Reading in today’s Times  I was staggered to see a story relating to the ending of training for the Territorial Army. Drill based work at the various units up and down the country will cease, the compulsory two week summer training course will not be run and the weekend exercises will be shelved in a bid to cut about £20 million worth of costs.

This news comes when the TA is already below the required number. Today there should be about 39,000 soldiers ready for combat should they be required however those with the full and correct training only number 19,300. Now as a previous TA soldier I can confirm that the speed and accuracy in which training was delivered was somewhat unreliable, however the answer can not be to simply stop it altogether.

Instead perhaps the administration of The Land Force could look at actually running the organisation in a correct and efficient way. Despite leaving 103 Battalion of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers a few years ago, I continue to be sent pay slips and literature despite the fact that im no longer a member and thus no longer attend falicitating the need for payment. With the cessation of training comes the cessation of pay for those men and women that do make up the Reserve Army but do the administration intend to keep sending them all blank pay slips.

The turmoil that this could cause in Iraq and Afghanistan is incalculable as huge numbers of TA units have been involved since both wars inception.  With pledges coming from the Conservatives that they would address concerns regarding troop numbers and equipment many may be looking to the Government to be pledging more money to the armed forces not less in what is a clearly controversial topic.