Canadian military losing soldiers at increasing rate as headcount drops to level not seen in years

New Army Reserve enrollment process to hire recruits in weeks not months

CANADIAN ARMY - Dec 03, 2016

By Major Mike Lagace, Directorate Army Public Affairs

Ottawa, Ontario — The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) is testing a streamlined approach to recruiting for its Army Primary Reserve force with an eye to eliminating delays in the current process while maintaining the high standards expected of recruits.

With this “expedited reserve enrollment trial” process, recruits will be enrolled after successfully completing standard aptitude tests and an initial medical and security screening. More in-depth medical and security screening will occur while candidates undergo their basic training, which will include drill, deportment, and military history. If successful, the trial process will allow new recruits to be enrolled and in uniform in a matter of a couple of weeks rather than months.
Lieutenant-Colonel Pierre Leroux, an officer in the Canadian Army’s (CA’s) personnel branch, said applicants previously waited more than 100 days on average for their applications to be completed.



The trial process, he noted, does not eliminate any of the steps, but rather changes the sequence to give applicants a foot in the door early on and reduce the number who give up and seek other part-time employment options rather than wait out the process.
“We want to retain applicants who may be thinking about applying elsewhere if their applications are not done quickly,” LCol Leroux explained, “and to make sure that we have more recruits coming in and fulfill our strategic intake plan as much as possible. This expedited approach will help us do that and get more people in quickly. ”
There are still very high standards that must be maintained, he added.
“We are working on making the process better while maintaining the standard, which is a constraint that we must follow.”
Basic entry qualifications, such as the entry level physical fitness evaluation, will not change during the trial, and candidates will still be subject to screening conducted by recruiters trained to recognize unsuitable characteristics.


Corporal Mitchell Paquette (Shooter) and Private Chris Russell (Spotter), West Nova Scotia Regiment, fire the C7 Medium Machine Gun at a gun range in Canadian Forces Base GAGETOWN during Ex STRIDENT TRACER, 21 August 2016.

“During the attraction phase, as a first filter, Reserve unit recruiters, who are usually at the rank of Sergeant, ask questions and make sure the applicant fits our needs and requirements,” said LCol Leroux. “As the applicants go through the process, they will be formally interviewed by Recruiting Officers to ensure our quality standards are met.”
The expedited process will be trialed in Atlantic Canada by units within the CA’s 5th Canadian Division, beginning in December through the fall of 2017.
“5 Division is a Primary Reserve-centric Division,” said LCol Leroux, “and they are very eager to take on this new approach.”


At the Ottawa Recruitment Centre in downtown Ottawa on October 20, 2015, Brigadier-General Rob Roy MacKenzie, Director General Army Reserve and Chief of Staff Army Reserve, speaks with Sergeant Nathan Smith, who recruits full-time for the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa, Ontario.

Improving the recruiting process is just one of several initiatives in an ongoing effort to strengthen the Primary Reserve, which is a vital partner to the Army’s Regular Force. Reserve units provide as much as 20 per cent of personnel in overseas operations. And their presence in communities all across the country is often what ensures the quickest possible response to domestic emergencies such as natural disasters.
“Recruiting is just one aspect of strengthening the reserve,” said LCol Leroux. “There is equipment and all kinds of other resources that will come into play, but the most important and difficult to acquire is people. These initiatives are to ensure we maintain what we call our manning level, our strength in personnel, and eventually grow and expand.”

5th Canadian Division - Atlantic Canada

Canadian Army Reserve jobs

https://fr-fr.facebook.com/notes/canadian-army/new-army-reserve-enrollment-process-to-hire-recruits-in-weeks-not-months/1156892444402732

Well does not look to bad to me.....been worse. In the late 80s we had 100,000 ceiling and had about 80,000 serving if I remember right, After a decade of war 90 to 2000 we had less then 48,000. If I remember correct we kept bleeding out to about 37,000 before a turn around when Afghanistan ramped up in 02/03

So from my perspective not too bad.

