No silver bullet for shortages of labour in Defence

This month, Security & Defence PLuS Executive Director Dr Ian Langford published an op-ed in The Australian analysing the challenges of recruiting and retaining the skilled workforce necessary to support AUKUS.

“The challenge of meeting the ambitions of a larger, more capable ADF [Australian Defence Force] is more than just people and technology.”

What seems critically missing in this debate relates to what is commonly described as the ‘nature of service’… For the ADF, which is an all-volunteer force, the reciprocity between military service and a form of military covenant is not well understood and contributes, in part, to the willingness (or otherwise) of people to volunteer their service.

“To undervalue the nature of a volunteer service is to put its very existence at risk.”

Head to The Australian‘s website to read the full piece: No silver bullet for shortages of labour in Defence