Reservists Should Carry out More Front Line Roles, Think Tank Suggests

‘In the air force and navy, the services tend to use reservists in administrative roles rather than in real operational roles,’ said RAND Australia director.

Australian Defence Force (ADF) takes part in a joint military drills in Situbondo, Indonesia, on Nov. 13, 2024. Juni Kriswanto/AFP PHOTO/AFP via Getty Images

Australia should use reservists in more operational roles to improve the country’s defence capabilities, a parliamentary committee has been advised.

At a recent inquiry hearing, Andrew Dowse, director of RAND Australia—a branch of the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit global policy think tank—discussed strategies to bolster the Australian Defence Force (ADF), which is experiencing recruitment shortfalls.

The director was concerned that reservists mainly did administrative work rather than fight in battles.

“In the Air Force and Navy, the services tend to use reservists in administrative roles rather than in real operational roles,” he told the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence, and Trade.

“If you compare that … with other nations, in particular, the U.S. uses their reservists and their national guards far more for front-line operational roles.”

Dowse gave the example that Australia’s Royal Air Force currently does not have the culture of using ex-service members to fly for the airlines, keeping them up to speed on flying combat aircraft.

In comparison, the U.S. Air Force Reserves and the U.S. Air National Guard make very strong use of airline pilots in front-line roles.

Dowse also pointed out that there was a need to recruit more reservists due to the public’s unawareness of the urgency and importance of having a strong defence force.

“There is this perception amongst Australia’s public that there is not this patriotic need for them to join the defence force,” he said.

“That would change if we get into a conflict, but the timelines don’t allow for full-time staff to suddenly go from zero to being qualified and able to be on the front line.

“So one of the possibilities is to allow for people to be trained through reserve mechanisms, but not to be full-time ADF members, and then they provide that surge when you really need them for conflict.”

Defence Recruitment Shortfalls

In June 2024, Defence Minister Richard Marles reported that the ADF had around 58,000 full-time personnel, which was well below the required 63,500 staff outlined in the 2024-25 federal budget.

The minister attributed the shortfall to a low unemployment rate and the appeal of better opportunities in the private economy.

To tackle this, the Labor government implemented policies to allow eligible New Zealanders to apply to join the Australian military from July 2024, and permanent residents from the Five Eyes nations (Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the U.S.) and other countries from January 2025.

Potential recruits need to reside in Australia for at least one year before applying and meet security, vetting, and character requirements to join the ADF.

Addressing the Motivation Issue

Despite the government’s broadened recruitment strategy, Dowse remained skeptical about its effectiveness.

“I’m not necessarily convinced that just widening the pool is going to improve Defence’s lot,” he said.

“I think Defence needs to look at what the motivations are for people to join Defence, look at why people within the Australian population are not joining Defence.”

The director also noted that there might not be an easy way to solve the recruitment problem, no matter how much money the government was going to spend or attempt to increase the recruitment pool.

“Perhaps we need to look at other options, and strengthening reservists [and] using reservists better, particularly within the navy and air force, are options that I would advocate for, rather than thinking just broadening the pool will do it,” he said.