August 18, 2007:
Aggressive recruiting by
corporations has led about twenty percent of Britain's military intelligence
officers to leave for civilian jobs over the last three years. To stem the
tide, bonuses of up to $100,000 are being considered, as an incentive to get
intel officers to sign up for another three years.
At the moment, Britain's military intelligence
officers are getting quite a workout, with British troops in Iraq and
Afghanistan, as well as smaller contingents in all sorts of out-of-the-way, and
unpleasant, places. The military officers are often right in the thick of it.
Civilian jobs are safer, more comfortable and pay more. While recruiters have
long gone after military security experts, particularly SAS operators, it's
become clear that good intelligence officers are needed to keep track of where
the threats are, and how deadly they may be.