UK army combat units 40% below strength as recruitment plummets
Britain faces an army recruitment crisis, with frontline combat units operating as much as 40% below strength, figures obtained by the Guardian reveal.
Data released by the Ministry of Defence under freedom of information laws shows the number of soldiers in the British army’s infantry regiments has declined steadily over the past five years and all 16 regular regiments are have shortfalls.
Guardian analysis of the FOI data for the same period shows that nine of the 16 infantry regiments were 20% or more below their “workforce requirement” – the planned number of personnel needed. Four were 25% or more below their required strength. The Guardian reported in March that figures from October 2018 released revealed almost half of all infantry battalions sitting within regiments were missing 20% or more of their required personnel.
The Scots Guards regiment, which has fought in nearly every major conflict since the reign of Charles I, is worst affected. The figures show as many as 257 soldiers below its target strength of 697, a shortfall of 37%. If the regiment’s F company, a supporting unit, is removed from the figure, the shortfall grows to 42%.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/aug/09/uk-army-combat-units-40-below-strength-as-recruitment-plummets
= new reply since forum marked as read
"UK army combat units ... Britain faces an army recruitment crisis ..."
I did a Biden 
