A military veteran has said that Britons would have to be “dragged kicking and screaming” to get them to fight in a war.
Ex-Royal Marine Ben McBean, 36, has said that poor conditions and pay would not incentivise people to sign up.
McBean, who lost an arm and leg in Afghanistan, also said that a poor recruitment system and a lack of patriotism within the country would result in a limited number of Britons volunteering for conscription.
Earlier today, the head of the army, General Sir Patrick Sanders, warned that civilians should be trained to form a “citizen army” ready to fight a war in the future.
A veteran has said that Britons would be very reluctant to sign up to fight in a war
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Highlighting the threat of Russia, Sanders stated that an increase in reservists alone “would not be enough”.
However, McBean said that Britons would not be willing to voluntarily sign up, stating they would need to be dragged “kicking and screaming”.
He told The Sun: “It's not the same as back in the day, people aren't as patriotic.
“That mentality is gone and it is going to be hard to get it back. You would have to drag people in kicking and screaming to get them to conscript.
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General Sir Patrick Sanders has said that Britain should brace itself to fight a war in the future
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“The adverts don't help, the recruiting system isn't great, the recruiting office where I live has closed down.
“The way the country is being run, and then people being skint and underpaid, there's not a lot of incentive to want to fight for this country, even if it's your own country.”
As well as sowing the seeds for a voluntary callup in the future, Sanders also critiqued the army’s lack of funding and its inability to modernise.
Within three years, the UK should have a larger army of 120,000, which would be comprised of regular soldiers and reserves, Sanders advised.
The Army currently stands at around 73,000 troops, compared to over 100,000 in 2010.
He said: “Ukraine brutally illustrates that regular armies start wars; citizen armies win them.”
Sanders claimed that the army was vulnerable as billions of pounds promised to the military had not yet been delivered. He added that equipment plans were “unaffordable”.
Sanders wants the army to grow to 120,000 within the next three years
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In a speech to the International Armoured Vehicles Conference in Twickenham, London, he said: “We need an army designed to expand rapidly to enable the first echelon, resource the second echelon and train and equip the citizen army that must follow.”
However, McBean said Sanders’ plans to grow the Army would not happen unless there was widespread reform within the military force.
He criticised the typical “posh” old general image he claims the Army currently has, stating that it is not relatable.
The 36-year-old said: “Get veterans into schools, get them young, by the time they're 18 it is probably too late.”
McBean also said that more needed to be done to rehabilitate veterans back into society once they have returned from their tours.
He explained: “There are veterans on the streets.
“And it is hard to justify to fight for a country that won't look after you if you get injured.”
