A plan for Britain’s new model army

It is time to tear up Britain’s defence policy and start again. British forces, ill-equipped and over-stretched, are engaged in open-ended campaigns in two countries, with little idea of how either should be ended. Former ministers and commanders have talked of a 'train crash', and serving men and women are heading for civvy street.

A radical overhaul is necessary. But the old guard, who have been sounding off a lot lately, and the present senior command are too trapped in their institutional conventions to come up with it. Ideas need to come from original thinkers lower down the order: sparky young captains and corporals who can draw on real experience - before they, too, leave.

The country really does need its armed and security services. (People only ever realise why after a major emergency has come and gone.) We should accept that the numbers

need to stay roughly the same - a budget of £35bn (two per cent of GDP) and around 200,000 full-time personnel.

But how to spend that money and recruit and use those men and women? Here is a ten-point plan for the 21st century:

• We need flexible forces that can deal with conventional tasks and acquire new skills for humanitarian and disaster relief, counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency.

• Education, training, welfare and support must be improved in order to encourage recruitment. Servicemen and women should be offered something like the American GI Bill - an educational or vocational qualification, a contract of a minimum six to ten years, plus incentives including a provision for housing when they leave.

• We need to be able to hire more foreigners from more countries - Commonwealth and EU and other nationals should be invited under strict contract terms. In effect, our own Foreign Legion.

• The structure of the forces needs to be less fragmented and complex. There