The same is for a large part true and applicable to the Netherlands Armed Forces. (Also because we too have a King and Royal Army/Navy/etc ;) )
In the Netherlands we are seeing some good initiatives like a ‘year of service’ in order to attract young people quickly and only for a short time, hoping that many of them will stick around for longer term contracts. This only solves part of the recruitment of soldiers, sailors and the like. This solution does not solve many of the other problems you mention, like the archaic career system for NCO’s and officers.
When a war will break out in Europe, we will need more drastic measures like a reactivation of the draft, or something equivalent. There is too little political support for that now in the Netherlands though, and expect in more NATO allies. In my opinion, the best insurance now is to enlarge the number of reservists. Countries like Finland (that have conscription) can call upon large numbers of troops in case of emergencies. This way, you have an insurance policy and continued participation in the economy.
Hiya, thanks for commenting! Great to see brethen from across the Channel.
You have already come to similar conclusions as I have - I will be writing about drafts, reservists, and the like in the coming week.
The 'year of service' sounds interesting, and it's been talked about here. Have you got any links to articles that go over how effective it has been as a recruitment and retention tool?
With regards to recruitment - I see army recruitment ads quite often, both on TV and online. Must be costing a fortune without seemingly bearing much fruit.
You’re welcome! I’m looking forward to your next post.
This year around 625 are expected to be recruited and the upcoming year we expect another 1000. The plans are to recruit around 3000-4000 a year from 2028 onwards. Of the first year a large percentage decided to stay after a year, as far as I know more than half of them. However, these are the first and most enthusiastic ones that applied, and were possibly interested to apply in the first place. So it remains to be seen whether this becomes a trend for the upcoming years.
You can find more about this in the links below. These are in Dutch, yet Google translate can possibly help you out. The third link is most interesting; it answers some questions from parliament about this project and includes some of the numbers quoted above.
Awesome, thanks! Tbf, they aren't bad numbers considering the size of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Out of interest, even if they leave after a year, do they still have reserve call-up obligation in case of emergencies?
So, the generally-accepted view is that there are plenty of expressions of interest, but along the long road between that initial interest and people actually entering basic training the vast majority fall off. Hence why the greater issue is the application process itself.
The same is for a large part true and applicable to the Netherlands Armed Forces. (Also because we too have a King and Royal Army/Navy/etc ;) )
In the Netherlands we are seeing some good initiatives like a ‘year of service’ in order to attract young people quickly and only for a short time, hoping that many of them will stick around for longer term contracts. This only solves part of the recruitment of soldiers, sailors and the like. This solution does not solve many of the other problems you mention, like the archaic career system for NCO’s and officers.
When a war will break out in Europe, we will need more drastic measures like a reactivation of the draft, or something equivalent. There is too little political support for that now in the Netherlands though, and expect in more NATO allies. In my opinion, the best insurance now is to enlarge the number of reservists. Countries like Finland (that have conscription) can call upon large numbers of troops in case of emergencies. This way, you have an insurance policy and continued participation in the economy.
Hiya, thanks for commenting! Great to see brethen from across the Channel.
You have already come to similar conclusions as I have - I will be writing about drafts, reservists, and the like in the coming week.
The 'year of service' sounds interesting, and it's been talked about here. Have you got any links to articles that go over how effective it has been as a recruitment and retention tool?
With regards to recruitment - I see army recruitment ads quite often, both on TV and online. Must be costing a fortune without seemingly bearing much fruit.
You’re welcome! I’m looking forward to your next post.
This year around 625 are expected to be recruited and the upcoming year we expect another 1000. The plans are to recruit around 3000-4000 a year from 2028 onwards. Of the first year a large percentage decided to stay after a year, as far as I know more than half of them. However, these are the first and most enthusiastic ones that applied, and were possibly interested to apply in the first place. So it remains to be seen whether this becomes a trend for the upcoming years.
You can find more about this in the links below. These are in Dutch, yet Google translate can possibly help you out. The third link is most interesting; it answers some questions from parliament about this project and includes some of the numbers quoted above.
https://www.defensie.nl/onderwerpen/dienjaar
https://www.defensie.nl/actueel/nieuws/2023/09/09/eerste-lichting-aan-de-slag-als-dienjaarmilitair
https://open.overheid.nl/documenten/51eb39ae-6801-4d71-85fd-96a4fb2315a4/file
Awesome, thanks! Tbf, they aren't bad numbers considering the size of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Out of interest, even if they leave after a year, do they still have reserve call-up obligation in case of emergencies?
No they don’t have a reserve call-up obligation, yet that may change in the future, hopefully.
Hiya!
So, the generally-accepted view is that there are plenty of expressions of interest, but along the long road between that initial interest and people actually entering basic training the vast majority fall off. Hence why the greater issue is the application process itself.