By . Ian Drury . Desperate defence chiefs will give £10,000 ‘golden handcuffs’ payments to regular soldiers who join the reserves in a bid to boost Army recruitment. Ministers have pledged to double the cash incentive for troops who quit or face redundancy and instead sign up to be so-called ‘weekend warriors’ amid a mounting recruitment crisis. And £300 will be paid to any civilian who wants to enlist in the Army Reserve – formerly the Territorial Army – as a lure to push ahead with their application. Desperate defence chiefs will give £10,000 'golden handcuffs' payments to regular soldiers who join the reserves in a bid to boost Army recruitment . Military chiefs have also held top-level meetings with National Health Service executives in an attempt to get more medical staff to join the part-time force. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond wants to double the number of reservists while axing full-time troops. Under controversial plans outlined in the 2010 defence review, the size of the regular Army is being slashed from 102,000 to 82,000 while doubling the reserve from 15,000 to 30,000. Thousands of troops have been laid off. It has been billed as the biggest change to the military reservists since the Second World War. But Mr Hammond is facing growing criticism that the plans are badly thought through amid concerns commanders will fail to meet the deadline to hit manning targets. Embarrassingly, the number of Army reservists actually fell by 50 – to 19,150 – in the year to January, according to the latest Ministry of Defence personnel figures. The recruitment crisis has been exacerbated by a bungled IT project to handle paperwork at recruiting offices. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond wants to double the number of reservists while axing full-time troops . Now Major General Ranald Munro, the head of the Territorial Army, is under growing pressure to hit targets. The £10,000 – up from £5,000 - will be paid over three years. The scheme, for troops up to the rank of Captain, started this week. So far this financial year, 790 full-time soldiers have transferred to the Army Reserve. Attracting more regular soldiers into the part-time force saves money because a former full-time soldier does not need basic training. Civilians who join with no experience will get £300. The money will cover the cost of petrol for driving to recruitment centres and help to maintain an applicant’s interest while waiting for medical and other pre-training checks to be completed. In what is seen as a crisis move, top brass have met with NHS chiefs to try to free up more health staff to sign up to the reserves. But health chiefs say the NHS - which already provides 2,000 people to the Army Reserve - cannot release staff unless the Government pays for more costly agency nurses and doctors to replace those on military duty. As part of the MoD’s ‘Reserves In The Future’ plan, 29 per cent of the Army will be made up of part-time soldiers. They will be responsible for delivering capabilities including linguists, computer technicians and cyber-warfare teams. They will also be required to bolster infantry battalions, providing specialist medical skills such neurosurgeons and anaesthetists. But senior officers are concerned that young men and women no longer see the Army Reserve as an attractive option. He said: ‘We have tried everything and it is not working. People simply are not interested and we are now in a situation in which we are desperate to pull people into uniform to meet the manning targets. ‘We have lots and lots of officers but not enough soldiers. The situation is very bad.’ Under the shake-up, Mr Hammond has vowed to spend £1.8billion ensuring the reserves have better equipment, new uniforms and are more professional by making them train overseas and alongside regular troops. Overhauling the image of the TA by rebranding it the ‘Army Reserve’ is an attempt to help shed its ‘Dad’s Army’ reputation. Reservists would be expected to take on more front line duties, but critics fear the changes will undermine Britain’s military prowess on the world stage. Mr Hammond said recently he wanted to develop a culture where regular soldiers often wanted to become reservists after leaving full-time service. He said: ‘Ex-regulars deliver a robustness because most of them will be experienced. Many of them will have seen combat operations. They give a backbone to the Reserve.’ An Army spokesperson said: 'Having already had over 1,400 ex-regulars join the Army Reserve over the last two years, we want to build on this by recognising their immense value and unique professional contribution by doubling the financial incentive for ex-regulars joining the Army Reserve. 'Ex-regulars bring exceptional practical and operational experience to the Reserves. We are reforming and revitalising our Reserve Forces, investing £1.8bn in better training and equipment and fully integrating them with the rest of the Army.'
£300 will be paid to any civilian who wants to enlist in the Army Reserve .
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond wants to double number of reservists .
Meanwhile, the regular Army is being slashed from 102,000 to 82,000 .
