Gen. Hillier pushes plan to boost army enrolment

[Koenigsegg]

I noticed that too, The Americans seem to need a lot of incentives to join.  Such as a very well publicized subsidized education.  That is one reason the US Army seems a little "newbish" in Iraq in my opinion.  They have a lot of young guys and girls who only joined for money for college.  So says an "American History" teacher( he used to be in the Navy, a little soggy around the midsection now though...), when he said that, I thought, "well, that would make sense". 
Every friggen commercial the US Army has out now revolves around getting a further education, or joining the Army to something other than to Fight (are they trying to hide the main theme, and history of the military?).
However, here in Canada the forces are not advertised too much, and the first I read about the subsidized education was on the Forces website.  Canada is more professional because people join to serve Canada a profession, not themselves. Same with the Brits.
I greatly prefer the "Duty with honour" approach, Maybe it is because I prefer to serve, benefit others, and do something.  I feel that our slogan evokes more pride, and in some cases emotion.
I'm 16, so I know I am not as knowledgeable in the military arena as many of the people on this site, But I do not want to join the CF only for myself, I want to serve.  Of course a subsidized education is good, and I could make use of it, but it is not my primary source of draw to the Forces.
I have wanted to join since I was knee high to a grasshopper, but unlike some kids it was not because I wanted to have a gun and shoot people, for me it is almost an indescribable thing.  I have a hunch there are several people here who feel the same thing.

Anyway, back to the topic... I would love to see more enrolments, and more advertising, But that may require more people joining now to dignify putting more money into the system.  But then again, with out advertising, we are missing quite a few opportunities...Hmmmm... A possible dilemma, no?
Take a pro-active stance and risk it, or wait for a opportunity and probably risk even more.  I choose Pro-Active.
Hows aboot Operation PEEP (Pro-active Enrolment Encouraging Program)?

 

[SigOpDraco]

Isn't it interesting that the American pitch is egocentric - "Be all that you can be" while the Canadian pitch - "Duty with honour," appeals to a military ethos - a belief system somewhat removed from most of the civilian population.

Perhaps that is the disconnect for our youth.  They need the direct sell.  ie. How does this benefit ME?
Although I prefer appealing to people's higher natures, maybe it just doesn't grab their imagination. 

I told my co-workers in Wendy's, many of whome are actually adults, that I was joining the army. Their first reacions was "The American?"

When I say know they let out a sort of pathetic chuckle and sense of disbelief.

Not particularly an uplifting story, but I think this underlines the problem with alot of people. I just signed up for the CF, and only have to wait for my phonecall now to start BMQ. Most of my life was talking to my family(including relatives) about what they did in the CF through the ages. There are a few things I might understand more and know more about that many of my co workers and other people on the street just don't get. The commitment just seems lost on them, and many don't have any idea as to how many things the CF does. When you say army, most people will probobly think of the 'grunt in mud'; meaning the poor soul being stitched in those "realistic" movies. (Then again, digging into this crummy little town for any sign of knowledge or common sense is lost.)

I'm not going to lie, alot of people I talk to think the Canadian army is non-existent. What dosn't help is the lack of advertising. While I've seen more updated commercials and more ads running, they're not as common or as edgy as the American ads that sometimes falls into the cable channels.

While I agree, "Duty with Honour" is a great approach, it's not really selling to alot of would-be service members. While it's not exactly the best source of bodies, teenagers need to be impressed and then given the idea that the military will jump-start their career towards a more profitable future. The commercials now do that, but at the same time they fall short on presentation. If the CF needs to increase the number of recruits and servicemen, then a more aggressive stance on marketing and advertising I believe is needed. I see ads in the newspaper, but I don't know many teens or even adults that bother reading into many newspapers past the front page.

We could always do what the Americans do: Have two recruiters patrolling the town, cornering people and nearly manipulating them into joining. Heck, they even have exercises and 'show-and-tell' in the schools. My brother was pushed into giving a marine recruiter his name and phone number; and almost as soon as he got home the guy was trying to shove him into marine training.

"Good to go" was the line I remember hearing alot from that particular individual, especially when he thought I was my brother on the phone in one particualer evening.

