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| Britain |
| The Economist: British Soldiers and Their Discontents |
| 2009-02-01 |
| One senior official in the former Bush administration is bemused by how "you only see British officers wearing their uniforms when they come to visit Washington, not in London." "The British army is like an engine running without oil. It is still going, but it could seize up at any moment," argues Michael Clarke, director of the Royal United Services Institute, a think-tank. These troubles are made worse by a chronic shortage of manpower. On October 1st the trained strength of the British armed forces was 173,270. This is 3.2% below the official requirement, but it understates large gaps in some areas--especially infantry units. Most battalions are 10-20% short of their required numbers; if those deemed unfit to deploy (due to, say, battle injuries) are factored out, they are as much as 42% under strength. So when battalions are preparing for war, they often regroup soldiers from their four scrawny companies into three, and then bolt on a fourth from another unit. To support current operations, the army has cut back training and lowered readiness. Withdrawing from Iraq will relieve some of the strain. But operations in Afghanistan alone, involving some 8,000 British troops, arguably are already more demanding than the structure permits--and many expect Britain to send another battle-group to support the American reinforcement there. Generals want the army to grow. Yet it struggles to recruit, train and keep enough soldiers to fill its existing quota. An acute problem is the large "wastage" of recruits. Last year 38% of those in training either gave up or were thrown out--a bigger share than in the American army. (For comparison, "wastage" in the USMC is 9% for males and 18% for females) Britain gets by in part thanks to foreigners: Commonwealth citizens (who made up more than 6% of soldiers in 2007), Irish recruits and Gurkhas. |
| Posted by:Frozen Al |
| #1 "Irish recruits and Gurkhas." Probably better off it were a majority of those 2 groups. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2009-02-01 16:44 |