Report: UK home defense force to cut back on training for 6 months because of budget concerns
By APSaturday, October 10, 2009
Report: UK defense force to slash training
LONDON — A British newspaper says the military has ordered a home defense force to stop training for six months because of budget pressures.
The Times of London reported Saturday that weekend exercises and other training for the Territorial Army, the largest of Britain’s reserve forces, will stop temporarily. The decision is expected to save 20 million pounds (US$32 million).
Defense officials refused to confirm the report. But they acknowledged tight budgets will affect the voluntary force — and every other part of the military — and that many cuts are under consideration. Britain’s military said that, like all government departments, it must live within its means. Defense officials say their priority is operations in Afghanistan.
Hundreds of the weekend warriors, as members of the Territorial Army are called, have been deployed to Afghanistan.
