General Sir Roly Walker, Chief of the General Staff, has warned British soldiers that "extreme jeopardy in the world at the moment" will require the force to fight in a war. Addressing 700 troops from 1st (UK) Division, the army's Global Response Division, at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire, he said the nation was "going to need you" and that they would need to "consent to sacrifices" as the global situation deteriorates.
Sir Roly, a special forces veteran, said the spirit of soldiering has returned to the UK, but warned: "You didn't know this, but our nation is going to need you. There was a time that our nation didn't want to think of a time when it would need its soldiers to fight in a war."
Political leaders urged to hold 'frank conversation' with public
He also said political leaders would need to prepare the country's civilian population for war with a "frank conversation" about what could be to come. He told troops: "Indeed very soon, the political leaders of this country will start to have a frank conversation with the citizens of this country, about just what is going on and where the risk lies, and what the nation must need to be prepared to do."
Sir Roly added: "But as anyone who is studying the trajectory of world affairs, and the geopolitical system within which our nation sits and thrives, will realise, there is extreme jeopardy in the world at the moment. And the business of soldiering is coming back into the nation's psyche."
Similar warnings from other security chiefs
The warning comes as advisors warn the public will also need additional warning about the threat Russia poses, with Lord Peter Ricketts saying Moscow could carry out "hybrid" attacks that could eventually result in deaths. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said: "I think they've really got to start a conversation with the British people about what may be coming, because not only is Putin trying to break morale in Ukraine, he's also trying to undermine morale in European countries."
Also issuing a warning was the head of MI5, Sir Ken McCallum, who said on Tuesday the service was devoting more resources to combating threats from hostile states than it did during the Cold War. He described Russia as the "number one aggressor" in his major speech last week.
