Armed Forces ‘dangerously’ short of part-time soldiers with some famous regiments less than half full
Every tank, artillery and infantry regiment is well below required numbers, sparking fears of a recruitment crisis
BRITAIN’S armed forces are facing a dangerous shortage of part-time soldiers, official figures reveal.
The newly formed Army Reserve is massively under strength – and is now caught in a recruitment crisis.
Almost all regular and reserve frontline units are chronically short of men needed to reach full fighting strength.
Every tank, artillery and infantry regiment - the Army’s crucial fighting units - are well below required numbers.
Some famous frontline regiments are so under-manned they would be non-deployable in a war.
Worst hit units, such as the historic Royal Yeomanry are less than half full, according to figures obtained under Freedom of Information laws.
Ministers had planned to double the size of the Army Reserve – formerly known as the Territorial Army – to provide cover after slashing the size of the regular Army.
But recruitment figures have been so low that watchdogs have warned that boosting the strength to 30,000 by 2020 looks unachievable.
Labour MP Kevan Jones, a former defence minister, said: “These figures show the government policy of cutting the size of the army and back filling with reservists is failing spectacularly.
“It’s now clearer than ever that the whole idea was completely short-sighted.”
MoD stats show the most poorly recruited is the London regiment, which is 175 men short of its 373 target.
The 4th battalion The Yorkshire Regiment is almost 200 understrength and the 6th battalion The Rifles needs another 142 men to reach its target of 491. All three units seats men to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.
All seven reserve artillery regiments and five armoured units are also massively understrength.
The MoD said that new recruits were undergoing training – but this does not take account of the high drop-out rate.
A spokesman said: “Army reserve numbers are up nine per cent in the past 12 months, and we are already ahead of our targets for this financial year.
“We are attracting and retaining Reservists by offering them a challenging and rewarding experience and are focused on meeting the target of 30,000 by April 2019.”