The UK is set to conduct a major exercise next year to assess its ability to recall and deploy former military personnel during a crisis, The Telegraph reported.
The drill will involve members of the country’s strategic reserve, a pool of up to 95,000 former service members who remain eligible for recall after leaving the armed forces. Officials will evaluate procedures for contacting, mobilizing, equipping, and deploying these personnel.
Armed Forces Minister Louise Sandher-Jones told the newspaper that the strategic reserve would be activated on a scale not seen in recent years. She also emphasized that former service members could make an important contribution to national defense, despite the reserve’s limited use in recent decades.
The exercise will form part of a broader program assessing the UK’s ability to respond to a major conflict or national emergency. It comes as the government reviews military preparedness amid concerns over Russia’s activities in Europe and warnings that NATO countries could face a direct confrontation with Moscow in the coming years.
Veteran Mobilization
The drill will also assess the government’s ability to locate and contact eligible veterans, following reports that many former service members had become difficult to trace.
Under existing legislation, former regular and reserve officers remain liable for recall throughout their lives. For other military personnel, the government is required to maintain contact for the first six years after they leave full-time service.
Mobilization rules are also being revised. Under proposed changes, the maximum age for recalling veterans would increase from 55 to 65.
Existing rules allow recalls only during a national emergency, serious threat, or attack on the UK. Under the proposed changes, former personnel would also become eligible for mobilization during “war-like preparations.”
