Army cuts: what is the real impact?

The cuts, in response to a £38bn military “black hole”, will see the size of the army reduced by 23 regular units over the next three years.

The Army 2020 review will see a reduced army, but hopes to counter this with increased use of reservists and by splitting the force into “reaction” and “adaptable” forces.

Jim Murphy, Labour’s shadow defence secretary, attacked the report, saying: “With a cut of 20,000 it is inconceivable that there won’t be an impact on force projection, in particular in light of cuts to combat support and key enablers.

“I believe in the deterrent effect of the British Army and its ability to deploy, but for that to be effective we need both flexibility and sustainability. These plans may provide flexible Forces, but it’s far from certain that it will provide sustainable military utility.

Our armed forces and their families deserve better. Jim Murphy MP

“This isn’t just a smaller army, it’s also a less powerful army in a less influential nation. And today our Armed Forces and their families deserve better.”

But Tim Collins, famed for his rousing eve-of-battle speech in Iraq in 2003, said the government has been successful in its proposals.

“What they have done is recognise the world is changing”, Colonel Collins said, “whilst retaining the capability for armed warfare,” he told Channel 4 News.

When asked about if the army would have been able to go into Iraq if it had been cut to this size, Collins said: “The simple answer is no, we couldn’t, but we wouldn’t want to. If you’re going to look at history you’ll see a lot of bad lessons there.

“For example, we wouldn’t be able to go into the Falkands in the same way again because the resources aren’t there – but we wouldn’t ever need to.

“We’ve got things like the HMS Dauntless which could shoot down the whole Latin American airforce, let alone the Argentinian airforce. We’ve got the vanguard submarines and the T-LAMs (Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles). And the T-LAMs will hit exactly what you want them to hit.”

Announcing the cuts in the Commons, Mr Hammond said: “After inheriting a massive overspend from the last government, we have had to make tough decisions to implement our vision of a formidable, adaptable and flexible armed forces.

“After a decade of enduring operations, we needed to transform the army and build a balanced, capable and adaptable force ready to face the future.

“Army 2020 will create a more flexible and agile army. Unlike the past, it will be set on a firm foundation of men and materiel, well trained, well equipped, and fully funded.”

Read Carl Dinnen’s analysis of the army cuts.

Cut in capability

Philip Hammond was attacked in the House of Commons after he made the announcement for reducing the army to its smallest size since the 1899 Boer War.

Under the plans many regiments will either be merged together or removed from the army.

Merged

The Queens Royal Lancers and the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales’s) – not before October 2014.

The 1st Royal Tank Regiment and the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment – not before April 2014.

1st Battalion the Royal Irish Regiment will join the Prince of Wales’ Division.

1 Regiment Army Air Corps will merge with 9 Regiment Army Air Corps, bringing the Wildcat helicopter force under a single HQ based at Yeovilton – not before October 2015.

Removed

39 Regiment Royal Artillery – by October 2015

40 Regiment Royal Artillery – by October 2015

24 Commando Engineer Regiment – not before April 2013.

25 Engineer Regiment – not before October 2015

28 Engineer Regiment – not before October 2015

38 Engineer Regiment

67 Works Group – not before April 2015.

7th Signal Regiment (Allied Rapid Reaction Corps)

1 Logistic Support Regiment – not before April 2015.

2 Logistic Support Regiment – not before October 2014.

23 Pioneer Regiment – not before October 2015.

8 Regiment

19 Combat Service Support Battalion

24 Regiment RLC 5 Regiment Royal Military Police

101 Force Support Battalion will be removed from the Regular Army ORBAT not before autumn 2015, and will transfer to the reservists.

Removed and absorbed into other regiments

2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers will be absorbed into the rest of The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in the autumn of 2014.

2nd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howard’s) will be absorbed into the rest of The Yorkshire Regiment on completion of their Cyprus tour and not before the autumn of 2013.

3rd Battalion the Mercian Regiment (Staffordshire) will be absorbed into the rest of The Mercian Regiment – not before October 2014.

2nd Battalion the Royal Welsh (The Royal Regiment of Wales) will be absorbed into the rest of The Royal Welsh Regiment – not before autumn 2013.

Additionally the 5th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland (The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders,) will be reduced to form a public duties incremental company which carries out public duties. The change will come into effect not before August 2013.

Chief of the General Staff Sir Peter Wall said: “The changes in Army 2020 will demand resilience, flexibility and genuine adaptability from our talented and committed officers and soldiers. It is inevitable that some units will be lost or will merge but we have done this in a way that I believe is fair across the whole army.”