Quote:
Originally Posted by natehale1971
Does the British Armed Forces still recruit from the Commonwealth nations? not recuirt troops to the Canadian Army, or Austrialian Army or Kenyan Army... but recruit them for the British Army itself?
the reason I am asking, is that we know that the British recruits the Ghurkhas... couldn't the British also be using a similar program to recruit from the Commonwealth states?
Recruits would gain dual citizenship status (Citizenship from their home country and British Citizenship) for their service?
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Until recently low unemployment in Britain led to the British armed forces, and the army in particular, having difficulty in meeting its recruitment targets. The current economic problems that the UK and the rest of the western world is having has probably made a career in the British Army a more attractive offer for many young Britons.
As recently as 2008 volunteers from the Commonwealth accounted for nearly 7% of the British Army's manpower, with soldiers from 42 different countries represented in the Army. The Gurkhas are the largest source, but there are also many volunteers from Fiji, Jamaica and some African countries. There are also recruits from developed Commonwealth countries such as Australia, Canada, NZ and South Africa, especially in the special forces community. The Gibraltar Regiment also recruits from the local population, and there are still many Irish recruits from south of the border in the British Army's Irish units and throughout the British Army and the other services.