Lincolnshire Voice

As Britains Armed Forces continue to be dismantled from within, the United Kingdom National Defence Association speak out - letter published in the Daily Telegraph 2nd Jan 2012:

To the Editor

Sir,

The British Army will soon be smaller than at any time since the late nineteenth century (when the UK population was half what it is now). The rate of shrinkage under the current defence cuts means that the Army, already chronically under-manned, will have lost a fifth of its present strength by the end of this decade. That is equivalent to axing 64,000 of the NHS’s 320,000 nursing staff.

The Government’s intention is for the UK to rely increasingly on the Territorial Army and other Reservists, to “plug the gaps” in the nation’s defence. Indeed, the Reserve forces are to be expanded and investment made in training and equipment in order to raise the skill levels and capabilities of Reservists.

We welcome this commitment to the strengthening of the TA. The contribution of Territorials to military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan has been invaluable, and has demonstrated the vital role that Reserve forces can play in support of Regular troops. However, any further widening of the role of the TA should not be at the expense of the Regulars, and cannot be seen as a substitute for an adequately resourced Regular Army. Front-line operations require a level of fitness, experience, and training to Regular Army standards that cannot readily be matched by part-time soldiers. At present, barely 1,500 TA personnel (5% of Territorial strength) have sufficient training to be deployed in the way that the Government envisages.

We urge the Ministry of Defence to halt further cuts in Regular Army manpower and to review its current redundancy programme. We further call upon the Government to re-examine this aspect of the Strategic Defence & Security Review (SDSR 2010) and to recognise that the primary role of the TA and other Reserve forces is as a vital support to the full-time professionals of Britain’s Armed Forces, not as an alternative to them.

Andy Smith
Co-signed by: Col. David Benest Col. Richard Kemp Col. Tim Collins Cdr. John Muxworthy Dr Peter Caddick-Adams and Andrew Roberts