Chief Of Defence Staff: Armed Forces "Have To Adapt To The Times We Are In"

Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach has called for reforms to boost forces recruitment by improving pay and conditions.  

The outgoing Head of the Armed Forces described how the “security landscape has darkened” in recent years due to the North Korean crisis, deteriorating relations with Russia and the Daesh threat.

Maintaining a strong and prepared military is vital as Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach went on to say:

"The risk that they become a threat is clear, we need to work hard to make sure that remains a theoretical threat".

He purposed that the forces must adapt to ‘the times we are in’ to, but that the forces face a “problem” with successfully attracting new recruits.

An Army recruitment advert from 2017 - the year the Army were 30% short of their recruitment targets

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) claimed reforms were neccessary to adjust the forces lifestyle to fit in with the modern world. However, he dismissed the recent cuts to the military as ‘adjustments’.

An earlier report by former Armed Forces minister Mark Francois described the British Forces as "hollowing out" as they struggle to replace those leaving. 

While a report from Number 10 revealed the extent of the recruitment issue within the forces.

From April 2016-2017 12,950 recruits signed up the the regular armed forces however 14,970 left over the same time frame.

The Royal Navy and RAF were short around 10% of their annual recruitment target while the Army faced a larger shortfall of 30%.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach admitted some concern while speaking to journalists in London, but pushed his idea for adaption as a resolution to the recruitment crisis.

“We have to adapt our pay to make it competitive […] We can keep historic titles, we can keep our ethos in a joint force. It isn't about the ethos, you can adapt ethos. We can adapt the badges and the nomenclature and the ethos.

But we must accept that we need to different things."

The CDS will take over as the Chairman of Nato’s military committee in 2017. Speaking today he made it clear that the alliance remained the cornerstone of British security and that Nato remains “a hard power”.

He struck down the idea that Britain would double its role by joining an EU army.