16 June

The US Army is set to hold its first virtual hiring campaign with an aim to hire 10,000 new soldiers to serve in 150 different occupations. The three-day event will be held from 30 June to 2 July. It is a first all-Army nationwide recruiting effort. Individuals will be encouraged to explore the Army’s career paths, ranging from traditional combat roles to support positions in logistics, engineering and technology. Based on the selected occupation, ASVAB scores and certain other factors, qualified applicants are eligible for bonuses up to $40,000 or student loan reimbursement up to $65,000.

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has decided to deploy another 90 personnel back to Ukraine in support of Operation UNIFIER this month. The number of CAF members joining the mission was reduced due to Covid-19 in March. In April, around 60 of 200 personnel were deployed while the other were kept on high readiness in Canada. In an update, CAF said: “Following a reassessment of the situation, including an analysis of force health protection measures and the risk posed by Covid-19, the decision was made to deploy another 90 of these members.” These members will follow a 14-day isolation period in Ukraine and then prepare for the mission.

The US Army has announced an updated version of the six-event physical fitness test. The planned Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) is the force’s test of record that will be held on 1 October this year. It is a transition from the 40-year-old Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) to the new ACFT version. Dubbed as ACFT 2.0, the physical fitness test has a new training timeline and other modifications. It also implies that the “Army won’t take administrative actions against Soldiers for potential ACFT failures”.