Posted on 12/26/2011 6:09:10 AM PST by Dundee
THE Australian Defence Force is exploiting forced cutbacks in military spending in Britain and other Western countries, embarking on an unprecedented drive to recruit laid-off soldiers, sailors and air crew.
...seeking highly skilled specialists ...fighter pilots, special forces officers and submarine crews. And as an incentive, it is prepared to offer a fast track to Australian citizenship for so-called "lateral recruits" after just three months' service.
...the navy is also recruiting from the US, Canada and New Zealand.
A recent report on maintenance problems in Australia's navy suggested that as many as 200 more engineers were needed to rebuild lost expertise...
The ADF recruited 125 servicemen and five women overseas in the 2009-10 financial year, but only 33 men and one woman in 2010-11. Overseas recruitment is expected to increase sharply this year in part because of Britain's economic woes.
...the ADF is seeking "serving or ex-serving foreign military personnel who can directly transfer their job and life skills to whichever service they join with limited training and preparation...
...targeting serving personnel or those who "separated" no more than three years ago.
...must apply for a permanent resident visa before coming to Australia...
...maritime warfare officers, the only class of submariner eligible to become a submarine commander.
Submariners sought include cryptologists...
...Air Force ...fighter pilots and test pilots qualified to check out multi-engined, fixed-wing aircraft.
army... bomb-disposal experts ...Catholic chaplains.
...helicopter pilots, especially instructors...
...officers in artillery, intelligence, transport, supply, catering, infantry, signals and military police especially those with investigation experience as well as dentists and nurses.
...officers with special forces experience, especially those qualified to parachute and to carry out amphibious operations. Ideally, the signals officers will have electronic warfare experience...
(Excerpt) Read more at theaustralian.com.au ...
It must be nice to still be attractive to 99% of the people in the world; “that used to be us”.
Can I get an order of frys with that?
Well, what the Aussies are essentially doing is recruiting mercenaries with the promise of citizenship. Not such a problem here because the people they’re recruiting are culturally very similar (Us, Canada, UK, etc.). Not such a great idea when, like the late Western Romans, you recruit foreigners who are very culturally different from you. That’s why our own program of handing out citizenship to Latin Americans and others who join the Army isn’t such a great idea.
Too bad it doesn’t extend to those who did DoD contracting ! It would be something I am interested in !
Our policy is fine, because those Latin Americans already speak English, and are seeking the American dream more aggressively than many Americans. The fact is that a good part of this country has a Spanish influence, from Florida to California, and those places integrated well into this country; I don’t associate those soldiers with fence-hopping gangbangers in LA, and certainly don’t see them waving a Mexican flag in a May Day celebration a few years down the road.
I’d think I’d like Australia. Too bad I am 40ish and have a few minor health problems. I do have 20/20 vision thanks to LASIK, strong background in computer hardware, broadcast television, and some other things, wonder how they would be on waivers?
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