Hey team, strap in.

I raise this as I am lucky that my one-up atm is a senior officer and they are going to try and sort it for me. Your average Joe or Jane Bloggs would be screwed.

Long story short, I am stopgapping a position and working directly for a senior officer that needed short term, short notice support (I was told about a month before starting). I have been in the position for a few weeks now.

I was randomly discussing another matter today with Career Management on Skype, and asked when I could expect my first pay to come through (fully accepting that it would take a couple more weeks).

Instead I was told that:

- Reserve days now goes through 2-3 levels of approval before being granted "due to budgetary reasons"

- It does not matter what days are on an AE959 or any other verbal or written agreement

- You can start work and get paid for days only after you receive a confirmation email from CM

- Said confirmation email can take anywhere from 2 to 5 weeks to come through, after a posting request is made (timeframe for this was about a week and a bit after unit and I submitted everything).

- My senior officer is naturally pissed that I haven't yet been paid and amazed that I was told that I wouldn't be getting paid for services rendered up until whenever things are approved.

- The EL2 in charge of HR confirmed that's the process and asked if the guy I replaced said I could work (noting this very same EL2 processed and assisted with all the paperwork but never mentioned anything).

Now I understand some will be fully across this. However many will not and will trust what senior officers and pers admin personnel tell them. It is deeply concerning that I was working, had access codes etc etc and have only now, from a fluke conversation, been informed that I won't get paid. The comms and clarity regarding this are shocking.

Luckily my employer provides substantial Reserve leave. If they did not I would be seriously out of pocket and screwed.

Now, my Senior Officer might be able to sort it for me, but the cheery manner the Career Management NCO told me I wouldn't be paid as well as the comment from the EL2 (despite them knowing I was in the office the whole time) is absolutely woeful. The boss will be talking to them.

Noting that this was an urgent requirement, required clearances etc, and we did paperwork as expediatently as could be expected, how on earth does Defence envision that it can use Reservists to stopgap short term and short notice requirements. Is this not a key point of having a Reserve workforce? If it takes a month or longer for all the approvals to occur, and it can't be backdated, what's the bloody point? Just let someone's pay be backdated ffs.

To volunteer your time and for services/employment rendered and be told that you won't get paid for any of it despite filling in all the forms and doing what, to the best of your and your CoC knowledge seems incredibly wrong.

Hopefully my boss can sort it.

What a kick in the teeth and a very timely reminder as to why I got out just as I was enjoying my first reserves rotation.

Anyway, rant over. Any reservists on here, don't do a lick of anything or take Reserve Leave from work until you get the Career Management confirmation several weeks after all other forms are submitted. AE585s and 959s and 'required start date is this' don't mean jack apparently.

Ty for listening to Ted Talk Rant.

Relevant for AUKUS. The USN has said they are targeting a build rate of 2.0 Virginias by 2032. However, they've also said they need to hit 2.33 per year to replace the Virginias that will be sold to the RAN. This latest announcement of a new shipyard to build Virginia modules follows similar efforts at Austal USA and elsewhere, which are also building Virginia modules. These modules are then barged to the main shipyard for final assembly.

From the article:

WASHINGTON — Anduril is establishing a new shipyard to manufacture parts for Virginia-class submarines in Baltimore County, Md., the company and the White House announced today.

The new facility, dubbed Arsenal-2, comes with a $6.6 billion investment, including $3.7 billion in private capital and up to $2.9 billion from the Navy. And notably, today’s announcement marks Anduril’s first entry into the supply chain for a major legacy defense program.

The 2 million-square-foot facility is expected to launch initial operations in 2030,

Anduril plans to initially produce basic modules, such as torpedo tubes, at the facility before eventually expanding into more complex components — including full sections of the vessels, such as the bow.

Anduril will also start to manufacture submarine parts at a new, 160,000-square-foot facility in Orange County, Calif., in tandem with the new Arsenal-2 facility. The Orange County location will support “broader maritime manufacturing efforts” once Arsenal-2 is up and running.

“The Orange County facility gives Anduril a two-year operational head start to develop and validate manufacturing methods, production workflows, and quality systems before Arsenal-2 comes online,” Anduril said in its release. “It will support prototyping and production of Virginia-class test assets and critical maritime components, including torpedo tubes, while allowing Anduril to recruit and train the early workforce on the systems and standards that will ultimately scale at Arsenal-2.”

A senior administration official told reporters that Anduril’s plans for the facility would add roughly 9 million hours annually to the submarine industrial base, translating to a 15 percent increase for Virginia-class submarine production.

I have checked the Army Dress Manual and the Operational Service Badge is not mentioned. Is this badge worn above the medals/ribbons like an ICB/ACB?

I bought a copy of Jane’s Fighting Ships 96/97 off eBay for cheap. Under the Australia section is details of a plan for an OPV which looks like it packs a decent punch with SAMs, 57mm and a couple of 20mm and a helo.

Anyway I just found it interesting when compared to what we ended up with in the Arafura class. Just a hypothetical scenario from a book that’s now 30 years old

A Guardian Australia investigation has identified Vietnam war veterans that served in the Royal Australian Navy were buried in unmarked communal graves despite the federal government’s funding assistance program designed to pay for the funerals of indigent veterans.

Vietnam veterans, rough sleepers and other impoverished Australians are being buried in unmarked communal graves often holding four or more people, a practice relatives have described as “unspeakable” and “a disgrace”.

My great grandfathers name was Cecil James Hattch, Service Number N352283.

I am trying to get an understanding on who he was within his time serving but I’m really struggling to read and understand the official documents- if there’s anyway I can get help/ guidance that would be amazing!

I made a chocolate and salted caramel cake for his birthday to be celebrated at the barracks tonight. Happy Birthday Sir!