By . Ian Drury . Desperate defence chiefs will give £10,000 ‘golden handcuffs’ payments to regular soldiers who join the reserves in a bid to boost Army recruitment. Ministers have pledged to double the cash incentive for troops who quit or face redundancy and instead sign up to be so-called ‘weekend warriors’ amid a mounting recruitment crisis. And £300 will be paid to any civilian who wants to enlist in the Army Reserve – formerly the Territorial Army – as a lure to push ahead with their application. Desperate defence chiefs will give £10,000 'golden handcuffs' payments to regular soldiers who join the reserves in a bid to boost Army recruitment . Military chiefs have also held top-level meetings with National Health Service executives in an attempt to get more medical staff to join the part-time force. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond wants to double the number of reservists while axing full-time troops. Under controversial plans outlined in the 2010 defence review, the size of the regular Army is being slashed from 102,000 to 82,000 while doubling the reserve from 15,000 to 30,000. Thousands of troops have been laid off. It has been billed as the biggest change to the military reservists since the Second World War. But Mr Hammond is facing growing criticism that the plans are badly thought through amid concerns commanders will fail to meet the deadline to hit manning targets. Embarrassingly, the number of Army reservists actually fell by 50 – to 19,150 – in the year to January, according to the latest Ministry of Defence personnel figures. The recruitment crisis has been exacerbated by a bungled IT project to handle paperwork at recruiting offices. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond wants to double the number of reservists while axing full-time troops . Now Major General Ranald Munro, the head of the Territorial Army, is under growing pressure to hit targets. The £10,000 – up from £5,000 - will be paid over three years. The scheme, for troops up to the rank of Captain, started this week. So far this financial year, 790 full-time soldiers have transferred to the Army Reserve. Attracting more regular soldiers into the part-time force saves money because a former full-time soldier does not need basic training. Civilians who join with no experience will get £300. The money will cover the cost of petrol for driving to recruitment centres and help to maintain an applicant’s interest while waiting for medical and other pre-training checks to be completed. In what is seen as a crisis move, top brass have met with NHS chiefs to try to free up more health staff to sign up to the reserves. But health chiefs say the NHS - which already provides 2,000 people to the Army Reserve - cannot release staff unless the Government pays for more costly agency nurses and doctors to replace those on military duty. As part of the MoD’s ‘Reserves In The Future’ plan, 29 per cent of the Army will be made up of part-time soldiers. They will be responsible for delivering capabilities including linguists, computer technicians and cyber-warfare teams. They will also be required to bolster infantry battalions, providing specialist medical skills such neurosurgeons and anaesthetists. But senior officers are concerned that young men and women no longer see the Army Reserve as an attractive option. He said: ‘We have tried everything and it is not working. People simply are not interested and we are now in a situation in which we are desperate to pull people into uniform to meet the manning targets. ‘We have lots and lots of officers but not enough soldiers. The situation is very bad.’ Under the shake-up, Mr Hammond has vowed to spend £1.8billion ensuring the reserves have better equipment, new uniforms and are more professional by making them train overseas and alongside regular troops. Overhauling the image of the TA by rebranding it the ‘Army Reserve’ is an attempt to help shed its ‘Dad’s Army’ reputation. Reservists would be expected to take on more front line duties, but critics fear the changes will undermine Britain’s military prowess on the world stage. Mr Hammond said recently he wanted to develop a culture where regular soldiers often wanted to become reservists after leaving full-time service. He said: ‘Ex-regulars deliver a robustness because most of them will be experienced. Many of them will have seen combat operations. They give a backbone to the Reserve.’ An Army spokesperson said: 'Having already had over 1,400 ex-regulars join the Army Reserve over the last two years, we want to build on this by recognising their immense value and unique professional contribution by doubling the financial incentive for ex-regulars joining the Army Reserve. 'Ex-regulars bring exceptional practical and operational experience to the Reserves. We are reforming and revitalising our Reserve Forces, investing £1.8bn in better training and equipment and fully integrating them with the rest of the Army.'
recruitment crisis. And £300 will be paid to any civilian who wants to enlist in the Army Reserve part-time force. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond the regular Army is being slashed from 102,000 to Hammond wants to double the number of reservists