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RR 01
Memorandum from Group4Securicor (G4S)
The Role of Industry in the Recuperation of the Armed Forces
1. Introduction
This paper is submitted to the Defence Committee Inquiry into the readiness and recuperation for the contingent tasks of the Armed Forces for the purpose of describing how industry could help improve both the readiness and the recuperation of the Armed Forces.
The UK Armed forces are experiencing personnel recruitment and retention challenges driven by extensive operational commitments. This response is designed to outline how the private sector can provide greater support for defence resourcing at home and abroad thereby improving the readiness of the Armed Forces and the time available for recuperation.
This concept paper is intended to demonstrate that the Armed Forces carry out many "non-core" tasks at home and abroad which if intelligently outsourced would help units returning from operational theatres recuperate more fully while also delivering force readiness in a cost effective and efficient manner.
The aim of this paper is to describe how a significant proportion of the British Army's Training Support and Regular Army Assistance Table (RAAT) requirements could be comprehensively outsourced to industry.
The case studies used throughout this response are intended to illustrate how industry can provide support in key areas and is not intended to be an exhaustive list of capabilities from G4S or outsourcing opportunities for the Armed Forces.
2. Proposed approach
G4S has considerable long term experience of working with a wide range of sovereign government departments including the UK's Ministry of Defence, the US Department of Defense and NATO. Our experience in managing these and other government contracts provides a model of working which could be readily adopted elsewhere within the military estate and across each service.
A number of the proposals outlined lend themselves to pilots and testing. Often these pilots can be agreed without the need for lengthy procurement processes. For example, G4S could run a recruitment region for 12 to 24 months on a pilot basis. This would allow MOD to validate proof of concept and to measure the anticipated service delivery and financial improvements against current benchmarks.
3. G4S Credentials
G4S operates in 115 countries including most of the former Commonwealth countries as well as some of the world's most complex and dangerous environments including Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq and Sudan. In 2007, our turnover was £4.5 billion.
We provide a wide range of services to government including the management of critical facilities such as the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the Met Office, prisons and other complex outsourcing contracts such as the protection of UK Government property and personnel across Afghanistan. We have broad protective security capability including specialist military and security training, convoy protection and armed response services.
G4S is the 2nd largest private sector employer in the world, employing over 570,000 people. The organisation handles around 1 million applications per year and recruits over 100,000 new staff. G4S is the largest employer listed on the London Stock Exchange.
G4S is the largest private sector employer of former UK military personnel. G4S also recruits large numbers of staff who have similar backgrounds to military personnel, such as police, custody officers and protective security personnel. We have significant expertise in attracting, screening, training and retaining appropriate staff. We also train and develop our staff to perform a wide variety of roles in demanding and hostile environments.
We operate with permanent, interim and reserve staff models and could make use of our capabilities and presence to support the UK military at home and abroad. Additionally we could provide a natural home for UK military reservists (e.g. RNR, TA, RAuxAF and Sponsored Reserves) and provide a subsequent second career for military leavers.
4. Regular Army Assistance Table (RAAT) and Training Support
In Sep 07, Commander Field Army (Lt Gen Sir Graeme Lamb) initiated the 'Alleviating the Stuff in the Middle' study. It outlined how the MOD could alleviate the pressures on deployable units and allow an acceptable balance between deployments and leave/training. Establishing this balance will require a comprehensive review of the Regular Army Assistance Table (RAAT) and the Training Support bill.
RAAT is the use of individual soldiers and small teams to support units' training. The Army's annual bill is estimated at 70-90K man/days each year and equates to approximately c250-350 soldiers required every working day. Training Support is the use of formed bodies in support of large scale exercises, especially Battlegroup and Brigade exercises on Salisbury Plain and in Canada.
The combined effect of RAAT and the Training Support bill is a daily average demand for approximately c1000 soldiers to support Army training. It is estimated that up to 50% of these commitments could be carried out by contractors.
The infantry bears the brunt of meeting the RAAT commitments. We are aware that Headquarters Infantry is currently looking at how best to alleviate this pressure and ideas include:
§ Operational support. There are many tasks currently performed by the Land Warfare Centre (LWC) Battlegroup (formerly the Demonstration Battlegroup) that are suitable for contractorisation. These include the provision of drivers, demonstration/OPFOR (enemy) troops, range staff, etc.
