Nations win wars, not armies: CGS echoes predecessor's call for citizen army
The new head of the British Army has echoed his predecessor in calls for a citizen army.
General Sir Roly Walker took over from General Sir Patrick Sanders in June and in a video address ahead of the Royal United Services Institute's (Rusi) land war conference said "nations win wars, not armies".
Gen Sir Roly added there needs to be a "discussion with allies, partners, academia, industry and technologists, as well as the British Army and Rusi".
The Telegraph reported that a Whitehall source said the Army chief's comments reflect that in war, "the whole of society bands together".
Before leaving his role as Chief of the General Staff (CGS), Gen Sir Patrick said Britain should train and equip a "citizen army" to prepare the country for a potential land war.
His comments, which came in January, also outlined that increasing Army numbers ahead of a potential conflict would need to be a "whole-of-nation undertaking".
His comments were widely read as a potential warning that British men and women should be ready for a call-up to the Armed Forces if Nato ever goes to war with Russia.
But a Ministry of Defence (MOD) spokesperson said at the time that there was "absolutely no suggestion of a return to conscription".
"More than £50bn is being invested in our Armed Forces this year alone to enable the UK to tackle threats wherever they occur, whether responding to Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, playing a leading role in Nato or by our enduring commitment to Ukraine in their fight against Russia's illegal invasion,” the spokesperson said.
General Sir Roly is set to make his first speech as CGS at the Rusi land conference later this month.
In June, he spent his first day in the job at Army HQ thanking troops for their support as he took charge of the service.
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