UK military in major crisis as troop numbers set to fall below 70,000 in two years

The British military continues to grapple with a shortage of staff as a fresh analysis claims that the army will have fewer than 70,000 soldiers within two years.

According to a report, if the army sustains its current rate of troop attrition, the count of regular soldiers is projected to decline to 67,741 by the year 2026, which will be smaller than the United States’ special operations forces alone.

Over the 12-month period leading up to September of the previous year, the overall strength of the army decreased from 79,139 to 75,983, with a higher number of soldiers departing compared to those enlisting, reports The Times.

The recruitment and retention figures from the UK Government reveal a 3.3 percent reduction in the strength of the UK Armed Forces between October 1, 2021, and October 1, 2022.

During this reporting period, only 5,090 individuals joined the regular forces, marking a substantial 29.8 percent decrease.

John Healey, the shadow defence secretary, added: “On current trends, our army is set for further decline if ministers do not get to grips with their recruitment and retention crisis.”

Mark Francois, the Tory former armed forces minister who sits on the Commons defence select committee, said the company should have been sacked, not had its contract renewed.

Francis Tusa, who writes the Defence Analysis newsletter told the publication: “The problems facing all the services are major, deep and growing: personnel, infrastructure, training — and that’s before you get to equipment.”

According to Tusa, he claimed a NATO general from Europe told him that the UK “can’t put a brigade in the field” some of the “kit is falling apart”.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has recently declared that, starting from the beginning of this year, the UK has assumed leadership of NATO’s rapid response force. Approximately 4,200 British troops are on standby as a component of NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, established in response to Russia‘s annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Recently, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps expressed worry about the lack of diversity within the military, emphasising the need for increased efforts to attract and retain women, ensuring a more representative reflection of the broader society.

Mr. Shapps conveyed these remarks amid a pronounced recruitment crisis in the Armed Forces, particularly evident in the Navy, which has seen a sharp decline in the influx of new recruits.

Recent reports disclosed that the Navy is also grappling with such a shortage of sailors that it had to decommission two warships to fulfill staffing needs for its new class of frigates.

General Lord Dannatt, a former chief of the general staff, warned of similarities to the 1930s and the ill-preparedness in the face of Hitler.

He wrote in the Times: “There is a serious danger of history repeating itself.”

However, there is still hope for the future of the military and things could change, as MoD has received billions in investment.

An MoD spokeswoman told The Times that British Army tanks still in Europe and there would be 20,000 troops in NATO manoeuvres this year. This week, Royal Navy had been operating in the Red Sea against Houthi rebels and drones had been destroyed. The spokeswoman added that the RAF had “weakened” the Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.

She added: “Whilst there are undoubted challenges to military recruitment, people are at the heart of the military and the MoD is taking tangible and concrete steps to address shortfalls. More widely, the UK is spending more than £50 billion on defence this year to protect our interests wherever they are threatened.”