HELP WANTED: One Canadian Armed Forces

News media in recent weeks have reported that Canada’s Armed Forces are needing to take (to some, anyways) drastic measures to battle a growing problem of attrition vs. sustainability. Not only is Canada struggling to attract sufficient numbers of recruits; it appears even with a full pipeline, administrative obstacles prevent us from getting them into service quickly enough. Case in point: reports came from both the PMO and DND this week indicating a doctor’s note will soon suffice in place of a physical exam to cut the enrollment process from 45-60 days to less than a week.

This weekend, a friend of mine in the Forces articulated the situation further, to the effect that “the attrition rate (due both to retirement and pursuing careers in the private sector) so far outweighs the rate of recruitment, I don’t know where the Army is going to be in ten years.”

While having the utmost respect and admiration for those who have served their country, I myself never have, and therefore I can’t make a single observation or suggestion based on first hand experience. That said, I’d like to offer up a few suggestions, all based on the goal of increasing the number of Canadians who choose the Armed Forces as a career.

Go to School: Send delegates out to EVERY high school in the country to tell students what it means to serve their country in the military. It may be happening already, but not everywhere. Every university in the country it seems visited my high school, including RMC, but not a representative of the Armed Forces. Why not? Not the right message to send to students? Name a more honourable career. Not enough resources? Tap into the Veteran’s Association, or even the Legion…blanket the country.

Ramp Up the Propaganda: Take Ralph Fiennes’s character from the English Patient, multiply him, and send him out on an ongoing media tour across Canada. Yes the war (in today’s case, Afghanistan) is always in our faces, but not at a personal level, and rarely on a victorious one. In his book I’m reading called Virtual War, Michael Ignatieff contends (as I interpret it) that ever increasing freedom and accessibility of the press in wartime has actually undermined Western values of spreading freedom and democracy; we’re happy to support it, as long as we don’t have to see the results. And while you can’t stop embedded, real-time and (often) gruesome footage, you can saturate the market with bona fide success stories and positive progress reports. Any time a Canadian Platoon or Battallion accomplishes a mission (within security parameters obviously), get those guys on the satellite phone to their local TV and radio stations to talk about the bravery, honour and sacrifice they demonstrated as their local town heroes.

Go to Where the Recruits Are: What do smart, physically fit, competitive 18-year olds do with a big chunk of their spare time? Video games: since 2002, the U.S. Army has used online video game America's Army to provide with a realistic experience firing weapons such as automatic rifles and grenade launchers. Surfing the Net: the Marine Corps has set up its own MySpace.com site. Music: the U.S. National Guard gives itunes downloads away if you agree to be contacted by a recruiting agent. Sound crazy? Crazier things have induced people to fight to the death for their country or cause.