Major rise in army recruits
Record numbers are joining the British Army in the West Midlands – despite new figures showing shocking death levels in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Army has embarked on an aggressive marketing campaign, and the Staffordshire Regiment is offering a £6,000 bounty to attract former soldiers back into service.
It today said that recruitment levels are an unprecedented 40 per cent up on last year as people are inspired by the heroics of servicemen on the front line.
It comes as a shocking report reveals that there is a one in 36 chance of dying in Afghanistan – and after a bloody week in which six soldiers died there and in Iraq.
Military chiefs say more people are currently joining the army in the West Midlands than anywhere else in the UK, with Wolverhampton a particular hotspot.
Sixty-five people have joined the army in the city in the past four months compared with 36 in the same period last year, while in Birmingham the figure was 126 compared to 88.
On August 28, 21 junior and senior applicants will sign on with the Army in Wolverhampton – the largest number on a single day for many years. The Staffordshire Regiment website is luring former soldiers to rejoin with the offer of a £6,000 bounty – and present soldiers will be rewarded £1,000 if they recommend a recruit.
The latest frontline serviceman to die came from the Ist Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment during a rocket and small arms attack on his patrol base in Afghanistan's trouble-torn Helmund Province.
* Don't miss a special report in Monday's Express & Star.
