Army chiefs' fury as Paras lose their parachutes: New cutbacks mean recruits will no longer be trained to jump
Parachute Regiment recruits will not undergo intensive training
Experienced soldiers will not do annual jumps to stay battle ready
Former officer and MP Dan Jarvis reveals plans to phase out parachuting
Army reduces size of parachute force on short notice to 80 men
By MARK NICOL
PUBLISHED: 00:08 GMT, 10 March 2013 | UPDATED: 00:08 GMT, 10 March 2013
The name says it all: For more than 70 years the soldiers of Britain’s Parachute Regiment have been prepared to risk their all by dropping into the toughest of war zones.
But now cost cutting means the Paras will no longer be trained to use their chutes, the Mail on Sunday can reveal.
The regiment, whose most famous sortie during the Second World War was immortalised in the film A Bridge Too Far, has been targeted by Ministry of Defence accountants keen to reduce budgets.
Until now, all recruits joining the 1,500-strong regiment have undergone intensive parachute training, including a requirement to complete eight jumps before being considered ready for battle.
Soldiers have had to do at least two refresher jumps each year of their service to ensure that they remain fully trained for drops behind enemy lines.
Now, just a handful of recruits will receive parachute training and hundreds of more experienced Paratroopers will not do the annual jumps required to keep them battle-ready.
Revealed: Former Parachute Regiment officer Dan Jarvis, now a Labour MP, said that parachuting is being phased out
Former Parachute Regiment officer Dan Jarvis, now a Labour MP, revealed that parachuting is being phased out and in future most recruits will not see a chute or receive specialist airborne training.
Jarvis, who led paratroops in battles against the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2007 to 2008, said: ‘Our paratroopers in the second and third battalions, 2 Para and 3 Para, cannot jump any more because they are being denied training and resources.
'Every year there used to be huge parachuting exercises with around 800 paratroopers jumping together.
'Now only 80 troops are jumping in these exercises. Parachute training is being phased out to nothing.’
Senior military figures condemned the reduction in parachute training, arguing that recent operations by French and US forces have proved the value of paratroops.
On January 29 this year, 200 French paratroopers were dropped over the war-torn African state of Mali. They landed at night, forcing Islamist rebels to relinquish control of Timbuktu airport.
And last year US troops launched several missions into isolated areas of Afghanistan by parachute to avoid Taliban forces who were ready to ambush any soldiers travelling by road.
Former Chief of the General Staff General Sir Mike Jackson said: ‘Parachuting should remain an essential capability in Britain’s defence because dropping troops from fixed wing aircraft gives you strategic options beyond that which can be achieved by helicopter.
Paratroopers can operate effectively at night and can surprise enemy on the ground.’
Lieutenant General Sir Hew Pike, who commanded 3 Para in the Falklands War added: ‘For as long as the government states that it wishes to retain a parachute capability they should bloody well pay for it.
'Stopping recruits from completing their parachute training is completely unacceptable.’
MoD strategists point to the fact that the Parachute Regiment has not mounted a large-scale parachute drop for more than half a century.
The last such mission was during the Suez Crisis of 1956.
Last night an MoD spokesman admitted that the Army has reduced the size of the parachute force on short notice to 80 men.
He added that parachute training had never formed part of basic training for Parachute Regiment recruits.
The move coincides with the phased withdrawal of the RAF’s main transport aircraft, the Hercules – used by Paras for their jumps.
