Volume 11, No. 52, September 21, 2006
Quicklinks
to Letters
Cancelled leave not covered by insurance
A long service wait
Make soldiers bounty hunters
More rank, more pay
Micro-managing a no-no
Dili evacuees offer thanks
A tale to hook you
HOW
TO GET A LETTER PUBLISHED
Cancelled leave not covered by insurance
I’M WRITING with some interesting information about travel insurance for ADF members.
Just recently I have been in the situation where I had booked and paid for an overseas holiday for my family and I to have some well-deserved R&R together. At the time of booking my holiday, I ensured that the dates were going to coincide with the unit’s reduced tempo period (RTP).
As the norm has it these days, the RTP dates were changed and the unit notified it could be likely we were going to be deployed.
I then had to write a minute to my CO justifying my leave and purpose. My CO was not keen on releasing me initially as I was a key appointment within the unit and he would find it hard to find someone to shadow post me while I was on leave.
The CO then asked me to investigate through my travel insurance company on obtaining a refund for the cost of the holiday due to the fact I was about to deploy and wouldn’t be able to take the holiday I had planned.
After making inquiries through my travel agent and travel insurance company, I found out that the insurance company would not refund my holiday cost in this unforeseen circumstance and that it doesn’t offer refunds if your employer revokes your leave unless you are a police officer. This travel insurance company is advertised and offered at many travel agents.
As members of the ADF, we are always told to purchase travel insurance to either cancel or change travel arrangements if your work situation changes. Sadly, we are advised that we can change or obtain a refund for our travel arrangements when purchasing tickets for unforeseen circumstances but having your leave cancelled or changed by your CO does not cut the mustard for this company, along with many others. I have since found out that Defence Health offers travel insurance which covers this situation and strongly suggest that anyone considering travel ensures they are covered for most unforeseen circumstances that we encounter in our job.
Sgt Matt Ryan
1RAR Admin Coy
Lavarack Barracks
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A long service wait
- I HAVE to say I am more than a little disappointed that members of the Standby Reserve are receiving their Australian Defence Medal (ADM) by the hundreds, while myself and many more full-time and part-time members are still waiting for their Defence Long Service Medal (DLSM) to be issued, in most cases years after qualifying.
While I have nothing against the ADM (or Standby Reservists), I do think that the priority within Honours and Awards should be the issuing of all overdue DLSMs before a single ADM is issued.
Expecting members to wait 17, 18 sometimes even 20 years for recognition of 15 years’ service is unacceptable. I struggle to understand how this important issue has not been addressed and rectified, or does the ADF value our service so little that it is happy to allow these poor procedures to continue?
No doubt the reply to this letter will highlight how busy and understaffed Honours and Awards are, which I am sure is very true. I’m no HR or recruiting expert, but couldn’t we just hire more staff for that department? And if that’s not possible (though I can’t imagine why not), then at the very least have the existing staff replace the ADMs being sent out with DLSMs, until every member who has completed 15 years service has been suitably, and deservedly recognised.
Sgt Angela Todd
APA-B
Victoria Barracks, Brisbane
Irene Wilson, Director Honours and Awards, responds:
THE Directorate of Honours and Awards (DH&A) is responsible for the assessment of eligibility for awards, and dispatch of medals, to both serving and ex-serving ADF members.
This includes ensuring that both long service recognition and the Australian Defence Medal (ADM) are issued to eligible recipients as soon as possible.
While DH&A can automatically assess permanent ADF members for long service recognition, those with Reserve service, including broken service or permanent service combined with Reserve service, need to apply for long service recognition. Eligibility for long service awards is based on the completion of 15 years of efficient service, not 15 years of enlistment. Efficient service is defined as the number of days paid service completed in an enlistment year. This currently stands at 20 days per enlistment year (from 20 April 2000), with varying periods of service required in previous years and in different Services, and trades or professions. The information concerning efficient days of service is not contained on PMKeys but is available from CENRES or DEFPAY. The eligibility requirements for long service awards and access to the relevant data require manual checks to be conducted by DH&A or DEFPAY staff. This process is time consuming and does cause delays in the assessment of long service awards.
