'Being a reservist means you get to see the world'

Laura Holloman admitted to occasional burnout, but said the reserves respect that family comes first

A reservist army regiment in the Midlands is appealing for more people to join.

Troops in the 4 Mercian Regiment, a light infantry company, all have civilian jobs, but train as soldiers on evenings, weekends and for a two-week period each year.

Cpl Jack Harley, an HGV driver from Kidderminster, has served with the regular army in Estonia and Cyprus, and trained Ukrainian troops following the Russian invasion.

He said being a reservist was like "rolling around in the mud, seeing the world, and you get paid for it. What's not to like?"

Many politicians have said there is a need to boost numbers of reservists and troops. The British Army is now at its smallest size since the time of the Napoleonic Wars two centuries ago.

Recruitment is failing to match retention, with many soldiers and officers complaining about neglected and substandard accommodation.

In June this year, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for new soldiers to be offered a £10,000 bonus to rapidly boost troop numbers to deal with an increasingly unpredictable world.

The 4 Mercian Regiment has reserve centres in Burton-upon-Trent, Kidderminster, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton, Worcester, Nottingham and Mansfield, as well as the North West.

More than 100 reservists recently completed a two-week training exercise with the Croatian armed forces.

The aim was designed to build closer ties and improve joint operational capabilities between Nato allies.

Father-of-two Michael Olasifoye said his children loved seeing him in the Army

Reserve army medic Laura Holloman, a postgraduate physiotherapy student living in Worcester, said it was important not to see her role as gender based.

"As long as I can do my job, I'm part of the team and that's all that matters to me."

Trying to juggle civilian and army life could be tiring, she said, but described the exercise in Croatia as a "fantastic opportunity".

"The army reserves have been really good. They respect that your role, your family, your job comes first. You can do as much as you like or as little as you like," she said.

Many 4 Mercian reservists have fought alongside the regular army around the world

Platoon commander Michael Olasifoye, from Nottingham, said joining the reserves had benefited his day job as a software engineer.

"Employers really like this kind of thing, especially the leadership and experience it gives you," he said.

The father-of-two added a myth that reservists "may not take it seriously" was false.

"We are all ready, that's why we're here, we take it very seriously, we could be called at any point to deploy on operations."

In summer 2024, the head of the army, General Sir Roly Walker, said it needed to be ready to fight a war by 2027 - an admission it isn't ready to fight one in its current state.

He said the Army needed to leverage technology, such as drones, new software, and artificial intelligence.

And earlier this year the government's strategic defence review recommended a 20% increase in active reserve forces, noting that the total number had declined in the past five years.

Employers of reservists are able to access financial assistance for salary and pension costs while reservists are mobilised. Part-time soldiers are also paid for their time and receive pension contributions.

Update 24 October: More context has been added to the article about the wider challenges facing the British Army, complaints made about armed forces accommodation and information about a longer term decline in numbers of reservists.