Army Reserve: Recruitment
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Army Reserve intake was in each of the last five years; and what annual intake will be required to deliver the recommended 20% increase in the Army Reserve.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones
As at 1 January 2026 - The Trained Strength of the Active Army Reserve Group A and S population was 17,512, this is against a target of 28,371
Figures for the Army Reserve intake for each of the last five years are below:
Group A and S Intake from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2025
1. These figures will differ from populations reported in the Service Personnel Statistics.
2. Figures include Intake into the Trained and Untrained Population.
3. Figures include intake into Officers and Other Ranks.
4. Figures include intake from the Regular and other non-Group A reserve populations into Group A. (Figures exclude personnel who were FTRS returning to Army Reserve)
5. Group A - Regional and National headquarters, units and pools required to
6. provide a national reserve. This Group is available for employment on specific tasks at home and overseas.
7. Group S - Specialist Officers and ORs who are brought into the Army Reserve for their technical knowledge. This Group is available for employment on the full range of military tasks at home and overseas. This Group is employed in the specific role into which they have been recruited and may only assume leadership appointments within the specialty for which they were recruited.
The Army Reserve is implementing new initiatives to increase its strength and return to full liability at which point the Army Reserve will grow by a further 20%. The date is predicated upon a number of variables and cannot be forecast at this stage.
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