According to reports, the U.K. Royal Navy is placing the job ad on the popular networking platform LinkedIn, prompting numerous British sources to call the move "unprecedented" and "shameful."
The advertisement was spotted by U.K. media sources late last week after first appearing last month on LinkedIn. Usually, senior officers rise through the ranks and get promoted to higher positions like this, but the U.K. military seems to really be struggling these days.
One U.K. media outlet reported that "there is currently no one serving who is suitable" for the position, or willing to take it if offered.
"The Royal Navy is recruiting for a director of submarines, responsible for highly classified stealth, elite operations and trident, our nuclear deterrent," reads a recruitment ad.
"Candidates must be a member of the reserves forces or have served with the regular forces."
In order to qualify for the two-star position, a candidate must commit to holding it for at least two years at a yearly salary of £150,000, or about $191,000.
(Related: After sending all its munitions to Ukraine to fight Russia, the U.K. now has "nothing" left in its own military stockpiles.)
U.K. military has become "utterly shameful," says critic
The ad is really ruffling a lot of feathers, including one person who called the job drive "utterly shameful," adding that "the only person who applied was a weapons engineer commodore, who was not properly qualified."
Almost immediately after the weapons engineer commodore in question was denied the job for a lack of experience, the U.K. Royal Navy put up the recruitment ad on LinkedIn.
A military source familiar with the matter called the recruitment idea "unprecedented," suggesting it points to serious problems within the British armed forces, and particularly the Royal Navy.
The Royal Navy is so strapped for personnel these days that it is also having to decommission two warships, the HMS Argyll and the HMS Westminster, in order to properly man a new class of frigates. The HMS Westminster recently underwent a slew of costly renovations, too.
U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps is also considering retiring a pair of amphibious assault ships due to a lack of manpower. Recent figures posted by his agency show a nearly four percent decline in personnel across the entire U.K. armed forces in 2023.
Not everyone opposes the LinkedIn approach, including former navy commander Tom Sharpe who is quoted as saying that it makes sense in a modern context.
"In an ideal world, the Royal Navy would select from within – but we're not in one, so throwing the net a little wider for this role makes some sense to me," he said.
When asked to comment on the matter, a Royal Navy spokesperson declined, saying it would be "inappropriate to comment ahead of any appointment being made." The spokesperson did, however, stress that the U.K. military "is committed to ensuring that the navy has the capabilities it needs to meet current and future operational requirements."
"The U.K. makes the U.S. look reasonable," one commenter wrote about the matter. "What a mess."
"It's no wonder the BRICS and former foes breathe a sigh of relief," emphasized another. "The snake has no venom! Time to flex muscle because weapons systems and the organizations driving them are no better than their commanders. However, they do have their woke general smileys."
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