Recruiting Posters, Slogans and Commercials [Merged]

[ballz]

I think this discussion would be better off leaving the civilian side of it out altogether... As CF members discussing CF "issues," I really don't see how comparing ourselves to civilian counterparts that are "volunteering (for pay...)" offers any solution to what we are talking about.

In other words, how someone working at Tim Horton's in KAF is being compensated is IMO irrelevant from whether an Infantry O in a battlegroup should be getting paid more than a CF cook in KAF, or an Infantry O that stays in KAF his whole tour (because that is what's required of him). Or whether a CF cook in a FOB should be getting more hazard pay than said Infantry O in KAF, or fellow cook in KAF.

To me his civilian comparison is irrelevant bantering. If you think you'd be better off working at Tim Horton's in KAF, then release and "volunteer," no one forced you to swear an oath and no one is forcing you to stay in the CF. There are a ton of applicants that are lined up at recruiting centres waiting for April 1st to roll around (every year, just for a chance that a spot *might* open) that would be happy to take your spot, regardless of not being treated "equal" to a civilian counterpart.

EDIT to add: My best friend is graduating from chemical engineering in less than 2 weeks. He's considering Airfield Engineer O. He grew up with me in Fort Mac and he knows he can make better money in an easier job, but he's still considering it. If he signs up and starts complaining about engineers in Fort Mac making 250k a year while he's out risking his balls in some foreign country for Captain's pay, I'm giving him a slap. ;D

 

[57Chevy]

Pointer,
Your clarification is a lot more thought invoking than your initial post of a new recruiting poster.

To keep the record straight, its not EOD allowance, it's called Exceptional Hazard Allowance.
Here are a couple of links for information to browse through.

DAOD 8000-1, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Instructions
http://www.admfincs.forces.gc.ca/dao-doa/8000/8000-1-eng.asp
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deployment outside Canada:

directives for clearance or disposal of EO, UXO, IEDs and booby traps issued for the specific theatre or mission and provided to the deployed task force commander (TFC) by NDHQ/COS J3. The directives provide:

if EOD is a CF-mission task; and
if CF EOD forces are authorized to be employed either with or under operational control of other allied EOD forces.

Exceptional Hazard Allowance
The conditions and limitations governing the payment of Exceptional Hazard Allowance (EHA) are set out in CBI 205.38, Exceptional Hazard Allowance (EHA).
In an operational deployment outside Canada, the TFC recommends the payment of EHA payment and DAPM acts as the approving authority.
Only DAPM, on the recommendation of the LFA HQ, OLHQ or TFC, may authorize payment of EHA to more than two CF members in a given incident.
Once EHA approval has been received, the CF member shall submit to the CO a claim for EHA on form CF 52, General Allowance Claim, in triplicate showing particulars of the incident and declaring that no previous payment has been made. The CO must certify on the claim that the claimant was ordered to carry out the disposal procedure.
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                        ___________________________________________________________________

As G.W. mentionned on keeping the various spec pay, operations allowance.......

CBI Chapter 205 - Allowances for officers and non-commissioned members
http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dgcb-dgras/pub/cbi-dra/205-eng.asp205.38      (scroll the page)
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- EXCEPTIONAL HAZARD ALLOWANCE (EHA)
205.38(2) (Eligibility) An officer or non-commissioned member is entitled to Exceptional Hazard Allowance in the amount of $334 when the member is ordered to carry out normal disposal procedures on a known or suspected improvised explosive device, explosive chemical or printed charge, unless the member is in receipt of an allowance under 205.385 (Special Operations Allowance) .
205.38(3) (Chief of the Defence Staff may authorize payment) When the circumstances so warrant, the Chief of the Defence Staff may approve payment of Exceptional Hazard Allowance in the amount of $173 to an officer or non-commissioned member who is ordered to carry out normal disposal procedures on any other extremely hazardous commercial explosives or chemicals, unless the member is in receipt of an allowance under 205.385 (Special Operations Allowance) .
(TB, effective 1 April 2008)
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205.385 - SPECIAL OPERATIONS ALLOWANCE (SOA)

205.385(3) (Entitlement)A member on eligible service is entitled to Special Operations Allowance at the applicable monthly rate as set out in Table "A" or "B" to this instruction for the member's accumulated eligible service and category of service as designated by the Chief of the Defence Staff.
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205.385(7) (Limitation) A member in receipt of Special Operations Allowance is not entitled to any of the following allowances:

