THE Army’s outgoing chief has praised soldiers for standing strong in the face of government cuts.
General Sir Patrick Sanders said his forces are “the most productive army in Europe” — despite personnel being slashed to under 73,000 for the first time in 300 years.
In a farewell message to troops, the former Chief of the General Staff said: “You are deployed in more places globally than any other army and delivering the same operational outputs as when we were 25,000 stronger.”
Gen Sanders, 58, lost 800 armoured vehicles and 80 Challenger 2 tanks despite the Tories’ promise not to cut the Armed Forces.
He warned yesterday the world is more dangerous as “trends for conflict are converging” adding: “Global crises are at risk of escalating.”
He said: “You’ll need to rebalance, creating space for modernisation.” Gen Sanders, in post for two years, handed over to General Sir Roly Walker at the Trooping the Colour.
Rishi Sunak has pledged to lift military spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030.
Sir Keir Starmer has said Labour would also set out a path to 2.5 per cent after a full defence review.
