Decline and fall of the British Army

The once mighty British Army is not even a shadow of its former self. It has only 70,000 full-time soldiers. That is fewer than 300 years ago. Bear in mind the population of the United Kingdom is 70 million people. 300 years ago, there were 6 million people.

The army is puny partly because too few join and also because so many leave. Soldiers sign up to a 5-year contract. They can leave before 5 years but only if they buy themselves out by paying several thousand British Pounds which few can afford to do.

After five years soldiers are usually invited to sign up for a further 5 years. But fewer and fewer do so.

The British Army salary is not competitive. Britons may enlist in the Australian Army for double the salary.

Unemployment is low in the United Kingdom. This always makes military recruitment more difficult.

Only 10% of British soldiers are women. If as many women volunteered as men, then recruitment problems would be over. Strenuous efforts to attract more women have failed.

To get more women to join the fitness standards have been lowered. Moreover, women have to take time off for maternity.

The army previously banned beards except for those who had exemptions for religious or dermatological reasons. This ban has been relaxed. The trouble is a beard means a gas mask is not airtight.

The army mostly takes school leavers with few if any qualifications. A soldier does not need to be an intellectual. To be frank some soldiers are scarcely literate. They may join so long as they have a mental age of over 8.

Those who attend university are far less likely to want to join the army. 45% of young Britishers now go on to university. Of course, graduates might apply to be army officers.

British Army officers train at Sandhurst Royal Military Academy. They can go there straight from school so long as they have passed their A levels. However, these days most people who attend Sandhurst already have a degree.

Military housing is substandard. That is a major factor in people leaving the army. The accommodation issue is quite easy and cheap to solve.

Military recruitment was contracted out to a company. Therefore, when a young person applied to join the army he or she would speak to a civilian first and it would be months before the applicant spoke to a military person. Many applicants found this off-putting and withdrew their applications.

The application process can take a year. A young man or woman who is enthusiastic about the army wants to join immediately. A year is a very long time in the life of a 17-year-old. Many applicants were fed up with the protracted process. The army would finally invite the applicant to come for basic training. The applicant would usually reply no because he or she had taken another job by that time and liked it. He or she would not risk a stable and enjoyable job for the army.

The United Kingdom is victim to a mind virus called wokery. It is an anti-white and anti-male form of bigotry, injustice and imbecility. The UK is told to trash its own heritage. British people are told that they are uniquely evil and responsible for all the ills of the world. Males are told that their toxic masculinity has ruined the world. British children are taught to be actively anti-patriotic.

Britishers are incessantly subjected to endless tirades about what a baleful impact the UK has on the world. Some British schoolchildren demanded that the British Flag not be flown at their school. The children got their way! No other country would allow children to prevent the flying of their national flag in their own country.

Given this ambience, it is scarcely surprising that not many Britons are motivated to join the army.

The United Kingdom has the Human Rights Act. This has made people very litigious. The UK often investigates its soldiers on suspicion of crimes in war zones. There have always been laws of war. The British Army has long had courts-martial. A war does not mean that all acts are permissible.

However, the UK Government is perhaps unduly onerous in its investigation and prosecution of alleged misdeeds by its service personnel. The Special Air Service (SAS) is the British Army’s ultra-elite unit. SAS troopers have been investigated for allegedly committing crimes in Afghanistan. This has made people more hesitant about joining the army.

The Northern Ireland conflict raged from 1969-1998. It was a glorious victory for freedom over terrorism. Democracy and justice prevailed. But the conduct of the British Army was not entirely inculpable. Men are now being investigated for alleged crimes from 55 years ago. Some army veterans are incensed that this is going on especially as hundreds of terrorists including those with murder convictions were released as part of a peace agreement.

The British Army is open to all Commonwealth citizens as well as Irish citizens. The army could make strenuous efforts to recruit in Commonwealth countries such as Nigeria and Pakistan. In these countries, a British Army salary would be very attractive.

The Gurkhas were part of the Indian Army since 1812. The British officers of the East India Company were mightily impressed with the martial qualities of the Nepalis. They secured the permission of the King of Nepal to recruit Gurkhas.

During Indian independence, the Gurkhas were offered the choice of staying with the Indian Army or joining the British Army. Most plumped for the former.

The British Army recruits over 250 Gurkhas per annum. A few years ago, it started recruiting Nepali women for the first time.

A landmark court ruling in 2012 decided that Gurkhas who were honourably discharged after 10 years or more of service were entitled to stay in the United Kingdom for life.

A blatant solution is to increase the recruitment of Gurkhas. It works very well for the army. There are often 100 applicants per place. The British Army could increase Gurkha recruitment tenfold without sacrificing quality.

The British Army also suffers from a lack of assets. Some of its assets are excellent but there are not enough of them. The army only has 140 tanks.

At the start of the Ukraine War, it was found that the British Army had only enough shells for 8 days of firing. Shell production has increased by a factor of 8 since then. But many shells have been donated to Ukraine.

Financial constraints mean that the army has insufficient assets. Moreover, very few assets are the latest technology. Small numbers would not be such a problem if all the assets were state-of-the-art.

The United Kingdom spent over 2% of its Gross Domestic Product on defence even before the Ukraine War. The UK was one of the few NATO countries to do so. The UK Government has agreed to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP.

There are serious economic difficulties in the UK. Tax rises have made millionaires emigrate. The cost of borrowing has increased. The economy is flatlining. There are ballooning costs of welfare, healthcare, social care and pensions.

The United Kingdom gifted considerable quantities of assets to Ukraine since 2022. The UK gave 10% of its tanks. These were tanks at the end of their service lives. A tank lasts roughly 20 years. A 20-year-old tank will then be cannibalised for spare parts or scrapped because it is no longer reliable. The 20-year-old tanks given to Ukraine are serviceable and are likely to be destroyed in a year or two of fighting.

Troop numbers now matter less than they did. Technology can do the work of many men and women. But numbers still matter somewhat.

Drones mean that disabled people can be soldiers. A man or woman can operate a drone while sitting at a desk. The retirement age can be raised.

The Royal Air Force (i.e. the British Air Force) and Royal Navy (i.e. British Navy) face all the same problems as the army.