CBI 205.30 (Paratroop Allowance);
CBI 205.305 (Casual Paratroop Allowance);
CBI 205.31 (Rescue Specialist Allowance);
CBI 205.32 (Aircrew Allowance);
CBI 205.325 (Casual Aircrew Allowance);
CBI 205.34 (Diving Allowance);
CBI 205.345(Casual Diving Allowance);
CBI 205.35 (Sea Duty Allowance);
CBI 205.355 (Casual Sea Duty Allowance);
CBI 205.37 (Submarine Allowance);
CBI 205.375 (Casual Submarine Allowance);
CBI 205.38 (Exceptional Hazard Allowance); or
CBI 205.395 (Survey Allowance).
  ---                          _________________________________________________________

And there is also this article from 2005:
Environmental Allowance Review Team visits Canadian soldiers in Kabul
http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/land-terre/news-nouvelles/story-reportage-eng.asp?id=455


Maybe they could do a new review.
:yellow:

 

[The Bread Guy]

This from the public tender:

.... The Department of the National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) require a Contractor to develop an innovative and integrative recruitment marketing and advertising strategy, as well as plan, manage and implement regional and national campaigns, activities and partnerships ...."

This, from the Statement of Work (attached as SOW):

.... Moving forward, the focus of advertising messaging will shift with the evolving focus of Canada's military. Ongoing recruitment continues to be the priority and the emphasis will change to accurately reflect the reality of life in the CAF. As Fight portrays the CAF with a combat focus, and Priority Occupations promotes specific careers, future campaigns will showcase the CAF's lifestyle with an emphasis on the recruitment of women.  The lifestyle message will demonstrate that a career in the CAF is a good career option for women and should dispel myths ....

This, from the environmental scan/what's the lay of the land now document (based on focus groups, marked as "Other-Info"):

.... Awareness, Impressions and Perceptions of the CAF
Awareness of the CAF and its activities was fairly low, but impressions and perceptions of the CAF were strongly positive.

(....)

Strategic Gap Analysis
The barriers that the CAF faces in recruiting women, as identified in the Women focus test and
Formative research are:
– If considered at all, the CAF is considered amongst a variety of other employment opportunities;
– Lack of perception of "normalcy" in the CAF, fear of lack of work-life balance;
– Lack of knowledge about day-to-day specifics of being employed by the CAF (including pay, work
schedule, deployment potential, and length of commitment);
– Lack of knowledge of the variety of occupations available in the CAF (specifically the non combat
occupations);
– The CAF is seen as masculine, physically demanding, challenging to one's character and
old-fashioned ....

Full RFP package available here (via Dropbox.com).

 

[Eye In The Sky]

How about a strategy that focus on recruiting the best PEOPLE for the CAF, regardless of their sex, color, favorite band and best childhood fucking memory.

:

 

[George Wallace]

How about a strategy that focus on recruiting the best PEOPLE for the CAF, regardless of their sex, color, favorite band and best childhood fucking memory.

:

Only problem with that is that some minority will perceive it as being discriminatory.    :

 

[Michael OLeary]

How about a strategy that focus on recruiting the best PEOPLE for the CAF, regardless of their sex, color, favorite band and best childhood ******* memory.

:

Could it be something about being a reflection of the society we come from? Apparently we're not doing a bad job with some demographic groups, and for others the only issue may be the effectiveness of the information reaching them. Why is that a bad thing? Did it say anything about cutting back on recruiting certain groups, or was it about improving our message to others?

 

[Eye In The Sky]

Maybe they're just not interested, and won't be despite throwing good money after bad on 'targetted' recruiting ads.  Seems to me this circle of effort has been going on for years without the desired result.  At what point do you say "enough"?

 

[Michael OLeary]

At what point do you say "enough"?

About the same time that people stop coming here to ask about the CFAT and being recruited with medical issues because they've all started to read all the available material.

 

[Edward Campbell]

A couple of things bother me just a bit:

- Lack of perception of "normalcy" in the CAF, fear of lack of work-life balance;
...
– The CAF is seen as masculine, physically demanding, challenging to one's character and old-fashioned ....

I fully understand that we, you, they (whoever) do a poor less than adequate job of telling women about opportunities but whoever ought not to sugarcoat a profession which does, very often, offer a shitty work-life balance, which is physically demanding, which does challenge one's character and so on and so forth.

Let's by all means tell all Canadians about the good things we have to offer, but let's be sure to tell the truth about our business, even when it's not what some people want to hear.

