EXCLUSIVE

Any renewed bid for amalgamation of the Royal Scots and the King's Own Scottish Borders, who were reprieved from such a fate in 1993, will undoubtedly bring the old and the bold back into the arena with all guns blazing.

Despite a #55m annual recruiting budget and hard-sell television advertising which many senior officers feel may be too sophisticated, the Army is still almost 5000 men below its minimum recruiting level of 15,000 this year. Scotland, which provides a disproportionate 13% of the total manpower, is suffering along with the rest of the UK.

It is now standard practice for any battalion deployed to Ulster or Bosnia to ''borrow'' anything up to two rifle companies - about 200 soldiers - from another unit to bring it up to operational strength. In the Scottish Division, this is known as the ''rent-a-Jock'' scheme.

The Royal Scots, nicknamed Pontius Pilate's Bodyguard and formed in 1633, is the oldest surviving regiment in the British Army, holding the coveted position of senior regiment of infantry and the title of First of Foot. Ironically, the RS and the KOSB are the only two Scottish regiments which have never been amalgamated with another unit.

The Labour Government is in the process of launching a full-scale defence review designed to address the country's military needs and obligations and the force structures required for likely commitments over the next decade or so.

The review will take six months to complete and will involve a long, hard look at the composition of the armed services, their equipment, recruiting, place in society, and morale. It will not, unlike previous Tory mini-reviews, be Treasury driven.

Senior officers already fear that Scotland's place in the scheme of things may be downgraded from a divisional to a brigade command because there are only 1700 regular troops stationed north of the Border. An obvious area for freeing up resources to be used elsewhere would be a reduction in the number of headquarters.

Scotland has a main command HQ at Craigiehall, near Edinburgh, and two separate brigade organisations covering Territorial troops in the Lowlands and the Highlands. These are three of 20 headquarters scattered throughout the UK to administer an Army which has shrunk to just 104,000 personnel.

Dr John Reid, the Armed Forces Minister, said last night: ''No decisions have yet been made about anything. Our review will keep all options open, bearing in mind that the objective is to match the configuration of our military services to national, Nato and peacekeeping tasks worldwide.

''This is not a cost-cutting exercise. It is a long-overdue attempt to structure what we have in a way that makes sense from both defence and foreign policy perspectives. We will be listening to a wide range of views from the military hierarchy, academics and other interested parties. We will not be rushing to judgment.

''But there can be no sacred cows. Everything will be examined honestly and in depth. The Tories tinkered with defence as a money-saving ploy, seriously damaging service morale and military capability in the process. We are concerned with getting the equation right.''

A defence source added: ''Like the rest of the UK, Scotland has a recruiting problem at the moment. Efforts are being made to redress the balance, but it will not be done overnight. The obvious solution is to use the available manpower to bring five battalions up to strength. The alternative is to continue to beg, steal, and borrow and totter along with six under-strength units.

''That carries the penalty of continued overstretch. Battalions ostensibly back in the UK for training or garrison duties after, say, an emergency tour in Northern Ireland, would continue to have men detached and seconded elsewhere. Training suffers, morale plummets, and wives and families become understandably upset. The end result is often that the most capable middle-management officers and NCOs vote with their feet to the detriment of the entire Army.''

If threatened, Scottish Command will fight its corner by claiming that closure of existing administrative headquarters would have a detrimental effect on the retention of Territorial Army volunteers and some 8500 Army cadets dependent on aid from both regular and TA units in their local areas.

Labour's defence review will also look at the need for eight heavy regiments of Challenger main battle tanks as a counter to a Soviet armoured threat which no longer exists, although the Army will argue that it must maintain the capability to fight effectively in a high-intensity conflict such as the Gulf war.

Illustrious past of soldiers who travelled the world to serve their country with honour

q The Royal Scots was founded from Scots living in France by Sir John Hepburn in 1633 The regiment won 79 honours in the First World War seeing action in the Western Front, Middle East and Eastern Europe adding a further 39 honours in the Second World War serving in France, Italy, Burma, and Hong Kong. The regiment has since seen action in Cyprus, Suez, Northern Ireland, and the Gulf. Nicknamed Pontius Pilate's Bodyguard and based in Edinburgh Castle, the regiment recruits in the Lothians. It escaped merger in 1881 when it absorbed the Edinburgh Light Infantry Militia.

q The Kings' Own Scottish Borderers were raised by the Earl of Leven in 1689 acquiring their present title in 1887. Early service was in Ireland as well as at Culloden. The KOSB won 75 honours in the First World War serving on the western Front, in Italy and the Middle East. Winning 43 further honours in the Second World War the KOSB saw action in France and Burma. Since 1945 the KOSB served in Palestine, Malaya, Aden, Borneo, Northern Ireland and the Gulf as well as winning three honours for service in Korea. Based in Berwick-upon-Tweed, the KOSB also escaped amalgamation in 1881.