Defence chiefs want to boost army reserves for ‘bigger, longer war’

https://www.thetimes.com/article/8404f1d3-7831-4a8e-bc75-f758bae30f2f

by tree_boom

30 comments

  1. So having significantly failed to recruit and retain enough full timers to man a high-tech highly-trained army, they want to try filling the gaps with what in all practical terms is casual labour?

    Good luck with that.

  2. My son was just turned down from the Royal Navy, for any role, for being colour blind…

  3. I’m preemptively going to say, this is the army wanting to be able to fight a bigger longer war if one does happen.

    It is *not* the army wanting there to be a bigger, longer war for shits and giggles.

  4. Why would anyone sign up for this? For shit pay in shit conditions, eating shit food under shit leadership. Good luck with the recruitment!

  5. Is there an option for not having a war? I would be quite up for that

  6. Seems wise, because at present the army would struggle to even deploy, much less sustain, a brigade-strength force in Eastern Europe should war breakout, and whatever was deployed wouldn’t last very long before they run out of tanks, IFVs, missiles, and warm bodies.

    So really they’d need not just more part-time squaddies who’re ready to go full time should duty call, but also more of everything else, for which, unfortunately, the industrial capacity isn’t there because unlike, say, the French, our political leaders decided that we don’t need any sort of strategic industries or defence-industrial complex, that all that should just be left to the free market and off-shored and outsourced alongside everything else in this country. We don’t even let the army recruit for itself or cook for itself anymore.

    Maybe they can just contract the fighting of the war out to G4S instead? At least that way our MPs will get more consultancy jobs and kick-backs.

  7. Calling it now, big push on recruitment going to be pushed in schools, tv, careers fairs, standards for entry will be lowered and if a war does break out, which honestly is a possibility, drafting/ conscription will probably come into effect that words being tossed around less than hyperbolly lately. And with the US pulling out its allie status with us and NATO, all of europe im foreseeing having a big big armed forces increase in the next 12-18 months.

  8. Not a hope in hell with Capita running it and the current criteria. Theresa May and Philip Hammond tried this and it failed….and cost over a Billion wasted.

    Either sort the system out and recruit properly or don’t bother at all.

  9. Anything even tangentially related to this will take so many years to develop – it’s easy to lose capability, as we optionally did from 2010-now, but it’s much harder to build it back up. We need to be beginning this yesterday

  10. The fact of the matter is that European governments became far too complacent and comfortable with the notion that they could hide behind the skirts of the US and not properly fund and equip their own Armed Forces. It goes without saying that the Army should be boosted, although one can’t help but wonder just how many would be willing recruits to risk life and limb given the calibre of government we have had in recent decades.

  11. Lmao I am never laying my life for a country that despises me.

  12. In this economy?

    I feel like the leaders of this country still think the UK is an empire. We are a country in managed decline, it’s time to accept that and get real.

    We have shit wages, a high COL, crappy weather, collapsing social contract. Good luck with this army boost.

  13. Good luck on the recruitment drive…

    Unless conscription will be used for a foreign front line?

  14. Liberalism is in its death throes and not one of the politicians have realised it yet.

  15. Better to be prepared, than be caught with your pants down, see the UK 1935.

  16. More lambs to the slaughter for rich men to get richer.

  17. Sickening to see so many comments calling to have the poor and young put into military slavery…sorry “national service”. No doubt the Toby carvery lads and internet tough nuts screeching for this will be too old for it, feel free to sign up though lads or is it easier to cheer the enslavement of others instead….

  18. I do not know a single person that would be interested in this!

  19. Without conscription how are they going to get the bodies needed for this possible bigger and longer war?

  20. lol, as a demonised white male I’m gonna step ww3 out, maybe even side with ze baddies this time.

    you lot can have fun convincing all the benefit scroungers to wear surplus camo and charge into certain death.

  21. yeah im not fighting for a nation that has decided that i can have worse prison sentences because of my race, gender and faith. Im not fighting for a nation that calls me a domestic terrorist because i wouldnt get the jab or dont want to be taxed into the ground. Have fun with ww3 .

  23. If I recall correctly, Labour recently did the right thing by bringing army housing back under state control and out of the private sector, so are they going to remove the other outsourced hurdles to good recruitment and procurement?

  24. Good, given that currently the lack of ammo limits the army’s capability to fighting a war of… what was it? Weeks? Mere days?

  25. No. Recruit full time soldiers. We need at least 20K

  26. The next war we face will be the exact same fight for survival we faced during WW2.

    We need to prepare for the long haul, and that means hearts and minds.

    If we continue to, as individual nations, allow our democracy to be pulled apart like our US brothers we don’t stand a chance.

    We all need to back the right leaders in Europe, and we all need to answer the call in whatever capacity we must.

    To all those who agree and to those who do not; we must support each other no matter what.

  27. Former US reservist/ current US nurse here. Can I get a resident visa if I join you guys 😂.

  28. The problem right here is the reserves in this case won’t be given the equipment and in formations to like properly fight a war with Russia, we need 2+ *Regular* Armored/Mechanized War Fighting Divisions ready to respond to any Russian land action in Europe (because it’s unsustainable just to go “ah let Eastern Europe bleed”).

  29. Unless aliens or extra-dimensional demons are attacking I will not give my life for any fucking lying politician.

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