Christopher Lee: Much of the manpower in the US and UK comes through the reserves, including the volunteer reserve. Well a Commons report this week says that the supply to all three services is in the process of drying up.
Well the Defence Editor to the Times is Michael Evans: Michael I hadnât realised that 20% of UK force in Iraq is made up of UK reservists thatâs quite a lot isnât it?
Michael Evans: I think it is I think the involvement of the reserves the TA in particular in recent years has really gone up quite a lot, and I think their role as increased considerably in certain specific areas; medical is one of then, and I think they are feeling the strain you know they go for 6 months sometimes a little longer. They struggle to get back into civilian life and then are requested again rather like regular forces to fill up the gaps this time it maybe in Afghanistan or could be the Balkans whatever.
CL: Yes I was talking to someone in the TA tâother week who said âone of the problems that is happening is that we actually now donât go out as a TA Bn or Unit we are going out individuallyâ to say as you put it âfill up the gapsâ.
ME: I think what they thought one of the promised from the government when they restructured the Army was that the TA would have a more of a formed role that they wouldnât just go out to these operational missions filling out gaps they would go out as sort of specific unit that doesnât mean you know a large Bn sized units but they would go out in reasonable good sized units. Now although this has happened, one or two units have gone out with a decent size I think the vast majority have really gone out in dribs and drabs Plt size Coy size whatever to help fill out the regular forces. Although it gets them lots of experience it is not exactly what they had in mind.
CL: I wonder if a modern civilian or the modern army can expect a civilian to hold down a job in civilian street as well as being in the TA?
ME: I think it is incredibly difficult, when youâve got a situation that we have today with two major operations. To expect someone in a civilian job to hold down his job to keep his job, particularly if he is running his own business, for example, disappears for 6 months comes back, find things all over the place I think it is incredibly difficult.
And incidentally, there are quite a number of employers; I mean there are a lot of employers that are really good about these sorts of things, but there are quite a lot of employers who donât like, and donât really support, having there employees whisking off for 6 months it doesnât go down at all well. These guys come back and find it very difficult to get their jobs back.
CL: Yes and the promotion thing, as well, and it also for the first time or so it would seem that there are those employers who quite frankly donât actually sign up for the Iraq conflict politically, and therefore are less likely to be happy about their employees going off into the reserves.
ME: Yes I mean it is difficult to, you know; pinpoint a lot of evidence of that. I would find it amazing if it wasnât true, I mean everyone has a view about Iraq in this country, I should have thought, and if youâre a reasonably substantial employer, Iâm sure you would have your own views about this but I doubt there is a huge amount of evidence that employers are saying âwe donât like Iraq war business so we are not going to allow our employees to goâ I just donât think they like experienced employees disappearing for 6 months.
CL: But something like, I canât remember, there are about 34,000 volunteer reservists all together 30,000 or something like that are TA, where are they going to come from because the figures are going down all the time?
ME: When you think it wasnât that long ago when the TA was 59,000 and the government decided that that was too much and they would reduced it to 40 odd thousand. Well here we are now talking about 32 or 34 thousand and itâs slipping, I mean itâs, you know, it is dropping every year so it is getting smaller and smaller. No your right I thing it is going to be increasingly difficult for the government to be able to rely on these guys, who are really doing an amazing job, I mean holding down two job and going out to these dangerous missions and doing a really good job and, you know, I donât know how much longer they can continue doing that.
CL: Right Michael Evans of the Times thank you very much indeed.
