In its latest recruitment drive the British army has ascended a higher bar of desperation by reaching out to some of the most questionable elements in society.
Army posters and adverts are now targeting “social media addicts”, “gym junkies” and “binge drinkers”.
The aim of the campaign is to appeal to young people’s quest for self-confidence by creating the impression that army life can correct their low self-esteem and associated chaotic lifestyles.
This latest clumsy recruitment drive comes on the heels of similar bizarre and failed attempts by the British army to recruit from the most disturbed sections of society.
The Daily Mail reported on January 04, 2019, that soldiers were “furious” at the army’s £1.5 million recruitment drive aimed at “snowflakes”, “phone zombies” and “selfie-addicts”.
There is a long background to this story as the British army has been struggling with recruitment for the past three decades.
To address this deep structural problem, back in 2012 the army signed a £450 million contract with the outsourcing giant Capita to attract new recruits.
But critics of the deal – including the government’s own spending watchdog, the National Audit Office – have accused the army of not understanding the “complexity” of the project.
This latest recruitment scandal comes on the heels of multiple reports of profound institutional racism in the UK armed forces.
The situation is sufficiently grim that the armed forces official ombudsman (for service complaints), Nicola Williams, admitted in late December that incidents of racism in the armed forces are occurring with “increasing and depressing frequency”.
