COMMENTING on the Grigg Report a month ago. I remarked
that it had not dealt with one of the authorities' chief worries: how to keep trained men in the forces without resorting to compul- sion. Michael Leapman's article in this issue expresses opinions which I know to be widely shared in the Navy, even among men who are not themselves anxious to leave the service; for they realise how bad for morale it is to have dis- contented colleagues who are anxious, but for- bidden, to return to civilian life. Quite the most disturbing feature of Mr. Duncan Sandys's re- cruiting campaign is its reliance on the bait of better pay for long-service contracts, which lure inexperienced youths into accepting terms which they may later come to regret. Difficult though it would be for them, I would prefer the authorities to face the facts honestly; to eschew differentials which are, in effect, a form of bribery; and to concentrate, instead, on providing the work and conditions which will keep men in the forces of their own free will.
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