A Proposed Selection System for Officers of the Irish Defence Forces.

Burke, Sean (2004) A Proposed Selection System for Officers of the Irish Defence Forces. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

Preview

PDF (Master of Arts) Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

The Defence Forces (DF) has gone through a decade and a half of unprecedented change. Changes have come about as a result of external forces and internal necessity. A number of reports and initiatives impacting on the DF during this period have led to a reduction in the overall strength of the DF and a decrease in the number of Officers vis-a-vis the number of enlisted personnel. A White Paper (WP) for defence, published in Feb 2000, set out Government policy on defence for the medium term (5-10 years). All the reports and initiatives made recommendations for the induction of Officers into the DF. Many of the recommendations made were not implemented. Sustaining Progress 2003-2005 includes a modernisation agenda that specifically requires a change in the induction system for Officers into the DF.
One of the roles articulated in the WP is DF participation in missions mandated by the United Nations in the cause of International Peace and Security. There has been a process
of globalisation in international military operations while at the same time new tasks are being generated. Multinational military co-operation requires high levels of interoperability between contributing nations. Logic dictates, in this context, that foreign national army selection systems are examined to gauge international "best practice". A number of accession systems from countries that are current or future partners involved in multinational military missions with the DF have been explored for this purpose.
Internally the pressure for change results from the need to address junior Officer shortages at Unit level, to introduce mechanisms to offset the reduction in the number of applications for cadetships, to provide a more inclusive accession model that encourages service member accession and to reduce the ad-hoc nature of the current selection model.
A selection model for Officers in the DF is proposed that focuses on a "two-tier" system catering for graduate and school leaver entry, increased opportunity for service member entry and clear policies for Direct Entry Officers. The central tenet of this model proposes that all officers must have a University Degree; prior to entry or have the necessary academic standard to obtain a Degree after commissioning. All officers must complete elements of the "one system" of Officer training proposed. The proposal recommends a reduction in the initial Officer training programme from 21 months to a period of 12 to 14 months.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	U Military Science > U Military Science (General) H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Human Resource Management > Recruitment
Divisions:	School of Business > Master of Arts in Human Resource Management
Depositing User:	Timothy Lawless
Date Deposited:	30 Apr 2010 11:02
Last Modified:	19 Aug 2014 09:25
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/148

Actions (login required)

View Item