Originally Posted by
SASless
Not trying to steal the thread....but see this as a related issue. being reported on in the USA.
Recruitment this year by the Military is a failure....with varying shortfalls in the various Services.
Does our problems sound similar to those in the UK?
We are two societies that have some commonalities but also have some differences.
One thing we do share is the need to be capable of manning and sustaining a viable and effective military fit to meet our self defense needs at a minimum and to be able to field forces in mutual support when required.
SASless,
my impression from the outside is recruitment numbers have improved but aren't high enough, the Covid year and IT problems may have had some impact. Finding people to recruit is an issue throughout the UK economy - the reassessment of what one wants from a job and work life balance etc. Those still in will obviously have a better and more informed view than mine.
I do wonder if the shrunken armed forces mean there is so little exposure in most of the country that young men and women don't even consider it as a career; and also the opportunities are much fewer than historically - stories about long holds for aircrew training can't help it that specialism. However, I think the UK would struggle to get the recruits to meet any substantial expansion; as for getting those who have left to go back, I'm sure some would but no where near enough. Surely, to be effective any large expansion needs large numbers of experienced NCOs and officers especially in the increasingly technical environment.
Figures for full time trained strength on 1 Jul 21 as published last October:
1 Apr 21 Navy/Marines 4.7% under strength (an improvement on -5.9% 1 Jul 20)
Army 5.9% under strength (an improvement on -10.1% 1 Jul 20) (the Army's strength is planned to reduce strength by 11% by 2025)
Air Force 6.2% under strength (an improvement on -7.1% 1 Jul 20)
There was a recovery in inflow in 2021 v 2020.
Of note is the fact that the Naval Service and the Army are far more understrength in ORs than OFs. The Air Force figures are pretty much even.