The third round of Army redundancies was announced today. 4,480 will leave by 17th December (against an original target of 5,000) 84% applied, 16% are compulsory
What the MoD says : These redundancies are not new. The Strategic Defence Security Review announced a reduction of 17,000 posts from the Regular Armed Forces (5,000 each from the Navy and RAF and 7,000 from the Army). A further reduction of 12,000 to the Army was announced as a result of the Three-Month Exercise (3ME).
Tranche 2 was the last major tranche for the Navy, Marines and RAF. However the Army will need to make further reductions to reach its final strength target of 82,000. It is likely that this will require a further tranche for Army personnel and a small number of medical and dental personnel from the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.
The Army says : We have done everything we can to avoid redundancies. The Army has not had to take their maximum yields as they successfully reduced recruiting and gave fewer extensions of service.
* We have also done everything we can to avoid non-applicant
redundancies. For the Army in Tranches 1 and 2 around 72% of those selected were
applicants. In Tranche 3 this has risen again to 84%.
What happens now?
* Personnel selected for redundancy will be told face to face by their
Commanding Officer.
* Applicants will leave on or before 17 Dec 13. Non-applicants will leave
on or before 17 Jun 14.
* The MOD will publish a full breakdown of the applications and
selections for Tranche 3 on the DASA website in due course.
Who is exempt?
* Personnel who did not apply and are currently serving, preparing for,
or recovering from operations where they receive an Operational Allowance, such as
Afghanistan. Personnel recovering from serious injuries sustained on operations are
also exempt.
What support is in place?
* Every year around 24,000 personnel leave the Armed Forces. We know the
transition into civilian life can be daunting which is why we have a robust
resettlement programme which is used by the vast majority of personnel.
* The vast majority, around 85%, of Service leavers are employed within
six months of leaving the Armed Forces.
* This is particularly notable when compared to an employment rate of 70%
in the general UK population.
Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Peter Wall, said:
"This redundancy scheme is a difficult but essential step towards our A2020
structure. We owe our sincere gratitude to those leaving the Army for their service
over such a demanding period of operations.
"We will support them and their families as best we can on their path to civilian
life. Meanwhile we continue to need plenty of young and talented recruits to ensure
the Army is fit to meet the challenges of the future."
Tuesday, 18 June 2013 10:29