendment, millions of firearms owners could be accessed by National Guard recruiters while attending their SDF drill. Members of active duty and reserve armed forces (including the National Guard) should be exempt from militia service for the duration of their military service—an added incentive to join the Guard. (“Heck, Jimbo, we’re showing up for drill anyway. Instead of paying fees to cover the damned militia expenses, let’s get paid for the weekend.”)
Webstral
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