Concern over falling TA recruitment as more are sent to Iraq

[lovuian]

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/redir.php?jid=aeaafd2b4715259b&cat=c08dd24cec417021

Concern over falling TA recruitment as more are sent to Iraq

IAN BRUCE, Defence Correspondent March 29 2005


BRITAIN'S part-time soldiers are heading for a manpower crisis as another 900 territorial troops prepare to deploy to Iraq in the next few weeks to plug gaps in the regular army, according to senior officers.
More than 11,000 of the country's 33,530 "weekend warriors" have already taken part in tours of duty in the Middle East or Afghanistan, and cannot legally be asked to serve abroad again for three years under the terms of the 1996 Reserve Forces Act.
New proposals being introduced by the Ministry of Defence mean that while the part-timers would join in future in the knowledge that they must be prepared to be sent on operations, it would be only once every five years, further reducing the shrinking manpower pool.
General Sir Mike Jackson, chief of the general staff, is said to be concerned about falling recruitment to a force he foresees accounting for up to 20% of frontline troops in the future.
snip...
The TA is already more than 9000 volunteers short of its 42,500 assigned strength, and hundreds of experienced men and women are expected to vote with their feet this spring, after collecting their annual training bounty payments.
snip
Despite legal obligations on employers to allow staff leave of absence for TA deployments and a requirement to take them back in their old jobs or posts at an equivalent salary level, more than 20 part-timers are currently fighting court actions for compensation after being sacked or made redundant on their return from Iraq.
Richard Ottaway, Conservative MP for Croydon South and a member of the reserve forces, said: "Reservists are a bargain for the MoD. They cost about one-fifth as much their regular counterparts to train and equip. The question remains as to whether enough is being done to offer them the support and financial assistance they and their employers deserve."
more...
America isn't the only one having trouble recruiting!!!

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Ok anybody surprsied?