Asia-Pacific News
British sailors jump ship in Australia
Feb 14, 2012, 7:33 GMT
Sydney - More than 80 sailors from Britain's Royal Navy have applied to serve in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) under a programme that could see them get citizenship in double-quick time.
But the Defence Department said Tuesday that the response to its overseas recruitment campaign had been overwhelmingly from Britain - although jobs were open to anyone with the right qualifications.
'There is no impediment to nationals from other countries applying to join the ADF,' a defence spokeswoman said.
Last week Navy chief Vice Admiral Ray Griggs said austerity measures in Britain were proving a boon to recruiters. 'The recent round of retrenchments that have been announced in the UK have certainly given us an opportunity,' he said.
There have been 200 expressions of interest from serving or laid-off British soldiers, sailors or air force personnel.
The labour shortage is most acute in the Royal Australian Navy, which does not have enough submariners to put all of its six submarines to sea at the same time.
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