Predictably, some of the recusants have felt the wrath of their peers
with one report at least of a yellow stripe painted on the back of one
sailor. This is not acceptable either but it is hardly surprising, more
especially if the defence organisation fails to deal properly and
equitably with these people.
At the other end of the scale, successive governments have cut
personnel numbers in the defence force by just on 30 per cent over the
past decade, this at a time when operational commitments are at a
post-Vietnam high. Units are persistently under-strength with volunteers
from the reserves required to make up the numbers in deployed units,
leaving the reserve units unable to train effectively.
The government's policy is cost-driven. Personnel costs are increasing
by around four per cent annually in real terms because, as a volunteer
force, the ADF must compete in the labor market for its people. It demands
- and gets - high-quality people but the numbers are held down. On the
other hand, the government seeks to hold personnel costs to an assumed
growth rate of just two per cent.
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Fortunately, and despite the doomsayers, recruiting and retention rates
are high because so many idealistic and capable young people see the ADF
as a means of serving their country and community. This is overwhelmingly
the motivation of new recruits and serving members. Recruitment ceilings,
however, deny many the opportunity to serve.
For anyone who has dealings with the men and women of the defence
force, their quality is simply extraordinary. They are well compensated -
as people who offer the ultimate sacrifice for their country should be.
But there are not enough of them and their administration is insensitive
and ponderously bureaucratic. The challenge is to achieve the right
balance between the rights and responsibilities of both the organisation
and the individuals within it.
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