CF recruiting criticized

The military's ombudsman has issued a report.

Television ads attempt to lure young Canadian men and women to join the Forces with promises of action and exciting careers, but Canada's defence ombudsman says the welcome is not always so warm for those who actually try to enlist.

Yves Côté says he is concerned about the number of people who have told his office that they quit the recruitment process, or were about to quit, because of an unsatisfactory experience during recruiting.

"The Canadian Forces must improve the quality and timeliness of the service provided to applicants to ensure that it does not routinely lose the services of talented Canadians interested in a military career," Mr. Côté told a news conference yesterday as he released a report on recruitment problems...

Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor announced in April that he hoped to increase the number of regular military personnel in the Forces by 13,000 and the number of reserves by 10,000 over the next few years.

In fact, Mr. Côté said, the Canadian Forces Recruiting Group is meeting -- or nearly meeting -- its targets, except in some specific occupations.

But the problems experienced by recruits could mean the loss to the military of some of the most skilled and talented Canadians, he said.

There were four majors areas of complaints fielded by his office:

-A lack of responsiveness on the part of some recruiters

-Excessive delays in the process, particularly in terms of medical and security checks

-Difficulties experienced in transferring between the reserves and regular forces and vice versa

-Some people skilled in trades, where there were large shortages, were promised big bonuses for enlisting, only to find that the bonuses evaporated after they had been processed because the shortages had disappeared...