During the Cold War, the Territorial Army was a reserve force that could be mobilised instantly if Europe were threatened. Few expected to see active service. Hence their nickname: the Weekend Warriors. Part of the peace dividend as the Soviet threat faded was the slimming down of the TA. Ironically, since then its fighting commitments have grown apace. More than 14,000 TA soldiers have served in Iraq, Afghanistan or the Balkans since 2003. With our relatively small standing army overstretched and understrength in nearly every battalion, Britain has never been so dependent on its reservists.
Individuals or small sub-units are a vital resource in filling gaps in infantry battalions as well as supplying field hospitals or engineering squadrons for support missions. Even so, the TA has never quite managed to shed its tag as the poor relation of the regular army, vulnerable to constant shuffling and cheeseparing. It suffers from frugal funding for training and ammunition. Last year units deigned not to be making a "significant contribution to current operations" took a £2.5m cut. This week it will be announced that the TA is to undergo another shake-up, aimed at producing a "deployable force of 15,000", the military equivalent of a temping pool.
The MoD must take care not to mend what is not broken. Scotland has always shouldered more than its share of the reservists, furnishing 16% of the TA from 8% of the population. There are almost 5000 part-timers in Scottish units and recruitment has remained buoyant, bucking the national trend. They must not be taken for granted.
At any one time around one-third of TA soldiers are undeployable because they are trainees and another third have been on operations and cannot be redeployed for three years. Following pressure from their families and employers, many of those who have been on active service are voting with their feet. If they received more resources and respect, fewer would be handing in their kit. The TA can only continue to provide the steady back-up function required of it if it is properly supported. For too long it has been treated as the Cinderella of the army and yet many a CO has had cause to say: "Thank goodness for the TA."
A freedom of information request from The Herald reveals today that Scots make up more than 16% of British soldiers killed in action in Iraq, a reflection of the continuing dependence on Scotland for recruits, especially in front-line infantry regiments. Lest we forget how much can be asked of these so-called Weekend Warriors, we should note that the battlefield fatalities include two TA volunteers.
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