British Army Officers Resigning By The Thousands ...

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What does this headline tell you?

Officers quit army in record numbers

We know for certain what it says to us.

In fact, swap 'says' for 'shouts'.

Better still, on third thoughts, substitute 'shouts' with 'screams'.

So, read some more of the same sort of scandalous shock and awe stuff, and see if starts you shaking (at least a little), in your best winter-wooly-socks and spit & wax polished boots.

THE army has suffered an unprecedented exodus of more than 1,300 officers in the past six months amid anger about government cost-cutting and equipment shortages.

The number quitting is more than double the rate in the previous 12 months and will add to pressure on Gordon Brown about the way his government is funding the armed services.

Many of those who have resigned their commissions are from frontline units. Most are captains or majors with invaluable experience of battle.

(snip)

The new figures, released last week by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), show the criticisms are shared by serving officers.

A total of 1,344 army officers have left in the past six months alone, more than 100% up on last year’s rate and close to three times the figure for 2004-05. Since the Iraq war, the army has lost 5,790 officers, recruiting only 4,500 to replace them.

It now has more than 200 too few majors – a rank in which it was traditionally overstaffed.

Read the rest of this alarming report.

Oops! We almost forgot to mention that we personally know of one particular young officer who recently decided to wrap it all up.

We know him pretty well, too.

He's one of our own young nephews.

(Thanks, Gordon, George and Tone.)

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