People underestimate the importantance of resevists. Less than 1% of the fighting force were regulars in WW2. Which means we had a lot of soldiers unprepared that had to be trained. The main reason a lot of people don't join regulars is because they have better life prospects in civi street. If we doubled down on reserves, giving major incentives such as perhaps less tax or other benefits we'd get more civis into the reservists, bolster the depleting regualars with reserves and have an overall nation that can work in the economy but is also ready to fight at moments notice. Ofc regs are still needed and are better suited for small scale war, but reserves are key for anything bigger.
I'd soon rather move to another country where the tax break is immediately realised than join the military. Nothing worth dying for in this country anymore imo.
The Army: "Reservists must become more lethal by 2027." Also the Army: "We're cancelling training for a load of reservist units until the next training year."
As long as that supported by MOD work with employers. Reservists can't deploy more frequently if they come back to a job that disappeared while they were away.
The MoD needs to take the paranoid stick out of its arse with regard to medicals. With the current criteria, especially with regard to the highly discredited BMI requirement, most of the worlds rugby players, who are as fit as you can get, would be rejected under BMI regs.
@@eventingcrazyI had my medical deferred on bmi, the week after I ran a half marathon in 1:40 and am way above average fitness ( not trying to brag in the slightest) it’s genuinely ridiculous that they still use it . That said , I’ve got another medical in a few weeks and am now down to their advised weight
Well, I did 20 years in the TA infantry (ranks & commissioned) and with a quick update could still do my old job now in my 60's. I may not be able to do the 1 1/2 mile in under 12 minutes now, but I will get there - ready to get stuck in. As a WW1 song said " If England needs a hand, well here it is!".
Mile and half in 12 minutes ? My 9 year old could do her egg and spoon race over that distance faster ,this is the thing fitness standards should be same as regulars
I trained Reservists for 8 years, they can do it, but they are not trusted by the Government or REGULAR ARMY, they are afraid the Government will use the Reservists as an excuse to cut them even more.
A massive increase in funding needed, a complete overhaul in procurement needed such waste of funds is criminal, and a change back to the forces being in charge of recruiting, capita hasnt worked yet still get awarded contract
More lethal? They could start with getting up to date equipment to the units. My unit is still using the A2s and we havent even got enough HMNVS' to equip a platoon with.
Hmmm I think your a tad wrong there fella.. “ 5 rifles” aka 5th Battalion the Rifles (Formerly 1LI) are in 20 bde which was based in Germany with us and are now in Tidworth. “The Rifles” was a culmination of older regiments from the LI forming together to reduce the amount and upscale the capability of LI and AI regiments
Our reserve forces play a crucial role in national and international security alongside their regular service friends. Thank you for your service all service members past and present
Warriors are still pretty good though desperately in need of an update (let's not mention Ajax which is a different class of vehicle anyhow though overlapping roles). We also need decent medium and long range anti-air capabilities without having to rely on aircraft or the Type-45s, especially need stuff like the 40mm cannon on a truck anti-drone capability (Tridon Mk2).
@@lachlanchester8142 Why do brits get so defensive when it comes to the military? Almost as bad as Indian nationalists when it comes to valid criticism. We need to face the facts, we are no where close like we used to be and it needs to be fixed ASAP.
It's good that they are doing more than they used to. When I was in the TA from 1986 - 1991, in a specialist unit, I had the distinct impression that the main focus was on our trade skill, a skill that the army was very short of back then. We got minimal range time, and our vehicles were usually on their last legs. I wasn't infantry, but I would have liked to have had more weapons handling experience, so as not to be a liability in a combat situation. My personal weapon was the Sterling SMG.
@@Orbital_Inclination the problem is the cost of modern military equipment and hardware, it's all got very very expensive. So you get so much less for your buck!
@@paolodechipiece1027 That’s because the MoD and Politicians are all about giving money to BAE Systems. I learnt in the end that the priority wasn’t war fighting capability but everything is geared towards the BAE Systems share price. In certain units, the tail wags the dog. A good analogy is you (the customer) buying a new car and then the car dealership (the service provider) bullying you into what you can and can’t do with your car in your own time. And when you take your car to be repaired the dealership refuses to do any work because you’ve filled out a line of a form incorrectly and they’ve already done their quota for the month.
Although it is worthy to reinforce the TA, this also sounds like a cost cutting exercise in regular troops. We need at least 150,000 regular and 60,000 reservists as we did in the 1980's, to even be considered an Army fit for purpose..
Given that the probability of anyone invading the uk is about zero, the truth is we just don’t need a large army. Our army is an expeditionary force mainly there to act in concert with allied armies. Back in the 80s the army was at least twice as big as it is now because the Soviet Union was a menace. Modern Russia is a minnow by comparison.
@@MrBlaxjax How ignorant.. I expect you have been living under a rock for the last 2 years, regarding Ukraine or possibly you are a communist.. In the 1980's when I first entered the military, I served on Operation Lion Heart. The Largest NATO exercise ever commenced. With all then nations of NATO including the Americans. I was a signaller, a third of the way through the exercise, the Red forces were beginning to win, with greater numbers. The point is child, is that if we were unable to hold back the enemy with what we had then, we wouldn't have a snowballs chance, if Russia activated a call up of 2 million extra troops. The only gleaming light, is that Russia is still using tactics out of ww1 and their corruption and incompetence has waded against them. Russia has friends, China. North Korea and Iran etc.. So we need a larger standing army to send abroad. For 3 decades the British Army has been at breaking point to continue with its duties abroad. I expect you have never served and never been in a conflict. I have, son, your ignorance of the world and world events, has aided the last con government to allow the military become a shadow of its former self. If you are unable to understand the danger, have no idea about history, have no idea what a Stalinist is or the Russian military doctrine for the last 70 years, then you have nothing to say boy..
The Reserves have a problem in that recruiting and recruit training is done (or was done) mainly at the Coy/Sqn level. Plus the fact that retention is difficult as the life style of the volunteer changes - new job, gets married, etc. This means that the average Coy/Sqn at any time has a proportion of it's strength only partially trained or about to leave for outside interests. The result is that reserves cannot be deployed as formed units. Individual reinforcements can be, and have been, superb assets however. If someone can prove me wrong then I will be very happy to hear it.
The MoD and HMG have blahhed on before about reducing the size of the regular army and filling the gaps with the TA or reserves. It didn't work then and it won't work now. I served in the TA from 84-94. They talked about calling up former regular soldiers into scratch units, that got no where. Then it was going to be units of older men for home defence posts thus freeing up regulars for the front line. 😖
@@simonscott1000 it has and does work!....The reserve forces have been propping up the regulars since 2003!... Often any deployed unit in Iraq and Afghanistan was made up of 10-30% reserve troops!.....Telic and Herrick would have been impossible without them!...
@@garagenigelabsolute mental numbers. I’ve seen reservists on 2 tours, no more than 1 per platoon each time. Majority useless/dangerous. Would not of noticed if they were not there
@@WheelieMacBinof course not. It’s aimed at combat arms. If you are medical or a surgeon you are a specific SME that doesn’t exist regular or are better than a regular.
