New ANZACS
November 1917 - officers of the 12th Australian Machinegun Company behind four of their Vickers Mk I Machineguns. Picture: Austraian War Memorial
Y, your country needs you
Cameron Stewart | April 10, 2008
THEY are simpering, whining, clingy brats, constantly distracted, disrespectful, soft and precocious. Welcome to the new generation of Anzacs.
Defence is enticing young recruits with images of sport ...
... entertainment ...
... surfing ...
These unflattering stereotypes commonly attributed to generation Y may be exaggerated, but they have forced a quiet revolution inside the Australian Defence Force. Faced with one of the gravest recruitment crises in its history, the ADF has been forced to try to shed its crusty image and reach out to this next generation of soldiers, those born between 1981 and 2000.
The process has been fraught with missteps - at times almost farcical - as stiff-lipped colonels seek to exude cool street cred to a generation for whom the Kokoda Track is a bushwalk. But what is at stake is no laughing matter. Unless it can connect with, lure and retain genY, the ADF will wither into a Dad's Army. The planned multibillion-dollar investments in new fighters, navy ships and army battalions will result in a ghost force, bereft of pilots, sailors and soldiers.
The recruitment crisis, which is being fuelled by the attraction of better paid jobs in the private sector, especially in the booming mining sector, is hitting hard. Only half of the navy's Collins class submarine fleet - three out of six - can be sent to war because of a critical shortage of crews.
With unemployment at record lows, genY has job choices that genX and the baby boomers could only dream of.
1943 (modified 1953) - Owen Mk II/III Sub-machinegun originally made at Lysaght's Newcastle Works Pty Limited then refurbished a decade later at the Lithgow Small Arms factory in NSW with a Mk III barrel and safety catch. Used by Australian Army. Picture: Australian War Memorial
The ADF's challenge is harder still because
In the
"This is not about just a generation gap but dealing with a somewhat alien life force," US military recruiters told a recent
Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon is more polite but admits "these days even a month-long commitment is an eternity to an Australian teenager".
"We must become more creative on the recruitment front," Fitzgibbon says. "Talking to generation Y in their language through the mediums they rely upon for their information will be crucial to making gains."
As a result, Defence is mounting a broad hi-tech assault on gen Y, with special emphasis on luring young women, indigenous Australians and recruits with technical skills. It has launched an all out cyber war to target the cyber generation.
The ADF's newly revamped recruitment websites are a teenager's dream, packed with military video games, virtual tours of bases and ships, and personal videos from smiling soldiers. "We are trying to give people as much engaging content as possible through game-play and other features," says Konrad Spilva, whose Melbourne-based interactive ad agency Visual Jazz created the ADF's recruitment website. "We are aiming for the 16 to 24-year-olds and trying to encourage those who would not normally interact with the ADF."
1969 - L1A1 Self Loading Rifle, the standard rifle of the Australian Army from 1960 to 1992. A reliable weapon proven in all environments and regarded as one of the most successful battle rifles ever produced. Picture: Australian War Memorial
The content would bring a wry smile to the faces of the early Anzacs. There is no mention of hardship or danger, and no warning that you might one day be asked to fight an enemy. There is no talk of making the ultimate sacrifice for your country, the possibility that your career choice could involve facing a violent death in the deserts of
The links on these websites won't take you anywhere near the words of the World WarI soldier-poet Wilfred Owen:
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through the sludge.
While there is a token reference to "the Anzac tradition of fairness and loyalty", the recruitment websites make no mention of Gallipoli or the Kokoda Track, the Western Front or any of the other campaigns on which the Anzac legend was founded.
Instead, recruitment websites give glowing descriptions of lifestyle, sporting facilities, food and opportunities for travel.
"Get paid to keep fit," boasts the army's recruitment website, alongside headlines such as "great pay", "sporting fun" and "see
"A lifestyle like no other", promises the RAAF's website, with a picture of an air force rock band captioned "time for fun".
