THERE will be “no redundancies” for regular Army service personnel, despite Government plans to cut 10,000 troops by 2025.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace argued technological advances mean “greater effect can be delivered by fewer people” as he broke a Conservative pledge in the last election to maintain the size of the military.

The Prime Minister definitively ruled out a drop in troop numbers when launching his manifesto for the 2019 general election. “We will not be cutting our armed services in any form. We will be maintaining the size of our armed services,” he said.

Although the Government’s integrated review of Britain’s defences will boost annual spending on defence by £7 billion by 2024-25, it’s clear new priorities will see the number of soldiers reduced substantially.

What’s not yet fully clear is how forces in the Salisbury area will be impacted.

The Journal understands there will be no redundancies of Regular service personnel. The Army will continue to recruit in large numbers. By 2025 the Army will be 72,500 regular and 30,100 reserve personnel.

However the structure of the Army will change. It will reorganise into Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs), including permanently assigned supporting elements like artillery, engineers, electronic warfare and cyber.

Changes in Bulford

Soldiers from 1 Mercian training on the pistol ranges at Bulford

Soldiers from 1 Mercian training on the pistol ranges at Bulford

At Bulford, 1 MERCIAN and 2 MERCIAN will be merged. In time they will form one of the Boxer-mounted battalions - intended to make troops more mobile on the battlefield - in the new structure. But this merger is not expected to occur before 2022.

A statement from the Army said: “The structure of the Army will be defined by what it must be able to do and not by simple numbers. Under ‘Future Soldier’ we will design a force that is better balanced, more agile and lethal, and ultimately more effectively matched to current and future threats.

"The Army will reorganise into Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs), including permanently assigned supporting elements like artillery, engineers, electronic warfare, cyber and UAS.

"The Deep Recce Strike BCT will give the Army a formidable find and strike capability. It will allow the Army to identify and engage adversaries at much greater range, with greater precision and in increasingly complex terrain.

"It will connect key new investments in longer range artillery, including the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS), electronic attack and attack helicopters with reconnaissance capabilities of Ajax and unmanned aerial systems.

"There will be no redundancies of Regular service personnel. The Army will continue to recruit in large numbers the diverse talent that it needs to maintain a competitive advantage now and in the future."

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