§ Non-operational support. Core Army training courses supported by LWC Battlegroup including Mortar, Signals, Company Commanders' courses, etc all require support that could be undertaken by suitably trained civilian personnel. This may also include support to overseas exercises in Kenya and Belize as well as support to BATUS in Canada. G4S already supports the Land Warfare Centre with 153 former British Army Gurkhas who act as demonstration troops and enemy forces (e.g. Taliban) for all Army Pre-Deployment Training (PDT). G4S also supports the Royal Navy PDT on a smaller scale.
G4S believes a significant proportion of the British Army's training support and Regular Army Assistance Table (RAAT) requirements could be comprehensively outsourced to industry, thereby improving readiness and recuperation of the Armed Forces. Initial opportunities for private sector support could include:
§ The creation of a demonstration and barrack guarding 'company' of 50 -100 men, which would be available to support Battlegroups training on the Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA) or even at BATHUS; § The provision of demonstration teams to support the "Keep the Army in the public eye" (KAPE) programme; § Provision of a permanent cadre of qualified SASC/SAA Instructors for use at ranges across the UK.
We are aware of the intended Recruitment Partnering Project and have also included our thoughts on how we could better deliver the right calibre and number of potential applicants for the Armed Forces.
5. G4S Proposals and Case Studies
5.1 Recruiting Partnering Project (RPP)
The Recruiting Partnering Project is being proposed by the Army in an attempt to streamline and improve the recruiting business processes for the purpose of recruiting the right number of applicants.
With our recruiting experience, G4S could readily provide the correct number of motivated and high quality recruits to the Army. The G4S consortium approach with RPP would be to provide the relevant expertise to harness the opportunities that lie within army recruitment. It is our belief that the challenge lies more in managing applicants in a manner which keeps them engaged and interested in a military career rather than attracting large numbers to enquire in the first place.
Our approach would be to ensure Armed Forces Recruiting Offices are sited in optimum locations and place well trained, customer focused career recruiters with a good understanding and background in the Army. Key to the success of our solution will be relevant KPIs matched with an incentive scheme which ensures all G4S army recruiting staff are customer and output focused. G4S would use our global network to recruit personnel and offer employment at the end of military service.
G4S Army Recruitment Model for RPP
Case Study: G4S Recruiting § G4S recruits around 5,000 staff per year in the UK § This costs around £1,000 per recruit § G4S recruits around 100,000 staff per year across 115 countries § G4S then goes on to train and deploy these staff for a wide variety of posts worldwide.
5.2 Releasing the Military for Military duty
G4S could operate a number of support services to release military personnel for military duty. This would allow skilled troops to be released to concentrate on core roles. With many of the employees at G4S having previous military training and expertise, it is increasingly viable to provide non-core and support services to the military which would previously have occupied large numbers of serving military personnel. These tasks could include civilianisation of military posts in:
§ Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) § RAAT duties § Demonstration companies (such as PDT- see case study) § Guarding military installations § Convoy protection
5.3 Surge capabilities
G4S could provide a cadre of trained, motivated staff at short notice to fulfill a variety of short term roles. G4S has already provided this capability to MOD in the recent past.
Given the global nature of our business it is a relatively simple exercise to provide a large number of surge staff anywhere the client needs them, often at short notice. This is of obvious benefit to the military as G4S would be able to provide a reserve of trained and motivated former military staff, to deploy in support of British military operations using special powers, such as the sponsored reserve scheme. We understand that a special commercial contractor scheme is already working successfully in field hospitals in Afghanistan.
G4S already has access to a database with several thousand qualified former military personnel available for deployments. (See Augmenting the UK military with interim personnel)
Case Study: G4S Fire Services
With the removal of 'Green Goddesses' from service and the armed forces continued overseas operations, the military are now unable to provide a contingency force to cover the fire service in the event of natural disasters, industrial action and pandemics. G4S Fire Services was created to assume this role.
In response to a requirement for a national contingency reserve of firefighters, G4S is currently preferred bidder to provide a national fire reserve in the UK. Once deployed this force could consist of 1,500 fully trained firefighters who are able to respond to demand from local fire authorities throughout England.
5.4 Augmenting the UK military with interim personnel
G4S could provide the MOD with interim, specialist former military personnel as and when required. We have access to a vetted and interviewed database in excess of 4,000 qualified staff from the UK and Commonwealth nations many of whom have specialist skills, from Special Forces to Royal Engineers.
