JRL NEWSWATCH: “UK must train citizens for war with Russia, says army chief” – The Times (UK)
“General Sir Patrick Sanders says volunteers must be prepared for conflict, in speech No 10 didn’t want made public”
“Civilians must be trained and equipped to form a ‘citizen army’ of tens of thousands in case Britain is dragged into war with a country such as Russia …. General Sir Patrick Sanders, chief of the general staff [said], also … [criticizing] the army’s lack of funding and inability to modernise. He said … within three years there should be a larger army of 120,000, including regular soldiers, reserves and a ‘strategic reserve,’ thought to mean … retired troops … recalled. … Sanders said … that to win a war it was essential that steps be taken to ensure the public was on a ‘war footing when needed’ … ‘prudent’ to lay the foundations for ‘national mobilisation’…”