Look,
I'm not going to go say that I understand and that I know what the true meaning behind being a CF member is; seeing as that I'm just waiting for a BMQ call. Just that, from the experience handed down from my family has allowed me a more 'pro' look into our military that alot of other people in my position don't have. Again, when I say military alot of people I know have silly images painted in their heads about what the job requires. Many don't realize the benefits in being a member and that there are literally 100's of jobs from pecker-checkers to bin-rats.

Ignorance seems to be the basic enemy of the CF. A lot of people can identify an american soldier right away, and see them a lot more on TV than Canadians. In any case, I think a more proactive advertisement campaign and a more aggressive image might help shake a few unwanted myths and also grab the attention of youngsters. While I'm sure quite a few of my fellow 18-20 year olds are looking for a good education, a lot are still kids at heart and will yell out "Holy sh**, that's cool!" when they see some of the stuff that the CF does.

Might not be as well funded as the Americans; but I still think the CF is a good career option that I'm proud of signing up into. With a bit of advertising, some flag waving, and maybe a harder push into the younger generations might fill up the ranks that the DND is looking for. Sure, many teenagers today have that long rebellious streak that even I dislike, any sort of discipline by the military might set them straight and I'm sure quite a few would make good servicemen.

 

[Caleix]

Just remember, those co-workers at your current job.....their "Civilians", your joining the forces, doing something for your country, that makes you a citizen  .....just how i see it. I think someone had actually brought this up a while back, its from the book (NOT THE MOVIE) star ship troopers....its worth the read.

Caleix

 

[jc5778]

does that mean I get to leave Shilo?

Nah, I'm pretty sure you love it there!  With all that snow and cold and.........flatness............who wouldn't love it there  ;D

 

[orange.paint]

In my opinion allowing immigrants into the CF is great...but (theres always a but) as it was alluded to earlier security checks.My wife was in the CF regular force for four years.Her parents are immigrants from wales who came over on a Russian boat and landed in Montreal.Her security clearance was a nightmare taking over nine months.Also she had family living in weird exotic locations which they actually check up on.Now even though her family were immigrants they were part of the commonwealth, imagine how long it would take for someone outside of the commonwealth to get in.

Her father actually joined the reserve force as a landed immigrant got his citizenship and entered the regs shortly after,so is this really something new? (1975)

And as for mandatory service I don't believe it would work in this society.Kids today are smarter,lazier and fatter than ever.Imagine the starbuck hippies in a uniform!If they would get rid of human rights for the military maybe it would work,but with the lack of discipline in our CF you would have a bunch of conscripts bitching and or in club ED.

If they want to get people in make it easy,walk in sign up do testing that day,then your called after a expedited security check.
Run courses back to back.There are poor troops on PAT platoon for some trades with their hooks.I'm not sure if thats a new thing but I know I did basic then battle school with a one week break in between for Xmas.

MAKE IT WORTH WHILE TO REMAIN! We lose so much knowledge and really good troops every year because they are bored with the job.Put money into our training,make it realistic.Ive seen many reserve exercises with simunition drama students as op-for etc,expand that into EVERY exercise reg and res.Some of the best soldiers I've ever worked with are now out and doing well on civi side because they got sick of the bullshit.

I see no problem with the language barrier with immigrants entering the army.Plus as a  added bonus a section also has an interpeter for different languages as we work on the multinational level.Plus he can always tell you if your interpeter is not saying what your telling him.

If they have any ties to ANY terrorist organisations or ever have or their family has or had it should be a stop drop on them getting in. Remember the Afghani who grenaded his own section in their sleep?

 

[RangerRay]

IIRC, the UK accepts citizens from any Commonwealth country and New Zealand accepts anyone with military experience from the UK, US, Australia and Canada.  We should look at something similar...maybe accepting applicants from the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand?

 

[Pencil Tech]

IIRC, the UK accepts citizens from any Commonwealth country and New Zealand accepts anyone with military experience from the UK, US, Australia and Canada.  We should look at something similar...maybe accepting applicants from the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand?

That's a great idea and would take a bit of the strain off the training training aspect of recruitment.