THE SAS faces a recruitment crisis because the Army is too stretched to supply enough applicants, a leaked document has revealed.
Unrelenting operations in Afghanistan and a huge number of deployments have combined to deter troops from the tough Special Forces selection course, Brigadier Richard Dennis warned in a letter to General Sir Peter Wall, head of the Army.
The lack of new recruits and high battlefield injuries are thought to have left the elite regiment operating at two-thirds capacity. Insiders warned the situation could become "irretrievable" if the Army goes ahead with plans to reduce its headcount by 5,000, shrinking the pool of troops available even further.
Brig Dennis, head of the infantry, warned immediate action is needed to increase "depth and quality" of potential recruits to meet the "challenge of fully manning the SAS"
Being a simple layman I find it difficult to comprehend how the govt can cut defence spending,make redundant experienced soldiers,cancel the building of new ships,mothball or scrap whole squandrons still fully operational and then continue to led the country into conflicts around the globe.
I must be missing something....
