Casualties Spark Recruitment in Canadian Forces

Casualties Spark Recruitment in Canadian Forces

Seven months ago, Gen. Rick Hillier, Canada's no-nonsense chief of the defence staff, issued a lengthy memo to his subordinates. "Recruiting is everybody's business," he wrote, "and I intend to revitalize our recruiting culture." His timing was no coincidence. Days later, Gordon O'Connor, the new Conservative defence minister, announced plans to boost the country's ARMED FORCES by a whopping 23,000 members. As always, Gen. Hillier was blunt. "I expect the complete chain of command to be engaged in an aggressive and comprehensive recruitment strategy," his memo continued. "I expect every sailor, soldier, airman and airwoman to recognize their role as a potential CF recruiter."

The general's note outlined a simple plan: show Canadians what we do. Since then, his military has been on public display as never before, steering its tanks and frigates and anything else it can spare to high-profile events where would-be greenhorns might be lingering. The Calgary Stampede. The CNE. Even mosques. Last week, the Defence Department launched the latest phase of what has been dubbed Operation Connection: $3 million worth of black-and-white commercials that would make Oliver Stone blush. With drums beating in the background, heavily armed troops kick down doors, leap from airplanes and rescue flood victims in the nick of time. "Join us," the ads beckon.

Many Canadians have already done just that. In the past five months, the Forces have enrolled nearly 4,400 new members (2,100 full-time and 2,250 reservists). Hillier's marketing campaign deserves some of the credit. But the spike in applications has as much - if not more - to do with what is being broadcast on nightly newscasts as opposed to the commercials in between. The mounting death toll in Afghanistan reached 36 on Monday when a suicide bomber killed four soldiers as they distributed candy to local children. Yet as heartbreaking - and politically charged - as the image is, the sight of those flag-draped coffins will entice more potential recruits than any 90-second ad ever will. "It's a sobering experience," says Col. Kevin Cotten, the deputy commander of the Canadian Forces Recruiting Group. "I think there is a certain amount of romantic glory and honour in seeing something like that. People are saying: 'You know what? That person died for their country. Am I willing to do that? Yeah, I think I am.' "

Jose Correia is asking himself that question. The 19-year-old is sitting with his twin brother, Danny, in the Toronto recruiting centre, reading over the results of his aptitude test. He is considering a job in the infantry, or maybe the military police. "People are concerned about all these dead bodies coming back," he says. "To me, it's just part of life. It's what you're assigned to do, it's what you agreed to do."

Toronto's recruiting headquarters is tucked inside the first floor of a federal government building in the north end of the city. It would be a difficult place to find, if not for the mannequins staring out from the window in their navy blues and army greens. Daniel Stephan will be wearing those same army fatigues one day, but this morning he is dressed in a dark suit with a red tie and shiny black shoes. It's enrolment day. "This has been the goal for a long time," the 18-year-old says. An Ontario scholar who boasts an impressive 83 per cent Grade 12 average, Stephan has agreed to commit nine years of his life to the service in exchange for four years of free tuition at Queen's University, where he will study history and politics. The mission in Afghanistan has only strengthened his desire to serve. "I know I will be over there in the future because my career is in combat arms," he says, his proud parents standing beside him. "Someone has to take that risk."

The military needs plenty more Daniel Stephans. Over the next decade, the Conservative government wants to increase the full-time force from 62,000 members to 75,000, while adding 10,000 more reservists. This year's overall target is 12,400 new bodies. "We're hiring - that's the message of the day," says Maj. John St. Dennis, the commanding officer of the Toronto recruiting centre. Like everyone on his staff, St. Dennis knows his sales pitch by heart. A first-year non-commissioned member - an army private, for example - earns a starting wage of more than $30,000, with full benefits, 21 days of paid vacation and, if needed, a discount on military housing. By the fourth year of service, the salary jumps to $40,000. For skilled tradesmen, the incentives are even higher. The ranks are so desperate for medical officers, technicians, firemen and signal operators that recruiters are all but waving briefcases full of cash. A doctor who pledges four years of service receives an automatic $225,000 signing bonus. "There is a lot more to the Canadian Forces than an infantry soldier with a rifle," St. Dennis says. "A lot of people are quite shocked by the scope of occupations that we offer."

As optimistic as everyone sounds, recruiters have endured their fair share of bad news in recent months. In April, the auditor general said that despite everyone's best efforts, "the number of recruits is barely replacing the members leaving." Two months later, the Canadian Forces ombudsman delivered another blow, warning that "skilled and talented" Canadians are being lost to red tape and unfriendly staff. One hopeful soldier said he called his local recruiting centre seven days in a row for an update on his file, but nobody ever phoned him back. "Eventually I just gave up," the applicant said. "I now have a very good job and no longer have any interest in joining the Canadian Forces."

The reports generated the obligatory news stories, rife with doomsday predictions about the military's failure to meet its bold expansion targets. Gen. Hillier saw the fallout coming, noting in his February memo that "the media may question and criticize the CF's ability to recruit members." But he also pointed out what all good publicists already know: any news is good news. "Even negative media attention can have a positive effect, making Canadians aware that the CF is recruiting and thereby potentially drawing applicants to recruiting centres." The Forces seem to be taking the same approach on the Kandahar front. "Do we lose potential applicants because of what is happening in Afghanistan?" St. Dennis asks. "Potentially. But I can tell you more people are coming in because of what they see in Afghanistan."

Of course, it isn't all ramp ceremonies and pallbearers. "People are seeing the great job troops are doing, the difference they are making in a country like Afghanistan - despite the casualties," Col. Cotten says. "It gets people in the door to talk to us, and after that it becomes common sense when they look at what we have to offer them. When you put the whole package together, I don't think there is any other employer that can touch us." Not a bad slogan for the next ad.

Maclean's October 2, 2006