Army almost at full strength after recession drives hundreds of new recruits to join

The armed forces are set to reach full strength in the next two years, as the recession drives hundreds of new recruits to join.

The latest figures from the Ministry of Defence show that the army, navy and air force are almost at are at 97.2 per cent of their full time trained strength requirement.

This is up from 96.8 per cent last quarter.
London head of recruitment, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Meldon, said: 'All of a sudden in January these people started to come into the offices. We noticed about a 20-25 per cent increase over the same week the previous year. That was probably down to people not having the opportunities out their in the economy.'

David Hollas, commander of recruitment in the East of England, said: 'It made us very busy over Christmas. Unfortunately many who showed an interest were unsuitable: either too lazy, too unfit or with a bad attitude.'

Mr Hollas said that another recruitment wave was expected this summer at the end of the academic year.

More than 20,000 new recruits joined the Armed Forces in the 12 months to December 31, up by 7.1 per cent compared to the same period in 2007.

Major-General Gerald Berragan, head of recruitment, stressed that the military was not a short-term commitment, but he admitted that the recession was making it a more attractive option.

'We should be able to attract better people and that is what we need,' he said.

The figures come despite a rising death toll in Afghanistan where four more British Service personnel, including one Gurkha, were killed on Thursday.

Recruitment techniques have also been overhauled with internet and television campaigns becoming more prominent.

Defence Minister Kevan Jones was cautious about crediting the rise in new recruits to the recession despite the evidence. continues here
You’d think we’d learn, we who have forever been exploited, we represented by the figure of Tommy Atkins, a figure loathed in peace-time and sent out for them in war, cannon fodder we, mere numbers, expendable, worthless. When have we ever fought for ourselves, ever held the line for our good, oh they will tell you against Germany, against, they will say fascism, yet this too is a lie, Mr Hitler wanted no war with us, no designs upon us he. Then to they exploited, the owned media made its play and we the massed ranks of the working-class marched for them, little knowing then that we fought for this, this age to come, this monstrous era.

We handed them Europe on a plate and permitted them to cull us and now we reap the whirlwind, now we march to death, again though in their relentless quest to rule all peoples, to amass fortune and govern resource, Tommy Atkins must march. There are no jobs you see, again no jobs, if one were inclined one could see pattern, shape, structure to their scheme. Now though they have us in our very homes, that mouthpiece for malevolence spews its lies, glamorises death and young eyes light up, after all do they not imbue all of our children with tales of heroism, of supposed good over evil, do that not train us for their greater good.

They have the west, its peoples cowed, perhaps never again to rise, now they look with eager eyes to the east and they need again Tommy Atkins, “go take your silver and fight”, on foreign field against foreign foe, strive, quake and yes kill and still they will hate you, still they will despise you and still you will be used. Such a game, such a laugh to them I suppose, we losing our friends, our children and indeed our lives, oh but it for justice as we bomb from on high, as children die and mothers wail, as hatred augments and the press revel.

You should never fight for them Tommy Atkins, never heft weapon and march to evils tune, never help tyrannies hand but you will never know, did not I, for all my writing now, not fall for similar trick. Skip to join, eyes alight and chest a busting, thoughts of heroism large in my mind, ah they will think of me I thought, she will think of me, it will be as a film, a movie, those propaganda pieces that flicker their way into a young boys imagination.

Again and again and again, generations rush to their call, the call of the treacherous, the cowardly and the crooked, we fight, we die and time moves on, yet still Tommy Atkins is exploited, hated and deceived. Which is worse, the deceiving ,the hatred or the exploitation, the ruination of young lives and the culling of potential, yet you fight and I cannot stop you, they swell your heart and pride threatens to burst and mothers look on so proudly, fathers unusually hold back tears and young boys think themselves men. Yet it is over, over in a blink, a flutter and reality sets in, harsh voices, harsh duty and fear, you are no-one there Tommy Atkins a name and number and yet on Civvy Street the same, they give you nothing and take a lot.

If they would send you to our coast, deploy you to save us, stem the tide and give us peace but no, instead its foreign fields and wars of no merit, the killing of civilians who pose us no threat. It gains them, gains them all, works on many levels, the east hates us and cultures clash, oh but they will keep us safe, “more cameras, Sir?” more tyranny for tea, id-cards and a war on terror. Yet they create the terror ,they by their actions, their deeds and their scheming, pick your child out of rumble and you to would seek retribution, you to would pay no regard to white faces, white culture, white children.

