Cuts to military jobs ‘risks future capability’, says former army chief
Michelle Stevens - People Management
02 September 2011
Two thousand army and RAF redundancies in first round of job losses
Cuts to personnel numbers in the armed forces could compromise the UK’s future military capability, a retired army chief has warned.
Nearly 2,000 servicemen and women in the army and RAF received their redundancy notices yesterday in the first of four rounds of military job losses, as the Ministry of Defence sheds 22,000 posts by 2015.
But balancing military cutbacks and operational commitments – particularly those that are unexpected – will “be quite a challenge”, according to General Sir Mike Jackson, former chief of general staff in the British Army.
“The defence review laid out a force structure to be achieved by 2020. Between now and then there are some risks being taken in my view,” Sir Mike told the BBC. “For example, we will not have a carrier strike capability for the next eight years or so.”
“I'm assured that the arithmetic will balance out in terms of manpower and commitments but of course we live in an uncertain world,” he continued. “No-one forecast, for example, the commitment to Libya which has taken place over the last few months and there will be other unforeseen eventualities I have no doubt.”
But defence secretary Liam Fox defended the Armed Forces Redundancy Programme and said that the strength of the UK defence force would not be comprised.
“The extra money we have allocated for the equipment budget from 2015 will allow our defence capability to grow in the second half of the decade,” he explained.
Currently, the army employs just over 100,000 service personnel while the RAF has 40,000. Some 930 RAF and 920 army members were told they were being made redundant yesterday – 750 of which were compulsory.
In the army, 620 redundancy notices went to applicants, while 260 were issued to those who had not applied – more than half of which were Gurkhas.
Of the 930 job losses in the RAF, 440 redundancies were voluntary and 490 compulsory.
The MoD said this included students who had already been withdrawn from pilot and weapons officer training and consequently left the RAF.
Staff accepting voluntary redundancy will serve up to six months notice, while those being made compulsorily redundant will remain in post for up to 12 months.
The MoD confirmed that personnel currently on operations in Libya or Afghanistan, plus those preparing to leave or just returned, would be exempt from the job losses, unless they applied.
The MoD added that those selected for redundancy would have the opportunity to apply for roles in “shortage area categories” within the armed forces, while those returning to civilian life will receive full support and “a comprehensive resettlement package”.
Chief of the defence staff, General Sir David Richards, acknowledged that this was an “unsettling time” for service personnel.
“While for some redundancy may be seen as an opportunity, for others it will understandably represent a significant challenge for both the individual and their families,” he said.
The army’s director of manning, Brigadier Richard Nugee, has also warned that while some categories of personnel – such as full colonels – had seen a greater number of applications for redundancy than expected, there were not enough volunteers in other ranks.
While 870 soldiers in the army volunteered for redundancy, only 660 were accepted in this tranche. Balancing applications with operational requirements going forward would become increasingly challenging, Nugee said.
The Royal Navy will notify their first round of redundancy selections on 30 September.
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