The head of Royal Air Force (RAF) recruitment reportedly resigned in protest of an RAF policy that placed temporary restrictions on hiring white recruits.
The senior female officer stepped down amid a recent focus by the RAF to meet diversity standards, according to a Sky News report. Sources suggested that even a temporary pause could adversely affect RAF preparedness and strength, further describing the standards as “impossible.”
Defense sources questioned RAF head Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston's willingness to compromise security in the name of diversity, particularly as the UK faces unprecedented challenges to security from Russia and China. “Then you look at the head of the RAF and he's prepared to break the operational requirement of the air force just to meet diversity [targets],” one source told Sky News.
The claims surrounding the RAF's controversial recruitment policy earned criticism from Rishi Sunak, candidate for Prime Minister. “That the Ministry of Defence would allow Britain's security to potentially be put at risk by a drive for so-called ‘diversity' is not only disgraceful, it is dangerous,” said a spokesperson for Sunak's campaign.
The RAF quickly denied allegations of any pause in recruitment or change in policy, however. “There is no pause in Royal Air Force recruitment and no new policy with regards to meeting in-year recruitment requirements,” a spokesperson told Sky News. The spokesperson elaborated that RAF recruitment remains aligned with the Royal Navy and British Army's efforts to “encourage recruiting from under-represented groups” for the sake of achieving a diverse workforce.
British defense chiefs have long harped on the need for a more inclusive and diverse workforce. The Chief of Defense Staff decried the idea of wokefulness as the driver for diversity. “It is about woefulness. The woefulness of too few women. The woefulness of not reflecting the ethnic, religious and cognitive diversity of our nation,” Admiral Tony Radakin stated in a December 2021 speech.
Radakin's statement followed a parliamentary report earlier that month that established lofty recruitment goals for women across the forces. The report identified “barriers” affecting female recruitment and acknowledged “the need for a step change” in ambition, setting 30% as a recruitment goal for females in the armed forces by 2030. Recruitment ads would necessarily shift toward a “female focused campaign,” the report said.
One of the sources called the targets for recruitment “absolutely crazy,” alleging that there is “no scientific or cultural background to these particular levels of ambition,” Sky News reports.
Diversity in recruitment is not the RAF's biggest problem, however. Documents leaked earlier this month showed a concerning backlog of pilots waiting for training slots. An internal memo obtained by Sky News showed the scale of the crisis. More than 300 pilots, accounting for over half of the personnel in the flying training program are waiting for a slot on a training course or were currently enrolled in a “refresher” course, Sky News reported. In another example, personnel face a wait between two and three years for training to fly a Chinook helicopter, the memo revealed.
Whether the allegations related to a pause in recruitment are true or not, the MOD's recruitment and retention should prioritize lethality and preparedness above diversity in today's threat context. Diversity does not win wars.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
Then U lose skilled labor for Defense
Hey! You cannot attack us until we achieve the right diversity numbers! It’s just not fair!
Obviously, the diversity campaign is designed to hand opportunities to individuals who have not (and will not) demonstrate any level of personal initiative and personal responsibility.
It’s not just in Great Britain. The US Military under Biden Austin and Milley is doing the same kind of thing. Worse, they have made the Pentagon Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion a player in operational planning. Now, Commanders must demonstrate units have the correct mix of races, and (all 50 or 60?) genders as a required step in mission approval. 1SG, USA, Ret
As a US Navy Veteran I find that disgusting to lower standards just to meet “diversity” goals.
But Diversity is our greatest strength. Also, Islam is a religion of peace
Never in the course of human events have so many been betrayed by so few for such execrable purposes. No doubt the thousands of dead RAF pilots and crew who gave their lives to make possible Britain’s “finest hour” would be gratified to learn what their sacrifice earned them and their descendants. Kudos, at least, to the RAF officer who resigned her position in protest of this travesty. Apparently, some of the leaders of the Royal Air Force still have their balls, even if they are female.
Sadly, the majority of British elites are happy to bow to everything woke. About 10 years ago, terrified of being labeled racist and anti-Muslim, they allowed Muslims to establish Sharia as a parallel system in Britain.
Under Sharia, Muslims who sign contracts with infidels are not obligated to honor them. They take out mortgages, don’t pay them, then sell the properties and pocket the money. Infidels are not allowed access to Sharia courts. If they were, they would simply be told Muslims are not required to honor contracts with non-believers.
Same thing with car loans, etc.
British elites were thrilled to vote for Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim mayor of London.
They live in the suburbs and gated communities, so they do not worry about groups of young Muslims conducting Sharia partols, beating people for violations of Sharia. Since Khan’s election, individual Muslims feel emboldened to harass people who walk their dogs. Muslims say dogs are unclean.
Ce n’est pas dans le recrutement à la RAF ou ailleurs que la performance serait au rendez-vous. Il y a en outre le côté humain qui ne tient plus les hommes et les femmes militaires donnent peu d’importance à une formation adéquate car la Grande Bretagne a des contrats implicites avec d’autres pays et européens malgré le Brexit et avec l’armée de l’air américaine …afin que les formations puissent être tenues . Or le politique ne fait rien si ce n’est une course vers vers des postes de premier ministre ou autre sans pouvoir donner de l’importance à une vraie défense purement britannique et c’est le même problème avec les 27 pays européens qui constituent l’UE et comme vous l’avez souligné Poutine et Xi cherchent des victoires militaires et donc pas de démocratie et de laisser le temps aux autres de se former ou de Scarlet mieux par voie de conséquence si Poutine décide de détruire Londres où Paris avec Satan II qui pourrait l’empêcher “no one” y compris les Américains qui se trouvent nez à nez et avec Poutine et Xi et Mody…qui sont deuxième puissance militaire troisième et quatrième puissance militaire en sus du Brésil neuvième puissance militaire car le Brocs est aussi une défense militaire un équivalent à l’Otan qui devient caduque et donc le problème et non la solution . Nous sommes dans une époque où tout s’accélère et donc une formation qui se retardé car le parlement semble avoir d’autres priorités à financer c’est donc un back à une troisième guerre mondiale . Il y a un bémol est que les généraux y compris ceux à la retraite sont conscients à l’instar des Français qui sont tentés par un coup d’Etat militaire sur l’Elysée…
Concentrate on selecting the candidates with the highest ability and qualifications. Diversification will take care of itself.
If we are thus destroying our military, it provides sparse consolation to learn our close and most reliable ally is doing the same. Western civilization, good night. Hello Marxist dictatorship.
Are the Chinese Marxists or from some other branch of Communism?
It’s nice to know our oldest ally’s forces are run by the same type of morons running the US defense establishment. I’m sure the Russians and Chinese are quaking in their books over the vigorous diversity policy.
The British more than any other left a legacy of slavery & discrimination in every country where the had a colony, The United States. This is discrimination in reverse and will not correct what happened in past history. I marvel at liberals thinking that you can correct past mistakes by punishing people who had nothing to do with past problems and rewarding a new generation who never suffered discrimination on a personal level by another onslaught of discrimination against innocent individuals who happen to be white. The same thing is going on in my country against white Americans today.
A few Muslims flying fighter-bombers in the RAF sounds like an excellent idea, but won’t the burkas on the female flying cadets interfere with wearing the oxygen masks and other flying equipment? .
our enemies have a diversity command- they have short people, tall people, some different shades of their own color, but all highly qualified to destroy their country’s enemies-which is the US and the UK