Manning Undershoot Imminent?

[MaroonMan4]

I would suggest that the (future) issue is not going to be purely numbers, but the quality, and most importantly of all the experience of the individuals leaving.

With so much experience gained over the last 20 years in both operations and joint/coalition staff appointments by our personnel, it is those experienced personnel that I see moving onto pastures new. Not only weiry of constant deployments, many (of all ranks) have just had enough of the constant eroding of their terms and conditions (and that is without the full details of NEM known, and the Chancellor's renewed efforts to again review the AFPS in the next Parliament), from what I see as the brightest and best easily sliding across into civvie street. The numbers of people required by the MoD /Treasury may have reduced, but the number of tasks and workload has not, resulting in those left behind invariably doing 2-3 jobs in one job title. Interestingly those that I witnessed leave do not always go into the airlines/rotary industry (one returned to the station only 5 months after leaving with a property portfolio that was maintaining a very nice life style, and another had invested in a well known franchise that had also improved his family's quality of life).

As I approach the Terminal Fix in my career, bound only really by pension and some misguided loyalty to Queen and Country, I look around and I either see a lot of new keen enthusiastic youth, or a disillusioned youth a few years in already planning their exit strategy, or people like me that are either too idle or not bright enough to actually make the jump.

Sadly what I have witnessed is those experienced personnel left, counting down the pension or CEA clock until they leave have lost all of the ethos, enthusiasm and loyalty with which we were so proud. With the belief that the MoD no longer values them, many appear to view their work place as purely a job, where they are always on the look out for an early stack, or dodging work/duties-its not like the city or the private sector where there are often bonuses or they are bound by contracts that include TOIL. No one gives theses older experienced personnel work beyond the bare minimum as they know it will be done with minimum effort, need constant supervision and probably not be on time.

This sets a very poor example to the youth, initially eager and keen, who invariably get lemoned with the work that the more experienced personnel should be getting. FTRS has been seen to make this worse in some places as some view themselves as pseudo civvies service providers with a contract that that they believe prevents them from being involved in the less appealing aspects of service life.

I find it interesting to note that there is much less whinging on Prune these days as the majority of these posters have got the message, if you don't like it then leave. The manners actually have a relatively easy job making the numbers fit the spreadsheets and data bases.

I personally believe that the silent threat though is actually capturing exactly what levels of skills and experience (not just the qualification) of the VO. It may only be a small %, but if that small % is either the most talented or most experienced in their field of expertise then there is a fall (tactical failure?) waiting to happen as the political assumptions of SDSR 10 and FF2020 already seem so out of date.