§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) in what ways he will reduce the burden of training on individual army units in the training cycle; [75275]
(2) what plans he has to achieve a more balanced operational and training cycle for the United Kingdom's deployable divisions in the UK and in Germany. [75273]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonAs part of the Strategic Defence Review, we plan to introduce by 2001 a new formation readiness cycle in which each deployable brigade will carry out a three year cycle with formation-level training, commitments and other tasks. This new cycle will enable units to achieve required readiness states and to balance training requirements with operational commitments. It will be made possible by the reorganisation of army formations, including creation of a new mechanised brigade, into a more balanced force structure of two deployable divisions, one armoured and one mechanised, and will as a result help to reduce overstretch and the burden of training on individual units in the cycle.