Cree Warrior
23 February 2001, 19:23
Wall Street Journal
February 23, 2001
Canada's Military Polishes Image In The Face Of Thinning Ranks
By Joel Baglole, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
OTTAWA -- Canada's military is having a tough time finding a few good
people.
In the process, it is discovering a big downside to cutting an armed force:
It can be hard to reverse course.
Few countries have trimmed their military as deeply as Canada since the Cold
War ended. In the past decade, the country's
total regular and reserve uniformed force has plunged to 90,000 from
140,000. Today, the regular military numbers less than
60,000.
But now, the military needs 20,000 new recruits over the next two years to
maintain troop levels and offset losses through
attrition. So far, it can't find them.
"We're not going to meet our targeted intake," says Col. Gord Grant,
director of human resources at Canada's defense
department. He predicts a recruitment shortfall of as many as 6,000
personnel over the next two years. Among the problems,
past cutbacks have made youngsters wary of joining the military -- if they
consider enlisting in the first place.
"It's not that we have a negative public image," Col. Grant says. "It's that
we have no image at all."
After slashing military spending 23% since 1991, Canada's federal government
reversed course last year and increased the
defense budget by 2.3 billion Canadian dollars (US$1.5 billion) over four
years. The added money isn't enough to expand
the military, but it gives the defense department the resources to maintain
a standing force of 90,000 full-time and part-time
soldiers, defense officials say.
Bracing for massive retirements beginning in 2004, the defense department is
particularly anxious to get highly educated
people. But it probably won't get much help from Peter Stieda, even though
he spent a summer in the army reserve after
receiving his undergraduate degree. "I can go a lot further with my
education outside the military," says Mr. Stieda, a law
student at the University of Ottawa. Michael Kealey, a business student at
the university, says he has never thought about a
military career. "Nobody's ever told me the pros and cons of joining," he
says.
The military used to train new recruits in their trade. But, because of
cutbacks, it now wants even rank-and-file soldiers to
have at least civilian trade-school training, if not a college degree. While
the military needs to fill positions in all 107 of its
trades, or occupations, it desperately needs engineers, communications
technicians and others for 30 high-tech specialties.
With Canada's unemployment rate at a 24-year low and a strong domestic
economy, the military must compete with
deep-pocketed civilian employers. Compounding problems is negative media
coverage, including reports of sexual
harassment and pay so low that some soldiers a few years ago relied on food
banks to make ends meet.
To improve its image, the defense department more than tripled its annual
advertising budget to C$13.8 million and began
running promotional ads everywhere from billboards to movie theaters.
Recruitment officers have been dispatched to give
school presentations on the merits of joining the military, and a civilian
public-relations firm has been hired to "re-brand"
the armed forces. Col. Grant won't provide details on the campaign to be
unveiled this spring but says it will include a new
slogan to replace "There's no life like it."
Recruiting problems have forced the military to become a "flexible
employer," Col. Grant says. "We used to preach 'join us
for life.' Now we say, 'join us for a few years,' " he says. The military
has implemented broad pay raises and begun counting
years of school as equivalent years of service, giving well-educated
recruits higher starting salaries. But many think such
steps won't be enough.
"The Canadian armed forces are dying," says retired Col. Sean Henry, a
consultant with the Conference of Defense
Associations, a pro-military lobby group. The CDA estimates the military
needs an extra C$2 billion immediately to
properly maintain operations and attract recruits.
Another problem is the Canadian public's "apathy" toward the military.
Douglas Bland, chairman of Defense Management
Studies at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, says, "Canadians feel
there's no military threat to this country, and if one
arose, the U.S. would take care of it."
But Col. Grant says he hopes that the new branding campaign will inspire
young Canadians to enlist. "It's a war for talent,"
he says. "And we have to sell ourselves more than ever before."
Sua Sponte
February 23, 2001
Canada's Military Polishes Image In The Face Of Thinning Ranks
By Joel Baglole, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
OTTAWA -- Canada's military is having a tough time finding a few good
people.
In the process, it is discovering a big downside to cutting an armed force:
It can be hard to reverse course.
Few countries have trimmed their military as deeply as Canada since the Cold
War ended. In the past decade, the country's
total regular and reserve uniformed force has plunged to 90,000 from
140,000. Today, the regular military numbers less than
60,000.
But now, the military needs 20,000 new recruits over the next two years to
maintain troop levels and offset losses through
attrition. So far, it can't find them.
"We're not going to meet our targeted intake," says Col. Gord Grant,
director of human resources at Canada's defense
department. He predicts a recruitment shortfall of as many as 6,000
personnel over the next two years. Among the problems,
past cutbacks have made youngsters wary of joining the military -- if they
consider enlisting in the first place.
"It's not that we have a negative public image," Col. Grant says. "It's that
we have no image at all."
After slashing military spending 23% since 1991, Canada's federal government
reversed course last year and increased the
defense budget by 2.3 billion Canadian dollars (US$1.5 billion) over four
years. The added money isn't enough to expand
the military, but it gives the defense department the resources to maintain
a standing force of 90,000 full-time and part-time
soldiers, defense officials say.
Bracing for massive retirements beginning in 2004, the defense department is
particularly anxious to get highly educated
people. But it probably won't get much help from Peter Stieda, even though
he spent a summer in the army reserve after
receiving his undergraduate degree. "I can go a lot further with my
education outside the military," says Mr. Stieda, a law
student at the University of Ottawa. Michael Kealey, a business student at
the university, says he has never thought about a
military career. "Nobody's ever told me the pros and cons of joining," he
says.
The military used to train new recruits in their trade. But, because of
cutbacks, it now wants even rank-and-file soldiers to
have at least civilian trade-school training, if not a college degree. While
the military needs to fill positions in all 107 of its
trades, or occupations, it desperately needs engineers, communications
technicians and others for 30 high-tech specialties.
With Canada's unemployment rate at a 24-year low and a strong domestic
economy, the military must compete with
deep-pocketed civilian employers. Compounding problems is negative media
coverage, including reports of sexual
harassment and pay so low that some soldiers a few years ago relied on food
banks to make ends meet.
To improve its image, the defense department more than tripled its annual
advertising budget to C$13.8 million and began
running promotional ads everywhere from billboards to movie theaters.
Recruitment officers have been dispatched to give
school presentations on the merits of joining the military, and a civilian
public-relations firm has been hired to "re-brand"
the armed forces. Col. Grant won't provide details on the campaign to be
unveiled this spring but says it will include a new
slogan to replace "There's no life like it."
Recruiting problems have forced the military to become a "flexible
employer," Col. Grant says. "We used to preach 'join us
for life.' Now we say, 'join us for a few years,' " he says. The military
has implemented broad pay raises and begun counting
years of school as equivalent years of service, giving well-educated
recruits higher starting salaries. But many think such
steps won't be enough.
"The Canadian armed forces are dying," says retired Col. Sean Henry, a
consultant with the Conference of Defense
Associations, a pro-military lobby group. The CDA estimates the military
needs an extra C$2 billion immediately to
properly maintain operations and attract recruits.
Another problem is the Canadian public's "apathy" toward the military.
Douglas Bland, chairman of Defense Management
Studies at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, says, "Canadians feel
there's no military threat to this country, and if one
arose, the U.S. would take care of it."
But Col. Grant says he hopes that the new branding campaign will inspire
young Canadians to enlist. "It's a war for talent,"
he says. "And we have to sell ourselves more than ever before."
Sua Sponte