Veterans aged 65 told to prepare for war

Veterans aged 65 told to prepare for war

Tom Cotterill

Thu, January 15, 2026 at 10:45 AM UTC

2 min read

Members of the British Army 1st Battalion of The Mercian Regiment participate in the Iron Sword multinational military exercises — The age ranges at which reserves can be called to serve are being expanded in order to support regular forces amid heightened tensions in Europe - Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Military veterans aged 65 face being mobilised under new powers to prepare the Armed Forces for war.

The Government is set to increase the age at which the nation’s pool of retired soldiers, known as the strategic reserve, can be called upon from 55 to 65.

The new measures are being introduced as part of a new Armed Forces bill which will be published in Parliament later.

The changes will make it easier to mobilise tens of thousands of former military personnel.

The Army has shrunk to its smallest number in more than 200 years, with just over 70,000 full-time, fully-trained troops ready to deploy to the frontline.

Under existing rules, the pool of retired soldiers can be called upon in the event of “national danger, great emergency or attack in the UK”.

However, under the new changes this will be lowered to “warlike preparations”, which is already the threshold for reservists who have recently left the Armed Forces.

The measures come amid fears Britain could be dragged into a full-scale war with Russia in a matter of years.

Defence and security chiefs have repeatedly warned of the potential for large-scale war in recent months.

Al Carns, the Armed Forces minister, said just before Christmas that war was “already knocking on Europe’s door” and that Britain had to be prepared for a conflict that was “bigger” than those fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Last week, the UK announced it would be deploying troops to Ukraine, alongside France, if and when a ceasefire deal between Moscow and Kyiv is agreed.

While it is unclear exactly how many troops could be involved, reports have suggested up to 7,500 UK personnel could be deployed.

If this figure is accurate, it would effectively mean that around 21,000 personnel would be committed to Ukraine – with one cohort deployed, another in training and a third recovering for operations there.

However, military analysts have warned such a deployment would stretch the Armed Forces and would effectively become an “all of Army effort” to maintain.

Sources at the Ministry of Defence have pushed back against suggestions that 7,500 troops could be deployed, with insiders saying it could be lower.

On Friday, the Government pledged to spend £200m to upgrade armoured vehicles and buy new kit in preparation for the peacekeeping mission.

The proposed changes would come into force next year if approved by Parliament, the BBC reported.

The Government estimates there are around 95,000 people within the strategic reserve, including veterans from the Royal Navy, Army, and RAF.

These are different to the reserve forces, which comprise personnel who volunteer part-time to serve in the military. Currently there are almost 32,000 activist reservists across the three wings of the Armed Forces.

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