Long hair, signing bonuses and 'try before you buy': How Canada's military is responding to a staffing crisis
David Common | CBC News | Posted: September 13, 2023 8:00 AM | Last Updated: September 14, 2023
1 in 10 positions in Armed Forces is unfilled and recruitment isn’t keeping up
Anton Parker followed in his grandfather's footsteps with a career in the Royal Canadian Navy.
With the longest hair of his life, complemented with a handlebar mustache and mutton chop sideburns, his grandfather might not even recognize him as a military sailor.
"The military should strive for discipline and uniformity," Parker said while on board HMCS Vancouver, a frigate deployed in the Indo-Pacific region. "But there's a need in the modern world for people to express individuality. The navy is trying to strike that balance."
On the same ship, some sailors have pink hair, others multiple earrings in each ear.
Even face tattoos are OK.
The decision is one way of "addressing the tension created by accelerated generational change," Gen. Wayne Eyre, the chief of defence staff, said in a video announcing the change. "Uniformity does not equal discipline … any more than the colour or length of your hair defines your commitment."
The relaxation of dress standards a year ago across the Canadian Armed Forces may surprise veterans who lived through far stricter times, but it is part of a larger effort to make the Forces more attractive to new recruits and to retain experienced members like Sailor 1st Class Parker, who has served with the Royal Canadian Navy for seven years.
The navy is "understaffed right now, we're heavily understaffed," Parker said. "There are a lot of vacant positions."
At least 10,000 positions across the CAF are empty, representing one in 10 roles. The chief of defence staff has warned it will get worse before it gets better.
"I am very, very worried about our numbers," Eyre told a House of Commons committee in April.
"Our readiness is going down within the Canadian Armed Forces," he said. "The military we have today is not the one we need for the future."
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The CAF has added 10,731 new members since 2020, but those gains have been offset by retirements and departures from the ranks — which have left the Armed Forces in a continued deficit.
In spite of signing bonuses of up to $20,000 based on a candidate's qualifications, the Forces have been unable to replace members who leave.
Demands for military spike
It comes at a moment of high operational tempo. In other words, the military is very busy.
The army has deployed 1,000 soldiers to NATO's border with Russia in Latvia. Hundreds of other troops are training Ukrainian forces on tanks, medical treatment and urban warfare on deployments that last months.
The air force remains involved in ferrying equipment and ammunition to aid Ukraine's fight and the navy has shifted its focus to the Indo-Pacific, with three of its vessels currently deployed near waters contested by China.
There's also the urgent and growing number of requests for help inside Canada during wildfires, floods and storm recovery.
"Everyone is burnt out," said Charlotte Duval-Lantoine, Ottawa operations manager with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.
Then there's the CAF's reputation problem, driven by serious allegations and criminal charges for sexual assault and harassment, often at the highest levels of the Forces since 2015, which has been covered extensively by Canadian media.
"We have seen scandals related to discrimination and sexual misconduct in the military," said Duval-Lantoine. "And because most Canadians don't have direct contact with the military … that might deter them from joining the military."
Testing the waters
Those who join the military have historically signed a multi-year contract, and the CAF says it has found such a commitment can be a barrier in attracting recruits.
"Life in the navy can be demanding and challenging at times — it is not for everyone", the commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee, said in a news release in March announcing the navy's proposed solution.
"The aim of the [Naval Experience Program] is simple: to reduce the amount of time it takes to train civilians as sailors," the navy said in a the news release, "and to attract those who enjoy the unique lifestyle that the navy offers."
It's "a bit of try before you buy," said Prof. Alan Okros of the Canadian Forces College, a Toronto-based facility that provides graduate-level military education.
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The NEP is a bit like doing a test drive on several cars.
New recruits are sped through basic training in eight weeks and then cycled through different job types through the remainder of the year, including fast-tracked efforts to get new recruits on a ship at sea as quickly as possible.
At the end, they can sign on to the regular force as full-time members or reservists, or leave altogether, with no strings attached.
As of this month, only 33 members have enrolled in the Naval Experience Program, but 364 are in various stages of the application process — including those who have accepted offers.
Nearly one-third of applicants identify as visible minorities or Indigenous, a key priority for the military.
1 in 10 on deployed warship new to navy
Twenty-seven of HMCS Vancouver's 240 crew members have been in the military for less than two years. Some members of the Forces do not deploy internationally for several years after joining, but the navy has made efforts in recent years to offer opportunities earlier to newer sailors.
Those on the Vancouver are, for instance, then able to visit other countries, such as Japan and Thailand, when their ships come in to port for several days to restock.
The Armed Forces have also opened up the ranks to permanent residents in a bid to cast a wider net for new members.
Where Canadians live is also at odds with the location of many military bases, which may also be a factor in recruitment and retention.
More than 80 per cent of Canadians live in cities, but most military bases are in smaller communities, like Petawawa, Ont., or Cold Lake, Alta.
Convincing young people to sign up to a life away from big city conveniences, said Okros, is increasingly challenging.
"There's choices around work and life balance," said Okros. "Everybody is looking at putting more of a priority on balancing life and family obligations."
He also points to economic conditions as a factor impacting recruitment. The military is competing for talent during a period of low unemployment, when those entering the workforce may have multiple options.
Challenges across all jobs
In a statement to CBC News, the Royal Canadian Navy says it "has been challenged over the past few years to recruit, train and retain diverse Canadian talent" and that now means "all occupations are short personnel."
Most acute are those at mid-level leadership, as many sailors depart the service before their retirement date.
Marine technician and naval communicator occupations are the positions most challenged to recruit, generate and retain personnel, according to the navy.
At 22, Alexis Desy is among the youngest sailors aboard HMCS Vancouver.
"This could be a career," he said. "I'm only two years in, it's my first deployment, still getting a sense of what the job is."
Keeping the newest recruits will be the challenge, especially after a significant investment of training dollars.
"Younger people are changing jobs more often and so staying in one institution is not really appealing for them right now," said Duval-Lantoine.
Top commanders have made attracting new members the highest priority for the military, dedicating additional staff to recruiting efforts — while acknowledging military strength (a term used to describe the number of soldiers and sailors relative to need) is likely to worsen in the short term.
Parker sees it as an opportunity.
"As an old supervisor of mine once put it — take advantage of the chaos … there is a lot of work to be done and a lot of vacant positions."