The Dutch army is looking for more female recruits. In 2030, the Ministry of Defense even wants thirty percent of all employees to be women. That is now fifteen percent. To lower the threshold for women who want to join the army, the 43 Mechanized Brigade from Havelte organized the Tank seeks Woman event.
What is it like to work too closely as a woman in a group with mainly men? What if you get your period in the middle of the woods? Can you still work if you get pregnant? Questions that you, as a female soldier, may have before you start working for the Ministry of Defense, but which you would rather not ask a man.
This weekend, a group of 49 women between the ages of 18 and 28 at the Johannes Post Barracks had the opportunity to ask these kinds of questions, but also to get acquainted with life as a soldier in other ways. They work at the barracks for three days. They sleep in tents, learn to navigate and have to complete an obstacle course in groups.
“We try to offer them a nice challenging program in which they get an idea of working for the Royal Netherlands Army,” says Major Rick Saton of the 43 Mechanized Brigade. “We are also linking them to female group commanders, so that they can talk a little longer about what it is like to work as a woman at the Ministry of Defense.”
Defense is faced with a major staff shortage and all extra recruits it can get are welcome. A large part of that new generation should be women, State Secretary of Defense Christophe van der Maat said earlier. For example, the Dutch armed forces must become a better reflection of society.
That is no different for the 43 Mechanized Brigade in Havelte. Only seven percent of the brigade, where soldiers work with large armored vehicles, consists of women and that could be a bit more as far as Major Saton is concerned.
Saton: “This is a combat brigade that generally attracts more men. Ultimately you want to achieve a good distribution of men and women, to bring all the qualities that exist in society here.”
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