How I got involved in that role, I was here at Cosford,
and it was really.
Every way to say that we're not we don't have enough.
Back then "ethnic"
Now it's BAME
youngsters, girls and boys joining the armed forces
and I went to a meeting and
I looked and I was on the panel.
And I could see the structure of what was
the team was saying and
me with my big mouth, I just said
Excuse me, I said, I said, You're paying lip service at this?
And it was like, Well, how dare you?
You know,
and again, I was the only black person on the table.
And I said, Well, what do you mean?
I said, Well, if you look at the structure of what you're doing?
You are insulting the intelligence of my people,
and I have to explain myself and I said the reason for that.
What I'm saying is that if you look at the team right from the very top.
Down to the bottom, you've got a white face.
The one at the bottom
is a black face, and that is the lowest rank.
So you are taking black people
join our organization and that's what you're going to get.
So that's how I ended up on the recruiting team
because at that time I was up the ranks, you know, and
I started going around and quite a few people joined.
I went to quite a few schools in Birmingham
and one school alone, six of them joined very shortly after that.
And you know, as I went to other places, went to London
where they just went everywhere with the with my ejector seat and I loved it.
You know, so.
The point I'm making is this is that if you are going to recruit
if we're going to do things we need to structure it right
We need to have people.
People
can associate with.
You know,
if you want somebody who is English, white
English, Asian
black Caribbean or African have them structure the team because that's
what you want to come in and join if you don't do it right.
You won't get the results.
And unfortunately, I think it's still happening.
You know, for whatever the reason is, you know, I think it was essential
to structure it so that people and I think it's the start further back in schools.
Where youngsters of six, seven, and they're very, very, very, very
bright because I know I talked to them.
And the questions they ask. Right.
And they're innocent, right?
It's later on and things develop into the sort of prejudicial thing.
Then that is where we should structure it and say, let them see
people of their own reflection
and know that they can achieve the highest rank.
Prime Minister Yeah, so that's that's my philosophy.