Mr. Neil Richardson:

It is far to say there has been a massive cultural shift within the Defence Forces in recent years where reservists are now very well respected. They work hand in glove with us now. There is no distinction in the attitude of the Permanent Defence Force towards the Reserve. That is specifically down to what we do now. We engage in that patient transportation or aid to the civil power and civil authority taskings. We have people going overseas, which is sometimes seen as the ultimate benchmark of Defence Forces service. If we have personnel hitting those targets, it garners respect from the Permanent Defence Force. We work on a day-to-day basis with them or interact at least weekly. There was a “them” and “us” mentality or a distance that may have existed in the past when we did not interact, and therefore we were misunderstood. Reservists probably misunderstood the Permanent Defence Force as well. That is gone now. Culturally within the military, it is very positive.