More than 10,000 British troops unable to medically deploy | army

More than 10,000 people serving in the armed forces are medically undeployable, according to figures from the Ministry of Defense.

Defense Minister Alistair Karns said in written parliamentary questions that across the armed forces, 99,560 soldiers are fully medically deployable, 14,350 have limited deployability and 13,522 are medically undeployable.

There are 2,922 medically undeployable personnel in the Royal Navy, 6,879 in the Army and 3,721 in the Royal Air Force.

A MoD spokesperson said: The vast majority of our soldiers, around 90 per cent, are eligible for deployment at any point and most of the remaining members of the armed forces are employed in a wider military role.

We are committed to providing world-class medical care to our employees to ensure they can return to work when possible or to support their transition to civilian life.

Military service members who have a medical condition or health problem that affects their ability to perform their duties are typically referred to a medical board for examination and review for a medical grade.

Employees may be downgraded for treatment, recovery, and rehabilitation, and deployability status may be granted on a temporary or permanent basis. Deployable in this context means a person who can be deployed during operations. Some service personnel may have medical requirements that limit the types of work or locations they can be assigned to.

Defense Department statistics for April 2024 show the Army fell short of its target size for the first time since it was set. All three service sectors are now below target. The Army is 1%, the Royal Navy and Royal Marines are 5% and the RAF is 10%. Overall, the UK military is 5,440 troops (1%) below target.

Former Defense Secretary James Heappey told Times Radio he found these figures “very interesting and concerning.” But he said these figures would include many people deemed unfit for missing dental check-ups, and those with injuries could be deployed to war.

He said: I guarantee you that a large chunk of the people who are non-deployable and medically downgraded are downgraded for dental reasons.

And what that means is that because they haven't had a dental check-up in the last six months, they are automatically declared unfit for dentistry and cannot be fully placed.

He added: The reality is that some of these injuries cannot be deployed today to conduct discretionary operations in peacetime. But if war comes they will absolutely be able to go and fight. National needs will take precedence over discretion over medical capacity.

Following Keir Starmer's phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, there was speculation that Britain could consider sending troops to Ukraine to help train the troops.

Last week, Defense Secretary John Healey said this was a critical time for Ukraine and promised Britain would step up its support.

Russia, Iran, and China have increased their defense budgets by more than 50% on average since 2014, while the UK's defense budget increased only 14% during the same period.

Russia, Iran and China have increased their defense spending by 34%, 57% and 60% respectively since 2014, according to a House of Commons survey commissioned by the Liberal Democrats.

Liberal Democrat defense spokeswoman Helen Maguire said strengthening Britain's defenses with an unreliable elected partner from across the Atlantic was vital.

Over the past five years, funding for the military has plummeted by $500 million in real terms. Department of Defense spending on service personnel is projected to reach about $11.66 billion in 2024-25, a decrease of about 4 percent when adjusted for inflation.

In the fall, the Prime Minister promised to increase next year's defense budget by 2.9 billion.

A MoD spokesperson said: The majority of this spending was made under the previous government and, as the figures show, spending is set to increase in the next financial year.

Additionally, the budget increases defense spending by 2.9 billion for next year, and we are committed to setting spring defense spending at 2.5% of GDP.

Our service staff are making extraordinary sacrifices to keep us all safe, and we are proud of their courage, dedication and professionalism. That's why we're renewing national contracts with those who invest in our people, providing the largest pay increases in decades, investing in military housing, and providing reserves for key skills within the military.

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