Should never of disbanded all of those T.A. units after the Berlin wall came down, I was a TA member Prince of Wales div, 1 BR Corps of B.A.O.R, we had thousands of TA soldiers
Being an ex member of 4th Battalion Royal Green Jackets TA now the Rifles, we always had a 8 man recon crew with our unit. Am I to understand, it took a Rifleman to suggest using a recon team again. WTF??
Sorry folks, but being allowed to train with minimum gear, helmet, webbing, body armour because its too hot,,,? How is that going to make them MORE lethal? Cotton wool burns fast remember.
No point in having reservists deployed abroad only to end up in hospital for heat exhaustion. They need to train various skills without wasting the limited time they get to practice.
Cause it means they can actually continue to train, the other option is they stop training altogether. The army is mega mega ontop of heat injuries these days due to a series of lethal failures a number of years back, and especially when it comes to the reverses they are doubly ontop of things. Once its above 19c outside they start bringing in measures to reduce heat illness risk. It sounds crazy ik but its genuinely there for good reasons and is well thought out
@@bog123 I appreciate the thought process of keeping on top of training injuries, regardless of cause. That should be instilled during the training for the instructors more efficiently to reduce any possible drop offs. Respect is always there for those who give up their free time to put themselves up front with the regs... 'If its no raining its no training' they used to shout at us lol,, Realistic conditional training as near as possible should be they way to create true effectiveness. Just my opinion though, things change, as obviously seen nowadays.
@@morecopemorerope4372 It may be that way now, but go back a few decades or two 80's, 90's and things were nothing similar. So I can't agree with it being 'always' the way. The death slide from the end of the dell assualt course, down over contaminated water wasn't exactly looking after anyones health, but who were we to argue with the seat warmers on how it should be done then. My son followed suit and has served for 6 yrs +, training recruits as an instructor now, my eyes were opened a lot at what he explained is and isn't allowed now.
being an armchair general, my problem with the idea of "kiting" the enemy in such a way these days is the prevalence of vehicle support being significant.
A big one for reserves is range time. We get 2 range packages in a good year. For a lot of people it’s all about meeting your ITRs and getting your bounty. It goes without saying that time on ranges is seldom wasted.
The importance of the reserves to our regular colleagues would be more believable if the available training budget for reserve soldiers was more than the paltry 28 days it is at present - i.e. barely enough for mandatory training including an annual deployment such as the one shown. To put this in context - the last time this country was facing the sort of threats we are now (i.e throughout the cold war period) available training days per soldier was typically 100 or more and the reserve was capable of fielding 30,000+ troops on a single exercise. If this isn't addressed then videos like this one are just glossy PR with no substance to back them up unfortunately.
I am an international student in Wales and a US Army Reservist in Germany under 7th Mission Support Command (I go back and forth every month and yes it is a pain, I still love it though), anyways that's sort of how I landed on this video as I know it's kind of random, but I was curious if you would happen to know, do British Army Reservists get opportunities for additional training days depending on their specialty, or opportunities to volunteer for additional mobilizations or deployments? In the US Army Reserve we train one weekend a month (in reality that 'weekend' is more like 4 days on average) as well as 2 weeks of Annual Training in the summer (in reality it's usually a full month and not necessarily in the summer) but if you are in certain roles such as aviation you can get 4-8 additional training days per month on top of the normal requirements. Anyone is also free to volunteer for Active-Duty Operational Support or ADOS positions through three different online 'job boards' where Regular Army units can advertise need for Reserve Soldiers with specific specialties, rank or grade, along with where and for how long the assignment is. These can also be "MOS immaterial" positions where people of any specialty can volunteer if they meet whatever other requirements are laid out. This is a way to get a lot of US Reservists extra experience doing their job full-time, and earning Active-Duty points towards the Post 9/11 GI Bill without cutting into their Reserve unit's allotted training days, while also supporting Active-Duty requirements and operations. Reservists can also mobilize with any other US Army Reserve unit that is deploying if there is an opening and both unit commanders agree to it, so if I wanted to deploy with a US Army Reserve unit from Japan or South Korea all the way from my unit in Germany, and it was all cleared, I could then go and would be temporarily assigned to that other unit for the deployment. I know there are also a fair few differences between the US Army Reserve and the British Army Reserve, and you guys may have something similar for your Reservists but if not, I think it would be a decent way to help supplement Reserve training and Regular Army operations at the same time.
@@aaronsteele49417th gets everyone from everywhere. I retired out of 209th, and was on ADOS at the unit when I did it (2022-23). One of our CPTs was a GS-14 at one of the airbases in GBR. We had a MAJ in Israel and one in Poland. One of my FSNCOs runs the border crossing in Pt Roberts, WA, and a mechanic flew from near LA, California. We had a few guys like you, too. But most were DoD civilians in Wiesbaden.
It take US Army reserve components (National Guard or Army Reserve) a minimum weekend per month and 2 weeks per year, but we get additional days for weekend training and at least an extra week annually if we're on our ready year train-up. The hardest part isn't soldier skills. It's staff training that's the hard part.
Reservist of 5 years here, there is not enough funding. You cannot expect the same output of a regular battalion if the input is not the same. What seems to escape a lot of people Is that this is a Friday - Sunday deal, a lot of workplaces arent supportive and so most of the time to go on big exercises requires personal annual leave. I think there needs to be more support and much more funding if this is the objective because at the moment it isn't sustainable and we are not a capable fighting force.
We are a single species, humans, living on a tiny rock floating in a vast vast universe. Why the violence, why the death? Because of lines on a map? Because someone assigned value to currency? It doesn't work as it is, I don't have solutions, I don't think any of us do yet.
"Love, peace and harmony, love peace and harmony, oh very nice, very nice, very nice....but maybe in the next world...." Death of a Disco Dancer -the Smiths, 1987. No one needs an Army, except when everyone else has an Army...
Britain has always had a reserve force of some kind since medieval times. They will always be there and willing to support the regulars with trained personnel in times of crisis.
Be careful of what you wish for. Reservists have jobs and families, what’s more important? Not fighting a foe that shouldn’t exist. Russia is not the enemy!
Or a modern Home Force, like they had in the 80s, old timers who could free up lots of younger troops for front line duty. 1.5 million living veterans in the UK, anyone under 65 is probably still fit for some purpose. Some like medics who went into careers the NHS are probably more than fit for purpose.
Reserves, by definition, are just the reserves. If they wanted to fight like the Regulars, they would have joined the Regulars. And if you want to double your entire army’s fighting power, increase the Regulars headcount.
im in the reserves. i earn just over 50K in civi street at 28 years old. if the army said "tell you what. we'll match that" i'd join regs in a heart beat. I just can not justify joining full time in this economy its financial suicide. to get to the pay im on now in the army i'd have to promote beyond WO1 imagine.
When I was in the TA from 1986 - 1991, there were skill shortages then. I was offered to go regular with no need to do a fresh round of basic training, and I could also keep my rank. I would simply transfer to a regular unit and crack on. I gave it serious consideration, but I couldn't afford the pay cut, as I was earning much more in civvy life.
