Treffie
12-27-2011, 09:53 AM
The Royal Australian Navy has sent a delegation to Britain to investigate the plan, which would look to recruit some of the 5,000 Royal Navy staff due to lose their jobs over the next four years. The Australian navy would directly contact redundant sailors and offer them “career transition options”.
Australia’s Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Ray Griggs, promised his British counterpart, First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, that Australia will not recruit personnel needed by the British. But Royal Navy officers have told the Australians they were “very comfortable” with the plan.
“Navy has been closely consulting with the Royal Navy on options for RN personnel affected by the downsizing,” an Australian military spokesman said.
“The RAN is presenting itself to personnel identified for redundancy as one of their career transition options — provided these personnel meet the RAN’s requirements. The Royal Navy is very comfortable with this approach.”
The Royal Navy has already announced plans to cut about 1,020 sailors, a third of whom are being made redundant compulsorily. About 810 personnel applied for redundancy but only 670 were accepted.
But the Australian navy has struggled to fill positions in recent years, particularly skilled maintenance workers who have been lured by lucrative positions in the booming mining industry. The navy plans to specifically target British engineers to fill a shortage of about 200 workers.
The Australian navy is also starting to make plans to staff two new landing helicopter ships, which are being built in Spain and due to join its fleet in 2014.
“The plan is that the British navy would be contacting people being made redundant and telling them that there is an option for them to extend their career and giving them our contact details,” an Australian military spokesman told The Daily Telegraph. “The navy is happy for us to put out their feelers for our personnel.”
The British and Australian navies have strong historical ties and operated as one force until the end of the Second World War.
But Britain is unlikely to provided submariners, who are desperately needed by the Australian navy. The shortage has left the Australian force unable to man more than two of its Collins-Class six submarines at a time. But the Royal Navy has no immediate plans to reduce its submarine fleet and is unlikely to start downsizing until the 2020s, when it brings on new attack submarines.
Earlier this year, the British navy decommissioned HMS Ark Royal, which had been in service for more than 25 years.
The cuts and redundancies have faced heavy criticism and raised concerns that Britain’s military capability will be lowered. As many as 11,000 redundancies could be made across the Royal Navy, Army and RAF by April 2015 under plans to save GBP5 billion.
Foreign recruits to the Australian military are expected to apply for Australian citizenship as soon as they are eligible. This is normally two years after permanent residence is granted, but can be reduced to as little as three months for serving personnel. Foreign recruits are expected to have served within three years of applying for a job with the Australian forces.
Australia has frequently targeted overseas personnel, particularly from Britain, the United States, Canada and New Zealand to bolster numbers. But the forthcoming drive from Britain would be far larger than previous recruitments and could reportedly involve as many as 1000 sailors. The Australian navy has about 16,000 personnel, including about 2000 reserves.
“It is the lack of engineering and maintenance electricians in the navy that is really causing some grief,” said a defence analyst, Neil James, who heads the Australia Defence Association.
Link (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/8978729/Australian-military-to-recruit-British-troops-laid-off-in-UK-cuts.html)
Australia’s Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Ray Griggs, promised his British counterpart, First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, that Australia will not recruit personnel needed by the British. But Royal Navy officers have told the Australians they were “very comfortable” with the plan.
“Navy has been closely consulting with the Royal Navy on options for RN personnel affected by the downsizing,” an Australian military spokesman said.
“The RAN is presenting itself to personnel identified for redundancy as one of their career transition options — provided these personnel meet the RAN’s requirements. The Royal Navy is very comfortable with this approach.”
The Royal Navy has already announced plans to cut about 1,020 sailors, a third of whom are being made redundant compulsorily. About 810 personnel applied for redundancy but only 670 were accepted.
But the Australian navy has struggled to fill positions in recent years, particularly skilled maintenance workers who have been lured by lucrative positions in the booming mining industry. The navy plans to specifically target British engineers to fill a shortage of about 200 workers.
The Australian navy is also starting to make plans to staff two new landing helicopter ships, which are being built in Spain and due to join its fleet in 2014.
“The plan is that the British navy would be contacting people being made redundant and telling them that there is an option for them to extend their career and giving them our contact details,” an Australian military spokesman told The Daily Telegraph. “The navy is happy for us to put out their feelers for our personnel.”
The British and Australian navies have strong historical ties and operated as one force until the end of the Second World War.
But Britain is unlikely to provided submariners, who are desperately needed by the Australian navy. The shortage has left the Australian force unable to man more than two of its Collins-Class six submarines at a time. But the Royal Navy has no immediate plans to reduce its submarine fleet and is unlikely to start downsizing until the 2020s, when it brings on new attack submarines.
Earlier this year, the British navy decommissioned HMS Ark Royal, which had been in service for more than 25 years.
The cuts and redundancies have faced heavy criticism and raised concerns that Britain’s military capability will be lowered. As many as 11,000 redundancies could be made across the Royal Navy, Army and RAF by April 2015 under plans to save GBP5 billion.
Foreign recruits to the Australian military are expected to apply for Australian citizenship as soon as they are eligible. This is normally two years after permanent residence is granted, but can be reduced to as little as three months for serving personnel. Foreign recruits are expected to have served within three years of applying for a job with the Australian forces.
Australia has frequently targeted overseas personnel, particularly from Britain, the United States, Canada and New Zealand to bolster numbers. But the forthcoming drive from Britain would be far larger than previous recruitments and could reportedly involve as many as 1000 sailors. The Australian navy has about 16,000 personnel, including about 2000 reserves.
“It is the lack of engineering and maintenance electricians in the navy that is really causing some grief,” said a defence analyst, Neil James, who heads the Australia Defence Association.
Link (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/8978729/Australian-military-to-recruit-British-troops-laid-off-in-UK-cuts.html)