Is British Army open to going ‘ soft’?

■ Recruitment campaign shows Army is willing for broader community intake

London, Jan. 10: The British Army has been accused of bowing to political correctness after launching a campaign to recruit more people from a diversity of genders, sexualities, ethnicities and faiths, reported the Guardian on Wednesday.

In a series of animations released on social media, the campaign answers queries such as “Can I be gay in the Army?” and “What if I get emotional in the Army?”, added the Guardian report.

Other videos in the £ 1.6m campaign ask: “Can I practise my faith in the Army?” and “Will I be listened to in the Army?”, and “Do I have to be a superhero to join the Army?”.

Gen Nick Carter, the chief of the general staff, said the Army should appeal to people beyond its traditional cohort of young, white men. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’ s Today programme, he denied claims that the “This is belonging 2018” campaign showed the army had “gone soft”.

“Combat ethos and fighting power remain the British Army’s highest priority,” he said. “It is a recognition that we don’t have a fully manned Army at the moment, that the demography of our country has changed, and that we need to reach out to a broader community in order to man that Army with the right talent.

“Our tradition cohort would have been white, male, Caucasian 16 to 25year- olds, and there are not as many of those around as there once were.”

However, the retired colonel Richard Kemp, a former commander of British operations in Afghanistan, said the campaign would not solve the Army’s recruitment problem. “The Army is being forced down a route of political correctness,” he told BBC Breakfast.”

“What is important is the Army is full of soldiers. It is of secondary importance they reflect the composition of society,” he said.

He claimed that what attracted recruits were images of fighting. “The main group of people who are interested in joining aren’t worried so much about whether they are going to be listened to they are going to be attracted by images of combat.”

“Of course, the more people from all parts of society who join the better, but its even more important to fill the Army up with people who want to fight and want to be soldiers and this I don't think will do that,” Mr Kemp added.

In one of the ads a gay Army medic describes wanting to join the Army after his brother served in Afghanistan.

“I was really worried about whether I would be accepted … I’m not afraid to talk about having a boyfriend. I thought I’d have to hide it, but once you’ve done it you think: why did I have to make it such a big thing for so long?” The former cabinet minister Ian Duncan Smith, who served as a lieutenant in the Scots Guards, said the ads were too negative.

The AFP reported short films entitled “What if I get emotional in the Army?”, “Can I practise my faith in the army?”, “Do I have to be a superhero?”, and “Can I be gay in the army?” will be broadcast on television, radio and social media.

They are part of a drive launched last year presenting the army as a family, as military chiefs seek to reach a wider pool of talent to keep their numbers up. But the ads drew criticism for ignoring that soldiers’ goal is to fight. It comes weeks after the Army reportedly abandoned plans to give up its long- running “Be The Best” slogan as it wasn’t inclusive. The Army had over 78,000 full- time members last year, short of the official target of 82,000 by 2020.

Speaking to ITV’s ‘ Good Morning Britain’, he said: “When you’re under fire the people on your left and right are your family, they protect you, you protect them, their lives matter to you. I would like to see a lot more of it couched in terms like that rather than, ‘ Me, personally, can I express msyself ?’.”

The retired major general Tim Cross said he favoured recruiting from a broader base to boost numbers, but said they must be able to deliver.

He said, “We must ensure everybody knows that they have an opportunity of joining the British armed forces and joining the Army in particular, but we aren’t going to be soft and we aren’t going to be nice to people.”

◗ In a series of animations released on social media, the campaign answers queries such as ‘ Can I be gay in the Army?’ and ‘ What if I get emotional in the Army?’, the Guardian report said