 

[Strike]

A good work-life balance is achievable, and if they were to focus on successful women in the CAF that have achieved that standard then maybe more women would be interested in joining.  They're not hard to find.

Heck, I know of at least half a dozen women, who are Major, LCols or above with kids who have led (or are about to lead) units.  Most of them have been part of a fully deployable unit and/or been away for extended periods, been able to manage staff college, been deployed, you name it.  They still find time to take family vacations, bake birthday cakes, whatever.

(And the cake-baking isn't limited to the women.  Happen to know of a foodie Colonel who's made some pretty rockin' birthday cakes for his kids.  ;D)

Hopefully they will do something similar to the last campaign, where they interviewed/highlighted actual serving CAF members.  There's enough out there that have made it work.

 

[pbi]

Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success.

It's tempting to post an ad like Shackleton did for his expedition: he assumed that only the exact people he wanted would show up.

But, if the CAF did that, drawing on current Canadian society, could they fill the ranks?

 

[Edward Campbell]

You know, we filled the ranks, all 120,00 regular force ones, back circa 1960 with a disproportionately large number of relatively (often very) poorly educated men from First Nations and school leavers from Atlantic Canada.

Pay was low - we didn't become anything like adequately paid until about 1970, when Mr Hellyer's compensation plan, which involved making almost all privates into instant corporals and making lieutenants into equally instant captains, came into full effect. "Civvy street" was less warm and friendly than now for the unemployed and the army (and navy and air force) advertised adventure (fun), trades training (OK, OK so maybe machine gunner is not easily transferable to the private sector, but ...), travel and 30 days leave a year.

Training was expensive; it had to be designed to take a young fellow with an inadequate education - maybe Grade VIII from an aboriginal school in Norther Ontario - and very limited contact with the modern world (some guys had never had electricity or plumbing in their homes) and make them into crewmen, field engineers, radio operators, vehicle mechanics and the like.

Conditions of service were fair but tough. Units were pretty much self contained and most soldiers didn't have, didn't need to have, much contact with anyone outside the unit - not for pay, not for medical, not for dental, not for promotion or course selection, not for much of anything. Discipline was strict but not harsh but punishments for minor offences (I recall being charged and punished for twisted boot laces!) were frequent, public and not worth much worry. (I don't think any of the fellows with whom I went through initial officer training had not been charged and punished more than once.)

My recollection, which may well be through rose coloured glasses and blurred by time, was that turnover was 'good,' we had a fairly steady flow of guys leaving after three or five years - enlistment periods varied in the '50s and '60s, including by service and trade - and new guys coming to the unit from the Regimental Depot. Soldiers did not wait very long to join (or to be rejected) a week or two from first meeting at the recruiting office to formal enrollment was not uncommon; the recruiting centres were selective - there were a whole lot more guys in the "I wanna join" line than in the "Welcome to the Army" line.
 

 

[vonGarvin]

If we want a CAF that is effective at getting the right people in to do what can often be extremely dangerous work, then they ought to have a campaign similar to this:

Or this:

You know, the kind of advert that calls for people to self actualize, get the go-getters who aspire to greatness and self improvement.

If you want people to join so that they can have a career, then keep the status quo:

(Edit because it didn't seem to take my entire original message)

 

[George Wallace]

If we want a CAF that is effective at getting the right people in to do what can often be extremely dangerous work, then they ought to have a campaign similar to this:

A FEMALE or non-gender specific version just won't cut it.

 

[methionine]

Is it just me, or have there been an increase in the Canadian Armed Forces commercials on T.V?

Perhaps they are trying to hire more people, not enough applicants in certain positions?

Anyways, was wondering if anyone else had noticed this or not.

 

[Remius]

Yes, I noticed as well.


Might be end of year spending too, since we are in the 4th quarter of the fiscal year.  :dunno:

 

[PuckChaser]

It makes sense though, you spend money on commercials now, to recruit for next fiscal year.

 

[e13tankbuster]

Huge increase.. I've even received nice brochures in my mail box to join the local reserves.

Thinking the govt is building a pool "in case of" deployment....whenever

 

[dimsum]

Might be end of year spending too, since we are in the 4th quarter of the fiscal year.  :dunno:

I'd bet $ it's that and nothing more special/sinister. 

 

[Pat in Halifax]

Yes and the two most 'in demand' trades (from an operational perspective) in the CAF right now; Marine Engineer and Electrical Technician get a whole 4 seconds in the latest ad.....