Submission to the Inquiry into Recruitment and Retention of ADF Personnel.

I have chosen to write this submission as a chronological discussion of the events that resulted in my discharge from the RAAF, rather than specifically responding to the inquiry’s terms of reference. I have done this to try and describe how, in my opinion, the ADF can actively fail to retain an individual. I have described the events as accurately as my memory allows me, and I don’t believe there are any substantive errors. 

Background

I was appointed as an Officer Cadet in the RAAF on the 25th of January, 1993. I attended the Australian Defence Force Academy for four years, graduating in the class of 1995 and completing an Honours year there in 1996. After graduation I was posted to No 2 Flying Training School, and following a brief attachment to 11 Sqn at RAAF Base Edinburgh, I began training in No 175 pilots course in April 1997. 
 I failed Pilots Course on the 3rd of March 1998 and three weeks later was posted to RAAF Base East Sale, attached to the Air Traffic Control unit. I was issued a Show Cause some 6 weeks later, and as my response did not counter the points raised, my commission was terminated on the 1st of May. 

Since my departure from the RAAF I have developed a career as a Project Management Consultant with experience in the Financial Services industry. I worked at Colonial Ltd for approximately two years as a participant in their graduate program, and left there to join PricewaterhouseCoopers in June of 2000, where I am currently employed as a Senior Consultant. 

Undertaking Honours

Due to delays in pilots courses during 1994-95, the RAAF was eager for Officer Cadets attending theAcademy who were qualified to undertake extra study to do so, thereby reducing (in the short term, at least) the number of new students on pilots course. 
I had received a Commandant’s Academy Commendation for my Academic studies in the first session of 1995, so I was duly approached by my Divisional Officer in September 1995 to consider undertaking a fourth, or Honours, year of study. 

I was initially quite reluctant to undertake the extra year of training. While I undoubtedly enjoyed my time at the Academy, three years was a long time to spend in Canberra and I (along with all my classmates) were eager to begin Pilots Course. Also, the pay and rank for graduates who stayed on for a fourth year of studies was patently inequitable. If I were to stay for a fourth year (at the RAAF’s request), I became a ‘Senior OFFCDT’ and placed on a pay scale directly equivalent to a Navy MIDN. Meanwhile, my class mates from the Academy would be promoted to PLTOFF and receive PLTOFF pay (a difference of approximately $15,000 pa at the time). 

However, the RAAF, through the RAAF SO3 and my DO, were quite persistent in their arguments. I eventually decided that the long term benefits of completing an Honours degree as opposed to a standard Arts Undergraduate Degree outweighed the short term financial penalty. I also thought that if I were to fail Pilot’s Course (heaven forbid) I would be well qualified to undertake Information Technology work within the RAAF, an area in which it was (and according to former classmates, still is) chronically short staffed. 

In the end, five RAAF graduates from the class of 1995 chose to delay Pilot’s Course and stay for the fourth year, a remarkable figure at the time given the total number of graduates was approximately 35. 

Pilot’s Course

I thoroughly enjoyed my time on 175 Pilots Course, even being elected by the students as the President of the Mess Committee.  My flying progressed satisfactorily until approximately one month before I failed. However, the events that led to my failure began in late October, when I was grounded for my eye sight. This was a rather surprising development for me, given that I had undergone a full aircrew medical annually since I had joined the RAAF nearly 5 years previously. By the Medical Officer’s own admission, my eye sight had not degraded over that time, and was fully documented in my medical record.
After being grounded for 5 weeks and consulting the Aviation Medicine Board’s eye specialist in Adelaide, I was allowed to return to flying, albeit with prescription glasses. I had by this time fallen well behind in the course syllabus, and consequently flew at an increased rate to the other students. I flew for three weeks prior to a four week break over Christmas. Upon return I again flew at an increased tempo, average 6 flights a week (the average was generally about 3 to 4). 

Three weeks later I failed my first flight, IF28 (Instrument Flight number 28). At the time I failed, I was just .2 hours (12 minutes) under the maximum amount of flying hours allowed in a seven day period. I had a number of check rides before continuing on the syllabus, but by the time I reached IRT (Instrument Rating Test) I was still not at the level required, and consequently failed both the test and subsequent re-test.

I have no doubt that my forced grounding was due to mistakes by various medical staff in the performance of my aircrew medicals. My grounding resulted in only three weeks flying out of nine weeks, which, coupled with the increased flying tempo in an attempt to ‘catch up’ to the syllabus, was in my view a significant factor in causing my failing pilot’s course. While I acknowledge that my increased flying tempo was considered during the (No 2 FTS issued) show cause process, I contend that the factors that caused the increased tempo were not considered at all. 

At this stage I should point out that although my flying career had come to a premature end, I was still committed to remaining in the RAAF. I had by this time served in the RAAF for 5 years and felt myself well suited to the lifestyle, and enjoyed the camaraderie and diversity of work available. Even though I was disappointed with the way my flying career had ended, I felt that there was enough opportunities in the RAAF in other areas. There was also the remote possibility that I could have another chance at pilots course.

Events leading to my discharge

Once I had failed pilots course, I assumed that I would be given a position commensurate with the training that I had received at the Academy. At the time it appeared that the RAAF’s insistence that I undertake the fourth year of study was going to pay dividends early than I had hoped. However, this quickly changed when I was informed that the only positions available at the time were those of Air Traffic Controller and Air Defence Officer. No other avenues were open, including Intelligence Officer, and especially not Supply Officer (where officers involved with the IT function served). According to the RAAF HR Department, (DPO), the release of the Defence Efficiency Review some months prior meant that a number of categories were not recruiting, with the RAAF facing a requirement to lose approximately 2000 uniformed personnel through ‘natural attrition’. 

