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Would-be recruits swamping Canadian Forces

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Would-be recruits swamping Canadian Forces
Golbe & Mail
By WALLACE IMMEN
Wednesday, September 26, 2001

The Canadian Forces have seen a surge of requests from people across the country to join since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

But even the most gung-ho might have to wait as long as six months to get into training because of a campaign to boost military strength.

"We‘re producing so many recruits, we‘re almost overloading the training system now," said Major Don Ferguson of the Hamilton recruiting centre, which covers all of Southern Ontario west of Toronto.

He said that on the weekend after the terror attacks in the United States, his centre received 59 e-mails, 39 of them applications. On a normal weekend, there might be three or four from applicants.

Recruiting officers in cities across the country reported similar spikes of interest, although the requests have tapered off this week.

Most applicants did not explain their reasons, but "the bulk of them said they wanted to join the army," Major Ferguson said.

However, it remains to be seen whether these candidates turn into soldiers. The applicants must come to a recruiting centre and pass aptitude, medical and physical tests, he said.

Because life in the Canadian Forces is more than just fighting, recruits are asked to choose a trade that will become their specialty, he added.

Successful applicants are scheduled for basic training, and the wait has lengthened since the beginning of the new recruiting drive this summer. Major Ferguson said recruits he signed up three months ago are only now entering training.

The main basic-training centre in St. Jean, Que., has become so busy that a second program has been set up at CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick, he added.

The training programs could be expanded if more personnel were to be authorized, said a Canadian Forces spokesman in Ottawa who preferred not to be identified. He said that Canada‘s role in the response to the terror attacks being organized by the United States remains unclear, so there is no way of knowing which skills might be in demand.

Under a program approved in 1999, the Canadian Forces will increase full-time personnel to 60,000 from 58,500, but also must replace about 6,000 people who leave or retire each year.

The recruitment campaign remains more low-key than it was during the world wars, when brass bands led lines of youths to induction centres.

The only recruiting centre in Toronto is not even visible from the street. It is tucked away in a federal office building in uptown North York, and visitors are required to go through a security check.

While there has been some increase in phone calls and e-mails, "walk-in traffic has not increased," said Lieutenant-Commander David Ashbourne of the Toronto recruiting centre, whose area includes much of Central Ontario.

The recruitment campaign includes ads shown before movies in theatres and feature athletic soldiers rappelling peaks.

However, people are not necessarily turned away if they are older, Major Ferguson said.

The retirement age in the Canadian Forces is 60. Someone as old as 57 could join and serve the standard three-year contract, he said.
 
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