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British Veterans Mobilized in New Defense Reserve Against Russia Threat
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Amid growing threats from Russia, the United Kingdom has announced the creation of a new strategic reserve—the Home Service Force—that will include tens of thousands of military veterans and reservists, The Herald reported on September 30.
The reserve will bring together the 36,400 personnel already in Britain’s armed forces reserve, spanning the Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force.
According to officials, the new formation will mirror units that operated in Britain between 1982 and 1992 during the Cold War, when former servicemen were tasked with guarding key military bases against potential sabotage by the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. This freed up regular forces for other operations.
“The Strategic Reserve comprises two distinct elements: those former Service personnel with an ongoing legal liability to train and to be called out if needed (the Regular Reserve) and those with a legal liability to be recalled in the direst of situations (the Recall Reserve),” officials told The Herald.
The Ministry of Defense, together with the Royal Navy, Army, and Royal Air Force, is now drawing up a mobilization schedule under the guidance of the Special Defense Council.
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Officials stressed that mounting geopolitical instability requires Britain to have access to a larger, better-trained, and more adaptable military contingent.
Experts warn that Scotland would be on the front line of any Russian escalation. Ed Arnold, Senior Research Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, said that Moscow would likely target Scotland first if it attacked NATO, according to The Herald.
He explained that the Royal Air Force base at Lossiemouth, which monitors Russian submarines in the North Sea and North Atlantic, would probably be one of the first sites to come under fire.
Arnold added that all of Britain’s Poseidon P-8 patrol aircraft are stationed at RAF Lossiemouth, stressing that this constitutes a significant part of NATO’s ability to track Russian naval movements.
Earlier, it was reported that a memorial honoring British volunteer fighters who lost their lives in Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s full-scale invasion was unveiled in London.
