Whither The Army? - Review - book review

Contemporary Review, Oct, 2000 by Robert S. Redmond

The British Army: Manpower and Society in the Twenty-First Century. Hew Strachan, editor. Frank Cass Publishers. [pound]45.00/US$62.50 h.b. and [pound]18.50/US$27.50 p.b. 260 pages. ISBN 0-7146-5005-6 h.b. and 0-7146-8045-1 p.b.

The British Army is respected throughout the world for its professionalism and standards. British people are proud of it. Nevertheless, it is vulnerable and its future structure must be in doubt because of developments beyond its control in an 'enlightened' world of social policies enacted by civilians for civilians.

This book, edited by Hew Strachan, describes some of the problems. It is divided into three parts -- Historical; The Army and Society and Social Change; Fighting Efficiency. There are seventeen papers by different, highly qualified contributors.

It is clear the future depends on three things -- Recruitment, Retention and Resettlement. With adequate intake, with people staying in service and with good prospects on the return to civil life, all will be well, but it is not happening. For recruitment, what might be called the technical arms such as Royal Engineers and Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers seem to be succeeding. Folk join to 'learn a trade' with a view to second careers. The traditional fighting arms do not appear to be doing so well. Some of this problem may be due to factors that are described in the papers about fighting spirit.

Retention is affected by several factors. Morale is not helped by overstretch and as people leave to escape it, overstretch becomes worse. Too few soldiers are being asked to do too much. The paper about wives is also important. Today, they want their own careers and constant postings of husbands hinders them. What are called 'accompanied postings' can add to the strain.

A wife can go with her husband to, say, Germany. He is then sent off to Kosova and Northern Ireland in quick succession leaving her on her own in a foreign land. As a result, wives tend to stay at home. One is quoted as 'living together for three Out of ten years of our marriage'. That sort of thing does militate against retention.

The book looks seriously at the problems arising out of civil laws about race and sexual discrimination and leaves one in doubt that the Army can ever get things right. Can the Commissions for Racial Equality or Equal Opportunities ever be expected to understand properly the difficulties or the nature of Army life? There is a frightening suggestion that litigation may be in the offing. Is it really possible that a recruit unable to make the grade will make claims through lawyers offering 'no win no fee'? There is a suggestion that an unflattering remark by a drill sergeant could be enough. Really! I recall 'unflattering remarks' aimed at me on the drill square. They did me no harm, and they were effective.

If there is a criticism of the book, it is that there ought to have been a paper about the work of the Resettlement Organisations. They have done a good job, but it is not reported. Due credit is not given. From experience over nearly ten years, I have found that, increasingly, civilian employers are recognising the qualities and talents available and are actively looking to service agencies when they seek staff.

Those seeking discharge too soon may find good career opportunities hard to find. Others, however, who stay to gain management experience as officers and NCOs are highly regarded. Here may lie the key to many of the problems so ably set out in this book. If men and women will realise that while in uniform, they can prepare for a change and that, in the end, they will be welcome for the qualities they have acquired, both recruitment and retention will be improved.

The strain caused by too frequent postings, however, must be for the politicians to understand. The role of the Army must be made clearer and constant changes of policy must come to an end.

The biggest problem facing all three services today is that too few civilians understand them. Even those with national service experience are now retired. Popular knowledge is gained from TV or the Press. It is not so long since there were numbers of MPs with service experience. Those days, alas, are gone. Perhaps it would help if this excellent book could be compulsory reading by every member of both houses - Lords and Commons.