By Scott Taylor
The Canadian Armed Forces are presently facing a manpower crisis which threatens to hamstring the entire institution.
Out of a combined Regular Force and Reserve strength of 105,000, the CAF are currently short some 16,500 personnel.
The problem is twofold in that the military is challenged to recruit sufficient numbers, while at the same time the CAF is having difficulty in retaining those already in uniform.
As the overall numbers dwindle, it becomes that much more difficult to maintain the staffing of foreign commitments, like Canada’s forward deployed Battle Group in Latvia and simultaneously finding the necessary trainers to create the next generation of soldiers, sailors and aircrew.
Throw into this mix the constant interruption of training cycles to deploy military personnel to assist with climate change-related natural disasters such as floods and fires, and it becomes readily apparent that Canada’s military is very close to the tipping point.
Thus far, the solutions proposed by the senior leadership of the CAF have been little more than cosmetic tinkering to existing policies.
In order to attract more recruits the Canadian military have loosened restrictions on dress and deportment, radical hairstyles, facial hair, tattoos and piercings. They are now allowed without restrictions and while service-members still wear uniforms, they are no longer gender specific.
It is also no longer necessary for recruits to be citizens of Canada. Applicants need only to have their permanent residency. As for retention, the military hopes to make alterations to the pay and benefits package as an incentive to keep trained personnel in uniform.
Vice Admiral Angus Topshee, Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, has introduced the Naval Experience Program (NEP) which will allow recruits to join for a 12- month stint.
After a short eight week Basic Military Training course, those personnel will be posted directly to CFB Halifax or CFB Esquimalt. They will not have any specific trade training so they will be considered ‘general duty’ sailors for the duration of their one year of service.
Under the terms of the NEP, those sailors will serve on both coasts, earn $42,000, with free rations and quarters and enjoy three weeks of leave.
Topshee ambitiously hopes that after experiencing the RCN’s culture and seeing the world from the deck of a warship, 80 per cent of these general duty sailors will elect to extend their career and sign up for a second tour.
Such measures, even if successful, may be a case of ‘too little, too late’.
Given the developments on the battlefield in the ongoing war in Ukraine, maybe it’s time that the CAF rethinks the structure of our military entirely.
There is no question that the drone has emerged as the queen of the modern battlefield.
Canada has correctly deemed it necessary to invest in a mixed future fleet of armed drones. However, the RCAF has warned that staffing such a new capability will be challenging due to the current manpower shortage.
As such it is being proposed that reservists be activated to operate this future fleet of drones. Which begs the question, why do skilled drone operators need to be uniformed members of the military?
As warfare increasingly becomes a high-tech contest between machines, drone pilots or operators don’t need to learn how to march in formation, polish boots or be able to bench press their own body weight. They would not even have to learn field craft skills as, given the range of these new drones, they could be housed in comfortable lodgings well behind any front lines.
There will always be a need for the traditional warrior but perhaps it is time to look at those non-combat support trades to determine whether their role necessitates that they undergo full military training and be subject to the military justice system.
While Topshee’s NEP will put general duty, non-trade trained sailors aboard the RCN’s warships, maybe a parallel program could be implemented to hire specialized civilians to support the CAF without having to be in uniform.
I know this will sound like blasphemy to the traditionalists who insist on maintaining the status quo, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
As for the issue of the military being deployed to aid the civilian powers during natural disasters, one short term solution would be to expand and support the group called Team Rubicon.
Established in January 2010, this is an organization of CAF veterans which volunteers to assist in the aftermath of floods, fires and earthquakes both at home and abroad.
Expanding Team Rubicon and adding resources to increase their capacity would allow the military community to still reap the goodwill generated through aiding fellow Canadians, without having to strain our already over-tasked serving troops.
