Panic as troops desert Defence

THE Australian Defence Force is set to launch a recruitment drive next month as all three armed forces continue to lose personnel at significant rates.

Physical and psychological standards will be lowered as Defence strives for the largest peace time expansion of Australia’s military to more than 101,000 personnel by 2040.

Evidence presented to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide shows large jumps in the number of soldiers, sailors and aviators discharging from the ADF with Army’s separation rate jumping from 10.9 per cent to 13 per cent of staff in just a year.

The navy and air force lost 9.3 per cent and 8.7 per cent of personnel, respectively.

Chief of the Defence Force Angus Campbell told the commission all three services had “serious” increases in discharges and said the ADF effectively replaced half its workforce every seven years.

In a statement to the commission, General Campbell said Defence’s recruitment “risk appetite” had increased due to the economic circumstances and low unemployment rate. His statement noted fitness standards had “slightly reduced” while the ADF was prepared to consider those who posed a higher psychological risk for certain roles.

After a question from counsel assisting Peter Gray, General Campbell said increasing separation rates had led to changes in selection requirements. For example, a person who arrives with low aerobic fitness might be allowed to join provided they reach the required fitness level during training.

Evidence to the commission shows that since January 2011, the ADF lost more than 7000 personnel who served less than a year. In that time, Defence lost 859 people in less than a year because they were “unsuitable” while 1211 were kicked out because their retention was “not in service interest”.