Although the British army is too small and the war in Ukraine shows the need to involve the “whole of society” in defense, the public is deeply averse to the concept of conscription, and moving the debate away from it is a matter of ” “difficult,” the parliamentary report said. On the lessons learned from the Russian invasion.
The House of Lords International Relations and Defense Committee said that while Western defenses were no longer a sufficient threat and as a result were unable to prevent Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the lessons learned from the conflict itself showed that future wars would be It warns that this will undermine many long-held planning assumptions about the future. The committee notes that the British Army is too small to effectively meet its NATO obligations, or even make a meaningful contribution to multiple conflicts at the same time. new report The government said it acknowledged the findings, while acknowledging recent comments by senior military officials that the civilian world will need to participate in defense in the future for a “whole-of-society” effort.
The size and capabilities of the British military were based on the now apparently outdated idea that unforeseen conflicts could be resolved within weeks, which was simply not the case in the Ukraine war. Rose's report notes that the decline in human capital has been explained by the increasing sophistication of technology that supplements capacity, but argues that this position has also been proven wrong.
The report states: “…Britain has a well-trained and well-equipped army, but its size is too small and inadequately prepared for a large-scale, long-term conflict like the one in Ukraine…advanced technology The use of “is occasionally used'' to justify the small number of troops. But the Ukraine war showed that in conflicts between two technologically superior nations, technology is not a silver bullet to quickly end a war. ”
The 'wake-up' paper focuses on the 'growing threat from Russia' and also points to Britain's never-ending military recruitment crisis. Part of that is due to a dysfunctional recruitment system that is turning away the best applicants: the Civil Defense Corps' abandonment. Establishment during the Cold War and a relatively light reserve force were also found to be major factors. Taken together, this leads to the recognition that wars are fought purely in isolation from the military and broader society, with battles taking place far away and having no meaningful domestic impact. is said to be common among a wide range of people.
This may have been the case during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, but it is said that those days have passed. The paper states: This will require further raising public awareness of the risks facing the UK and, most importantly, of how they themselves can contribute to improving resilience. ”
The Rhodes report reiterates a point in recent memory from senior officers warning that wider society must be prepared to get involved in national defence, but not to frighten the public. It is important to structure the discussion. The new report makes explicit reference to a period at the end of the previous administration, when the issue of military conscription was a hot topic and there were month-long “yes or no” reports in the newspapers, and warns that: It is pointed out as follows. “How we phrase the debate around non-military public contributions is difficult but important. There is always a risk that the conversation will turn into a debate over conscription.”
The House of Lords, like many in the British military, has looked with envy at Europe's cost-effective, highly staffed conscription and reserve armies. Ukraine: alarm bell This week's report called on the government to consider a Scandinavian-style model. It said:
…Countries like Finland and Sweden could provide valuable insights. Both countries have adopted the concept of “integrated defense,'' which involves all sectors of government, economy, and civilians in defense planning. In both countries, the concept of total defense is firmly ingrained in the national psyche. For example, Finland has a small regular army, but its comprehensive national defense strategy allows it to quickly mobilize large numbers of troops, and that strategy includes significant civilian involvement, including a large reserve force. 63. Sweden's approach is also one of them. It includes a wide range of activities to prepare Sweden's national defense.
64 Sweden has a wide range of autonomous defense organizations associated with this effort.…
…The UK Government will move beyond the notion that defense is the sole responsibility of the military and build public understanding of the role that ordinary citizens can play in building national resilience and contributing to national security and defence. Should. Plans should be developed in consultation with the public so that communities have ownership over and are motivated to participate in the plan. The UK government should learn from the experience of other countries, such as the Scandinavian concept of 'full national defence'.
As mentioned above, these points have been constantly raised by British as well as Western military leaders since the outbreak of the Ukraine war. Sir Patrick Saunders, the former chief of staff, said earlier this year that Britain was now living in a “pre-war generation” and was now in a “preparatory phase that will enable us to put our society on a war footing”. .
He said in January: “Our friends in Eastern and Northern Europe, who feel more acutely that the Russian threat is approaching, are already acting cautiously and laying the foundations for national mobilization…What is needed is simply It has become not only desirable, but essential.
“We are not immune, so as the pre-war generation we must prepare as well. It's a national effort.”
The British Army itself, which has been intimately involved in the Ukraine war behind the front lines by training tens of thousands of new recruits, says its experience helped it relearn how to quickly create new 'nations'. Talking behind closed doors. Just in case you need it in a hurry. A Pentagon official was quoted as saying earlier this year that “we observe that much of what we are doing could serve as a rehearsal for missions to form our own second phase.” are.