Look to the skies as they bomb you, incinerate and bombard you, what then your choice, other than attack, peace is a wonder, a gift to all, yet we let evil dictate, read a press crafted by devious hands, propaganda wafts its way each night and we all now breath it in. What if though we learned, what if we said no, take your glossy propaganda and leave alone our children, shiny buttons and pomp and splendour, cast aside and the young with a future, what if those of the east resided in the east and we all lived in peace. No mosques upon our skyline, no strange tongues within our towns, Tommy has a job now and lives a life complete, no white crosses forgotten wars and need to take the silver, because our country has turned gold.

Two Afghan refugees sneak into Britain... hiding in a bus carrying returning soldiers

Two Afghans smuggled themselves into Britain - in a coach bringing soldiers back to the country.

The stowaways found themselves in the middle of a high security barracks when they made their escape.

They had been hiding in the hold of a busload of troops returning from a training exercise in the Alps.

The man and teenager were found after the coach arrived at Hammersley Barracks, Hampshire, in the early hours of Friday, March 20.

They were Afghans fleeing the war against the Taliban and wanted to claim asylum in Britain, according to the UK Border Agency.

'As I understand it, the bus pulled up, people went to get their bags and these two guys just sort of popped out of the luggage hold,' said Army spokesman Rebecca Clark.

Security at the Hampshire barracks, which is home to the Army Physical Training Corps, is high, with armed guards at the entrance.

The Afghans were apprehended by security staff and taken to Aldershot Police Station.

UK Border Agency officers went to the police station, discovered one of the refugees was under 18, and placed him in the care of social services.

The older man, whose age is not known, applied for asylum after he was caught and was released on bail to accommodation in the Leeds area while his application is processed.

Asylum applications typically take at least 56 days to process but Sian Freestone-Walker of the UK Border Agency said the time it takes varies greatly.

'Each application is very different and we have to take time to consider its merits,' she said.

'It also depends on things like whether they appeal the decision.

'The man is in Leeds because applicants go to wherever there's a bed available.' 

The youth's exact age had not been determined but he was in his late teens and would be allowed to remain in the country until he turned 18.  continues here

Army's demand for 15% limit on foreign recruits to safeguard 'Britishness' upsets race watchdog

Army chiefs want foreign recruit numbers to be capped to safeguard 'Britishness' within the ranks. 

They have demanded a 15 per cent limit amid fears the soaring numbers of foreign troops would dilute the force's cultural identity. 

They also fear that foreign countries could ban their own citizens from fighting Britain's wars, seriously hampering key operations.



The measure has been backed by Defence Secretary Des Browne and was due to be announced two weeks ago.

But the plans have been thrown into chaos by race relations watchdogs who will not support the measure.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission says there are 'large issues of principle'.

Senior officers are angry over the Government's dithering, and recruiting trips to the West Indies have had to be cancelled until the confusion is cleared up.

Some branches of the Army are already at the planned 15 per cent limit and would have to start turning away foreign applicants as soon as the policy comes into force.


Army manpower is falling as recruitment fails to keep pace with the exodus of experienced troops.

Commanders admit the overstretched military could no longer function without the growing numbers of troops from Fiji, the West Indies, South Africa and elsewhere.

The current 6,500 foreign soldiers now account for almost 7 per cent of Army manpower, up from just 0.3 per cent in 1997.

Almost two-thirds of all applicants wanting to join the Army in London are now foreign.
Across the whole Army the figure is almost 20 per cent.

Leaked documents seen by the Daily Mail reveal that defence chiefs believe enough is enough, and that an over-reliance on foreign troops is threatening Britain's fighting capabilities.

Classified Ministry of Defence papers say the new limit aims 'to reduce the risk to operational effectiveness from an over-reliance on personnel who are not British citizens and are not therefore under the full control of the UK Government.

'For example, other Governments might introduce laws which ban their citizens from taking part in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. We cannot have parts of the Army unable to be deployed.'

The paper also warns that the nation must maintain 'Armed Forces which are predominantly British and whose members reflect and share the culture and values of British society'.

Mr Browne accepted the Army chiefs' demands in July, provided that the Equality and Human Rights Commission backed the move.

The 15 per cent cap, which would apply to each branch of the Army - such as infantry, engineers, artillery and logistics - would breach the Race Relations Act by treating foreigners less favourably.