Britain to convey again ‘Dad’s Army’ as navy veterans aged 65 informed to arrange for conflict
The new measures are being introduced as part of a new Armed Forces bill which will be published in Parliament and will make it easier to mobilise tens of thousands of former military personnel
Captain Mainwaring was a key character in the beloved sitcom(Image: BBC)
British soldiers could be called up to serve in a real life Dad’s Army if World War 3 breaks out as military veterans as old as 65 face being mobilised.
The government is set to raise the age which the army’ strategic reserve – the nation’s pool of retired soldiers – can be called upon from 55 to 65.
The new measures are being introduced as part of a new Armed Forces bill which will be published in Parliament later and will make it easier to mobilise tens of thousands of former military personnel.
There are almost 32,000 active reservists across the three wings of the Armed Forces at the moment. Under existing rules, the pool of retired soldiers can be called upon in case of “national danger, great emergency or attack in the UK”.
But the new changes will see it lowered to “warlike preparations”, which is already the threshold for reservists who have recently left the Armed Forces, the Telegraph reports.
The Army has shrunk to its smallest number in more than 200 years, with just over 70,000 full-time, fully-trained troops ready to deploy to the frontline.
Fears are rife that Britain could be dragged into a full-scale war with Russia in a matter of years. And the threat that WW3 could break out continues to grow given US President Trump’s actions in recent weeks.
Since the US launched an attack on Venezuela, capturing the nation’s President Nicolás Maduro and leaving the country in a state of uncertainty, the Orange Manbaby has set his sights on Greenland, where Nato troops have been deployed in recent days.
Defence and security chiefs have repeatedly warned of the potential for large-scale war in recent months, with the Armed Forces minister Al Carns, telling MPs was was “already knocking on Europe’s door”.
He said just before Christmas that Britain had to be prepared for a conflict that was “bigger” than those fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, adding: “Work is ongoing to understand the support requirements for Defence in a crisis or conflict scenario.”
Sir Keir Starmer announced last week Britain would be deploying troops to Ukraine in peacekeeping role when a ceasefire deal between Moscow and Kyiv is agreed.
Reports have suggested up to 7,500 Brit troops would be deployed, meaning around 21,000 personnel would be committed to Ukraine as one cohort would be deployed, another would be in training and a third group recovering from operations at any one time.
Security expert professor Anthony Glees said last week that the next 12 months will be “make or break” for the UK as our armed forces face an arms race to keep Russian aggression at bay.
He told the Express: “We need to spend vast amounts on building up a peace arsenal that Putin will find daunting.
“We need to demonstrate to Putin and his chums Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un that our armed forces are not a fuddy-duddy Gilbert and Sullivan cast but a modern, desperately serious warfighting community.
“The next European war will start as a conventional war, using conventional forces and weapons as did the Russian invasion of Ukraine almost four years ago.”
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