DH&A acknowledges that there are long delays in the assessment of long service awards. In order to reduce this DH&A have recruited additional staff to assess long service awards. Of particular note are the two Navy Reservists working with DH&A to reduce the delays in assessment for Navy Reservists. There has also been a change in the policy relating to long service awards whereby a unit Commander can verify an ADF member’s service as efficient. This process is also being used, with some success, for ADM applications from Reserve members. DH&A also continues to examine ways in which long service and other awards can be more effectively assessed and dispatched to eligible personnel.
DH&A has received Sgt Todd’s application for long service recognition. If Sgt Todd wishes to discuss her application, she should phone DH&A toll free on 1800 111 321.
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Make soldiers bounty hunters
- AS OPSWO of 7 Bde Recruiting Cell, my colleagues and I often ponder on recruiting and retention issues.
The aging population and low birth rate are going to greatly affect the ADF in the coming years – an issue that the CDF has already addressed. If one checks the web sites of our ABCA partners they also have similar issues.
The British Army has addressed a number of issues with bounties, such as a recruit bounty (getting a mate to join the regular army is worth up to $3000), a re-enlistment bounty (for those rejoining the forces of up to $12,000 dependant on trade) and a transfer bounty (for those who trade transfer instead of discharge).
For the Territorial Army (Reserves), there are bounties for being AIRN compliant (equivalent) and meeting all unit training requirements, that can range from $800 up to $3000 a year; for retention alone this would be seen as a huge saving rather than recruiting, testing and training a replacement.
The US National Guard offers free medical and dental to its guardsmen and women if they use a military facility, as the military staff are getting paid anyway.
The ADF is competing with the harsh civilian employment market and, unfortunately, low unemployment, an aging population and a low birth rate are making it harder to recruit and retain members. An $800 bounty for a reservist, for example, might retain members longer and save the Commonwealth thousands of dollars in getting replacements.
WO2 Col Bishop
7 Bde Recruiting Cell
Gallipoli Barracks
Lt-Col Sue Smith, SO1 Retention, DGPers-A, responds:
THANK you for your email. It is very timely that you have written with your views on possible retention measures as many of these issues are currently under consideration at the staff level and it is always useful to get feedback on how these changes might be received at the coalface.
Recruiting is currently investigating the recruit bounty, the re-enlistment bounty and the transfer bounty that you mention. The issue is not so much whether we should move ahead with these initiatives which, as you point out, are already being applied in other armies, but how the initiatives might be introduced with the least impact on Army administration which we know is already overburdened.
You may be aware that the Minister has already recently announced funding in support of health-based incentives for the High Readiness Reserve and the Active Reserve and an extension of these health benefits to other areas of Reserve service is also under consideration.
Again, a key concern is the economical implementation of these initiatives as we know from our surveys that our people are already working long hours to keep units running and we do not wish to add to those burdens by rolling out new initiatives we have not thought through.
You might like to key an eye on the Army newspaper around Army’s birthday next year. We are hoping to announce a range of our new retention initiatives then.
TOP
More rank, more pay
I HAVE a concern with the proposed WRA. As an OR, on my pay scale I will end up about $2100 better off come November, however an officer will be better off than that.
Why has the system not been addressed so all ranks get the same increase (ie $6000 over three years) instead of the current system where the higher your rank, the bigger your pay rise?
This just makes the gap (monetary) between the ORs and officers greater, not too different than what WO2 D. Harris was asking in your July 13 issue.
Cpl L.J. Hutcherson
53 MP Pl
Puckapunyal
Sqn-Ldr Jason Briggs, Industrial Policy, Directorate of Military Salaries and Allowances (Policy), responds:
CPL Hutcherson is not the first to suggest that the WRA should pay flat dollar amount increases instead of a percentage increase.
However, a percentage increase to all ADF members’ salary and salary-related allowances is the only fair method for increasing pay under the WRA. If we paid a flat dollar amount, the difference between pay levels would decrease each time you were promoted. In other words, the value of pay increases on promotion would go down if we gave everyone a flat dollar increase.
A flat $6000 increase would mean:
a Pte on PG3 would receive a 16.2 per cent pay increase
a Sgt on the top increment of PG3 would receive a 12.7 per cent increase.
Currently the Sgt earns 27 per cent more than the Pte. If the $6000 increase was paid, the Sgt would only earn 23 per cent more than the Pte. This would reduce the value of being promoted. Paying the same percentage rate to everyone under the WRA maintains the value of being promoted.
Cpl Hutcherson’s recommended flat rate increase would also be inequitable if applied to salary-related allowances. These currently increase by the same percentage as salary.
