Britain to lower requirements for joining the armed forces
25 September, 2024 British military personnel on training. Photo from open sources The UK lowers requirements for joining the armed forces and will offer service to professional gamers.
The UK Defence Journal reported on this with reference to the speech of Defense Minister John Healey. At the Labor Party conference, he announced the preparation of a major recruitment reform and improved conditions for military personnel. First of all, the entry requirements will be lowered so that more people can join the armed forces.
British servicemen on deployment to Kosovo.
Photo credits: MoD UK
According to the Minister, over the past ten years, more than a million people have applied to join the Armed Forces. Still, three out of four have refused to apply further due to a very confusing and complicated bureaucratic system. Healey announced three major steps to tackle the recruitment crisis:
- Scrapping 100 outdated policies that currently block people from joining the military.
- Setting new targets for the Forces to reject or make a conditional offer to applicants within ten days, and to give people a training start date within thirty days.
- Introducing a direct recruitment route for cyber specialists, particularly targeting top gamers and coders.
In addition, the Ministry of Defense is currently preparing to increase military salaries so that the army can become competitive with civilian employers.
There is a serious shortage of personnel in combat units, which is why only three out of more than 20 infantry battalions have manning levels of 70-80%.
British military personnel. Photo credits: Zurab Kurtsikidze/EPA
Militarnyi previously reported that the British Head of the Army stated that the UK currently faces threats from four countries, including Russia. Britain must be ready to fight a war in three years, Gen Sir Roland Walker has said.
Walker predicted that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be "very, very dangerous" when he emerges from the war in Ukraine and "will want retribution" against Western countries that support Ukrainian defenders.
At the same time, he clarified that Britain "is not on an inevitable path to war," but it urgently needs to restore a credible force to ensure deterrence.