Rent-a-Jock

Apparently its not just "Two Jobs Des" who is trying to do two things at once. Due to the shortage of troops many are being denied the 24-month gap between frontline operations promised by the Ministry of Defence over the past four years.

The Herald reports

That one battalion, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, was given just one-third of the recommended time off between six-month stints of duty in the Balkans and Iraq.

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The unit is also the worst-manned of the five regular battalions in the new Royal Regiment of Scotland (RRS) with a shortfall of 97 trained men and a backlog of experienced soldiers who have already applied to leave the Army early.

The Black Watch, now 3rd Battalion, RRS, had only 12 months - half the time for rest and recuperation deemed necessary under the MoD's "harmony guidelines" - between two punishing tours of duty in Iraq in which it lost nine dead.

Before the King's Own Scottish Borderers and the Royal Scots amalgamated into 1st Battalion, RRS last year, the component battalions had 16 months and 18 months respectively between deployments in Iraq and Northern Ireland.

One officer who spoke to The Herald said the real situation is much worse because sub-units - 30-man platoons or 100-man rifle companies - are often re-assigned during what is supposed to be their down-time and "bolted on" to other battalions to bring them up to fighting strength for operations.

Under MoD rules, this does not show up as a unit deployment for the soldiers involved. To register as a tour, a battalion has to send a headquarters and at least two company-sized groups.

Anything less than that does not appear in official statistics as a breach of harmony guidelines.

The report then goes onto to make the point that the troop shortages are causing the problem by explaining the "Rent-a-Jock" System as follows

The officer, a veteran of Iraq, said: "Every battalion in the Army is an average of 70 soldiers short of complement. That means robbing Peter to pay Paul when it comes to fielding a unit in combat in the necessary numbers.

"It's known as the Rent-a-Jock' system. A prime example was the KOSB having to provide a reinforced company for six months on a rolling programme at a time to garrison the Falklands while the battalion was supposed to be in peacetime barracks and undergoing normal training in the UK.

"It has become a regular occurrence in this overstretched Army to haul guys away from well-deserved time with their families to bulk out another under-strength regiment which needs the bodies.

"It's little wonder that soldiers are voting with their feet and leaving. There are just too few men available."

Shortages Force Scots Troops Back Into Battle Too Soon (from The Herald )