'Fast-track soldiers for front line'

ARMY chiefs want to reduce the length of combat training for infantry soldiers to prepare for potential war in Europe.

- Marco Giannangeli

Recruits currently go through a 26-week Combat Infantry Course at Catterick training centre. But under plans being considered amid growing concerns Russian President Vladimir Putin will attack Nato members if he wins the war in Ukraine, it would be cut to 18 weeks.

To achieve this, adventure training, battlefield tours and even drill, would be jettisoned.

Infantry training was already shortened to boost qualified soldier numbers during the Afghanistan conflict.

A conventional war between Nato and Russia will require the deployment of five brigades at a time, negating the possibility of staggered training.

The outgoing head of the Army, General Sir Patrick Sanders, last month said that Britain should be ready for a "whole of nation undertaking" if Nato goes to war. He added: "Within the next three years, it must be credible to talk of a British Army of 120,000, folding in our reserve and strategic reserve."