Young would flock to Army if recruitment process better

Richard Drax, the Conservative MP for South Dorset and former captain in the Coldstream Guards, suggested earlier this week that the young and fit who are unemployed or do not want work should be put in the Army.

This is not a good idea. Pressed men and women do not make good fighters. What I find most frustrating is that there are plenty of young men and women who want to join but the recruitment process is shockingly poor.

My 23-year-old son is in this torturous pipeline. Six months into the process his application is currently on hold because of a minor medical issue that was corrected five years ago and which does not stop him playing top-level rugby.

He has been told that the earliest he can get in is January 2025. He’s ready to start tomorrow, but with this timeline it is is no surprise that many of his peers give up after a few months and look for more immediate work.

It is not just the time but also some of the ridiculous medical constraints. One young chap I know, who ran the London Marathon in under three hours, quicker than I ever managed, was turned down because he had asthma aged 11, but he’s now 24 years old and does not have it.

A qualified doctor aged 27, who had wanted to join the Army since childhood, was barred as she had a “mental health” event aged 12 yet has been fine ever since.

Today’s Army just requires 70,000 men and women who are motivated, have the right moral compass, and are determined to fight for our country.

There are thousands of these people in the UK, desperate to take the “king’s shilling”, if only we would give them the chance to join up in short order.

Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon OBE is a former commander of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear forces for the UK and Nato