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around 10-15,000 applicants were lost during that period, significantly affecting the Infantry and The Rifles. Historically, The Rifles have done very well recruit- ing under our own banner and from our own areas and may have weathered the storm of turbulence in the past, but our ability to react under The Infantry Loading Model has been somewhat limited, and we have felt the effect of declin- ing numbers.
The Infantry Model of agnostic loading was introduced in 2021. The intent was to generate “a rising tide” which would “lift all boats”. However, while each Regiment now gets a fair share of recruits from training (as determined by HQ Infantry and Workforce plans), the number of recruits is insufficient to meet demand for any regiment. We all get an equitable share of not enough! The practi- cal effect of agnostic loading was to disincentivise regiments such as The Rifles from putting their own resources into recruiting, as it could no longer be guar- anteed that we would reap what we sowed. The Rifles and other Infantry regi- ments stopped generating and attracting potential recruits as the Infantry relied on Recruiting Group (RG) to fill the quota; there was no ‘rising tide’. In fact, the tide has gone out a bit.
Despite the inflow pressures, The Rifles continue to be forward-leaning and, in October this year, established and took command of the first Infantry Engagement team (IET) based in Warminster. IETs, once established, will see five teams spread across nine locations in the UK, with ten split between Catterick Garrison and Warminster Garrison (a breakdown and explanation of IETs can be found in the Chronicle 2022). IET aims to increase awareness of the Infantry and attract poten- tial recruits as they attend RG-led activities around the UK.
Events in eastern Europe reinforced the imperative to enhance the Army’s readi- ness, resilience, and competitiveness. It was decided a whole Army approach was required to ensure the Field Army is furnished with the inflow required to com- bat emerging threats in an ever-changing World. The Army Personnel Campaign responded by prioritising Engage to Recruit (EtR) activities. EtR will see soldiers from across the Field Army, including deploy on public-facing activities across the UK to help increase the recruiting pipeline. EtR teams will have access to potential recruit data to nurture individuals through the application process to increase conversion rates from applicants to recruits. EtR will be primarily based on two surges, one ongoing in late 2023 and the other planned for March/April 2024.
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