The Time UK's Royal Navy Posted an Ad on LinkedIn to Recruit a Rear-Admiral

UK Royal Navy's recruitment ad on LinkedIn.

In December 2023, the UK’s Royal Navy was forced to advertise for a top job on social media in a move described as “utterly shameful” by military sources.

Navy chiefs posted the advertisement for the £150,000-a-year rear-admiral position on LinkedIn as it struggled to fill the role internally.

These developments occurred as former defence secretary Ben Wallace warned Britain’s armed forces were facing a recruitment crisis because Generation Z was not signing up.

As per a report by The Telegraph, the Navy was seeking a candidate to replace then Rear-Admiral Simon Asquith as Director of Submarines. The new hire would be responsible for "highly classified stealth, elite operations and Trident, our nuclear deterrent."

The overall number of Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel dropped by 1,450 from October 2022 to October 2023 — a 3.7% decrease, according to UK Ministry of Defence figures.

The number of active personnel across the UK's armed forces fell by 3.9% over the same period.