Elevating Recruitment as a Primary Focus for the Newly Appointed Head of the Canadian Military

July 19, 2024 TruthUSA

Canada’s new Chief of the Defence Staff General Jennie Carignan emphasizes the importance of replenishing the ranks of the military as her primary focus.

While Ottawa works on updating and replacing key military equipment, Gen. Carignan highlights the necessity of having skilled individuals to operate the new gear effectively.

Speaking at a press conference after taking over from Gen. Wayne Eyre as the Chief of the Defence Staff of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), she stated, “The priority is to ensure that we bring in a diverse range of Canadian talent and quality individuals to ensure that we have the necessary personnel to operate all of these platforms.

Gen. Carignan inherits an organization that has been dealing with recruitment and retention challenges exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to statistics from the Department of National Defence, the CAF experienced a net loss of nearly 6,500 personnel, combining both regular forces and primary reserves, between April 2020 and March 2023.

Personnel issues led Gen. Eyre to issue an order in October 2022 halting non-essential activities to focus on rebuilding the forces. He also removed the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirement as a condition of employment during that period.

Earlier this year, Defence Minister Bill Blair characterized the personnel situation as a “death spiral,” citing a shortage of nearly 16,000 troops in the military.

However, Gen. Eyre expressed optimism during his testimony before a House of Commons committee in May, indicating that the new recruitment strategy was showing positive results.

In the fiscal year 2023–2024, the regular force witnessed a net increase of 210 troops, while the reserve force grew by 1,018.

Gen. Carignan mentioned a specific scientific-guided plan to fill occupational vacancies, although certain unpredictable factors remain.

When questioned about the lack of Canadians joining the CAF, the new military chief highlighted several contributing factors.

“In some communities, people are unaware that they can enlist in the armed forces,” she explained.

Following Gen. Carignan, Mr. Blair mentioned that his department aims to achieve full military staffing by 2032.

Part of this effort involves expediting the recruitment process by introducing a probationary period to complete steps like fitness tests and security checks before individuals begin training, ensuring no confidential information is shared during this period,” Mr. Blair explained.

The year 2032 has also been set as the target date by Ottawa to meet the NATO defense spending guideline of 2 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

This announcement was made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the NATO Summit’s final day in Washington last week.

Furthermore, a government defense policy update released in April set a lower spending target of 1.76 percent of GDP on defense by 2029–2030.

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