A gamble that may not pay off

FORGET the sentimental arguments about preserving regimental names; these are mere distractions when the defence of the realm is at stake.

The real issue is the Government has taken a huge gamble by cutting the size of the army to 82,000 soldiers. Not only is this half the size it was in the dying days of the Cold War more than 20 years ago but its capability will depend on the presence of 30,000 reservists of the Territorial Army (TA).

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