15% of Canada’s regular military unfit to deploy
Rules changing to let injured continue serving
A little more than 15 per cent of Canada’s regular military is unfit to deploy, slightly higher than the U.S. armed forces which is fighting two wars and conducting numerous missions around the world.
The Pentagon recently announced a tough approach to the problem, warning troops they will be booted out if they are not capable of deploying over a 12-month period.
But the Canadian Forces is planning to take a different approach and is in the process of changing its rules to allow some of those who can’t go on missions to continue serving.
“Updating of our personnel policies to reflect a more flexible, agile and inclusive force is ongoing,” said Jennifer Eckersley, spokeswoman for the Canadian Forces Health Services. “As long as our injured members can still make valuable contributions to our operational effectiveness, we will employ them while they recover or until they begin their transition to life outside the military.”
In response to a request from Postmedia made in mid-February, the Canadian Forces now confirms that 15.4 per cent of its personnel are unfit to deploy. Of that figure 11.8 per cent is temporarily unfit. Another 3.6 per cent is permanently unable to deploy. The information is for the 68,000-member regular force.
Personnel who are temporarily unfit to deploy include those who have various injuries, including broken limbs, those who are pregnant or who are recovering from dental or regular surgery.
The Canadian military does not have similar figures regarding those in the reserve forces who cannot deploy.
The U.S. military has determined that 13 to 14 per cent of its 2.1 million-strong force on any given day is unfit to deploy.
The Canadian military has what is called a universality of service rule which requires all personnel to be employable and deployable for operational duties. But the Canadian Forces has faced criticism for that policy after some wounded soldiers complained they were being forced from the ranks.
Last year, the Canadian military said it was going to update its personnel policies to be more flexible to deal with those who were injured but who could still make contributions to operations even if they might not be able to deploy. There have also been suggestions that the military could relax its rules for some individuals, such as those in computerrelated positions, who have specialized skills but are not interested in deploying because of their family circumstances.
Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance said the military must be deployable. “We have to be able to do what we’ve got to do,” he said last year. “But we also have to think in terms (that) the value of the individual is not just deployability.”
Eckersley noted that when dealing with a force of 100,000 reserve and regular force personnel it will take time to do the proper analysis and consultation on any new personnel policies. “We owe it to our members and their families to develop policies that will maximize their potential and effectiveness,” she added.
In February, U.S. politicians and commanders reacted to increasing concerns that the country’s military readiness was being hurt by the number of personnel who couldn’t deploy.
Robert Wilkie, the undersecretary of defence for personnel and readiness, told U.S. lawmakers in February that, “On any given day, about 13 to 14 per cent of the force is medically unable to deploy.”
“If Mr. (Jeff) Bezos at Amazon walked into Christmas week and 14 per cent of his workforce could not perform their duties then (Amazon) would no longer be the largest company in the world,” he added.
U.S. forces are fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and have a large military presence around the world.
The Pentagon brought in new rules in February to deal with the deployment problem. If military personnel have been not able to deploy over the last 12 months they face release from the ranks.
Wilkie said exceptions would be made for the wounded or for pregnant personnel. Those who are wounded will have their cases examined by special medical boards, according to the Pentagon.