Australian navy to get 62-day Christmas leave

by Sanjay Jha | November 18, 2008 at 11:42 pm

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Naval life is considered as tough assignments and there are not many takers for this in any country. Australian navy is coping with shortage of Nave personnel. They have devised a very good plan of giving two months off in order to make the job more attractive. Australia's navy gets a big Christmas gift this year: two months paid vacation for most sailors that will ease the effects of a recruiting slump but make the service Down Under look something like a part-time operation.

Commanders have ordered all ships not on overseas operations to return to port over the holiday, while docked vessels would have only a skeleton crew to maintain on-board security.

"The stand down will not impact operations and is to ensure that our people who are not required on operations are able to take a meaningful period of time off and spend time with their families," Rear Admiral Davyd Thomas, the deputy navy chief, said.

The navy faces serious staff shortages, with a 27% annual recruitment shortfall exacerbated by more than one in 10 personnel leaving the service each year.

In March, the 12,000-strong navy admitted having only enough qualified submariners to operate half of its six submarines, as the mining boom drew personnel to higher paying jobs in outback mines.