Oz Army recruitment through Facebook?

Sydney, Jan 21: Facebook is more than a social networking site for many and can be used for nation building. Yes, you heard it right. Australian Army Chief Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie has said that attracting more women recruits and lifting the army's profile through social networking sites like Facebook are part of his agenda for the future.

Lieutenant General Gillespie, who took over the chief's role in 2008, said that one of his aims is to convince women that the army is "an employer of choice"."If in an ageing population I can't convince more women to join our workforce, then we are going to struggle to keep up numbers and our skill sets in 10 or 15 years' time," the Age quoted Lieutenant General Gillespie, as saying.

He further said that the army had made significant changes in recent years, after a period in which it found it difficult to retain people. The Army Chief also highlighted that part of the reason had been an improvement in communication, and use of social media.

"If you have a look at the Army Facebook site, we've just passed 90,000 fans on that site. It's a wonderful way for me to reach out and be sure I'm actually talking to 90,000 people," Lieutenant General Gillespie said.

"I'm very much committed to further research in social media and how we can use that to more effectively communicate with our people and the people of Australia," he added.

ANI