Check PNGDF recruitment

I AM one of this year’s PNG Defence Force recruitment applicants.
I was shortlisted for further screening and testing which began April 14.
Due to the Covid-19 health measures, 100 applicants were processed in a day with 50 in the morning and the rest in the afternoon.
But without properly informing the applicants, the schedule for the first part of the process changes every time.
Most applicants missed out even though they arrived on their scheduled time to be processed.
The same happened with medical testing – the second part of the recruiting process.
This is unethical and upsets many applicants.
We know that the military is a disciplinary force with command and control in place.
We have followed their given schedule but we missed out at the right time.
This is not right.
They are not checking for original documents such as certificates, national identification and police clearances.
Some of us have presented the required documents to the recruiting officers but they accused us of using forged documents.
It is very disappointing, especially when we recall the challenges we endured to get those documents.
So that means our parents struggled to see us through in school to get certificates that would later be labelled as forged.
If the recruiting officers cannot differentiate genuine documents from the forged ones, I believe they are in the wrong line of work.
I am concerned about the applicants who travelled from other provinces and the genuine applicants who made it to the medical testing.
If the first part – verification of original documents – involved irregularities, they would still fail the test and the rest of the process.
As a result, the wrong people would be selected for training.
I call on Defence Minister Solan Mirisim and PNG Defence Force Commander Maj-Gen Gilbert Toropo to look into this and see if the process is fair.
I believe there is something wrong going on.

Applicant,
Pom