The first principle is we're not about to compromise our combat capability for some insane desire just to do it. That's why we're going through the particular process we're going through. Equally important, considering the problems finding enough defence force recruits, it made no sense to deny women the opportunity to serve in combat if this did not compromise capability. Women are allowed in 98 per cent of categories, but are excluded from the jobs of infantry, artillery, armour, combat engineering, naval clearance diving and air defence guards. On submarines, because they need their own bunkroom, the navy has a minimum of two female officers and four female enlisted crew out of a total crew of 70.
Similar rules apply on other boats.
Even after counting new recruits, the Defence Force is losing about 1500 members a year, in spite of its goal of lifting numbers by about 2000, to 53,555, by 2010. In the long term, Australia's recruitment problem would be greater than for any other country. Admiral Barrie foreshadowed offering military recruits much shorter contracts, of perhaps five years, compared with current requirements of up to 10 years for skilled personnel. The group of people targeted by Defence was shrinking and there was more competition than ever from other employers. Men also had a 30 per cent greater aerobic capacity and hence greater endurance, because women have fewer red blood cells, less iron and smaller lungs.