We were required to undergo the standard recruiting testing at the Perth recruiting office. By this stage I was becoming very dissatisfied with what was occurring, and consequently did not make a huge effort in this testing. I guess I still could not believe that the RAAF wanted me to be an Air Traffic Controller or Air Defence Officer, positions with an education requirement of a pass in Year 12 English. 

I had hoped to get a temporary posting to Canberra while a more permanent decision was made on my future. This often occurred to failed students as Canberra had any number of positions available for a junior officer in the Russell Offices complex. I thought at the time that in Canberra I would be able to advance my case for a position in IT, as most of Defence’s IT infrastructure was located there, and I had a number of contacts in Russell from my time performing my thesis. I also had a good social network in place, which at the time was important as well. 

Due to my less than committed attitude during the testing, I only passed the aptitude testing for a position as an Air Traffic Controller. 

I had a number of discussions with a SQNLDR from DPO who was responsible for my situation. Although I expressed a number of times my desire to go to Canberra (admittedly with not many good reasons), my fate was sealed when she extracted from me the admission that if Air Traffic Control was the only position available to me, I guess I was interested. Combined with the fact that I had passed the Air Traffic Control aptitude test, I was posted to East Sale. I was told that as far as the RAAF was concerned, this killed two birds with one stone – I was either going to be attending the School of Air Traffic Control, or I was to be Show Caused, in which case East Sale was the closest base to my next of kin. When I was informed of my posting to East Sale (which gave me two days notice to move), I was also told that I had nine days to make a decision as to whether I would undertake Air Traffic Control course.

 After I arrived at East Sale, I managed to convince the SQNLDR that the time she had given me to make my decision was too short. She gave me a 10 day extension. My time at the Air Traffic Control Section convinced me that, while it is a worthy occupation, I felt that it wasn’t suited to me. It was during this period that I decided that I would have to leave the RAAF. I felt that the RAAF had left me with no choice but to leave and pursue a career elsewhere.

A day before my decision was due, I rang up the SQNLDR in charge of my case. As near as I can remember, the conversation went along these lines:

PLTOFF Gilmour > “Ma’am, I would just like to confirm that you are aware that I have completed an Honours degree in Information Systems”
SQNLDR > “Yes, we are aware of your qualifications, and we are not prepared to offer you a position in that area”

This response confirmed my decision to leave the RAAF. I then asked the following questions:

PLTOFF Gilmour > “Ma’am, if I were to resign today, what would happen?”
SQNLDR > “We would begin an action to recover costs to cover your Return of Service Obligation (ROSO)”
PLTOFF Gilmour > “What would happen if I didn’t respond to your deadline tomorrow to choose Air Traffic Control?”
SQNLDR > “I will begin Show Cause Proceedings against you.”
PLTOFF Gilmour > “Well, that isn’t a very hard choice, is it??”
SQNLDR > “I can take it from that that I can begin Show Cause proceedings?”
PLTOFF Gilmour > “Yes, you can.”

I guess that to me the conversation highlighted the inflexibility within the RAAF’s bureaucracy.

Discharge

I heard nothing more for two or three weeks. I had enquired about support that is provided to people leaving the defence forces, but because I had failed a training course I was ineligible (even though I had served for nearly 5 and a half years by this stage!) 

Approximately three weeks later, I received a phone call from the OC of the base, a Group Captain. He was very surprised to find that there was an officer on his base who was getting discharged, and that he hadn’t been told about it. He was also very disappointed when I discussed with him my experience, particularly as at the time the East Sale Base Information Systems Officer was an Economics Honours graduate. 
He rang the head of DPO to ask why I was being Show Caused without receiving a job offer I was interested in. He said that DPO would allow me to apply for an Intelligence Officer role (an area that had previously been denied to me by the SQNLDR in DPO). By this time I had made up my mind to leave, although three weeks earlier I would most likely have accepted the offer to apply.

Two weeks later I was offered a job in the civilian world, and was given leave until the day of my discharge, set at the 7th of May, 1998. 

The day I arrived for my discharge, I received a shock. The Administration cell said that I had actually been discharged a week prior. This could have raised some interesting legal issues if I had been injured while I thought I was still a member of the defence force. Technically I could have been charged with impersonating an Officer when I showed my RAAF identification to enter the base! That administrative error was a fitting end to the final 3 months of my time in the military.

Conclusion

I left the RAAF very disillusioned with its personnel management processes. While on a unit by unit basis I think the RAAF, and indeed the military in general, are excellent environments in which to work, the bureaucracy in Canberra undoes much of that good work. I still stay in close contact with a large number of my former classmates, and anecdotal evidence suggests that a similar feeling of frustration exists today. If anything, it is even worse, particularly in the Army. 

In summation, whilst I immensely enjoyed the majority of the time I spent in the RAAF, and appreciate the benefits and opportunities it has given me, even today, I would hesitate to recommend it as a career opportunity now. In comparison to a multi-national organisation such as the firm I currently work in, the ADF is inflexible in it’s management of personnel and rules and regulations tend to be enforced to the detriment of the individual. 

I would be happy to answer any further questions in relation to the statement I have provided.

Regards,

Ben Gilmour

Contact details.

Work: 03 8603 2412
Mobile: 0418 581 968
Home: 03 9696 3267

Address:
73 Smith Street
South Melbourne 3205.

Email: ben.gilmour@au.pwcglobal.com