The navy, which is struggling most to attract recruits, simply promises "the good life". "Whether you're out at sea, where the sense of adventure and fun is high, or posted ashore, where you'll enjoy the early finishing time and amazing recreational facilities, life in the navy is good indeed."
The recruitment pages for submariners read like a holiday brochure, extolling the virtues of the submarine base HMAS Stirling near Fremantle in
"The main attractions are its peaceful white beaches, foreshores and bays," Defence says. "Here you can picnic, swim, fish, surf and sail", and observe "the many birds and rare Tamar wallaby".
"Nearby you can enjoy a round of golf, or take a peaceful walk deep into the jarrah forests. There are ideal conditions for fishing and boating and local wineries and outdoor cafes to enjoy.
2006 - a soldier from 2nd Battalion RAR armed with the latest generation of the 5.56mm, F88 Austeyr, complete with M203 grenade launcher, scope, laser sight and tactical flashlight. Picture: 25th July 2006, courtasy of the Australian Department of Defence
And then there is the food.
"You honestly couldn't eat better than this if you cooked at home or went out to restaurants every night," the army's recruitment website says. "In fact you'll probably never eat this well consistently at any other time in your life!"
To back it up, it lists army menus, with breakfasts featuring sauteed mushrooms, croissants and endless eggs; lunches of apple and rosemary stuffed lamb racks served with lemongrass and spinach sauce with croquette potatoes; and veal cordon bleu served with seeded mustard and cream sauce or cannelloni florentine for dinner.
Old-school soldiers are unimpressed by the implications inherent in this sales pitch: that the new generation of soldiers is lazy and indulgent and more interested in high pay, short working days, gourmet food and sport than in learning to become warriors.
"The army should adapt to gen Y by making tank hatches wider so this obese generation can fit through, and should make it possible for soldiers to summon air strikes by SMS," an irate former soldier wrote recently on an ABC website. The trend may rile traditionalists, but the ADF believes it has little choice other than to adapt and even pander to the perceived priorities of genY if it is to win the recruitment battle.
Of the top five reasons given for leaving the defence force, four relate to a desire for a better balance between career and lifestyle.
It follows that the ADF will not win new recruits without convincing them that military life is not one of undue hardship.
Defence Science and Personnel Minister Warren Snowdon says he will try to address this by introducing more family-friendly policies such as longer postings and less family disruption.
Entry standards have also been relaxed, including those for age and weight. Applicants with minor drug convictions, tattoos, body piercings and asthma are no longer automatically barred from joining the ADF.
Even the notion of boot camp has been toned down so as not to scare away new recruits. Officers now assure new recruits that training instructors are not the bullying ogres portrayed in movies.
Traditionalists sniff that this is producing soft soldiers.
Computer war games and other interactive games have become an integral recruiting tool for genY. Yesterday a new RAAF game called Operation Overwatch was launched.
The game requires the player to set up and manage airfields, using a variety of air force personnel, from engineers to plumbers, who build up the airfield and gather essential fuel and supplies. "It's a way of showing people that there are other defence jobs which are critical to the overall running of an airfield," says Visual Jazz's Spilva.
These games and the other interactive features on defence recruitment websites have been credited with a surge in the number of hits. Spilva says the recruitment website receives between 150,000 and 170,000 hits a month, compared with only 20,000 a month six years ago. Between 5 and 10 per cent of those who browse the websites make inquiries about joining the ADF.
A raft of other initiatives is being introduced to lure gen Y, including interactive recruiting centres in capital cities.
A paid gap year for school leavers and potential recruits to join the force for 12 months has also proved popular.
The Government wants the ADF to accept work experience students from schools, but this encountered resistance from some top brass, who say it could be dangerous and compromise security.
This week, after years of headlines about recruitment shortages, the ADF finally received some good news, the first sign that its targeting of gen Y may be working.
The ADF released figures showing one of the best recruiting results in years, with the force achieving 83.4 per cent of its 2007-08 target, with 6142 enlistments.