The problem is that we have been so far from an actual conflict for so long and having endured the CGI movie since then, they all think it is just a movie or some such that will never happen to them. They will not believe it could happen to them until it arrives in their own doorstep with an actual AK-47 in tow and their neighbours actually being shot.
I think the mindset is every man and woman needs to be a commando or some kind of war machine, chefs, truck drivers and bugle boys are not commandos but commandos love a bugle boy, and a driver and a chef and few generals and staff to manage them. My point is its very few in the armed forces that are elite !
Why aren't they all wearing ear protection? Some are, some are not. Why? I can understand the budget version of face camo paint, but those guys need to be protecting their hearing.
Genuinely, what was the percentage of the TA during both Herrick and Telic that actually deployed compared to how many were on the books. The minority of the reserves will ever actively choose to deploy, so why rely on this as a feasible strategy? Just concentrate on retaining regular soldiers.
@@harrywebsters2318 Reservists want to train and want to deploy. We dont do it for the money (which is sh*te anyway). If we didnt want to do it we wouldnt have joined. The problem is the lack of opportunities.
@emanuel1940 unfortunately the experience I had was that there's only a handful will to deploy operationally - compared to the torrent that are willing to deploy on overseas exercises etc for fun. I'm assuming this will remain the same with the same faces sporting OSMs compared to the majority with a rack of jubilee's and LSGCs.
Very little TA guys volunteered to go on tours ,you found mainly units like 4 Para were game over the others units ,others it's just a chance to get dressed up for a Facebook and take a few selfies
I don't believe this to be true! During the Peak of Iraq and Afghanistan my Unit had a constant turn over of Troops who were either deployed, getting ready to deploy or returning after leave! Many join the Reserves as a way of contributing and from my experience they want to deploy. With professional integration of Troops and training it doesn't take like long for the professional gaps to be bridged. I've also seen how much work Regulars do! The issue of funding for training has always been there and it doesn't matter whether you're Regular or Reserve. All Units want more because Training and readiness is a hungry beast with a bottomless stomach! The Army as whole needs to be Lethal, Capable and Versatile. Regular or Reserve if you deploy Kinetically you face the same danger and threats. Let's just remember that while we sit here and debate this both Regular and Reserve Soldiers are sacrificing a huge amount to make it work!
Can we pls remove Capita from the recruitment pipeline, and return to effective recruitment methods, so we actually get sufficient reservists into the Army?
"The reservists must become more lethal". Yes, the armed forces must know how to kill. But the real aim is to win, to accomplish missions. Good training, excellent junior leaders who have the confidence of superior officers to think outside the square and achieve mission success. Maximum damage for minimal cost. In WW2 [2194 days] the axis were able to keep the allies at bay. And as far as Germany was concerned, even though Hitler interfered incompetency with the German armed forces, the Axis powers punched well above their weight. They mostly fought operations on a shoe-string. For example, during WW2 Germany NEVER controlled more than 4% of the world's oil supply. And that was BEFORE the USSR and USA entered the war! It was chronically short of rubber [tires for wheeled vehicles] and even though strenuous efforts were made to produce synthetic fuels and rubber, the quantities produced was way below requirements. Even for good quality steel, Germany was almost totally dependent on high grade Swedish iron ores. The two totalitarian states, Nazi Germany and the Communist USSR, were able to produce more fanatical soldiers than the democracies. And Japan even exceeded the Germany and the USSR in producing huge numbers of fanatical troops. And yet Germany and Japan had military weaknesses. The infamous Waffen SS panzer units were very careless in casualties, and as the war wore on, the quality of replacements and training standards dropped dramatically. The Japanese relied on shock tactics, but on many occasions showed serious tactical weaknesses when vigorously counter-attacked in the flanks. In WW2, the allies won by having much more resources, and won much more via attrition than prowess in strategic, operational or tactical brilliance. Although one cannot fault military authorities for making operational exercises safe from a humanitarian standpoint, it could be a mistake in times of war. Most of the top tier special forces tolerate a 1 to 2% casualty rate [fatal or disabling injuries] in PEACE TIME. For ordinary forces training operations in peacetime, that would be politically unacceptable. It is a thorny problem with no easy answers. Fight smart is part of the answer, but not the whole solution.
Do it! I recently had my own midlife crisis and joined the reserves in my country. I'm loving it. The young ones do have some interesting names for me though 😂
I've seved 16 years in the TA. Did 3 years posted with the regualars (Amateur so called higher teir etc BLAH BLAH BLAH) the TA size shrank by the goverment was 175,000 down to 18,000 after my afghan tour. The training in the gym is really weird to none existant because they get embarrased by anyone who goes down to the gym and stregthens up which the regulars are even worse! The leadership is the problem and we should look to blaming the government for this problem. The uk gov waste money on support which never goes to increase the welfare of lower ranks while in ukraine they have a TA force that has took on the russian army and the wagner group with a shoe string bugget of donated light tanks and very late supplys of f16s and still less than 100 western tanks. Ukraines TA is still winning on a 600 mile long battle front. Where are the lessons learnt???
The comparison between the Napoleonic skirmisher and the skirmish group concept is quite ignorant and a sign that the writer/presenter only understands either concept at the staff level or maybe even just the name similarity
@@sharkwolf7788 infantry... it's role on the modern battlefield, in the face of unlimited battlefield intelligence, multi-spectrum warfare. Taking and holding ground means little these days (perhaps idk).
I disagree. While I agree with what you've said about multi spectrum warfare, you still need a grunt to move forward and dig in. Everything else enables that.
@@sharkwolf7788 I don't doubt that, but the individual soldier just can't be looked at in the old ways, in my view. They have to be more than orcs, they need to be gear-supported, IR-spectrum protected, you name it. At least that's what Darpa etc should be working on imo
@GenghisVern don't disagree with you, but no matter how he (or she) is equipped or supported, it will still come down to the PBI to move forward and clear and hold. The Artillery and Air can make it rain, but if you haven't got bods there, you don't own that ground.
@@GMU8 more people have been killed by blizzards and avalanches than by dinosaurs. In any case, who are the snowflakes? The ones who get upset every time women or gay people are mentioned?
@@Destiny15 Because I was in court 55 years after an incident called the Ballymurphy Massacre. The judge allowed the IRA lawyer to call me a murderer when there was no evidence against me. It was all to appease the IRA and its political supporters.
That body armour was military equipment you will spend 500 YEARS WORKING IN THE MILITARY TO PAY THAT OFF MAGGOT NOW GET A NEW POWER AR- I mean armour...
