Army holds 'mission rehearsal' to test 'citizen army' training of 500,000 Brits – as millions could be drafted
The army could hold a mission rehearsal to test a 'citizen army' of 500,000 Britons, a source claims.
The talks about the said plan come after an army chief issued a warning Millions of ordinary people could face this call if Britain goes to war Russia.
2
2
General Lord Patrick SandersThe Chief of the General Staff emphasized in a speech yesterday the need for ministers to “mobilize the nation” amid the threat of World War III.
And a Department of Defense insider has now said UK Ukrainian citizens train for war could help with that.
The source said they believed the training was filled with “useful lessons” for a future “citizen army” full of ordinary Britons.
They said The times: “We find that a lot of what we do could serve as a mission rehearsal for generating our own second echelon.”
Britain has been training Ukrainian carpenters and office workers since June 2022, amid Putin's attack on their country.
Some have never held a gun, but leave the country prepared to fight for their own.
Now there are talks that the British may have to do the same.
With the British Army On the smallest scale in centuries, Sir Patrick Sanders said he believes there should be a 'shift' in the mindset of the public, who should be prepared to accept the Britain against foreign adversaries.
The army chief did not want to support this conscriptionit is understood.
However, he is said to believe that the British should change their mentality to 'think more like troops' and be prepared for a call if NATO goes to battle Vladimir Putin.
It comes just days after a NATO chief warned British people may face conscription as the threat of all-out war with Russia loomed.
Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, head of NATO's military committee, called on the West to “prepare for an era of war,” adding that NATO “needs a transformation in warfare.”
Speaking at a summit between NATO defense chiefs in Brussels, Bauer said: “We need to be ready across the spectrum.
“You have to have a system to find more people when it comes to war, whether it is or not. Then you are talking about mobilization, reservists or conscription.
'We must realize that it cannot be taken for granted that we will have peace. And that's why we [Nato forces] prepare for a conflict with Russia.”
General Sir Patrick made his plea to ordinary Britons yesterday at the International Armored Vehicles Conference in Twickenham.
He said: “Our friends in Eastern and Northern Europe, who feel more acutely the proximity of the Russian threat, are already acting cautiously and laying the foundation for national mobilization.
“We will not be immune and as the pre-war generation we must prepare in the same way – and that is a nation-wide undertaking.
“Ukraine brutally illustrates that regular armies start wars; citizen armies win them.
“Our predecessors failed to see the implications of the so-called July crisis of 1914 and ended up in the most horrific wars. We cannot afford to make the same mistake today.”
When was the last time Britain had conscription?
- On the day Britain declared war on Germany, September 3, 1939, Parliament immediately passed a new conscription law.
- The National Service (Armed Forces) Act imposed conscription on all men between the ages of 18 and 41 who had to register for service.
- Those who were medically unfit were exempt, as were others in key industries and jobs such as baking, agriculture, medicine and engineering.
- Conscription contributed greatly to the increase in the number of men on active duty during the first year of World War II.
- After the end of the Second World War, a new National Service Act was passed requiring all young men aged 17 to 21 to serve in the armed forces for 18 months.
- They should also remain on the reserve list for a number of years.
- National Service then continued until the last soldiers were demobilized in 1963.
- Conscientious objectors could refuse, but would face a tribunal where they would be expected to justify their opposition to entry.