The army recruited 87.3 per cent of its annual target, compared with 82.8 per cent for the RAAF and 73.1 per cent for the navy.
"It's now going well (and) in the next four to five years it's going to go gangbusters," says Brigadier Simon Gould, director-general of ADF recruiting.
Cameron Stewart is The Australian's associate editor.
FIGHTING WAGES
* Starting salaries (amounts increase with length of service)
* Recruit basic training (any service) $37,676
* Army private (and RAN or RAAF equivalent) $46,041
* Army sergeant (and RAN or RAAF equivalent) $56,714
* Army major (and RAN or RAAF equivalent) $76,644
* Submariner $75,463 All amounts include service allowance of $10,381 a year
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/
Related and a H/T for the pics:
http://www.news.com.au/gallery/large/0,25692,5030459-5016621-34,00.html
Face of war ... intimate portraits of Australian troops taken by their comrades in arms over the past century of conflict.
War special: Timeline, pictures and videos | More
posted by 10 men at 9:16 PM
5 Comments:
I wonder what effect the feminizing of our culture and our repulsion for weapons has played in this. We are constantly told that weapons are bad, in our schools, children are taught to run and hide at the first sign of trouble, no matter how many of them there are. Police and authorities always telling us to choose cowardice. We constantly promote the 'self', so we find everyone is only concerned with themselves. I mean what did we expect other than to turn out to be a nation of cowards then.
Political Correctness has softened the population but still we should overcome it. When the first enemy bullets zip through the air past their ears that should wake them up.
Mk and 10men it boggles the mind that with all of their high fallutin' 21st Century gizmos with which to entice our young folk into the Defence Forces they can only manage to attract just over 6000 applicants out of a population of 21 million!
What will happen when the real shit hits the fan?
My research shows that recruitment in both World Wars followed on from economic downturns(recession and depression)and very severe droughts which forced a lot of young men out of work. Many people do not realise this, but the combination of drought and unemployment was a major factor in the military recruiting large numbers of men in those times. Faced with more beneficial circumstances nationally, would there have been the netting of such large numbers during both wars? Probably not.
Which brings us back to the present problem of the apparent lack of zeal by our young people for all things military.
I'm going to raise the old bogeyman and say that consciption is the answer! I would bolster my argument for this very effective way of recruitment with this:
There are many thousands of young people out there who fall by the wayside in life due to a number of factors which I will not go into detail because the issues are so numerous that it would require a great deal of space to explain. Often these young persons turn to a life of crime in which case they become almost unredeemable as future responsible citizens.
Conscription I believe would give most of those young persons, not all would be receptive to the discipline, a chance in life which they would not ordinarily have.
Also, our Reservists need to be more accessable for times of national emergency similar to the National Guard setup in the States.
All it would take to have a fully equipped and ready military is political will. Do our current leaders have that? Terry
I am 24 and belong to gen Y, i have to admit that most things said are true, but this is not the case for myself, i have enlisted and will start training very soon, and, i would not want to join a army full of soft centred metro-sexuals. i find myself very out-casted latly due to the fack that i dont wast time with facebook, myspace or "queer-eye for the straight guy shopping and clothing tactics, and am also discusted with afeminin views on gun laws, hunting, deth war, and my i dont think spining back flip rap dance moves are cool or tuff. I am a welder by trade and i was the youngest in my class, males just dnt want to do any "hard" work, learning a trade and making somthing with your hands just has no value or respect by people my age. i think i will keep to my circle of freinds consisting of nam veterans and men over 35 who have shooting and hunting and mechanical and trade skills that are invaluable skills for that future. as for the army they are attracting unrealistic day dreamers who belive the army propoganda. it's kill or be killed, someones got to do it.
thanks for reading and dont give up on us all, we arnt all "cory party boys"
Thank You Anon,
Having worked in public with gen Y I can say that things are still good even with the cheeky drunken Y's and X gens too -not just the youth these days that are being silly.
You have you head on straight.
Good Luck
10men
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