Not being funny but if we do increase and improve our reserve force and face conflict with Russia we will need conscription, the armed forces need to adapt to modern society was my dream to join the army but made mistakes as a youngster and have had minor mental health issues so can't join regulars and been rejected by reserves, would be an honour to serve my country God forbid we do end up at war with Russia I'll keep trying until I'm successful
Hahaha😂😂😂😂😂😂 I'll be booking a flight to be a legal Poland immigrant not fighting for old people and pathetic multiculturalism with idiot politicians I'd rather fight for poland least they remove there illegal immigrants problems with actual force
Dumm soldier 1: it's hot in here ima take my armour off Dumb soldier 2: yeah me too we are safe after all *both take armour off* Russian sniper 100 yards away: it's free real estate Russians in the trees: it's free real estate
The French Army is almost double the size of the British Army. Before you dis the French compare Op Serval with anything we and the useless Yanks did in Afghanistan.
SAS Soldiers….as I was once told by an ex-reg Improve/Modernise Equipment Offer better benefits Pay the folks better Train them hard- less of the action man I’m a weekend warrior types Stop glorifying the TA (which adds to the ego) - look at late historian Richard Holmes- liked playing soldiers and harping on about soldiering but never could be bothered to be a reg
2 weeks a year, the majority are over 30, a couple of weekends a year, you’re having a laugh aren’t you? We are reservists, do not think we are the same as regulars, you are asking far far too much.
I think reserves are important, but not at the expense of British lads being controlled by nato. I think Britain needs to come out of the UN and NATO and learn how to protect itself, its people and lands from foreign invaders.
Reservist have always been thrown money, resources, training. The issue is they are reservists with jobs their family relies on or, in university helping to pay their way. Irrelevant how dedicated they are never going to be the same as regular troops, they're the cheap option! We need to support regular forces more, increase numbers, end the stupid computer registration of training that means you can't locally train or, draw fuel to train, we're not even talking rations and ammunition we're talking regular troops held in barracks by a top heavy command controlled system while throwing money at reservists that are the 2nd line, if they answer the call, questionable in many!
I was a TA soldier in the 80's and 90s'. No money ever "thrown" at it, the reservists made up about 25% of the army and got about 5% of the budget. During the cold war we had loads of training days, but the kit was lousy. that changed after options for change in 1990, the kit was still lousy and the training cut back to the bare minimum, even expecting lads to give up their time for C1 (ie free) training etc - try telling that to the regs, and we were allocated as a NATO battalion for deployment to Europe, those on home defence got even less. I agree with the rest of your comment's though, the reservists are there as the second line of defence , to step up as ht regs get used up. You can have the best trained, best equipped soldiers in the world, but they will get worn down during war, so you also need the numbers, as Stalin supposedly said "quantity has a quality all of its own".
How the hell can a non teeth arm officer, command teeth arm? All I’m seeing here is diversity over competence…you can’t command the respect of troops if you’ve never shared the same ground… Former high ranking officers used to be all teeth arms…not rear echelon. Sorry, but you wonder why we can’t recruit…now you want more from the reserves…who in general are either mediocre or just ex soldiers picking up a pay packet…
People underestimate the importantance of resevists. Less than 1% of the fighting force were regulars in WW2. Which means we had a lot of soldiers unprepared that had to be trained. The main reason a lot of people don't join regulars is because they have better life prospects in civi street. If we doubled down on reserves, giving major incentives such as perhaps less tax or other benefits we'd get more civis into the reservists, bolster the depleting regualars with reserves and have an overall nation that can work in the economy but is also ready to fight at moments notice. Ofc regs are still needed and are better suited for small scale war, but reserves are key for anything bigger.
Yawn
“Anything bigger” and the nukes will decide it within hours.
I'd soon rather move to another country where the tax break is immediately realised than join the military. Nothing worth dying for in this country anymore imo.
@@8bitbiker979 Please leave
@@robc8892 Your parents failed you. They really let you down.
The Army: "Reservists must become more lethal by 2027."
Also the Army: "We're cancelling training for a load of reservist units until the next training year."
The army needs to give us reservists more opportunities to go away for training or deployments.
As long as that supported by MOD work with employers. Reservists can't deploy more frequently if they come back to a job that disappeared while they were away.
Agreed
The MoD needs to take the paranoid stick out of its arse with regard to medicals. With the current criteria, especially with regard to the highly discredited BMI requirement, most of the worlds rugby players, who are as fit as you can get, would be rejected under BMI regs.
@@eventingcrazyI had my medical deferred on bmi, the week after I ran a half marathon in 1:40 and am way above average fitness ( not trying to brag in the slightest) it’s genuinely ridiculous that they still use it . That said , I’ve got another medical in a few weeks and am now down to their advised weight
Truth, if they want to hold reserves to the same combat standards as regs, they need to give them equivalent training opportunities.
*Army must double in size to increase fighting power. 75000 regulars, 50 Apaches and 140 Challengers is no fighting force.
Beats Nz
@@mattyallen3396true, but NZ isn’t a nuclear armed force in NATO that keeps volunteering it’s capabilities at every opportunity.
Well, I did 20 years in the TA infantry (ranks & commissioned) and with a quick update could still do my old job now in my 60's. I may not be able to do the 1 1/2 mile in under 12 minutes now, but I will get there - ready to get stuck in. As a WW1 song said " If England needs a hand, well here it is!".
I am the same as you If they form a new home guard we might have a chance But we have had our day and our time Shame
Mile and half in 12 minutes ? My 9 year old could do her egg and spoon race over that distance faster ,this is the thing fitness standards should be same as regulars
@@Bpd0177 im not 9 i am over 65 LOL
@@Jeffybonbon fair play pal that's a very good time then ,I missed read that bit so my apologies pal
@@Bpd0177 no problem Brother all the best
I trained Reservists for 8 years, they can do it, but they are not trusted by the Government or REGULAR ARMY, they are afraid the Government will use the Reservists as an excuse to cut them even more.
Glad you said that mate appreciate it👍
A massive increase in funding needed, a complete overhaul in procurement needed such waste of funds is criminal, and a change back to the forces being in charge of recruiting, capita hasnt worked yet still get awarded contract
More lethal? They could start with getting up to date equipment to the units. My unit is still using the A2s and we havent even got enough HMNVS' to equip a platoon with.
That's what I'm saying
No need for you to have A3s
@pepperroni6252 there is a need, the a2 is outdated
@@SnakierElm62 not really especially not for a reservist who'll use it a few weekends a year
@pepperroni6252 There's always that chance of war, wouldn't want them having outdated weapons when the time comes
Much better if the government invested properly in the regular army and increased manpower and equipment
It can't even recruit to fill the existing gaps, let alone increase personnel
And where will that manpower come from?
8th battalion? We got rid of all these prestigious regiments and just called them all The Rifles.
Hmmm I think your a tad wrong there fella..
“ 5 rifles” aka 5th Battalion the Rifles (Formerly 1LI) are in 20 bde which was based in Germany with us and are now in Tidworth.
“The Rifles” was a culmination of older regiments from the LI forming together to reduce the amount and upscale the capability of LI and AI regiments
Our reserve forces play a crucial role in national and international security alongside their regular service friends. Thank you for your service all service members past and present
Well done. Your Role is so versatile. Thank you for your Service
Reliable = Expendable.
@@PentaRausexpendable = replaceable by force
Loving the glare off the map case.
