Major boost to pool of skilled former military personnel called upon in crises as UK strengthen preparedness

• The Armed Forces Bill will grow the pool of former Service personnel who Defence could draw on in times of crisis, in a move welcomed by senior military leaders

• Measures in new Armed Forces Bill will ensure skills and experience of former personnel can be rapidly deployed during crises such as a transition to war, aligning with similar moves by NATO forces to strengthen their Reserves

• Reforms support Strategic Defence Review recommendation to reinvigorate Strategic Reserve and adopt a whole-of-society approach to national defence

New measures are being introduced through the Armed Forces Bill to strengthen the UK's Strategic Reserve (former Service personnel with an Ex Regular and Recall Reserve liability), to help Defence draw on their valuable skills and experiences in times of crisis. 

The Ministry of Defence is taking decisive action to boost readiness and deliver on the first duty of government – to keep its citizens safe. The Bill includes measures that will affect our Regular and Volunteer Reserve personnel's liability for recall after they leave service. The key changes will:

• Increase the maximum age for call from 55 to 65 

• Align the time for which recall applies across all three services  

• Lower the threshold for recall so that Reservists can be recalled for ‘warlike preparations' in addition to the current requirement for ‘national danger, great emergency or attack on the UK' 

Commander Standing Joint Command, Lt General Paul Griffiths, who is leading UK efforts to ensure we are ready to combat the increasing threat, said: 

“As the threat to our nation grows, we must ensure our Armed Forces can draw on the numbers and skills required to meet it. I fully support these measures, which will give us the widest possible pool of experienced personnel to call upon in times of crisis. 

“Our Strategic Reserve represents a wealth of expertise built over years of military and civilian experience – from cyber and intelligence to medicine and communications. These reforms will allow us to mobilise that talent rapidly when it matters most, strengthening our readiness and aligning with a similar approach many NATO forces are taking to bolster their own resilience.” 

In a move that will complement our excellent volunteer Reserves, these measures will ensure that in times of crisis we can both grow the pool of former Service personnel we call upon and have greater flexibility to draw on their skills and experiences during a transition to war. Members of the Strategic Reserve vary in age and offer diverse and valuable skills from their military and civilian experiences.  

These critical personnel provide crucial expertise in cyber, medicine, intelligence and communications. 

Our approach also aligns with the increasing importance NATO allies (including the US, France, Germany and Poland) are placing on their Reserve forces to strengthen their defence and resilience and draw on expertise from outside the Regular military. It also reflects lessons from Ukraine's innovative use of Reserves and whole of society response to Russian aggression.  

In 2024, more than one in five troops training Ukrainian forces on Operation INTERFLEX – the British-led multinational military operation to train and support the Armed Forces of Ukraine – were Reservists. 

Notes to editors: 

• These reforms are expected to come into force from Spring 2027 and military personnel who are currently serving will have the opportunity to opt out while former personnel whose liability has expired will not be affected 

• The Quarterly Service Personnel Statistics publishes Ex-Regular Reserve numbers, with July 2025's total being 35,897.  

• While Defence does not publish Recall Reserve statistics, we estimate there is a maximum of 60,000 individuals in this group. We estimate that a combined total of approximately 95,000 have a Strategic Reservist liability and are working to refine these figures and those who could be called out in practice.  

• Those who have already left Service will not be affected, unless they wish to opt-in. Currently only around 5% of Veterans have an ongoing liability for recall to Service. 

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