It's become "incredibly difficult" to serve in armed forces, says Rutland veteran
Last week, outgoing army boss General Sir Patrick Sanders said conscription could become necessary to make sure the UK is better readied for conflict
A Rutland veteran says a small increase in the number of serving personnel would help "take the pressure off" armed forces families, but any move towards conscription would be a "mistake".
Last week General Sir Patrick Sanders, the outgoing head of the army, said its 74,000-strong ranks need to be bolstered by at least 45,000 reservists - and citizens - in order to be better readied for possible conflict.
Downing Street has ruled out the possibility of being called up to fight, saying that army service will remain voluntary.
Former army officer, Ian Razzell, said any move towards conscription would be "a mistake":
'We already have a method of calling up reservists and a method of calling back those who were involved in military service but didn't complete a full career.'
'The road to war is difficult. It is always littered with mistakes and, at this stage, conscription or the consideration of it would be one of those mistakes.'
'We still need boots on the ground but we perhaps don't need them in the same numbers. You only have to look at the very sad state of affairs on the frontline in Ukraine to realise these things go on for months and years.'
'Recruiting more people to wear a uniform now is an indication that we haven't learned from previous wars.'
He added that a minor increase in armed forces personnel would be welcomed by those serving:
'The way we look after our service personnel in terms of training; opportunity for them to see their families; the constant demand for training for operations; deploying for operations; returning, (it) has become incredibly difficult and is probably one of the reasons that people leave.'
'The turn-around time is so quick and the time with their families; the time for a normal existence, it is so small now, and the pressure for them to deliver so large. Could that mean a small increase in the number of service personnel we have? Yes, absolutely.'