You are easily pleased
Stop blagging. We are the weakest since 18th century. Tier 2 Im afraid . 60 year old Bulldog 432s, 40 year old Warriors. Used these in 1988...
Warriors are still pretty good though desperately in need of an update (let's not mention Ajax which is a different class of vehicle anyhow though overlapping roles). We also need decent medium and long range anti-air capabilities without having to rely on aircraft or the Type-45s, especially need stuff like the 40mm cannon on a truck anti-drone capability (Tridon Mk2).
All armies use equipment that old
@@lachlanchester8142 Why do brits get so defensive when it comes to the military? Almost as bad as Indian nationalists when it comes to valid criticism. We need to face the facts, we are no where close like we used to be and it needs to be fixed ASAP.
@@AverageWagie2024 how was I being defensive? 🤔 just pointing out that that’s not the reason or evidence this we are worse then before
It's good that they are doing more than they used to. When I was in the TA from 1986 - 1991, in a specialist unit, I had the distinct impression that the main focus was on our trade skill, a skill that the army was very short of back then. We got minimal range time, and our vehicles were usually on their last legs. I wasn't infantry, but I would have liked to have had more weapons handling experience, so as not to be a liability in a combat situation. My personal weapon was the Sterling SMG.
Become more lethal.. removes armour because it gets a little warm 😂
Stop sending BILLIONS abroad and invest in the forces.
Our strength is now a joke!!
We do invest. We have one of the largest defence budgets in the world.
@@Orbital_Inclination the problem is the cost of modern military equipment and hardware, it's all got very very expensive. So you get so much less for your buck!
"Stop sending BILLIONS abroad" that's how we control countries without troops
@@paolodechipiece1027 That’s because the MoD and Politicians are all about giving money to BAE Systems. I learnt in the end that the priority wasn’t war fighting capability but everything is geared towards the BAE Systems share price.
In certain units, the tail wags the dog. A good analogy is you (the customer) buying a new car and then the car dealership (the service provider) bullying you into what you can and can’t do with your car in your own time. And when you take your car to be repaired the dealership refuses to do any work because you’ve filled out a line of a form incorrectly and they’ve already done their quota for the month.
Although it is worthy to reinforce the TA, this also sounds like a cost cutting exercise in regular troops. We need at least 150,000 regular and 60,000 reservists as we did in the 1980's, to even be considered an Army fit for purpose..
The cost cutting was years ago. This is back tracking in budget. It's the only way they can do it now.
Given that the probability of anyone invading the uk is about zero, the truth is we just don’t need a large army. Our army is an expeditionary force mainly there to act in concert with allied armies. Back in the 80s the army was at least twice as big as it is now because the Soviet Union was a menace. Modern Russia is a minnow by comparison.
@@MrBlaxjax How ignorant.. I expect you have been living under a rock for the last 2 years, regarding Ukraine or possibly you are a communist.. In the 1980's when I first entered the military, I served on Operation Lion Heart. The Largest NATO exercise ever commenced. With all then nations of NATO including the Americans. I was a signaller, a third of the way through the exercise, the Red forces were beginning to win, with greater numbers. The point is child, is that if we were unable to hold back the enemy with what we had then, we wouldn't have a snowballs chance, if Russia activated a call up of 2 million extra troops. The only gleaming light, is that Russia is still using tactics out of ww1 and their corruption and incompetence has waded against them. Russia has friends, China. North Korea and Iran etc.. So we need a larger standing army to send abroad. For 3 decades the British Army has been at breaking point to continue with its duties abroad. I expect you have never served and never been in a conflict. I have, son, your ignorance of the world and world events, has aided the last con government to allow the military become a shadow of its former self. If you are unable to understand the danger, have no idea about history, have no idea what a Stalinist is or the Russian military doctrine for the last 70 years, then you have nothing to say boy..
@@MrBlaxjax Really? I think the Scots might invade. Maybe the Welsh, the Irish would love to pay us back...
The Reserves have a problem in that recruiting and recruit training is done (or was done) mainly at the Coy/Sqn level. Plus the fact that retention is difficult as the life style of the volunteer changes - new job, gets married, etc.
This means that the average Coy/Sqn at any time has a proportion of it's strength only partially trained or about to leave for outside interests. The result is that reserves cannot be deployed as formed units.
Individual reinforcements can be, and have been, superb assets however.
If someone can prove me wrong then I will be very happy to hear it.
The MoD and HMG have blahhed on before about reducing the size of the regular army and filling the gaps with the TA or reserves. It didn't work then and it won't work now. I served in the TA from 84-94. They talked about calling up former regular soldiers into scratch units, that got no where. Then it was going to be units of older men for home defence posts thus freeing up regulars for the front line. 😖
@@simonscott1000 it has and does work!....The reserve forces have been propping up the regulars since 2003!... Often any deployed unit in Iraq and Afghanistan was made up of 10-30% reserve troops!.....Telic and Herrick would have been impossible without them!...
@@garagenigelabsolute mental numbers. I’ve seen reservists on 2 tours, no more than 1 per platoon each time. Majority useless/dangerous. Would not of noticed if they were not there
@@stewie9813 - Would that also apply to the medical personnel, such as surgeons?
@@WheelieMacBinof course not. It’s aimed at combat arms. If you are medical or a surgeon you are a specific SME that doesn’t exist regular or are better than a regular.
Should never of disbanded all of those T.A. units after the Berlin wall came down, I was a TA member Prince of Wales div, 1 BR Corps of B.A.O.R, we had thousands of TA soldiers
Being an ex member of 4th Battalion Royal Green Jackets TA now the Rifles, we always had a 8 man recon crew with our unit. Am I to understand, it took a Rifleman to suggest using a recon team again. WTF??
Train hard fight easy Swift and Bold Guys
How do you double the 'fighting power' of a shrinking army? By making your soldiers 'more lethal'. Alas, bullkak buzzwords won't cut the mustard.
Thanks for your services 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Sorry folks, but being allowed to train with minimum gear, helmet, webbing, body armour because its too hot,,,? How is that going to make them MORE lethal? Cotton wool burns fast remember.
No point in having reservists deployed abroad only to end up in hospital for heat exhaustion. They need to train various skills without wasting the limited time they get to practice.
Cause it means they can actually continue to train, the other option is they stop training altogether. The army is mega mega ontop of heat injuries these days due to a series of lethal failures a number of years back, and especially when it comes to the reverses they are doubly ontop of things. Once its above 19c outside they start bringing in measures to reduce heat illness risk. It sounds crazy ik but its genuinely there for good reasons and is well thought out
@@bog123 I appreciate the thought process of keeping on top of training injuries, regardless of cause. That should be instilled during the training for the instructors more efficiently to reduce any possible drop offs. Respect is always there for those who give up their free time to put themselves up front with the regs... 'If its no raining its no training' they used to shout at us lol,, Realistic conditional training as near as possible should be they way to create true effectiveness. Just my opinion though, things change, as obviously seen nowadays.
