Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
the UK govt has said that they are not considering conscription at this time, although that may change once war is declared.
They will probably concentrate on trying to improve military recruitment and increase the reserves.
Better pay and conditions and a more flexible career structure seem to be the way forward.
As for the reserves, I think the Regular Reserves, those who have left the military but must remain in the reserves for a number of years will be better utilised.
Whilst those supporting the military or servicing military equipment whether they be private contractors or civil servants may also increasingly have to join the uniformed reserve in some capacity.
Other ways to increase the regular and reserve forces include the military sponsoring more college and university students, and helping them with living expenses and tuition fees in return for a number of years of regular or reserve service.
Tax breaks and other such incentives would also encourage more reserves, whilst in terms of the regular Army the Brigade of Gurkhas could be increased and the Gurkha numbers could be included in Regular Army numbers.
The Government could also look at setting up some kind of Home Guard/National Guard as well as Civil Defence Corps (CDC) which could oth draw on the experience and work with the Emergency Services and organisations such as the NHS, as well as other sectors such as the Voluntary Sector.
I think the main thrust of this new thinking must involve a move away from the post Cold War dividend and low defence spending in terms of GDP, to one where defence is much more of a priority, along with defence spending, which must now increase back to levels not seen since the Cold War, with 3% of GDP being a realistic figure.
Civil Defence was shut down in 1980 I think and the Home Guard was disbanded at the end of WW2, I wonder how long it would take to set these things up again?
the Ukraine invasion shows that Putin cant be trusted and needs to be stopped, if he isnt the consequences are dire for a lot of countries that are closer to Russia than we are.
Civil Defence was shut down in 1980 I think and the Home Guard was disbanded at the end of WW2, I wonder how long it would take to set these things up again?
the Ukraine invasion shows that Putin cant be trusted and needs to be stopped, if he isnt the consequences are dire for a lot of countries that are closer to Russia than we are.
conscription was normal in WW1 and WW2-in which my Grandfather and Father were called up- so it will be for WW3.
Ground wars are mostly a thing of the past, at least for first & second world nations. The need for bodies definitely won’t be there to the point they were during those wars. One with Russia would require more engineers and IT specialists for drone strikes and cybersecurity (the latter for which the West is woefully underprepared compares to Russia & China).
I read Sherlock Holmes.
There was a story about the Agra Treasures. Essentially, an Englishman had stolen treasures in India, then they were stolen from him.
The British stole Russian money to pay reparations to the Ukraine.
Now, Russia can encourage India to seize everything British to pay for stolen treasures.
The Pentagon is falling very short of recruiting goals in all branches of the service. Low unemployment and plenty of jobs are one of the reasons. Other reasons are that many wannabe recruits cannot pass the physical, obesity, criminal records and drug problems account for a lot of rejections.
Talk to any career soldier today and they'll tell you that the last thing they want are conscripts amongst them with poor attitudes and a lack of motivation. Probably the same feeling amongst the British.
The main reason that national service lasted so long in Britain was due to Britain still having a large empire to administer but by 1960 that was no longer the case.
Large armies today are becoming obsolete. Most battles are increasingly fought with high tech weaponry that can kill twice as fast and in greater numbers than tanks and infantry once did.
Civil Defence was shut down in 1980 I think and the Home Guard was disbanded at the end of WW2, I wonder how long it would take to set these things up again?
the Ukraine invasion shows that Putin cant be trusted and needs to be stopped, if he isnt the consequences are dire for a lot of countries that are closer to Russia than we are.
I think the Civil Defence Corps were shut down because they were pointless in terms of an all out nuclear war, however in recent years volunteers have been useful in relation to everything from emergency weather conditions through to the pandemic, and there has been calls for the re-establishment of better civil emergency response units.
Hopefully the regular armed forces will see improvements including better pay and conditions leading to improved recruitment, whilst the reserves can also be expanded, as pointed out in my previous post, and this will require increased defence expenditure, with a figure of around 3% being currently suggested.
As for the US Biden administration, they have stuck their oar in again, which is strange because we don't generally comment in relation to US policy on such matters.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Guardian (25th January 2024)
Britain should be prepared to review the size of its armed forces given the crisis in the Middle East and the threats from Russia and China, a member of the Biden administration has said during a visit to London.
Carlos Del Toro, the US navy secretary, said the UK needed to consider more investment in its navy and reinforcing the army – a day after the head of the British army warned it was too small to fight an all-out war without conscription.
Asked specifically about whether the US had concerns that Britain’s armed forces had become too small, Del Toro said: “I think it’s important for the United Kingdom to reassess where they are today, given the threats that exist today.”
I think the Civil Defence Corps were shut down because they were pointless, in terms of an all out nuclear war however in recent years volunteers have been useful in relation to everything from emergency weather conditions through to the pandemic, and there has been calls for the re-establishment of better civil emergency response units.
Hopefully the regular armed forces will see improvements including better pay and conditions leading to improved recruitment, whilst the reserves can also be expanded, as pointed out in my previous post
the UK Army has been downgraded so much it is now a shadow of its former self, down from just over 100,000 in 2010 to 73,000 now, more money was spent on drones and online spying than boots on the ground, an invasion of the UK may not happen but at some point soldiers will be needed to control the panicking masses.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
