Filling the gaps: Manpower challenges among Western navies

摘要

Retention of expert personnel has been one of the most constant challenges facing navies since the era of sail. The UK Royal Navy's (RN's) press gangs of the eighteenth century were not primarily looking for innocent landlubbers to seize for compulsory recruitment. Their real targets were able seaman with sufficient service - at least several years - to have the expertise necessary for the complexities of managing a large sailing warship. In the centuries since, the requirement for personnel who are both highly trained and experienced has only become more intense and difficult to meet. Many traditional challenges remain, while changes in society and technology have added new pressures. As one chief of navy has commented, navies are now having to recruit people for roles that do not yet exist.