The Canadian Armed Forces has as many problems with training as it does with recruiting, a House of Commons committee found Thursday.
Gen. Jenny Carignan, the newly appointed chief of the defense staff, testified before the defense committee for the first time that the military only has the capacity to send 6,400 new recruits through basic training each year.
“We are looking at ways to expand our remaining qualifications, not just for basic military qualifications, but for the various occupations we need to train people after basic military training,” he said in 2016. Mr. Carignan, who has been appointed supreme military commander, said. July.
“We are in the process of working on this [training expansion] “Currently, we are planning to strategically accommodate at least 6,400 people this year.”
Amid rising geopolitical tensions around the world, the military’s failure to meet its recruitment targets over the past few years has drawn significant attention.
Former military commander-in-chief, now retired General Wayne Eyre, previously told the same committee that the shortage was 16,500 in the regular army and reserves.
Defense Minister Bill Blair was referring to last spring’s draft crisis when he spoke of a “death spiral” for the Canadian military.
But earlier this year, Eyre said things were starting to improve, with the military starting to replace more personnel than it lost to attrition last winter.
On Thursday, Carignan painted a slightly better picture than Eyre. He told the Quadripartite Committee that as of the end of August, there were a total of 92,798 uniformed troops out of the military’s authorized strength of 101,500. She warned that the numbers change daily.
Carignan added that the military has hired 2,400 people so far this year and is awaiting responses from another 1,000 applicants.
As part of its recently rewritten defense policy, the Department of Defense (DND) has said it expects the military to return to full authorized strength until the early 2030s, but defense analysts and opposition politicians The families say this schedule is unacceptable.
Eyre told CBC News last spring that the federal government would need 14,500 personnel, even more than the current shortage, to operate new equipment such as F-35 fighter jets and replacement submarines that the federal government is purchasing. He said there is a need to hire more people.
Last year, the military received more than 70,000 applications but accepted fewer than 5,000 new members. A series of new initiatives have been introduced to speed up recruitment, including a trial period in which candidates register while security checks are carried out.
However, training bottlenecks appear to be a major factor limiting the rate of military growth. The military’s new deputy commander, Lt.-Gen. Stephen Kelsey appeared before the commission Thursday along with Carignan. He said other top commanders are also lobbying for more training resources.
Recruits go through a series of training hurdles, starting with basic instruction and a nine-week induction course into the military. This is followed by more specialized training in the new employee’s chosen profession or occupation.