@@SilentCougarthis has always been a thing across all militaries in nato. The safety and well being of personnel is put first
@@morecopemorerope4372 It may be that way now, but go back a few decades or two 80's, 90's and things were nothing similar. So I can't agree with it being 'always' the way. The death slide from the end of the dell assualt course, down over contaminated water wasn't exactly looking after anyones health, but who were we to argue with the seat warmers on how it should be done then. My son followed suit and has served for 6 yrs +, training recruits as an instructor now, my eyes were opened a lot at what he explained is and isn't allowed now.
being an armchair general, my problem with the idea of "kiting" the enemy in such a way these days is the prevalence of vehicle support being significant.
A big one for reserves is range time. We get 2 range packages in a good year. For a lot of people it’s all about meeting your ITRs and getting your bounty. It goes without saying that time on ranges is seldom wasted.
The importance of the reserves to our regular colleagues would be more believable if the available training budget for reserve soldiers was more than the paltry 28 days it is at present - i.e. barely enough for mandatory training including an annual deployment such as the one shown. To put this in context - the last time this country was facing the sort of threats we are now (i.e throughout the cold war period) available training days per soldier was typically 100 or more and the reserve was capable of fielding 30,000+ troops on a single exercise. If this isn't addressed then videos like this one are just glossy PR with no substance to back them up unfortunately.
I am an international student in Wales and a US Army Reservist in Germany under 7th Mission Support Command (I go back and forth every month and yes it is a pain, I still love it though), anyways that's sort of how I landed on this video as I know it's kind of random, but I was curious if you would happen to know, do British Army Reservists get opportunities for additional training days depending on their specialty, or opportunities to volunteer for additional mobilizations or deployments?
In the US Army Reserve we train one weekend a month (in reality that 'weekend' is more like 4 days on average) as well as 2 weeks of Annual Training in the summer (in reality it's usually a full month and not necessarily in the summer) but if you are in certain roles such as aviation you can get 4-8 additional training days per month on top of the normal requirements. Anyone is also free to volunteer for Active-Duty Operational Support or ADOS positions through three different online 'job boards' where Regular Army units can advertise need for Reserve Soldiers with specific specialties, rank or grade, along with where and for how long the assignment is. These can also be "MOS immaterial" positions where people of any specialty can volunteer if they meet whatever other requirements are laid out. This is a way to get a lot of US Reservists extra experience doing their job full-time, and earning Active-Duty points towards the Post 9/11 GI Bill without cutting into their Reserve unit's allotted training days, while also supporting Active-Duty requirements and operations. Reservists can also mobilize with any other US Army Reserve unit that is deploying if there is an opening and both unit commanders agree to it, so if I wanted to deploy with a US Army Reserve unit from Japan or South Korea all the way from my unit in Germany, and it was all cleared, I could then go and would be temporarily assigned to that other unit for the deployment.
I know there are also a fair few differences between the US Army Reserve and the British Army Reserve, and you guys may have something similar for your Reservists but if not, I think it would be a decent way to help supplement Reserve training and Regular Army operations at the same time.
@@aaronsteele49417th gets everyone from everywhere. I retired out of 209th, and was on ADOS at the unit when I did it (2022-23). One of our CPTs was a GS-14 at one of the airbases in GBR. We had a MAJ in Israel and one in Poland. One of my FSNCOs runs the border crossing in Pt Roberts, WA, and a mechanic flew from near LA, California. We had a few guys like you, too. But most were DoD civilians in Wiesbaden.
It take US Army reserve components (National Guard or Army Reserve) a minimum weekend per month and 2 weeks per year, but we get additional days for weekend training and at least an extra week annually if we're on our ready year train-up. The hardest part isn't soldier skills. It's staff training that's the hard part.
Reservist of 5 years here, there is not enough funding.
You cannot expect the same output of a regular battalion if the input is not the same. What seems to escape a lot of people Is that this is a Friday - Sunday deal, a lot of workplaces arent supportive and so most of the time to go on big exercises requires personal annual leave. I think there needs to be more support and much more funding if this is the objective because at the moment it isn't sustainable and we are not a capable fighting force.
Well done STABS.
Aye, especially the medical staff saving lives.
We are a single species, humans, living on a tiny rock floating in a vast vast universe.
Why the violence, why the death?
Because of lines on a map?
Because someone assigned value to currency?
It doesn't work as it is, I don't have solutions, I don't think any of us do yet.
Yea, someone has to convince the russians.
I completely agree, and yet an army is still necessary :( If only everyone just trusted each other and got along
"Love, peace and harmony, love peace and harmony, oh very nice, very nice, very nice....but maybe in the next world...." Death of a Disco Dancer -the Smiths, 1987.
No one needs an Army, except when everyone else has an Army...
Truth.
Because don’t have a standing army anymore
Britain has always had a reserve force of some kind since medieval times. They will always be there and willing to support the regulars with trained personnel in times of crisis.
Having a massive reserves to mobilise is the best option as you can save money but increase force when needed.
As proven by the IDF.
we do need more Reservists, back in my day it was called the TA. 🙂
Be careful of what you wish for. Reservists have jobs and families, what’s more important? Not fighting a foe that shouldn’t exist. Russia is not the enemy!
Stop training (comfortably ) Train the way you WILL have to fight for REAL....
The HSE won’t allow it and CO’s won’t risk prosecution if one of there guys dies of heatstroke.
The way things are going, they’ll be luck to maintain their current numbers in three years let alone double
This is pretty good.
Rsm "come and play army at the weekend" 🤦🏼♂️
Should call it the Home Guard again.
Or a modern Home Force, like they had in the 80s, old timers who could free up lots of younger troops for front line duty. 1.5 million living veterans in the UK, anyone under 65 is probably still fit for some purpose. Some like medics who went into careers the NHS are probably more than fit for purpose.
Reserves, by definition, are just the reserves. If they wanted to fight like the Regulars, they would have joined the Regulars. And if you want to double your entire army’s fighting power, increase the Regulars headcount.
im in the reserves. i earn just over 50K in civi street at 28 years old. if the army said "tell you what. we'll match that" i'd join regs in a heart beat. I just can not justify joining full time in this economy its financial suicide. to get to the pay im on now in the army i'd have to promote beyond WO1 imagine.
When I was in the TA from 1986 - 1991, there were skill shortages then. I was offered to go regular with no need to do a fresh round of basic training, and I could also keep my rank. I would simply transfer to a regular unit and crack on. I gave it serious consideration, but I couldn't afford the pay cut, as I was earning much more in civvy life.
More lethal.... That guy will be suing the MOD soon enough for the loss of hearing due to the lack of adequate hearing protection!
The British government needs to get real with the size of its Armed Forces.
It's fallacy to think otherwise..
The problem is that we have been so far from an actual conflict for so long and having endured the CGI movie since then, they all think it is just a movie or some such that will never happen to them. They will not believe it could happen to them until it arrives in their own doorstep with an actual AK-47 in tow and their neighbours actually being shot.
I think the mindset is every man and woman needs to be a commando or some kind of war machine, chefs, truck drivers and bugle boys are not commandos but commandos love a bugle boy, and a driver and a chef and few generals and staff to manage them. My point is its very few in the armed forces that are elite !
