My grandmother once gave me a crap cardigan for Christmas. Instead of abusing her and telling her how awful it was I simply thanked her for the gesture and left it in the bottom draw. Pretty similar to the virgin announcement, not many people will take them up on the offer but it’s a damn good gesture…. And I’m not going to lampoon them for it.
The views expressed on here are anecdotal (all the ADF people I know…. Blah blah), one layer deep and miss the point of the GESTURE. Virgin has shown leadership and as some have pointed out brought veterans to the forefront.
Some have likened police and paramedics to those in the ADF; on the surface they appear to be similar however in the eyes of the law, which is where the distinction lies, they are very different. Ascribing deaths over a period of time as some sort of measure of similarity is naive at best.
I have farewelled a few guys from the ADF and every time I say that it’s not what they have done whilst serving that is the most important; rather it is the fact that they volunteered and stepped across the line on day one. The fact that they have signaled to the nation that they are willing to do anything the country asks of them, up to and including laying down their life, is the real point. All whilst making careful distinction that the job function they chose was irrelevant to that oath.
When you sign up to the ADF the deal is that you no longer have a say when it comes to being placed in harms way. An emergency services person does not, when signing up make this same agreement, and whilst the numbers may be similar, their death whilst tragic was not part of the deal.
You simply can’t compare the ADF by any standard to any other job – you are not an employee, you are a member. You are not working for the ADF, you are in the ADF or serving. You don’t quit, you petition the Governor General (or Career Managers). You can’t form contract with the ADF. You will be thrown in gaol if you don’t show up to work (ask the virgin pilot who was AWOL). It appears like a job from the outside but the reality is far from perception.