Army recruitment ad backlash as forces cut
THE Army’s latest TV campaign misfired last night over its championing of the role of soldiers when troop numbers are being slashed.
In a hugely unpopular move, thousands of soldiers will be shed from the ranks by 2025.
The Army will shrink to just 72,500, its smallest size since the Napoleonic era.
Yet its latest recruitment campaign, launched today, is called ‘Nothing Can Do What a Soldier Can Do’.
A one-minute advert, to be shown in cinemas, on television and online, demonstrates that while robots and modern technology are good for many tasks, only soldiers can take lifesaving decisions. The Ministry of Defence is marching ahead with the cuts despite the rise of Russia – and Nato plans to boost rapid reaction forces from 40,000 to 300,000.
Officials have repeatedly justified the move saying warfare has evolved, with new technologies determining who wins on the battlefield.
Given the controversial plans to strip the Army of so many troops, the new campaign came under fire last night.
Former defence minister Tobias Ellwood said: ‘While it is welcome we’re praising soldiers, the Army is coming down from 82,000 troops, a significant loss. We need to see these numbers kept up not coming down. So there are some confusing messages here.’
He added: ‘Robots can’t train allies... we need more soldiers not less.’
Colonel Nick Mackenzie, assistant director of Army recruiting, said: ‘We want to tell future recruits no matter what technological advancements we make, it is the judgment, intelligence and even the wit of our soldiers that is indispensable.’