Liam Fox, defence secretary, on Friday launched a review to restructure and slim down the top tiers across the services as he made clear that changes were needed to address a "ghastly" budget black hole.
According to Financial Times analysis, the ratio of officers to "lower ranks" has fallen from 1/7 during the 1970s and 1980s to 1/5 today, as non-commissioned personnel have borne the brunt of the squeeze on force levels.
The imbalance is such that the military could shed almost a quarter of all officers and still remain at the same ratio as prevailed through the cold war. In salaries alone, this would save about £400m a year. ...
- Full article by Alex Barker, FT Political Correspondent: British officer corps to be cut back
- Independent: Top officers face axe in 'leaner' MoD
- FT: Fox to remodel modern major generals
- Defence Management Journal 27 Aug 2010: Army has 800 surplus officers