Facing redundancy: Every regiment in the army will be hit by the cuts that will see 8,000 soldiers lose their jobs
Redundancy notices will be sent to servicemen and women telling them their careers are over as part of sudden speeded-up cutbacks by the Ministry of Defence.
The Army has already been shaken by the announcement of a swathe of cuts, which included the loss of historic regiments and the prospect of a gradual reduction in personnel over the next eight years.
But now The Mail on Sunday has discovered that the MoD will make a single devastating cut of 8,000 servicemen and women, reducing the Army to 86,000 – its smallest size since the 1700s. A further 4,000 soldiers will go before 2020.
The axe will fall across every branch and regiment of the Regular Army, with only Special Forces ringfenced. Thousands of soldiers will disappear from regiments such as the Royal Welsh, the Royal Fusiliers, the Royal Engineers, the Royal Lancers and the Army Air Corps, which includes Prince Harry among its officers.
The Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers is expected to lose 600 of its most skilled personnel, while the Royal Logistics Corps will also be badly hit.
Last night serving officers, military experts and MPs condemned the drastic measure as a stab in the back for soldiers and a blow to the Army’s capability.
Former commander Tim Collins, who led the Royal Irish Regiment into Iraq in 2003, said: ‘This is meltdown. We’re still fighting in Afghanistan, the world is changing rapidly and looks increasingly dangerous yet the Government is crippling our operational capability.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2210548/New-year-lay-offs-Army-8-000-soldiers-fast-track-redundancies-sackings-45s.html#ixzz28441ybdh
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