The British Army will soon number a bit over 80,000 troops after the budget cuts have hit. SOCOM after its plus ups will equal about 75,000.
Our special operations branch will equal the size of the British Army....have more helicopters available to it than the British Armed Forces and will probably have a bigger budget.
Like I said...ironic or sad. via the Mirror...read it and weep for our British friends.
Mercenaries and foreign fighters could replace British soldiers when Army numbers are slashed by 20,000, it was announced yesterday.Those are some pretty good units too.
Legendary infantry units could also disappear as Defence Secretary Philip Hammond admitted yesterday that “difficult decisions” will have to be made.
He warned: “Some units inevitably will be lost or will merge.”
As the Army prepares to reduce from 102,000 soldiers to just 82,000, the Mirror understands 5 Rifles, The Coldstream Guards, 3 Mercian and 2 Royal Regiment of Fusiliers are among those facing the axe.
All have recently lost men in battle against the Taliban or Iraqi insurgents and have played key military roles since 9/11.
Mr Hammond yesterday conceded that cuts would mean greater use of reserves and private contractors.
And he said Britain would have to look to its Nato allies to provide future military support.
But last night Shadow Defence Secretary Jim Murphy branded the moves “perverse” and “self-defeating.”
He said: “Mr Hammond has increased uncertainty where clarity was needed
Read the whole thing but the Brits want to help make up for the lack of forces through Partnerships, procurement reform and personnel reform. Sound familiar?
i always wonder about the use of private security contractors, it worries me because they dont have the discipline or the accountability the military has, but they would never get a fair trial in the country they are in. Do we ask them to go there or do they just themselves fill the void? what relationships do they have with the government? its something relatively new to have so many contractors in the battle space and i am not sure we understand how to best use their abilities vs. the uniformed services.
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