The enlistment of undergraduate entry band Officers in the Australian Defence Force

The current enlistment methods of the Australian Defence Force allow individuals with tertiary qualifications to enlist into most specialist and technical vocations as Officers. One exception to this rule is the enlistment of musicians, who obtain only junior positions within Defence Force bands regardless of previous training. Any change in the current enlistment methods would impact greatly on the structure of the military band system and the career paths of current serving personnel, therefore this issue is significant to all service musicians. In the present study, attitudes of service musicians toward the enlistment of Undergraduate Entry Band Officers were determined by means of an attitudinal survey. This consisted of eleven questions and was distributed to all full time service musicians throughout Australia. Results were then examined with regard to current recruiting policies.