The operation comes as the Army is at its smallest size in over 200 years
The UK is set to call up retirees to help prepare for a war with Russia (Image: Getty)
The UK is set to call up 95,000 retirees to help prepare for war with Russia as WW3 fears explode.
A major drill to mobilise an army of veterans is being planned to take place next year.
Louise Sandher-Jones, the Armed Forces minister, said a “strategic reserve” of 95,000 retired troops will be called into action “on a scale we haven’t seen for a long time”.
The operation comes as fears increase regarding conflict with Russia by 2030.
British factories have already been threatened by Moscow due to building drones for Ukraine with Western intelligance officials warning that Vladimir Putin is waging a campaign that could trigger a war.
The drill comes as the government’s cost-cutting on military plans is facing scrutiny after it emerged that John Healey, the Chancellor, would fail to commit to spending 3 per cent of gross domestic product on defence by 2030.
According to The Telegraph the details of the drill are still being finalised but it is expected to test the ability of veterens to be called on and equipped in an emergency.
Ms Sandher-Jones said on Monday: “The strategic reserve is a real commitment for those that are in it and they will be exercised as part of our exercise programme next year where we will go through measures to call out, use, equip and all the rest of the procedures we’d have to go through to use the strategic reserve properly.”
She added that the network of former troops would have a crucial role in defending the country, despite it being “a lot less used in my lifetime”.
Louise Sandher-Jones said the troops would be called on in “a scale” not seen for a “long time” (Image: Getty)
She continued: “When I left the Army and found out I was in the strategic reserve, I just filed it away and never thought about it again. We are definitely no longer in that space.”
The drill will serve as a test for the Government after it was revealed that it had forgotten much of the network of retired soldiers and officers from the Army, RAF and Navy.
The law currently states that all former regular and reserve officers retain recall liability for life
The Ministry of Defence are also legally obliged to maintain contact with former military staff in the first six years after they leave full-time service.
This group of former military staff differs from the reserve forces, which is made up from people who volunteer part-time to serve in the military.
The drill is set to take place next year (Image: Getty)
The reserve forces are currently comprised of around 32,000 active reservists.
As part of a new Armed Forces Bill, it was announced in January that the age military veterans could be mobilised would rise from 55 to 65.
The current rules also state that retired soldiers can be called upon in the event of “national danger, great emergency or attack in the UK”.
However, the new bill will see this changed to mean retired soldiers can also be called on for “war-like preparations”.
The changes come as the Army has fallen to its smallest size in over 200 years, with around 71,000 full-time, fully-trained troops ready to deploy to the front line.
Government officials have also stated that Britain does not have an “effective system of tracking and engaging” those that recently left the military and also don’t “know where most” of the reservists are.
Last week the MoD announced that more people had joined the full-time forces than had left it for an entire year for the first time since 2021, however these gains are still small with the Army having only increased by 170 personnel.