Another benefit of the union?The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders are to be axed as a battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond will make the announcement on Thursday as part of the biggest overhaul of the Army in more than a century.
All other battalions of the Royal Regiment of Scotland have survived the cull, but the Argylls will be cut from a separate battalion to just a company, charged with carrying out ceremonial duties such as guarding Edinburgh Castle.
Hammond will set out how the regular Army will be cut from 102,000 troops to 82,000 by the end of the decade - its lowest level since the Napoleonic Wars.
The plan - known as Army 2020 - is expected to see it split into two, with a reaction force, ready to respond to emergencies around the globe, and an adaptable force capable of carrying out a range of tasks and commitments.
Mr Hammond has said the changes - drawn up by Lieutenant General Nick Carter - will provide the basis of a smaller, more flexible and agile Army into the future.
But the prospect of losing historic units has been the cause of intense anguish within the service.
The Daily Telegraph disclosed this week that one officer, Brigadier David Paterson of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, had written to the head of the Army expressing his bitter disappointment at plans to axe one of its two battalions.
In his letter to General Sir Peter Wall, Chief of the General Staff, Brig Paterson said the proposal "cannot be presented as the best or most sensible military option".
Mr Hammond, who will set out details of the proposals in a statement to the House of Commons, has acknowledged that they have involved some "difficult" decisions.
But he said that cuts could not be avoided, with the demands for strict financial discipline under the Government's 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review.
Under the plans, reductions in regular Army strength would be offset by increases in part-time reservists, with the Territorial Army doubling in numbers from 15,000 to 30,000. As well as providing specialist capabilities - such as medics and intelligence - reservists would be used to reinforce infantry battalions on deployment.
'Less flexibility'
The Army would also be required to make greater use of civilian contractors in areas such as logistics support in order to concentrate military capability on the frontline.
Colonel Bob Stewart, a Conservative MP and former commanding officer with the Cheshire Regiment who sits on the defence select committee, said cutting troops was not the right way forward but the Government had been left with no option.
Asked if the Defence Secretary was putting the nation at risk, he told BBC Breakfast: "Every defence secretary has to balance exactly what the risk is. We just don't know what the risk is.
"If you reduce the numbers available you have less options, you have less flexibility, you have less power, that's a fact.
"So if you reduce the numbers you are actually putting the nation more at risk, yes, but equally we don't have much of a choice."
Labour MP and former paratrooper Dan Jarvis said he was "very sad and very concerned" about the downsizing of the army.
He added: "We should absolutely be looking at ways to save money but we should be looking incredibly carefully at the way in which we provide our national security, and a key component of that are our armed forces. They are about to be reduced by a significant amount, the army is going to go from 102,000 to 82,000 in a very uncertain world.
"I am not convinced at all that is the right thing to do, I am not convinced that at the end of that process we will have an armed forces that will be able to do the kind of things we might want them to do in the future."
http://m.stv.tv/news/scotland/109394-ar ... my-review/ This is madness at this time, We need more not less professional soldiers to honour our commitments and for our own defence.
Maybe if the stopped paying a Million unmarried mothers their Multiple Kids Bonus (the More you breed the more you get) and stopped a 1/2 a million less than genuine Mobility Drivers getting a new car every three years we could afford to Keep our Military in good shape.
Dont get me wrong..The genuinely need should be catered for but the Malingerers and Lead swingers..no way!!
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