For these reasons a flat dollar amount increase is not preferred for the WRA productivity benefit to ADF members.
You can find more information about the WRA online. Click on “Workplace Remuneration Arrangement” on the Defweb at http://intranet.defence.gov.au/pac or the Internet at http://www.defence.gov.au/dpe/pac.
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Micro-managing a no-no
TO THE best of my knowledge soldiers and officers at all rank levels are taught the correct military decision-making thought process, the IMAP.
This training is carried out at units and on a number of promotion courses at considerable expense of both time and money. Why then is the system making it difficult for managers at all levels to use this process on anything other than IMTs?
Through a bureaucracy of overly tight constraints and processes, much of flexibility that commanders (at all ranks) need is being removed.
The digger has been made famous as a professional, resourceful and adaptable soldier. Let’s get back to what we do best without all the hindrance of overly tight processes and minutiae of detail.
Let commanders be flexible and adaptable. Let’s tell them what we want from them, not what each individual step they must undertake to achieve the outcome.
A classic example of this micro-management is the current computer’s SOE. We no longer have the ability to use USB or the use of CD-burners. Why? Security.
We already have instruments to minimise loss or corruption of core data including using DSN over the DRN, Defence Security Manual, DLM and unit SIs.
So organisations that need to liaise with external agencies or large quantities of electronic data have lost their flexibility until they put forward a business case for the use of extant computer devices.
We already have instruments in place to minimise the loss or corruption of data, so why bring in more limitations and make it more difficult than it has to be?
I am not against change but I am against change for the sake of change. If proposed changes are not large in their effect, do we actually need to change?
Please, we have good leaders and people in or working for Defence: let’s not frustrate them any further by micro-managing every simple process or task that they have to do.
WO2 M.L. Holland
AAvnTC
Oakey
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Dili evacuees offer thanks
DURING the recent rioting and troubles in Timor-Leste, I was evacuated with seven other Defence wives and seven children and many other Embassy and Australian evacuees.
After a long day of anxiety and waiting in Dili, we were whisked away to Darwin in a C-130, a new and exciting experience for most of the girls, and all of the children. In Darwin, we were quickly processed by the authorities and taken to the safety and quiet of Defence Establishment Darwin (the old HMAS Coonawarra).
We were greeted by the friendly and concerned team of girls from DCO Darwin – Maj Ann Sherren, Lisa Congdon, Karen Green and Joan Gilbert (who flew up from Canberra to see us).
It was wonderful to be able to relax and to feel so well looked after following our experiences in Dili. We were a bit shell-shocked after the evacuation, and the girls helped us to recuperate and sorted out our travel arrangements to get us home to family and friends.
A couple of girls stayed on in Darwin and continued to be looked after by Darwin DCO. The rest of us were passed on to our local DCO representatives, who also were very helpful and concerned as to how they could help us.
We would like to let the greater Army community know how wonderful these girls are in a crisis situation, and they should be applauded for their efforts. In today’s world, people are always very quick to criticise when things go wrong, but we would like everyone to know that DCO does a great job.
Elizabeth Fleming
Community Liaison Officer
Australian Embassy, Dili
A tale to hook you
IN 1970 I was an Army Sergeant air traffic controller at RAAF Base Amberley when the first “hook wire” engagement was required, with a very different outcome to the recent emergency landing of an F-111 at the same base.
I was on the mike when a Phantom reported a “bus bar” failure and had only 22 minutes of fuel remaining. Not knowing what that was, I simply acknowledged the transmission then got crushed to the floor as the other controllers took the microphone. The electric bus bar controlled the steering wheel and without front-wheel steering the plane could not be steered after landing.
There was a hook wire at the beginning of the runway, but its serviceability was suspect. Two weeks before we had hooked the wire with a Caribou and it snagged and failed to release.
The Phantom’s crew dumped the fuel tanks, lowered the wheels and hit the wire. As predicted the wire snagged, the aircraft’s hook (3 inches thick) snapped, the undercarriage collapsed and the Phantom spun down the runway. The two crew popped the canopy, climbed on to the wings and rolled off unhurt.
When a crane came out to lift the aircraft, its wheels sank into the grass, tilting the crane over. The crane driver in fright then dropped the aircraft and that finished the job of bending it. However, as the plane was only on lease it wasn’t written off but received a very long repair until it was fully serviceable again.
Bill Hudnott
Albany Creek, Queensland
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