Why not in Estonia?
Why aren't they all wearing ear protection?
Some are, some are not. Why?
I can understand the budget version of face camo paint, but those guys need to be protecting their hearing.
Why change the name from TA to "reserve"? Send the reserves in!
It was changed a good few years ago now
It was changed years ago
Maybe you should make their tools legal to own so reservists can train on their own free time like here in the north
No, we don't need firearms legalised in the UK
Genuinely, what was the percentage of the TA during both Herrick and Telic that actually deployed compared to how many were on the books. The minority of the reserves will ever actively choose to deploy, so why rely on this as a feasible strategy?
Just concentrate on retaining regular soldiers.
@@harrywebsters2318 Reservists want to train and want to deploy. We dont do it for the money (which is sh*te anyway). If we didnt want to do it we wouldnt have joined. The problem is the lack of opportunities.
@emanuel1940 unfortunately the experience I had was that there's only a handful will to deploy operationally - compared to the torrent that are willing to deploy on overseas exercises etc for fun.
I'm assuming this will remain the same with the same faces sporting OSMs compared to the majority with a rack of jubilee's and LSGCs.
Very little TA guys volunteered to go on tours ,you found mainly units like 4 Para were game over the others units ,others it's just a chance to get dressed up for a Facebook and take a few selfies
Many in the Reserve, or TA as was, are in vital support roles in non infantry units, such as medical personnel and logistics.
I don't believe this to be true! During the Peak of Iraq and Afghanistan my Unit had a constant turn over of Troops who were either deployed, getting ready to deploy or returning after leave! Many join the Reserves as a way of contributing and from my experience they want to deploy.
With professional integration of Troops and training it doesn't take like long for the professional gaps to be bridged. I've also seen how much work Regulars do!
The issue of funding for training has always been there and it doesn't matter whether you're Regular or Reserve. All Units want more because Training and readiness is a hungry beast with a bottomless stomach!
The Army as whole needs to be Lethal, Capable and Versatile. Regular or Reserve if you deploy Kinetically you face the same danger and threats.
Let's just remember that while we sit here and debate this both Regular and Reserve Soldiers are sacrificing a huge amount to make it work!
Can we pls remove Capita from the recruitment pipeline, and return to effective recruitment methods, so we actually get sufficient reservists into the Army?
"The reservists must become more lethal". Yes, the armed forces must know how to kill. But the real aim is to win, to accomplish missions. Good training, excellent junior leaders who have the confidence of superior officers to think outside the square and achieve mission success. Maximum damage for minimal cost.
In WW2 [2194 days] the axis were able to keep the allies at bay. And as far as Germany was concerned, even though Hitler interfered incompetency with the German armed forces, the Axis powers punched well above their weight. They mostly fought operations on a shoe-string. For example, during WW2 Germany NEVER controlled more than 4% of the world's oil supply. And that was BEFORE the USSR and USA entered the war! It was chronically short of rubber [tires for wheeled vehicles] and even though strenuous efforts were made to produce synthetic fuels and rubber, the quantities produced was way below requirements. Even for good quality steel, Germany was almost totally dependent on high grade Swedish iron ores.
The two totalitarian states, Nazi Germany and the Communist USSR, were able to produce more fanatical soldiers than the democracies. And Japan even exceeded the Germany and the USSR in producing huge numbers of fanatical troops.
And yet Germany and Japan had military weaknesses. The infamous Waffen SS panzer units were very careless in casualties, and as the war wore on, the quality of replacements and training standards dropped dramatically. The Japanese relied on shock tactics, but on many occasions showed serious tactical weaknesses when vigorously counter-attacked in the flanks.
In WW2, the allies won by having much more resources, and won much more via attrition than prowess in strategic, operational or tactical brilliance.
Although one cannot fault military authorities for making operational exercises safe from a humanitarian standpoint, it could be a mistake in times of war. Most of the top tier special forces tolerate a 1 to 2% casualty rate [fatal or disabling injuries] in PEACE TIME. For ordinary forces training operations in peacetime, that would be politically unacceptable. It is a thorny problem with no easy answers. Fight smart is part of the answer, but not the whole solution.
Skirmishing... Now thats real soldering
03:55 - convinced that SGT. Kotwicki's beret is made out of clay. Are Rifles even allowed to wear it like that?
Rifles and commando units have been working together in past years... Must have picked up some allyness on the beret! 😂
You go tell him to change it.
Great, the British army will last two weeks instead of one if we go to war.
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Maybe try being a country worth fighting for once again
I'm 40 😂 I'm thinking of joining. Maybe a midlife crisis.
Do it! I recently had my own midlife crisis and joined the reserves in my country. I'm loving it. The young ones do have some interesting names for me though 😂
Your life experience and maturity might be valuable. You better get fit though!
You wouldn't even be the oldest on my training intake. Think the oldest was 45. Do it lad.
I spent time in the RAF 30 years ago and would love to be in the forces now but due to spinal pain i cant but i would damm well fight if i could
That's the spirit. Well done! I am sure that we 'oldies' could teach the youngsters a thing or two.
But what are we defending?
Remove helmets and body armour because it's to hot....mind boggles
Health and safety now, for everything. Someone is responsible somewehere, so everyone has to watch their back
lmfao this army is cooked
Errrr you mean a fighting patrol
00:54 why she looks like Lawell from COD MW 😅
At 42 I’m too old? My eyesight is a little 💩 to but I’m fit.
The age limit is 55. Providing you can get an eyesight evaluation then go for it!
@@Longbyname its 43
I've seved 16 years in the TA. Did 3 years posted with the regualars (Amateur so called higher teir etc BLAH BLAH BLAH) the TA size shrank by the goverment was 175,000 down to 18,000 after my afghan tour. The training in the gym is really weird to none existant because they get embarrased by anyone who goes down to the gym and stregthens up which the regulars are even worse! The leadership is the problem and we should look to blaming the government for this problem. The uk gov waste money on support which never goes to increase the welfare of lower ranks while in ukraine they have a TA force that has took on the russian army and the wagner group with a shoe string bugget of donated light tanks and very late supplys of f16s and still less than 100 western tanks. Ukraines TA is still winning on a 600 mile long battle front. Where are the lessons learnt???
The comparison between the Napoleonic skirmisher and the skirmish group concept is quite ignorant and a sign that the writer/presenter only understands either concept at the staff level or maybe even just the name similarity
Laughing so much at this
maybe re-think the term "infantry"
?????
@@sharkwolf7788 infantry... it's role on the modern battlefield, in the face of unlimited battlefield intelligence, multi-spectrum warfare. Taking and holding ground means little these days (perhaps idk).
I disagree. While I agree with what you've said about multi spectrum warfare, you still need a grunt to move forward and dig in. Everything else enables that.
@@sharkwolf7788 I don't doubt that, but the individual soldier just can't be looked at in the old ways, in my view. They have to be more than orcs, they need to be gear-supported, IR-spectrum protected, you name it. At least that's what Darpa etc should be working on imo
@GenghisVern don't disagree with you, but no matter how he (or she) is equipped or supported, it will still come down to the PBI to move forward and clear and hold. The Artillery and Air can make it rain, but if you haven't got bods there, you don't own that ground.
