Outsourcing a shrinking Army
Some have asked me about my Army experience and how I can bring this to bear to help our soldiers today. The photos above show a much younger Captain David Kinnaird in Bulford prior to deployment on Op Resolute in Bosnia, and on my previous posting in Cyprus.
I joined the Army in January1987. Unlike most of my fellow cadets at Sandhurst I had been to a state school and had no other family connections to the military. I joined the Army as I discovered I was colour blind and would never be a pilot. A kindly recruiting sergeant watched me walk crestfallen from the RAF recruiter, shepherded me into his shiny office and showed me photos of soldiers water skiing in Belize. Simple as that, I was in.
The Army I joined was nearly 150,000 strong. We had 3 full Armoured Divisions based in the North of West Germany, and as young officer in the Royal Signals I served in 2 of them at 4 Division (briefly) and then a full tour with the Headquarters and Signal Regiment of the 3rd (Iron) Division. This was before the fall of the Berlin Wall, and we exercised and prepared for all-out war with the USSR and Warsaw Pact. Our "Active Edge" kit was permanently packed, and we were ready to deploy to our pre-prepared positions. This was the UK in NATO, prepared to face and defeat what Ukraine is facing now. I served subsequently in Colchester, Catterick, Cyprus, Bulford, Bosnia, Staff College and the MoD leaving the service aged 36 as a Major.
The 1987 Army ran its own recruiting, guarded its own camps, owned its quarters accommodation, serviced its own vehicles, had Army cooks, doctors, medics, vets, chaplains both in camp and on exercise, and at war. Indeed, it had its own forces hospitals (one was just up the road in Wroughton). It was a self-sufficient eco-system that could look after itself and its people (including dependents) in almost every respect.
Slowly, the Army has been outsourced. Catering in barracks and in messes is now by Sodexo (amongst others). All Married Quarters were sold off by the Tories in 1996 to Annington Homes, a deal so bad that 28 years later the MoD are trying to reverse it. Many vehicles are maintained by civilians, often not by the soldiers that would operate them in battle. Recruiting was outsourced to Capita in 2012 – a disaster that has simply not recruited the number of soldiers the Army requires. Last year, with a 3,000 net outflow, the CGS - Patrick Sanders despatched hundreds of soldiers to help recruit other soldiers. We now have 75,000 soldiers - nearly 10% less than we should have.
It seems to me looking back and in, that the Army's capacity to recruit, sustain and nurture its people within an embracing and cohesive culture has been damaged. Outsourced slice by outsourced slice. When I visited Tidworth Garrison recently it was understandably quiet, with many soldiers committed to many different countries and a huge NATO exercise ongoing. But so many soldiers now serve unaccompanied, leaving partners back in their hometown - and even when not deployed, this is where they return at weekends, leaving the Garrison a ghost town. ""People treat it just like a job now", one officer commented "warfighting capability remains outstanding, but there has been fundamental change in the Army way-of-life"
Most serving soldiers knew that selling off the quarters in 1996 was a terrible idea. Most also knew that outsourcing recruiting and training was also a terrible idea. Uniformed jobs in recruiting and training for long serving soldiers kept experience and ties within the Army. The whole system had resilience and depth. It worked. When I left the Army, my resignation letter stated that the Military Covenant was even then not being upheld. It seems much worse now. The basic need for decent accommodation is still not being universally delivered.
I think we need to revisit the dogma that has led to so much being outsourced. Both Labour and the Conservatives have driven this and I believe have ultimately damaged the culture of the Army. Recruiting, and the factors that help with retention need to be in control of the chain of command, not a lawyer with a contract. In the meantime, the contracts we have need to be properly enforced and made to work as designed. Big commitments on spending will not work unless we recruit, train and retain the service personnel we need.
Our defence is critical, so no more terrible ideas that slice away capability and ethos would be a good move. A top down approach that has driven outsourcing has negatively impacted the Army, and the same can be seen happening across the NHS and care sector. Old soldiers can bore on for hours about how "it wasn't like this in my day" so apologies for that - but it is really clear that we are outsourcing away some of what made service life special. It is more than just a job, and it needs to feel like that. From the moment you first think of joining you need to be special, looked after and valued. Capita delays and mouldy accommodation just will not cut it.