AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE,
LONDON: Nearly 16,000 troops have quit Britain's reserve army since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, a newspaper reported Thursday.
The Daily Telegraph report, which was based on a Freedom of Information Act request, said there was a feeling that dangerous operations in Iraq and other places played a role in making soldiers decide to leave the Territorial Army.
The TA has been used widely to support regular units in Iraq, the Balkans and Afghanistan.
The figures obtained by the Scottish National Party show that between October 2003 and October 2005, the Territorial Army lost 15,670 soldiers who have been replaced by 13,570 new recruits, a shortfall of 2,100.
The figures show that a disproportionate number of officers have left, with 1,280 resigning their commissions, it said.
Christine Grahame, an SNP member of the Scottish parliament, said: “This is a clear signal of the crisis the armed forces are facing as a result of this hugely damaging Iraq war and a defense and foreign policy which is storing up massive problems.”
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said that recently more people had joined than left. “It would be wrong to say that the TA is unable to meet the operational demands placed on it,” he said.