Navrat - Great pt. Its coming full circle now, and biteing them in the ass. Any Cdn, old our young would have to be hiding under a rock not to hear news reports after news reports these last few yrs on how a soldier is treated at the "End of the line". Looks good on them I say.. VVV,,,

Does anyone blame young people from joining after hearing all the bs in the news and the way veterans were treated under the former government.

Typical...reviews after reviews...when it comes to our forces it takes forever for decisions to be made...both with the size of our forces an the purchase of new equipment.

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/closing-excess-military-installations-and-transferring-the-money-to-the-canadian-force-is-it-doable
Doesn't sound good.

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-military-losing-soldiers-at-increasing-rate-headcount-drops-to-level-not-seen-in-years

The Canadian Armed Forces have been bleeding personnel at an increasing rate, as attrition and recruiting problems push the number of men and women in uniform down to levels not seen in years.
The numbers are likely a sign of things to come as the Liberal government moves on its promise to create a “leaner, more agile” force.

The previous Conservative government expanded the military after coming to power a decade ago, adding thousands of men and women to the ranks. After the 2009 financial crisis, the government promised to keep 68,000 full-time military members and 27,000 reservists in uniform despite billions in spending cuts.

But a Defence Department report tabled in the House of Commons this week shows a shortage of nearly 1,900 regular force members and 5,300 part-time reservists as of March 2015, thanks to higher than expected attrition and, for reservists, “challenges in meeting recruiting quotas.”

That compares with a shortage of 900 full-time military personnel and 4,500 reservists the previous year. The military has said it needs more than 4,000 new recruits each year just to offset attrition and keep 68,000 full-time troops in uniform.

The report doesn’t explain the difficulties in recruiting and retaining personnel, but the shortfall created problems, at least in the short term. Of 95 occupations in the regular forces, 24 were “stressed” – that is, understaffed – though the report said new recruits in the system would “gradually” make up the difference.

The shortage of reservists was especially acute as the part-time force has been called upon numerous times to help with missions such as Afghanistan, or in crises at home such as floods and forest fires. The shortage of army and navy reservists was cited as a particular concern.

Defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute said the numbers in the report put the Canadian Armed Forces at their smallest size since at least 2009. But rather than rushing to the rescue, the Liberal government could end up shrinking the military even more.

The Liberal government has ruled out any significant budget increases for defence. Instead, it has promised a comprehensive defence review to create the first defence white paper in more than 20 years, with a plan to making the military “leaner, more agile.”

“It’s going to look not just look at the procurement, it’s going to look at our number of forces, how it connects into our global footprint,” he told reporters outside the House of Commons. “We want to make sure that the Defence Review is done in a manner that sets us ­ Canada up for the next 10, 20 years and how we fit as part of the world.”

The Conservatives were sensitive about reducing the size of the military after criticizing previous Liberal governments for doing exactly that in the 1990s.

But the Tories’ refusal to reduce the number of personnel in uniform at the same time it was cutting billions of dollars in defence spending put a disproportionate amount of budgetary pressure on other parts of the military, including maintenance and procurement.

One former defence chief, retired general Rick Hillier, warned in 2013 that reducing the size of the military was the only way to ensure the force remained strong and stable. He said the number of full-time members should be reduced from 68,000 to 50,000.

Most analysts agree that the mandated staffing levels and planned procurement projects are unsustainable under the current defence budget.

“Something has to give,” said Perry, who has estimated that cutting the size of the force by 1,000 regular-force members would save about $105 million a year.

National Defence also reported that it was short about 2,200 civilian employees, against an authorized strength of more than 24,000. The Conservative government did not have a target for the number of civilian workers, though it did put a priority on employing those in uniform.

The Canadian Armed Forces, by the Numbers

68,000: Mandated strength of the regular force

66,130: Actual strength of the regular force on March 31, 2015

1,870: Difference between mandated and actual strength

27,000: Mandated strength of the reserve force

21,707: Actual strength of the reserve force on March 31, 2015

5,293: Difference between mandated and actual strength

— Source: Department of National Defence