The same thing that applies to the US, is being applied to the UK. Contractors are an essential element to raising an army quickly, or maintaining the one you have. It ensures that the soldiers you do have, are in fact fighting forces and not just cooks or range maintenance folks. You can also build up that support force, or quickly tear it down, and there is no legacy costs like pensions to worry about.
Now the thing that I am curious about is the ‘inherently governmental’ debate happening places like parliament, think tanks and committees. How much will the British allow contractors to actually do when it comes to the gun related contracts in the future?
One thing that is definitely giving a good show as to the effectiveness and capability of armed security contractors is the anti-piracy efforts of the companies right now. Armed guards on boats, along with the history of British contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, are all experiences that are adding to the debate of what contractors are capable of. Interesting stuff and we will see how the British military and leaders navigate this aspect of force. –Matt
Private contractors key to Army, says Philip Hammond
7 June 2012
The British army will have to rely more on part-time reserves and private contractors, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond is expected to say later.
In a speech to military experts, he is due to say the future will involve “thinking innovatively about how combat service support is provided”.
Under the Strategic Defence and Security Review the Army will shrink from 102,000 to 82,000 troops by 2020.
Mr Hammond says there will be “difficult” decisions ahead.
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said the speech at the annual Land Warfare Conference in London will give some clues as to how this rebalancing will be achieved, ahead of a full announcement later this month.
Mr Hammond is expected to tell an audience at the Royal United Services Institute there will be a need to use “more systematically the skills available in the reserve and from our contractors”.
Our correspondent says: “A total of £1.8bn is to be invested in the reserve forces, with a focus on certain niche areas such as cyber warfare, medical and intelligence.”
The defence secretary will say the UK’s armed forces will need to operate better with other nations, like France and the US, in order to provide the necessary fighting “teeth”.
‘Working with partners’
It will mean “working closely with partners to operate logistics more rationally through alliance structures” and “looking to others to provide the tail, where Britain is concentrating on providing the teeth”, he will say.
Mr Hammond will say: “A regular Army of 82,000 will have a different structure to one of 102,000. And some units inevitably will be lost or will merge.”
He will admit “the history and the heritage” of some units deliver “tangible military benefits in the modern British Army” but will add: “So there is no question of abandoning the regimental system.
“But that does not mean that we can avoid difficult decisions as the Army gets smaller.
“And in making those decisions, the military voice must prevail; ensuring that the Army remains the capable and agile force envisaged in the SDSR.”
The changes will also “transform the role of reserve forces”, he will say.
“The Future Reserves must be structured to provide, as they do today, some niche specialists capabilities that aren’t cost-effective to maintain on a full time basis.”
In the future light infantry battalions will be reinforced on deployment by reserve battalions, Mr Hammond is expected to say.
Story here.