Retired troops in their sixties may be called up to rejoin the military under new powers aimed at making it easier to mobilise tens of thousands of veterans . Ministers will raise the age limit for the strategic reserve from 55 to 65 under measures aimed at preparing the nation for war, the Ministry of Defence will announce on Thursday reports The Times.
Former armed forces personnel will also remain on call for an extra decade, and the threshold for being called into service will be lowered. At present, the defence secretary can compel all non-officer veterans of the army or the RAF to take up arms during a crisis or national emergency if they have left within the past 18 years and are under the age of 55. This period is only six years for the Navy, but will increase to 18 under the new legislation.
The changes will allow non-officer veterans to be called up until the age of 65, in line with the existing rules for officers. The new rules will be mandatory for those currently in the forces, but those who have already left will be able to opt in. There are believed to be about 95,000 members of the strategic reserve, although the government does not know where all of them are because of a failure to keep in touch with them over the years, states the report.
A defence source said they could not rule out sending a 65-year-old to battle but said their roles would be chosen based on their skills and experiences. The source said: "A lot of these [people] have experience of being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and the roles they might end up doing could be cyber, logistics, training."
Mobilisation threshold expanded to include 'warlike preparations'
The threshold for mobilisation would also change, the source said. Under the existing rules members of the reserve can be called on in the event of "national danger, great emergency or attack in the UK". This will be expanded to "warlike preparations", the same threshold as for reservists who have left active service within the past few years.
The Ministry of Defence said it could call up small numbers of reservists to take on specialist, non-combat roles, citing cybersecurity as an example. Lieutenant General Paul Griffiths, Commander, Standing Joint Command, who is leading the efforts to ensure Britain is ready to face the increasing threat of war, said: "We must ensure our armed forces can draw on the numbers and skills required to meet it. I fully support these measures, which will give us the widest possible pool of experienced personnel to call upon in times of crisis."
The changes, part of legislation for the armed forces being published in parliament on Thursday, were first reported by the BBC. They are seen as crucial changes which ministers believe will help improve Britain's readiness for conflict.
Mandatory training and tests for reservists scrapped in 1990s
Until the 1990s, people who were still subject to the "reserve service liability" were required to attend one weekend of training each year and take mandatory fitness and weapon-handling tests. This no longer happens.
Those who have already left the service and are in the strategic reserve will not be affected by the changes unless they opt in. At present only 5 per cent of veterans still have liability for service, and it is not clear how much the changes will increase the numbers.
The Ministry of Defence hopes to introduce the changes in spring next year.
