Post by Gay Titan on Nov 18, 2008 19:20:11 GMT
SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia's navy has ordered a two-month stand-down over the Christmas period, deputy chief Rear Admiral Davyd Thomas said Tuesday as he stressed it was not a matter of "shutting down" ships.
The navy said the move -- which will see sailors who might otherwise have been at sea for exercises spend Christmas at home -- would not impact on national security or the defence force's ability to respond to emergencies.
Thomas said 500 personnel would remain on active duty over December and January but that some 1,600 sailors would be able to take extended leave.
"It is not a matter of shutting down a ship. I would rather call it a reduced activity period. It is, basically, a leave period where people can get the opportunity to take some leave," he told reporters.
Thomas said the service would normally allow a one-month break over the holiday season and that this year it would be extended to two.
Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon had earlier said that the stand-down was part of a strategy to recruit and retain sailors.
"These people have been facing...an extended period of (high) operational tempo, and it's just a way of saying thank you and encouraging them to stay in the service, rather than leave," he said.
"We can invest billions in capability, warships and fast jets... but they're not much use to us if we don't have the people to man them," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
But Rear Admiral Thomas said the move was not specifically in response to the navy's staffing shortages.
"Having said that, we have got issues with recruiting," he said.
The government has said that falling recruitment and the difficulty of retaining staff in the face of competition from better-paid jobs such as those in the mining sector are the biggest challenges facing the defence force.
Fitzgibbon said the Australian Defence Force was looking at "family-friendly policies" which could encourage workers to remain in the military.
"For example, I don't see why a lot of female members of the services, in particular the navy, couldn't be doing some of their work from home if their family circumstances demand it," he said.
The minister said he hoped to be able to announce new initiatives designed to improve recruitment and retention in early 2009.
The navy said the move -- which will see sailors who might otherwise have been at sea for exercises spend Christmas at home -- would not impact on national security or the defence force's ability to respond to emergencies.
Thomas said 500 personnel would remain on active duty over December and January but that some 1,600 sailors would be able to take extended leave.
"It is not a matter of shutting down a ship. I would rather call it a reduced activity period. It is, basically, a leave period where people can get the opportunity to take some leave," he told reporters.
Thomas said the service would normally allow a one-month break over the holiday season and that this year it would be extended to two.
Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon had earlier said that the stand-down was part of a strategy to recruit and retain sailors.
"These people have been facing...an extended period of (high) operational tempo, and it's just a way of saying thank you and encouraging them to stay in the service, rather than leave," he said.
"We can invest billions in capability, warships and fast jets... but they're not much use to us if we don't have the people to man them," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
But Rear Admiral Thomas said the move was not specifically in response to the navy's staffing shortages.
"Having said that, we have got issues with recruiting," he said.
The government has said that falling recruitment and the difficulty of retaining staff in the face of competition from better-paid jobs such as those in the mining sector are the biggest challenges facing the defence force.
Fitzgibbon said the Australian Defence Force was looking at "family-friendly policies" which could encourage workers to remain in the military.
"For example, I don't see why a lot of female members of the services, in particular the navy, couldn't be doing some of their work from home if their family circumstances demand it," he said.
The minister said he hoped to be able to announce new initiatives designed to improve recruitment and retention in early 2009.