EXCLUSIVE

THE Territorial Army's ''weekend warriors'' will face compulsory mobilisation and deployment to the world's trouble spots under far-reaching reforms due to be announced by the Ministry of Defence.

The Government plans to offset cuts in TA's volunteer manpower by giving the reserves a greatly enhanced role in Army operations including emergency operations abroad.

The Strategic Defence Review ordered last year will recommend that the TA should increase the number of skilled soldiers in its ranks, including medics, signallers, and technicians. It will say that TA forces should be raised to a maximum level of readiness to allow rapid deployment.

The 59,000-strong TA is the last line of defence in the event of a direct threat to the territory of the United Kingdom. The Government wants to widen its role by integrating its operations into the Army.

Writing exclusively in today's Herald, Armed Forces Minister John Reid also reveals no decision has yet been taken on the future of Scotland's five TA batallions, and pledges that the TA will maintain its ''historic identities and traditions''.

However, he defends planned cuts in the combined TA strength, which is expected to drop from 59,000 to 40,000 overall, while suggesting the decision could be deferred until after the results of the review are announced this summer. ''Numbers will change, and there are plenty who will rush to criticise us for this. But it is easy to be seduced by the mere appearance of military strength,'' he says.

''We do not want a volunteer force which is irrelevant. We want the reserve forces to make a real contribution to the defence needs of the country, and for this we need reserves which are relevant, usable, integrated with the rest of our armed forces, and properly trained and resourced for the tasks of today and tomorrow.''

The disappearance of a direct threat to Nato and the end of the Cold War means the TA is largely a force on paper, but plays little role in the kind of rapid-response operations increasingly expected of British forces. The key reform planned by Dr Reid means improving the TA's battle readiness by making call-ups compulsory.

''In the event of a major crisis, for example, we must be prepared to call out reserves compulsorily, and in their thousands, if we are fully to exploit the military potential of the TA and other reserves.''

The Government wants to make greater use of the flexibility for peacetime deployments given by the Reserve Forces Act passed in 1996. Changes will include streamlining procedures for mobilising the TA, either as units or as individuals, for major operations.

Dr Reid has seen off proposals by MoD officials designed to slash the TA from 59,000 to 10,000, which he dubbed as ''crazy figures''.

In April, The Herald revealed outline plans would see the TA in Scotland halved from its current level of 7100. In addition, it would loose most of its 1200-strong civilian administration staff.

The regular Army has 109,000 soldiers, but is between 5000 and 6000 men short of its annual recruiting target for its tank and infantry units. The Army has just 27,000 trained infantry soldiers.

Officers fear Scotland could be left with just one TA batallion in each of the Highland and Lowland brigade areas instead of the current five.

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