Army in officer recruitment scheme

The Army has launched its first officer recruitment campaign for 10 years amid fears that public antipathy to military action in Iraq could cause candidates to look elsewhere in the future. Military chiefs fear a knock-on effect from the negative reaction to the campaign and are moving to anticipate any future dip in applications. Their £2 million advertising effort is also a conscious attempt to extend the hunt for officers beyond the traditional public school stereotype.

Under the slogan "Qualities Overtake Qualifications" selection will focus on the personal strengths of candidates rather than their academic qualifications and there will be a clear message to would-be officers that they do not need to be in possession of a degree. Recruitment chiefs maintained there was no current shortfall of officers and that Sandhurst is full. The new campaign, which is for both the regular Army and Territorial Army, was to cover any potential dip in the future. They claim would-be officers are generally driven and well informed and are less likely than the ranks to be affected by negative publicity about the Iraq campaign.

But the recruitment drive comes at a time when events in Iraq have made some sceptical about joining the service. Two weeks ago General Sir Michael Walker, chief of the defence staff, conceded that much of the public sees the armed forces as "guilty by association" with Tony Blair's unpopular decision to go to war in Iraq. And in developments unthinkable in other recent campaigns an RAF medical officer Flight-Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith, 37, decorated for previous tours in Iraq, faces a court martial for refusing to return because he claims the war was unlawful.

The recruitment campaign, which will feature national television advertisements, hopes to generate 40,000 inquiries to fill 2,000 places available for regular and TA officers each year. The aim is to get just over 900 through regular army officer training this year. Would-be officers will still have to have minimum academic qualifications of five GCSEs and 140 A-level or AS-level points. There are currently 14,740 officers in the regular Army with nearly a further 1,020 in training.

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2110532005