Territorial Army tng binned "temporarily" to save £ - Could We Save Money Other Ways?
 

Title says it all really, except WTF?!?

Does this lunacy also apply to RAUXAF and RNR/RMR etc? What price retention?

Reported in The Times here

"The Territorial Army has been told to stop training for six months to save millions of pounds from the Army’s budget because of growing financial pressure on the Ministry of Defence. Drill-hall instruction, weekend exercises and all other training associated with the TA will stop, cutting costs by about £20 million"

Bonkers, really, as they can't stop paying the salaries of the permanent (regular and NRPS) staff, the costs of the buildings, the lease/rental on the white vehicle fleet etc.

Still, if you really want to dick around your troops, this is a fantastic start :ugh:

Great timing, too, as with less than six months to go to the end of the fiscal year, you'll pretty much guarantee that no-one will qualify for the training bounty - which is tax-free and worth up to £1,600 for those on the top level. :ugh:

Here you go:

Time Online.

YS

mmm.... Is it time for UAS, VGS, Red Arrows, BBMF etc to start worrying? Put HMS Victory on eBay and see the French buy her, or is the dockyard financially self sufficient. Surely TA cuts these days are by default 'front line cuts'.

As a retired RAF officer and former TA officer, I am lost for words to express my disgust and horror at this unbelievably short-sighted and counter productive decision. They will reap the whirlwind. We used to do an exercise on the TA Capt-Maj Course on "how many reservists would report on Day1, Day 2, etc after Queens Order 2 signed". In 6 mths time the TA will have withered on the vine and there will be no one to turn up. Where is our beloved country going. I am aghast - See, I did find some words!

The full article in today's Times quotes the MoD spokesman as saying that the training ban may be continued after the six months already stated, given the budget restrictions.

I simply do not understand the thinking behind this decision.

Disgusting....
 

Who needs the TA when you can buy a third of a Typhoon for the same money?

Can we expect an increase in the length of grant/standdown periods too? The 'budget holders' encouraged to minimise heating, electricity, fuel bills etc? Bins overflowing, 4 day week not too far away I reckon.

Property sale?
 

If the TA are ceasing local training, keeping only pre-deployment training on major exercise areas, presumably the Whitehall Weasels will be able to put the entire TA property estate in Britain's towns and cities on the market.

Sold (in a depressed market) to the highest of the low bids, the bidder then doing bugger all with it (thus no jobs arising) until the economy improves and he can trouser the profit - perhaps, in some cases, by rebuilding new TA Centres on the sites and leasing them back to whatever governement is then in power.

Trebles all round!:ugh:

Now being reported on BBCi

"A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesman said: "These are challenging times and like all government departments, we have to live within our means."

Not that it applied to MPs, of course, who spent years living off the taxpayer :ok:

Any chance of getting "Territorial" spelled correctly! (Nowthat I have corrected my typing errorr!)

Your wish is my command!

(You want to correct "errorr" above now??) ;):E

The good news is that we not that broke, yet. HMG has looked down the back of the sofa and found £12m to give to Fairtrade.

""Secondly, we want to broaden the scope of Fairtrade products beyond tea and coffee to other areas and thirdly, we want to make sure that we're also able to persuade other retailers to come on board and to offer Fairtrade products.''"

which has to be more important than defence, surely :=

I also saw cyclop's grinning grid the other day as he pleged £1B a year to Queen Ranier of Jordan's kids charity.

What could we cut instead of the TA
 

Their salaries? :E

Cut one third of Brown's civil servants. Hasn't he taken on 6-700,000 additional people over the years, basicaly to ensure that we are monitored to make sure that we're doing what he wants us to do. I always thought that you trim the fat off the meat and not the other way around but hey what do I know, I didn't vote for Cyclops.
Incidentally, just heard on the radio that he's got trouble with his other eye now as well. Not wishing him harm and all that but perhaps this could be the start of his medical discharge. We can only hope. :E
Any hope of you invading the treasury? :ok:

One of the problems with the TA is when you look at their annual budget (£350-£400m 'ish) against the actual numbers who deploy each year (~2000) in support of ongoing operations it gives the impression of being a very expensive organisation (all things are relative I guess). Having a huge TA was great for acting as the 2nd / 3rd etc line of defence when it was 'all hands to the pumps' to protect Fortress Britain. Some key trades remain essential - medics, siggies, drivers - but to cease training across the board does seem excessive. Medical care to operations would grind to a halt without the TA/NHS to support it.

It will, of course, make CGS look like a Saint at the next planning round having made this sacrifice. The pressure will be on for CNS and CAS to follow. No guesses what they'll be expected to provide ....

Did the powers at be consider the effect this proposal will have on the morale of the troops who give up their spare time to serve their country? Obviously not. Many of them must be feeling that the commitment they have given is not being reciprocated and will be thinking of driving down to the drill hall and dumping their kit on the doorstep.

Yes the TA is a habit and once broken the habit of attending will be lost.

Today's junior NCOs and Officers are tomorrow's middle and senior managers. If they leave over the next 6-12 months then how will the gapped posts be covered and skills fade in those that remain be addressed?

Perhaps Regional Cadre Centres will emerge where only those that are able to deploy on Ops at some time will be trained?

How could this ever support a meaningfull rank structure and allow supervisory experience to be gained?

Has the time passed where the TA is held as a back pocket insurance policy for a time of massed mobilisation? Will a future TA be manned only by those that have been on (at least one?) operational tour and those about to deploy in the next 12-24 months?

Send polite answers on a postcard to your CO, Trg Major, PSI, PSAO, MOD clerk etc because I wonder what they will all be doing with their time!