How can the CAF modernize its Reserve Force to remain relevant and operational amid a deteriorating global security environment? In this piece, Alaina Brunone examines how severe recruitment and training bottlenecks are hindering Canada’s ambitious 2025 mobilization goals. She highlights how decades of military underspending have complicated this overhaul, resulting in only one in thirteen applicants enlisting and a decline in basic training completion rates. She argues that to overcome these structural constraints, the CAF must confront tough trade-offs regarding trade-specific enlistment standards. Ultimately, Alaina showcases how the military is moving beyond discussion by leveraging targeted incentives and unconventional civilian partnerships to expand training capacity.
