Towards The Future

Abstract

Abstract The future of the British army is currently more uncertain than at any time since the end of the Second World War. Under the Options For Change policy first announced by the British government in July 1990, and confirmed in the Defence White Paper of July 1992, the numbers of both the regular and Territorial Army are to be reduced considerably. The stated intention is to create a ‘smaller but better’ army more suited to the new international situation. Today’s army is made up of over 200,000 men and women; at the time of writing there are 145,000 in the regular army, and 70,000 in the Territorials. By the mid-1990s it is planned that the regular army should number 116,000 and the Territorial Army about 60,000. This target will be achieved largely by natural wastage but there will be some redundancies: most units will be affected, but the proposed cuts in the Teeth Arms are especially notable. By April 1995the Household Cavalry and Royal Armoured Corps will have declined from twenty to twelve regiments, the Royal Artillery from fourteen to nine, the Royal Engineers from fifteen to ten, and the Royal Signals from fifteen to ten. By April 1998 the number of infantry battalions is also likely to have diminished from fifty-five to thirty-eight. Only the Army Air Corps will keep the same number of regiments (six). The Teeth Arms will retain the regimental system, but with the amalgamations of many units and with some being put into suspended animation. The cuts in the supporting services, however, are accompanied by a major reorganization which moves in a less traditional direction. To quote the 1992 defence White Paper: ‘radical restructuring of the support organization and systems is well in hand. The logistical functions of service support and equipment support will be grouped into two larger corps’.