Just a little heads up from the RESEW end, information from a Jr Cpl.
R291 was supposed to standup on the 15th, it was delayed 2 weeks. We've had 2 briefings from Cmdr CommRes on the subject, both were heavy into selling it. A majority of the positions are in Ottawa and Kingston, with dets in Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax, and I think Winnipeg. The word on spec pay is that when an R291er is deployed on a class C contract in theatre, they will recieve spec pay, otherwise, they will not. A small victory, which could get us full spec pay in the future. As for R215s being forced into R291, that's not happening. People are being asked a lot, and most people in my unit are pretty clear whether they want to transfer or not. My OT request form is in as of now.
For the experience aspect, most of the SnrNCOs at RESEW have been doing the EW thing for 10 or more years. No lack of experience there, albeit its more centered on the tactical applications, rather than the strategic end.
I see it as a good move, to bring some of us more in line with the job we do. Before, you'd need your R215 training, plus a whole whack of EW courses, some OJT, some at CFSCE to get qualified. Now, its all rolled into 3 summers of training, QL3A (EW), QL3B (SigInt), QL5.
As someone mentioned before, the real issue is the clearances. It took nearly 2 years for mine, and I still need it upgraded. Apparently CSIS has been warned about an influx shortly, which is why they want people to transfer early, to get the upgrades in process so training can commence in 2006.