Defence hunting foreign troops with citizenship for service (Australia)

The Australian ^ | 12/27/2011 | Brendan Nicholson

[sukhoi-30mki]

Defence hunting foreign troops with citizenship for service

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.

Defence, which has struggled to fill recruitment quotas in the face of increasing competition from the lucrative private sector, is seeking highly skilled specialists such as 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 Australian has learned that the Royal Australian Navy recently sent a delegation to Britain to investigate the availability of recently retrenched sailors, particularly those with engineering experience.

Defence is under pressure to maintain a strong contingent of highly trained troops in Afghanistan as it gears up to accept complex new ships and aircraft.

As it competes with industry for skilled personnel, the ADF has focused its recruitment effort in Britain, which is cutting back heavily on defence as part of a government-wide austerity drive.

However, Australian navy chief Ray Griggs has given an undertaking to his British counterpart, First Sea Lord Admiral Mark Stanhope, that Australia will not recruit personnel the British need to maintain their capabilities.

And to find enough trained personnel to crew its submarines and the fleet of new warships now being built, 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 RAN is facing tough

[Vendome]

Duck....Hunt....

[Jonty30]

If I were US military, I’d look into this.