ARMY chiefs want to reduce the length of basic training for infantry soldiers to prepare for potential war in Europe.
The study launched by senior Army commanders comes on the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, amid growing concerns that President Vladimir Putin will attack Nato members by expanding his so-called ’special military operation’ into the Baltic States.
At present, all line infantry recruits are trained through the Combat Infantry Course, which lasts 26 weeks and takes place at the Infantry Training Centre in Catterick.
If the plans are accepted, this will be reduced to just 18 weeks, jettisoning aspects such as adventure training, battlefield tours and even drill.
It is not the first time that infantry training has been shortened to boost the number of qualified soldiers and generate “mass”.
During the Afghanistan conflict, many regiments accelerated training to ensure that units could commit fully and have enough battle casualty replacements.
But the prospect of war with Russia means that the post-Cold War trend of “graduated readiness” has now been abandoned for the return of “general readiness”.
At the height of Operation Herrick, the UK could deploy one brigade at a time, which gave regiments the tempo to accelerate their own recruit training to meet their obligations.
A conventional war between Nato and with Russia will require the deployment of five brigades at a time, negating the possibility of staggered training.
In January, the outgoing head of the British Army General Sir Patrick Sanders said that Britain should be ready for a ‘whole of nation undertaking’ if Nato goes to war with Russia.
He added: “Within the next three years, it must be credible to talk of a British Army of 120,000, folding in our reserve and strategic reserve.”
Gen Sanders’ comments were motivated by the UK’s requirement to provide a National Defence plan to Nato by June, listing how the country would defend itself in time of war.
It has yet to comply.
At the height of the Cold War, Britain had an Army of 173,000 and, at the time of the Falklands War, the UK still had 160,000 soldiers.
Now, according to newly-released government figures, the full-time strength of the British Army stands at 73,520 – smaller than the armies of Germany, Spain and France. Of these, at least 5,000 are medically non-deployable due to sickness or injury.
The Army Reserve has a capacity of 30,000, but has just 27,300 on the books. Of these, more than 45 per cent have failed to appear for training weekends in the past 12 months, and recruiting has dropped by 6.2 per cent..
The good news, senior sources say, is that army recruitment is up and back to 2018 levels, indicating that the battle to entice Generation Z soldiers is being won.
The bad news, however, remains retention – the “offer” is too poor to keep soldiers who have been trained from leaving.
In broad strokes, for every five soldiers the army gains, it is losing eight.
The UK will, this year, send 20,000 troops to reinforce eastern Europe in exercise Steadfast Defender, which will include a mass parachute drop by UK, US and French forces.
And, while war between Nato and Russia is not imminent, there are sufficient concerns that the Kremlin may open a second front to persuade Latvia to introduce compulsory military service last month.
Speaking last night Gen Sir Richard Barrons, who headed Joint Force Command until 2015, said: “This isn’t surprising. Apart from anything else, there is always pressure to reduce the time people spend in individual training because it costs money.
“What they are cutting are things intended to boost personal development.
“So a unit will receive young soldiers who are slightly well developed, and will have to undertake the training that has been missed. Adventure training, for instance, can take place in the unit.
“If the soldier goes straight on operations, however, it will transfer some risk because the individual might not be mentally prepared in the way that current training allows. “
However, he said, the army has no choice but to take these steps, adding: “No one is suggesting that war is imminent, but it is much more possible.
“If you are in an army which is being told to switch its focus to war with Russia, you will be worried that you’re not prepared – even if conflict doesn’t happen tomorrow.
“And any officer who joined after the year 2000 will have no experience of an army at general readiness. So they are working it out.”
