Soldiers offered £7,500 to join British Army's elite Parachute Regiment

Soldiers from across the British Army are being offered £7,500 to join The Parachute Regiment - the Army's highly-trained airborne infantry.

Private ranks are being targeted by the incentive, with personnel from more subscribed sections of the British Army being offered a financial sweetener to transfer.

Reports suggest the payment is an unprecedented move to try to combat a manpower crisis but an Army spokesperson denied this to Forces News, insisting there is no personnel shortage and that incentives are routine.

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The spokesperson said: "The 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the Parachute Regiment have the required personnel to meet their operational commitments.

"As part of an initiative to maintain trained strength in the Parachute Regiment and take advantage of surplus numbers in other areas of the infantry a financial offer is being introduced to incentivise private soldiers to transfer," the spokesperson said.

"Such incentives are part of routine Army business and have been offered previously across other branches of the Army."

Privates across the British Army have an annual salary of £23,496, making the bonus payment almost one third of a year's pay.

Privates are being targeted for the incentive as they represent the greatest number by rank in the infantry, including a surplus in some areas.

The £7,500 payment will be granted after three years of service, with the Army expecting to see an increase of 15-20 soldiers in The Parachute Regiment in this financial year as a result of the incentive.

The first volunteer to switch to the Paras has just passed P Company, the gruelling Pre-Parachute Selection process, with others lined up for next year.

Any soldier who has previously passed P Company could apply to switch and transfer quickly.

Both 2 and 3 Para are part of the UK's Air Manoeuvre Task Force, which is held at very high readiness for both crisis response and warfighting.

1 Para is in role as the Special Forces Support Group.

The Ministry of Defence does not discuss 1 Para's status in line with long-standing policy to not comment on Special Forces matters.