G4S could manage this database to provide the specialists required to fulfill specific tasks, whether on short and long term interim assignments.
G4S has a proven capability in this area and already provides a national reserve capability to every police force in the UK.
Case Study: Police Recruitment
G4S Policing Solutions is a market-leading specialist policing recruitment business and provider of policing consultancy. It provides policing consultancy and staffing solutions to: UK and international police forces; local and central government; regulatory bodies; and the private sector on a temporary contractual or permanent basis.
G4S has a database of over 12,000 former police officers and police staff, which allows us to deliver extra capacity for almost any situation, but also allows us to assist clients in creating specialist capability at very short notice.
5.5 Support to deployed operations
G4S could provide non-core, defensive support to military operations in theatre allowing military personnel to concentrate on more core military tasks.
G4S already provides or has recently provided support to US and UK deployed operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo.
G4S can provide a range of secure logistics, protective security and facilities management services to military operations in theatre.
Case Study : Iraq Convoy Protection
G4S employs over 1,000 personnel in Iraq and is the one of the largest providers of protection to US military convoys traveling across Iraq.
In 2007 G4S protected almost 3,000 convoys traveling across of Iraq with a successful delivery ratio of 99%.
Case Study: Kosovo
We provide 54 armed and uniformed force protection specialists for Task Force Falcon (US forces in Kosovo). Our services range from mobile security patrols to static access control for the main US forces base at Camp Bondsteel.
We also previously provided these services at Camp Monteith, prior to its closure in May 2006.
5.6 Secure Facilities Management
G4S could provide secure facilities and logistics management services, allowing the military to divert limited manpower resources where they are greater needed.
With our global presence G4S is ideally placed to deploy and develop secure infrastructure anywhere in the world. G4S currently provide FM for a number of secure facilities in the UK, such as GCHQ and the Met Office, as well as providing and managing secure facilities across Iraq and Afghanistan.
Case Study : ArmorGroup, Afghanistan In 2003 the British Government announced that it would be supporting the reconstruction and redevelopment of Afghanistan The UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office awarded G4S's subsidiary ArmorGroup the contract to provide Close Protection and site security teams for British Government personnel and those working for organisations such as DFID, HM Customs and Revenue and the British Council. The brief was to create a secure environment for these personnel to facilitate the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Our ongoing FCO operation is currently supported by over 200 international, 250 Gurkha and 250 Afghan employees. To support this expanding Afghanistan operation we invested over $4 million in the construction of a comprehensive infrastructure across the country, including accommodation in LashkarGah and Kandahar as well as a purpose-built facility at Anjuman Base on the outskirts of Kabul. This highly secure base offers clients a secure and comfortable environment from which to base themselves when in Kabul and other benefits including: § 24/7 operations centre § Accommodation for up to 500 clients & visitors § Extensive training facilities, including defensive/off road driver training are § Medical clinic for 'drop-in' and trauma health care § Fully equipped and permanently manned vehicle workshop § NATO-standard armoury.
5.7 Overseas Recruitment
G4S operates in 115 countries and could use its global country network to more effectively advertise, screen and recruit candidates from target countries which currently provide personnel into the UK military - former Commonwealth countries and Nepal.
Case Study : G4S Gurkha Services
G4S is world's largest employer of former UK and Indian Army Gurkhas and has an infrastructure in Nepal to recruit and deploy Gurkhas around the world.
G4S Gurkhas are currently deployed in five countries including the UK, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq.
6. Summary
G4S considers that a significant proportion of Armed Forces Training Support could be outsourced to industry. We consider that our cost effective and efficient services ideally lend themselves to delivering a better recuperation effect to units returning from operations. We hope this paper demonstrates how the provision of G4S Gurhka Services to the Royal Navy and British Army's Pre - Deployment Training organisations has created a number of significant operational and financial benefits.
G4S has already a proven track record in supporting Operational Tasks. This is supported by the excellent responses from the MOD's PDT organisation which inspected our services to the British Army.
We understand the military culture and ethos.
We are ideally suited for MOD support by virtue of our management structures, expertise and ability to source high calibre former military personnel. We can respond to MOD needs with bespoke solutions at short notice. We provided support to the Royal Navy within a month of their initial request.
We hope that this concept paper provides the Defence Committee with useful insights on how industry can help the recuperation of the Armed Forces.
15 January 2009
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