War 'lures new recruits to the army'

THE army in Scotland has reported a "breathtaking" 366 per cent rise in recruitment as young men are drawn by the "trials of combat", despite the growing death toll emerging from Afghanistan.

Scotland on Sunday can reveal that the number of Scots joining the army in the first three months of the year shot up from just 27 in 2008 to 99 this year. Army recruiters say that the rush to join seems unaffected by the grim death toll in Afghanistan and the growing row between the government and the military over resources for troops.

On Thursday, a British soldier from 2nd Battalion, The Rifles, was killed in an explosion while on foot patrol near Gereshk in Helmand. The previous week, eight soldiers were killed in a 24-hour period. In total, 185 British soldiers have died in Afghanistan, more than those who lost their lives in Iraq.

But army chiefs say the publicity surrounding military operations in Afghanistan is attracting, rather than deterring, youngsters – although they acknowledge the recession has also had a major impact. Unemployment in Scotland has reached a ten-year high with 179,000 people out of work. Brigadier David Allfrey, head of 51st Scottish Brigade, said that the tide of bad news did not seem to be affecting the flow of recruits.

He said relentless scenes of fighting broadcast on the news, combined with best-selling books on the war in Afghanistan and Ross Kemp's award-winning TV documentary have served to attract, rather than deter, young recruits.

"I have talked to a lot of young people over the last 24 months and I have been astonished at the readiness and, indeed, comfort of those seeking to join the profession, by which they absolutely understand what they think the trials of combat are and are signing up to do that," he said.

Describing the increase in recruitment as "breathtaking", he added: "We must be the only employer anywhere in Scotland doing that sort of level."

Allfrey said it was a "fallacy" that the army targeted the working-class in the most deprived areas, but admitted currently running an army contact point in the Shettleston and Easterhouse areas of Glasgow, which, he said "was not a recruitment office but was a place where you go and get a jaffa cake and a cup of coffee".

Asked if that was "grooming" potential candidates he said: "Yes… I suppose it is. But grooming has an appalling sinister overtone to it that is not our business. When you recruit the modern youngster, there has to be choice.

"Is there a risk that young men might die young? Of course there is; we don't seek to disguise that in any way. But I put it to you: is there a risk of a young man dying in any vocation? Of course there is."

Last week the government came under intense pressure to agree to army requests for more "boots on the ground" and more helicopters to transport them. General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the army, returned from Afghanistan last week with a shopping list of demands for more troops and equipment. Ministers are now mulling over calls from Sir Richard and Chief of the Defence Staff Sir Jock Stirrup for more resources in the campaign, with the provision of extra helicopters top of the list.

Sir Jock said on Friday that if more troops were moved by helicopter "you could save casualties" on the ground. Many of those killed in recent weeks have died while on foot or in vehicles when they have been hit by an IED, or improvised explosive device. Sir Richard also warned last week that the "strategic enterprise" in Afghanistan was at risk if troops did not have the surveillance equipment they require to catch the Taleban as they plant they so-called IEDs.

The government is now bracing itself for a full-frontal attack by Sir Richard when he retires at the end of August.

Meanwhile, opinion polls this weekend showed Conservatives have topped 40 per cent for the first time since May, extending their lead over Labour to 17 points. The Tory advantage is the largest recorded by YouGov since September 2008, at the height of the banking crisis.

The former defence secretary John Hutton said last night that British forces in Afghanistan need "more logistical support" to reduce the risk to troops. Although he did not directly criticise the Prime Minister, Hutton said the mood among troops on the ground was "unequivocal" on the need for more manpower, helicopters and protection from roadside bombs.

A spokesman for No 10 said that the "shopping list" of demands would be studied closely.