British army to shrink to 82,000 men

The UK Coalition government will outline the units being cut next Thursday on July 5, under the Future Force 2020 proposals. The army is expected to be at its lowest level since the Napoleonic Wars, as it shrinks to just 82,000 men.

Philip Hammond, the British Defence Secretary, suggested that battalions with a high proportion of foreign and Commonwealth troops are more vulnerable to be axed.

The Daily Telegraph presented figures that show at least three of the 36 infantry battalions have between 15 and 20 percent of troops drawn from overseas. They include, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (2 Bn The Royal Regiment of Scotland), 1st Bn Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment and 5 Bn The Rifles.

This will be the biggest change to the British Army since 1904, as the plans are being put forward by Lieutenant General Nick Carter.

The Scottish units have pushed hard to survival, but English MPs have called for battalions based in their constituencies, to be retained, especially due to Scottish independence being possible.

Even though the British army celebrates Armed Forces Day today on June 30, the morale was low, as it followed the latest round of redundancies that led to officers being sacked just as they were about to qualify for an immediate pension.

BGH/SSM/HE

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