A new Naval Reserve – tradition and future

By Tim Coyle*

‘The reservist is twice the citizen’ – Winston Churchill

The articles penned by Jennifer Parker and Commander Paul Pelczar published in the ANI Newsletter for 08 February 2026 discuss two aspects of the Royal Australian Naval Reserve (RANR) –  from personal and capability viewpoints respectively (HMAS Leeuwin: when service was close to home | The Australian Naval Institute and Reinvigorating the naval reserve | The Australian Naval Institute).

In his article, Paul emphasises the importance that geographical locations had in facilitating Naval Reserve members’ access to their units in the pre-1990 RANR organisation. He views this in the light of the recently announced Government decision to dispose of certain Defence lands and establishments. Paul supports his argument by recounting his father’s RANR service in the Port Division based at HMAS Leeuwin, located close to his family home. He outlines his father’s motivation to serve and his advancement to command of the Port Division’s Attack-class patrol boat. The article stressed the geographic proximity of the Port Division to its members where the shared sense of pride in serving was the comradeship which formed a tangible feeling of a ship’s company. This was recognisable across all departments – patrol boat operations, medical, intelligence, diving, band and other categories. When the Port Divisions were disbanded in 1990, most long serving and experienced sailors and officers left, leaving a pronounced capability gap.

Jennifer Parker recognises this view of the ‘historical’ aspect of the Naval Reserve and advocates using its historical standing in the Navy of the past as a basis for renewal and revitalisation in the contemporary era to provide not only a ‘surge’ capability but new and innovative categories.

My purpose in this paper it to acknowledge both points of view and suggest one possibility for renewal.

I joined the Sydney Port Division in 1986 in the Special Branch comprising the Naval Intelligence Reserve and Naval Control of Shipping.

In 1990, I entered a two-year Continuous Full-Time Service contract and was posted to the (then) Directorate of Submarine Security and Intelligence. The timing coincided with the disestablishment of the Port Divisions.

With the demise of the Port Divisions, the RANR became largely staffed by former permanent members. While it had obvious benefits of retaining specific naval expertise, it ceased to be an operational surge capability. I subsequently served in long-term intelligence postings on ‘reserve days’ and, towards the end of my naval service, in project and policy Directorates.

As Jennifer outlines in her article, reserve members have filled individual ‘backfill or round-out roles’ in exiting Navy structures or Defence groups. While I found such postings stimulating and adding to Navy capability, I agree that the Naval Reserve should undergo a ground-up revitalisation, based on its traditions, to provide upgraded and innovative operational support to Navy and the Nation.

Jennifer lists several naval functions which could be resurrected by an enhanced Naval Reserve. Many are these are based on the wartime ‘traditional’ reserve roles and are as valid today as they were 80 years ago. However, to raise a volunteer reserve with an effective operational capability requires a considered renewal program, identifying innovative naval capability upgrades to which would be attached a sophisticated recruiting campaign, emphasising the critical roles, sold with a tinge of ‘adventure’. The 2023 Strategic Defence Review and subsequent documents emphasised the urgency around defence and deterrence but with only superficial attention to the ADF reserve roles.

A revitalised Naval Reserve could include a ‘stand-alone’ maritime capability fulfilling a national security gap. The Commonwealth acquired ADV Reliant ( ADV Reliant | Royal Australian Navy) as a multipurpose vessel capable of supporting regional disaster relief. Reliant is operated by civil crews under a commercial arrangement and is a sound acquisition which can provide tangible assistance to Pacific nations to the enhancement of Australian regional relations.

A Reliant-style capability could be raised for another critical national security gap which a revitalised Naval Reserve might fulfil – that of a telecommunications Cable Repair ship.

The looming threat of hostile action against subsurface telecommunications infrastructure, experienced recently in the Baltic and, allegedly in Southeast Asian waters, are wake-up calls. It’s far easier to bring down a county’s telecommunications network by sabotage than by attacking it kinetically. With only about 60 cable repair ships worldwide, operated on commercial bases, Australia faces a particularly significant threat without the national capabilities to counter it. Emergency engagement of a foreign-based Cable Repair Ship on commercial terms may not be achievable, particularly in the event of conflicting demands on the international fleet of repair ships. I can do no better in advocating a national defence against underwater sabotage than that outlined in CN stresses importance of undersea cables | The Australian Naval Institute.

The Australian population is bemused by the Defence reviews and largely ignore them because Defence is too arcane for the average citizen – the very people whose support we need to attract. So, a revitalised Navy Reserve recruiting campaign should be intense and directed at the patriotic citizenry in publicising the threat to underwater telecommunications cables and how such a naval asset, manned by reservists, would answer a critical defence capability gap in view of the changed and urgent strategic circumstances. A successful campaign would see family members encourage and support their Naval Reserve members serving in the Cable Repair Division as a worthwhile and honourable Defence initiative. Most importantly it is a concept everyone can understand. It is not politically controversial, nor does it rely on alliances which may become fractious. AUKUS Pillar One is generally unpopular with the public because they perceive it as too expensive and ‘what do we need nuclear submarines for anyway…’ Added to this is the basis of the acquisition program which many regard with suspicion. All the ‘expert’ arguments propounded by the Defence cognoscenti for AUKUS Pillar One fall on unhearing ears. It’s ‘preaching to the converted’.

A Naval Reserve division, formed to operate a cable repair ship as a national asset, would not only serve Australia, but include the wider region, thereby benefit neighbouring countries’ security and enhance Australia’s diplomatic and regional standing.

How would a Reserve Cable Repair Ship Division be raised, trained and sustained?

1. Government to break out and simplify the 2023 Defence Strategic Review and subsequent Defence threat assessments through an education campaign explaining the threat to national security of sabotage to undersea infrastructure. Every person and every service provider relies on the internet. A forthright, open engagement with the Australian population would attract mass attention.
2. In parallel with this initiative, announce the establishment of a Government mitigation program against cable sabotage in the form of a Cable Repair Ship manned by the Naval Reserve.
3. Commence a recruitment campaign, explaining what the Naval Reserve is and offering training in a high readiness national and vital Defence capability.
4. To attract recruits, offer tax-free pay, superannuation and civilian occupation security and stress the patriotic and vital nature of the work, emphasising its ‘adventurous’ nature. The vessel would be multi crewed by members in all states; the ship would sail to each state for ‘annual continuous training’, thereby forming ‘port divisions’ by which activation for infrastructure breakages/sabotage can be rapidly executed.
5. The scarcity of these ships worldwide would require a new construction vessel. Acquisition cost may range up to $200 million –  a relatively modest sum.
6. The capability could be managed by officers of the Management Executive PQ, recruited from industry – preferably in the telecommunications sector. Crews would be trained to commercial standards – overseas as required.

In Summary

A revitalised Naval Reserve providing a national security capability to counter sabotage against an essential service and properly supported and manned by a cadre of ‘new age’ reservists would indeed return Navy to its traditions of ‘volunteer reservists’ based at ‘port divisions’ in a transformed and highly critical environment.

Final note: Following an ADF-wide employment review several years ago, the RANR designation became defunct and Officer post nominals all became ‘RAN’ .

*Tim Coyle was an active Naval Reservist for 37 years.