Military's recruiting efforts fall short

Recuiting needs to change its tactics, and be more pro active.

yup, more time for you on CKA !

Read the comments after the story and it seems a one-time poster here, Glen Fitzgerald, had to chip in a couple of comments. That they were possibly to 2 stupidest comments should come as no surprise to those who remember him.

I would agree CF recruiting needs to be more pro active.

I havent seen a recruiter come to my school in over 3 years...it's even hard for my army cadet unit to recruit because alot of schools are unbelievably anal about not having military recruiters of any kind.


Look at the University of Victoria, denying CF recuiters to attend a job fair. Without the Royal Navy establishing a base in Esquimalt, Victoria wouldnt be the city it is today . Shouldnt the young people of Canada be able to see what options there are available to them in regards to employment?

To be honest, I think the CF should come out with some better TV ads. the ads..are kinda...blah....Something with like catchy music..like the US Army ad music

Whats this "special program" for those who cant meet CF fitness standards?

Good eye.

Anything for fat, Walter Mitty vetrans who want to drink beer while they fly UAV's from their couch in the basement?

Fat camp for inductee's or as the military knows it: remedial PT.

Air Force?

I think they need to be more trade specific, ten seconds with a soldier guiding refugees to a chopper doesnt cut it.

Sappers giggling after a really big explosion would do it.

I can see it now, the commercial comes on kinda done like CSI..
In the middle of a desert in Afghanistan...

Some soldiers are walking around a Coyote,
(Armored Recce) "Where did my five jerry cans go?"

Pan right and zoom in to the middle of the camp..
(Cook) "where did those trash cans go?"

Switch to a tent with a radio crackling and several officers standing around...
(SigOp) "Echo Two One Echo, you are cleared to dispose of excess C4, Out"

Cut to a hole in the ground containing; two buried trash cans each filled with 50L of diesel, with several yellow cords leading out of the cans...

Cut to two RCRs on top of a building looking at the area through binoculars...
(RCR) "3... 2... 1... Boom Baby"
A huge 60ft mushroom cloud erupts from the desert, a shockwave rips through the air as a cloud of dust starts to drift toward the camp...
(RCR) "I love it when the engineers do nuclear simulations..."

(Voice Over) "Canadian armed forces, Boom Baby"

I can see it now, the commercial comes on kinda done like CSI..
In the middle of a desert in Afghanistan...

Some soldiers are walking around a Coyote,
(Armored Recce) "Where did my five jerry cans go?"

Pan right and zoom in to the middle of the camp..
(Cook) "where did those trash cans go?"

Switch to a tent with a radio crackling and several officers standing around...
(SigOp) "Echo Two One Echo, you are cleared to dispose of excess C4, Out"

Cut to a hole in the ground containing; two buried trash cans each filled with 50L of diesel, with several yellow cords leading out of the cans...

Cut to two RCRs on top of a building looking at the area through binoculars...
(RCR) "3... 2... 1... Boom Baby"
A huge 60ft mushroom cloud erupts from the desert, a shockwave rips through the air as a cloud of dust starts to drift toward the camp...
(RCR) "I love it when the engineers do nuclear simulations..."

(Voice Over) "Canadian armed forces, Boom Baby"i love it

I don't think it's the CF's efforts that are failing here.
My dad's a recruiter out of HMCS Tecumseh, he retired when the base closed in Calgary and joined reserves while he did civy work and last year resigned with reg force as a recruiter.

One of the problems he faces is the fact that 3 out of 5 interested people only want to have a gun put in their hands and be pointed at the Taliban/Al Queda, they don't take these people seriously because this isn't a serious attitude when your looking to give your life for your country, they want people who have a sence of commitment for what they are doing, not some jack-off sociopath who wants to learn to shoot "Brownies"

Another problem he faces is that he is required to wear dress uniform while recruiting in schools and in the public, then he gets Cops and Swat teams at the same places in full assault gear looking real tough and getting all the attention, he has since received permission to go out in tac gear that the navy wears for boarding parties.

Yet one more obsticle is peoples overall attitude about joining up, alot of young Canadian see it as a last resort or a fallback if life doesn't work out the way they want, so they only show up when all other avenues have failed for them, again these aren't really the types they want to fight for us, but they do accept them.

It's a big job that requires contant development of ways to connect with teens and young adults, I don't envy anyone doing it. I think a major difference in Canada compared to the US is that the US has a large population of inner city youth who either see Sports or the Military as the only way to get out, we don't have the same demographics in this regard