[A-List] UK military: downsizing

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

This is good news, and ought to be encouraged, notwithstanding the
pseudo-patriotism of the shortbread tin. Disentangling "Scottishness" from
the repressive apparatus of the British state is a positive step.

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Army cost cutters set their sights on two Scots regiments
IAN BRUCE, Defence Correspondent
The Herald, February 03 2004

THE Royal Scots, the oldest regiment in the British Army, and the
Highlanders, formed in 1994, are likely to be the first casualties of a
radical reform in the wake of last year's defence white paper.

Insiders say the streamlining of Scotland's under-recruited infantry units
will be cushioned by a scheme to field two large territorial army
battalions.

The part-time battalions would have individual companies wearing the cap
badges of the Gordons, Camerons, and Seaforths north of the Highland line,
the insignia of the Royal Scots and Cameronians in the Lowlands, and would
be liable for overseas deployment in support of regular troops.

Senior commanders and Whitehall officials hope to deflect criticism of the
wiping out of famous regiments by maintaining their traditions in smaller
units bearing their names. The Camerons, Sea-forths, and Cameronians were
all victims of earlier defence cuts.

Despite an infusion of hundreds of Fijiians and Gurkhas in recent years to
help alleviate the shortage of local recruits, the six-regiment Scottish
Division remains almost a full battalion below fighting strength.

Most regiments have had to "bolt on" companies from other units to bring
them up to complement when on operations in Iraq, or on garrison duty in
Northern Ireland.

The Royal Scots, the worst-recruited regiment in Scotland, are currently
providing re-inforcements for an English regiment based near Basra.

Lieutenant-Colonel Stuart Crawford, a defence analyst and former tank
commander and staff officer, said the axeing of two of Scotland's six
infantry regiments would be sad, but made practical sense when there were
not enough recruits to go round. "The old and the bold will scream, but
scrapping two consistently under-recruited units and tailoring TA battalions
or their component elements as an effective back-up to the four surviving
regular regiments is a neat solution."

The Royal Scots, known as the First of Foot or Pontius Pilate's Bodyguard
due to its continuous service since 1633, has failed to meet recruiting
targets in recent years. The Highlanders was formed in 1994 from the shotgun
marriage of the Gordons and the Queen's Own Highlanders.

The white paper two months ago hinted at a drastic overhaul of the armed
services to make them leaner, lighter, and more easily deployable for
expeditionary warfare. This will translate into fewer tanks, guns, and
traditional infantry, and more light vehicles, strategic transport aircraft,
and unmanned reconnaissance drones.

There were also indications that the part-time TA, already providing 38% of
the garrison in Iraq, would be reshaped to make its volunteers more useable
in plugging specialist gaps in military policing, communications,
intelligence, and logistics.

The TA already shoulders most of the battlefield medical burden.

The MoD is understood to have delegated the task of cutting and reshaping
the Army to its own high command in the shape of the army board.

Senior officers representing TA units have been invited to attend a seminar
at Upavon in Wiltshire, at which the future strength and role of the current
38,000-strong part-time force will be defined to set the agenda for the next
10 to 15 years.