Lord Lancaster said the force should be “built around those who have recently left the regular forces but are still legally committed to be called out”, but should include “any ex-regulars and ex-reservists who wish to continue to serve in the strategic reserve”. It dictates the need to revitalise the strategic reserve.” ‘Mass as well as niche skills’ “The return of state-based threats and the risks from manmade and natural disasters have changed the logic of this argument. The added mass that ex-regular reserve forces could provide beyond the mobilisation of the volunteer reserve no longer appeared to warrant more than the bare minimum of investment, denting its utility and credibility. It added: “The removal of the monolithic threat of the Soviet Union diminished the imperative for maintaining a strategic reserve. The command paper is expected to include plans for a major replenishment of the country’s stockpiles, after James Heappey, the armed forces minister, said: “Nobody has made any secret of the fact the stockpiles we hold are insufficient.”Ī 2021 review of reserve forces by Lord Lancaster, a former defence minister, said that the “capability of the ex-regular reserve forces” – those who had left the regular Army but could be recalled in times of need – had “eroded steadily since the end of the Cold War”. The war in Ukraine highlighted the vulnerability of tanks to light weapons such as Nlaws and Javelins, thousands of which have been provided to Kyiv from UK stockpiles since February 2022. This week, ministers are expected to defend the cuts, insisting that the war on the continent shows how UK forces can become “fleeter of foot”.
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