Tri-Service

'Stop Wasting Your Time And Become A Reservist'

A campaign to recruit more part-time soldiers says young people are wasting the equivalent of a day each week on gaming or social media.

It comes after an Army Reserve survey of 2,000 people aged 18-35 showed that they spend three-and-a-half hours on social media and video games each day on average.

The Army's now launching a drive to persuade them they’d be better off using their time becoming reservists, as it aims to hit a target of having 30,000 trained reservists by 2019.

An Army Reserve spokesperson said the research was intended "to get people who may have not considered the Army to think again about being a reservist and realise that it's not a huge commitment", adding:

"With a time commitment from just 19 days a year, much of which is made up of short training evenings during the week, it's a realistic option for a lot of people and that the rewards are huge."

More than 60% of young people who took part in the study said they would be interested in learning a new skill if they had more spare time, while 20% said they wanted to volunteer and help others.

37% said they wanted improved fitness levels, while 38% said they wanted to travel more and half said they wanted to spend more time doing a hobby.

But some commentators have described the strategy as a 'risky' one, with it hoped that young people, a key audience, won't take offence at being told they're 'wasting their time'.

It comes with the Army struggling to meet the 30,000 target, after a slow start. Although numbers are growing, the Army Reserve is still about 8,000 short.

It also comes after a number of high-profile recruiting campaigns, costing millions of pounds, which have been met with a mixed reception.

The Armed Forces' most senior reserve officer, Major General John Crackett, told Forces TV the Army isn't criticising people, but rather telling them that they could be learning new skills as part-time soldiers.

Minister for Reserves Julian Brazier, meanwhile, said:

"Reservists are integral to our brave Armed Forces and have served on operations right around the world, from dealing with flooding in the UK to countering Daesh in Iraq and Syria.

"We offer a challenging, exciting and rewarding experience, which is why there is a steady stream of enthusiastic and talented new recruits through the door. Indeed, reserve numbers across the three services have risen by more than 10 per cent in the last year alone.

"We will continue to recruit the brightest and best people in order to best maintain the flexible and agile Armed Forces we need to meet all of our commitments both at home and abroad."