Anderson Report
A Report on the Organization,
Equipment and Training of the Canadian Army (Militia) was tabled in 1957, by
Brigadier W.A.B. Anderson.
Anderson's report consisted of
five sections:
-
Outline and summary of
recommendations
-
Discussion of the strategic
concept of the Canadian Army
-
List of Militia tasks
-
Assessment of the adequacy of
the Militia in the state it was currently in at that time
-
Final recommendations.
The final section was especially
significant, including a summation of the weaknesses of the Militia as well as a
proposal for reorganization, to a framework better suited to rapid mobilization
and deployment.
Anderson proposed four schemes
for reorganization.
-
Plan A: the Militia would make
up a ready reserve force, tasked primarily with assisting the Regulars on
mobilization. Members would be aged 16 to 24, enrolled in local units and put
on a full time call-our for one year.
-
Plan B: the Militia would be
divided into two separate components, one a field force for use in war, known
as the Regular Army Reserve (based on the Canadian Army Ready Reserve of the
early 1950s), made of combat arms units retitled as additional battalions of
the Regular Force's armoured and infantry regiments. A second component, the
Militia, would remain as a partially trained cadre for home defence, and civil
defence.
-
Plan C: Militia units would be
paired, with both units training for both field and civil defence duties. Only
one of each pair would be tasked for mobilization, though which one would not
be decided until the day of mobilization, keeping both units training hard.
-
Pland D: Redesignation of
infantry units from the Militia, to become components of the Regular Force, as
a supplement to any mobilized field force.
Anderson's own recommendation was
for Plan B, feeling it had the highest chance of success.
