Further cutbacks in Defence

It is not only the NZ Defence Force which is cutting back its Defence Force.  The UK military is going under the ‘knife’ again.

31 Jan 2011 – More cutbacks for the UK Armed Forces

THE Army yesterday suffered its biggest manpower cull in decades – with 2,900 soldiers getting the chop.

They are among 4,200 members of the Armed Forces to be axed in a bid to plug the £38billion black hole in the defence budget.

About 1,500 of the soldiers are veterans of Afghanistan. And 400 Gurkhas – including some who served there alongside Prince Harry in 2008 – will get their marching orders.

All ranks are hit – from 500 infantry privates with at least six years’ service to eight brigadiers and 60 lieutenant colonels.

The Sun can reveal that those for the sack include up to six Household Cavalry majors and 41 captains as well as four majors and 27 captains of the Royal Engineers. The Royal Corps of Signals must lose about 35 majors, 23 captains and hundreds of lower ranks.

The latest – and most ruthless – cuts will also devastate the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and, for the first time, the Royal Marines.

The RAF is to lose 1,000 personnel including 15 air commodores, 30 group captains, up to 40 wing commanders and 115 squadron leaders and 95 PT instructors.

About 300 losses in the ROYAL NAVY include five commodores, 17 captains and 37 medics plus 80 from the Fleet Air Arm.

The ROYAL MARINES will have 19 brigadiers, lieutenant colonels and colonels chopped.

The savage cuts are the most significant since the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review first announced massive job losses.

The MoD has sent more than 14,000 notices to personnel offering voluntary redundancy. But it is thought there will be compulsory pay-offs.

It is also understood that hundreds of soldiers who signed up for 12 years will not have their contracts renewed.

Recruitment is being drastically cut – with the number of soldiers entering service slashed from 7,000 to 5,000.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said yesterday that the Government HAD to wield the axe – but said the military will remain “agile”.

He said: “Difficult decisions had to be taken to deal with the vast black hole in the MoD budget.

“As we continue with the redundancy process, we will ensure we retain the capabilities that our forces will require.”

Under the SDSR, the Navy and RAF must cut 5,000 jobs each by 2015, the Army 7,000 and the MoD 25,000 civilian staff.

The army needs to reduce its total fighting force from around 100,000 to 82,000 by 2020.

Shadow Defence Secretary Jim Murphy said: “The most important baseline is national security and we worry these cuts are wrong-headed and rushed.”

Campaigners also hit out at cuts to the Gurkhas, who will now lose about one in eight of their 3,400-strong brigade – equivalent to almost a full battalion. Actress Joanna Lumley called the cuts “a tragedy”.