05/07/2012

Defence Secretary To Announce Army Restructure

As the Army is set to lose a fifth of its personnel over the next few year, the defence secretary is to announce details of how the Army will be restructured.

Philip Hammond will reveal the units to be scrapped or merged as the number of soldiers is cut from 102,000 to 82,000.

The Army 2020 review is also expected to result in the number of reservists doubling to 30,000.

Former head of the Army, Lord Dannatt, said there could be as many as 11,000 compulsory redundancies.

Last month, the defence secretary said there was no way to "avoid difficult decisions as the Army gets smaller".

From a level of 102,000 troops in 2010, defence cuts will reduce the Army to 82,000 regular soldiers by 2020.

It will be about half the size of the Army of the Cold War era, which comprised more than 163,000 troops in 1978.

The defence secretary has said that the UK will still maintain an effective, well-equipped fighting force, but that it will be increasingly reliant on reservists, co-operation with allies and private contractors.

(H)


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