Latest news: Expert: Don’t shrink the military

The UK could be put at serious risk by cutting the number of the country’s military positions, one senior officer has suggested. 20/08/2012

It was recently revealed by defence secretary Philip Hammond that some 20,000 soldiers in the army will lose their jobs by 2020, as part of a 17-unit reduction in the size of the force.

The move will see the number of reservists double, but experts say it could lead to as many as 11,000 compulsory redundancies.

In an interview with the Guardian, wing commander Peter Daulby, who headed up the planning of the military’s involvement in the Olympic Games, stated that this could mean the country will be unable to cope with 'civil emergencies, or a national strategic shock'.

He explained that the swift and efficient response to the potential G4S security crisis at the Games shows how the army is important to the country in aspects other than just fighting.

'It just shows you the dangers of pulling the military down. I am sure that there are some people who think that if we are a smaller military power we will be less likely to get involved in international operations,' wing commander Daulby said.

'If we shrink the military, do we really understand what we are losing? Look at the speed with which we pushed up the throttle. It proves the military offers the country a huge amount of resilience,' he added.