I
READ with interest a retired officer’s question about current
serving members wearing the Operational Readiness Badge (Letters,
April 24).
The official response raised a few eyebrows among the currently
deployed community.
Before deployment I wore the badge as I was already current in
PFT, medical, dental, pistol shoot etc and officially “deployable”.
As were most.
However, prior to deployment we all had to do all of the above
again, as if we were not deployable. It seems that wearing an
ORB doesn’t mean you are deployable at all.
The pre-deployment phase could have been better utilised (from
an aircrew perspective) with operational mission simulators, tactical
training sorties and the like.
No-one can come up with a logical explanation for our requirement
to do all pre-deployment admin again.
Is it Air Force policy to ignore the meaning of the ORB, or is
it just certain wings within the Air Force? Having to re-do all
the admin rendered the ORB meaningless.
Is the ORB really a symbol of preparedness or is it just a piece
of metal that we have to wear to keep up with other services of
the world and all their awards and decorations?
FLTLT D. Palmer
Navigator
10 SQN
Offical Response
THE questions raised by FLTLT Palmer’s letter recur frequently
among Air Force members, and stem from a common misunderstanding
of the differing purpose of Individual Readiness compared with
Force Preparation.
In simple terms, Individual Readiness is a means to check, on
an annual basis, that members meet at least a minimum standard
for service in the ADF, including for potential deployment on
operations.
Although the standard varies slightly between services, the requirement
applies to all members of the ADF, and results are reported biannually
to CDF.
In part, Individual Readiness requirements are intended to remind
members of their obligations as members of the military and to
encourage them to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Members who do not put sufficient effort into their Individual
Readiness components may be identified for possible administrative
action to separate them from the ADF.
The ORB provides a visible symbol that members are taking their
Individual Readiness responsibility seriously, and continue to
meet the requirement of this annual testing.
The award of an ORB does not imply that a member is completely
prepared to deploy on operations.
By contrast, Force Preparation requirements are more focused on
preparation for a particular exercise or operation, and apply
only to those members selected for that activity. Within Air Force,
the relevant instruction is Air Command Standing Instruction PERS
33-02 and the relevant Administrative Instruction for the deployment.
Most Air Force deploying members will require Force Preparation
at the highest (Comprehensive) level, either because they are
part of the assigned force, or because this level of preparation
is dictated for all personnel due to the potential threat.
In these circumstances, where members face a greater potential
risk of encountering hostile actions, there is a need for the
Air Force to confirm that its members have met at least the minimum
level defined by Individual Readiness, as well as other deployment-specific
training and kitting.
As examples, force preparation requires medical and dental checks
within seven days prior to deployment to ensure that members have
not sustained any recent illness or injury that may impact on
their deployability.
Similarly, a member must pass a PFT within 90 days before deployment,
to ensure that they have not allowed their fitness to deteriorate
in the period since their last PFT.
Finally, weapon handling is a perishable skill, and keeping members
safe and effective in the handling of weapons and live ammunition
requires a level of practice beyond the annual basic weapons handling
test specified under Individual Readiness.
All these checks are necessary as part of the ADF’s duty
of care toward members who are being sent on potentially hazardous
duties. It gives those members the best possible level of preparation
for the more demanding environment of an operation or exercise.
This may require additional checking of personnel, but does not
ignore the meaning of the ORB.
The requirements of the ORB are complementary to this and provide
a sound basis to the process when members are required to deploy.
WGCDR Paul Hislop
Deputy Director
Flexible Combat Support
Policy and Planning - Air Force