Lethal?
Get more Gurkhas!
The problem is that we have the Labour Party in power. They will slow this whole process down unfortunately. I’m a labour supporter 😢
The Tories didn't exactly do a lot for the armed forces, so blaming Labour seems a bit rich
You’re a labour supporter. Says it all
Woke is not lethal.
Neither are ignorant dinosaurs
@@Orbital_Inclination Putting those ideals into the military is to have lost the plot.
@@Orbital_Inclinationdinosaurs were far more lethal than snowflakes
@@GMU8 more people have been killed by blizzards and avalanches than by dinosaurs.
In any case, who are the snowflakes? The ones who get upset every time women or gay people are mentioned?
@@Orbital_Inclination Go 💩 your pants in front of the enemy. That’ll show em
Ex SAS/Para do not join the British army.
Because?
Cheers dits.
@@Destiny15 Because I was in court 55 years after an incident called the Ballymurphy Massacre. The judge allowed the IRA lawyer to call me a murderer when there was no evidence against me. It was all to appease the IRA and its political supporters.
Walt
@@pepperroni6252 SAS/Para Rebel on TH-cam and men apologise.
Where is your body armour 😂
That body armour was military equipment you will spend 500 YEARS WORKING IN THE MILITARY TO PAY THAT OFF MAGGOT NOW GET A NEW POWER AR- I mean armour...
Not being funny but if we do increase and improve our reserve force and face conflict with Russia we will need conscription, the armed forces need to adapt to modern society was my dream to join the army but made mistakes as a youngster and have had minor mental health issues so can't join regulars and been rejected by reserves, would be an honour to serve my country God forbid we do end up at war with Russia I'll keep trying until I'm successful
Nothing to stop you volunteering in Ukraine now pal. Put your money where your mouth is. I’m not fighting for your dodgy Ukrainian regime
Hahaha😂😂😂😂😂😂 I'll be booking a flight to be a legal Poland immigrant not fighting for old people and pathetic multiculturalism with idiot politicians I'd rather fight for poland least they remove there illegal immigrants problems with actual force
Ern
Maybe the army should recruit more white men?
I love these silly out dated tactics . There’s these things called drones .. ambushes are a rare thing today .
Taking off helmets and body armour because they were feeling a bit hot we are in big trouble
Dumm soldier 1: it's hot in here ima take my armour off
Dumb soldier 2: yeah me too we are safe after all
*both take armour off*
Russian sniper 100 yards away: it's free real estate
Russians in the trees: it's free real estate
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
The French Army is almost double the size of the British Army. Before you dis the French compare Op Serval with anything we and the useless Yanks did in Afghanistan.
And almost 2 times smaller than Finnish trained reserves when mobilized fully so your point is ?
The French haven’t done anything meaningful since Napoleon so relax
France failed in Mali
Op Serval was a failure.
Yes, the French are twice the size of the UK forces, but you have to allow for French 'drop off' when the firing starts!
They appear to be using tactics and training from the pre drone era. Most of these people wouldn’t last a day in Ukraine.
Cool story Rambo!
its extremely clear you've got no idea what you're talking about, stop embarrassing yourself xD
‘Ah yes let’s throw out basic soldiering because of drones, we won’t need THAT silly training anymore!’ - @Dingdangdoo, Armchair Tactician.
Air superiority and anti-drone defence goes a long way.
You're right. But who said the intent of this exercise is to train for a Ukraine style fight? Not every fight will be like Ukraine.
Fighting for Starmer or Sunak😂 where do I sign?😂
SAS Soldiers….as I was once told by an ex-reg
Improve/Modernise Equipment
Offer better benefits
Pay the folks better
Train them hard- less of the action man I’m a weekend warrior types
Stop glorifying the TA (which adds to the ego) - look at late historian Richard Holmes- liked playing soldiers and harping on about soldiering but never could be bothered to be a reg
Probably didn't want to take the massive pay cut involved.
100% we are to be the best thier is
there*
Tell a.i that 👍🤣@@kaboose64
This the best? Jeez expectations are low then
Women in the army?
Haha😂😂😂😂😂
2 weeks a year, the majority are over 30, a couple of weekends a year, you’re having a laugh aren’t you?
We are reservists, do not think we are the same as regulars, you are asking far far too much.
"Biff chit says no."
Better don’t join and stay safe
Or scrounge off the rest of society and live as a coward like yourself.
Being lethal does help when training an army. They can’t rely on their empire anymore.
Lol weekend warriors 😂😂😂😂
The weekend warriors held the line after the regulars were wiped out in 1914/ 15
@@AverageWagie2024 - And were first to be called-up in 1939, and sent to France.
I think reserves are important, but not at the expense of British lads being controlled by nato. I think Britain needs to come out of the UN and NATO and learn how to protect itself, its people and lands from foreign invaders.
Russian bot
All nations in nato provide specific roles. If we leave, we'd need billions if not trillions of pounds of investments to plug every hole.
That would be suicide. China and Russia would take us within 2 weeks
Why would the UK weaken itself by losing the mutual defence of NATO?
Coming out of NATO.... meh, sounds impossible but OK, I can see the reasoning at least.
Coming out of UN!? Lmao. ButWhyTho? Makes exactly zero sense.
Gay...i mean merry. We gay merry men,we band of Bro's..the British Army.
Reservist have always been thrown money, resources, training. The issue is they are reservists with jobs their family relies on or, in university helping to pay their way. Irrelevant how dedicated they are never going to be the same as regular troops, they're the cheap option! We need to support regular forces more, increase numbers, end the stupid computer registration of training that means you can't locally train or, draw fuel to train, we're not even talking rations and ammunition we're talking regular troops held in barracks by a top heavy command controlled system while throwing money at reservists that are the 2nd line, if they answer the call, questionable in many!
TF? Computer registration for training? How does that work? Do they need to take permission every time the unit steps out to the shooting range?
I was a TA soldier in the 80's and 90s'. No money ever "thrown" at it, the reservists made up about 25% of the army and got about 5% of the budget. During the cold war we had loads of training days, but the kit was lousy. that changed after options for change in 1990, the kit was still lousy and the training cut back to the bare minimum, even expecting lads to give up their time for C1 (ie free) training etc - try telling that to the regs, and we were allocated as a NATO battalion for deployment to Europe, those on home defence got even less.
I agree with the rest of your comment's though, the reservists are there as the second line of defence , to step up as ht regs get used up. You can have the best trained, best equipped soldiers in the world, but they will get worn down during war, so you also need the numbers, as Stalin supposedly said "quantity has a quality all of its own".
How the hell can a non teeth arm officer, command teeth arm?
All I’m seeing here is diversity over competence…you can’t command the respect of troops if you’ve never shared the same ground…
Former high ranking officers used to be all teeth arms…not rear echelon.
Sorry, but you wonder why we can’t recruit…now you want more from the reserves…who in general are either mediocre or just ex soldiers picking up a pay packet…