Sitrep podcast: What did the CGS actually mean when he suggested a citizen army?

After the head of the Army warned British citizens should be trained for a potential land war, the Sitrep podcast looked at the difference between a citizen army and conscription.

Speaking at the International Armoured Vehicles conference in west London, General Sir Patrick Sanders, the Chief of the General Staff, said increasing Army numbers ahead of a potential conflict with Russia would need to be a "whole-of-nation undertaking".

Gen Sir Patrick said the UK should train and equip a "citizen army" to prepare the country for a potential land war.

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Professor Michael Clarke is a former director general of the Royal United Services Institute, a defence and security think-tank.

He told the BFBS Sitrep podcast: "Everyone misunderstands when Patrick Sanders talked about a citizen army, he was talking about a volunteer citizens army, not conscription."

Prof Clarke explained how the British Army dates back to 1660 and "for only 25 of those years have we had conscription".

"The rest of the time, it is deep in our DNA that we have a volunteer Army," he added.

"The First World War is the model here. The professional army went to war and Patrick Sanders said 'professional armies start the wars and citizen armies finish them'. And that is exactly right.

"There is a big distinction between a conscript army and a volunteer citizen army, and what Patrick is talking about it that the regular is never big enough to actually win a war.

"You can go to war, but you can only win a war with something bigger - and that something bigger has got to be based on a citizen army of the sort that the Ukrainians have created and are creating."

Prof Clarke said Operation Interflex, the British military's mission to train Ukrainians, turning civilians into soldiers, had been pretty effective.

"A lot of these Ukrainian soldiers who are fighting really hard on the frontline now and they’re having a really tough time, a year ago, or 18 months ago, most of them were just civilians doing ordinary middle class civilians jobs and there they are."

The training package has been delivered in a variety of locations across the UK and takes volunteers who joined Ukraine's armed forces with little or no previous military experience, teaching them the skills required to survive and be effective on the battlefield.

:: The award-winning Sitrep podcast brings you discussion and analysis on defence, foreign policy and the stories affecting the Armed Forces, presented by Kate Gerbeau with expert analysis from Professor Michael Clarke.

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