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Should The British Army Contain Specific Ethnic Minority Regiments?

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anotheoldgit | 11:58 Tue 24th Feb 2015 | News
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2966143/MPs-want-Army-create-new-British-Sikh-regiment-like-ones-fought-UK-world-wars.html

/// The move comes after the Ministry of Defence revealed plans to try and recruit more Muslims and ethnic minorities into the army after the rise of Islamic State and massacre in Paris. ///

/// Troops have posted pamphlets on British military values through the doors of Islamic religious schools have been instructed to take part in integration projects in a bid to boost numbers. ///


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They already have Irish, Scottish, and Welsh Guards regiments. Why not Sikh or Muslim ones?
No.

"Multiculturalism" in general has been seen to be largely a failure. All that has happened, with the exception of London and some of the larger cities where integration (up to a point) has taken place, is that pockets of single cultures have developed separately. We thus have the situation in some large towns where some areas are effectively "no go" areas for those of different ethnicities.

WHilst the armed forces are fiercely proud of their various regiments, squadrons and ships, the last thing they want is to be divided along ethnic lines. If those from ethnic minorities want to join the armed forces that's fine. They can join and integrate with those already in whatever regiment they are posted to. If no they can do the other thing.
aog
I just can't see this working at all.As someone said on your UKIP health post,
How are you going to recruit all these doctors people don't want to be doctors? The same applies to most disciplined organisations. The Fire Brigade and Police tried,IMO, opinion reversed discrimination recruitment campaigns to recruit from ethnic minorities. Very few took up the call because they do not want to be associated with any organisation with authority. Too much peer pressure from the boyz. You can lead a horse to water etc etc.It is noticeable that any young ethnic recruits these days end up taking their masters for large sums because of a perceived discrimination. i.e. overlooked for promotion, posting to a place that disagrees with his religion etc.
Hasn't this thread been done or am I going mad?
Although (particularly in the case of the Irish Guards) recruitment to those regiments may take place locally, appointment to them is not based on nationality, Sandy. The Regiments' names are simply an historic connection.

Any person who meets the criteria for joining can join any of the regiments and there is no discrimination or separation according to nationality. (Not to mention, of course, that English, Welsh, Scots and N. Irish are not, as such, nationalities. People from those areas are all UK citizens.) - the
Talbot
Yes it has at length I recall.
When I was in the IG there were a surprising number of Liverpudlians in the ranks.

Talbot, Slightly different question, so I guess it doesn't count!

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/News/Question1399080.html

anotheoldgit
British Army Aims To Recruit More Muslims
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/feb/06/british-army-recruit-muslims-low-number-iraq-afghanistan If this was to happen, would there be specific Muslim regiments?...
13:33 Sat 07th Feb 201580 answers, last by Ellipsis 19:58 Tue 10th Feb
//When I was in the IG there were a surprising number of Liverpudlians in the ranks. //

isn't Liverpool the capital of Ireland?
Question Author
sandyRoe

/// They already have Irish, Scottish, and Welsh Guards regiments. Why not Sikh or Muslim ones? ///

See you have read the whole of the report Sandy.

*** Leaders of Britain’s 500,000 Sikhs were supportive of the idea of a new regiment, arguing that it would be no different from the Scots, Welsh and Irish Guards or the Royal Gurkha Rifles, which recruits exclusively from Nepal and which is regarded as a model infantry regiment. ***

Question Author
retrocop

I no longer recognise you retro.
sad innit? :-)
Question Author
-Talbot-

/// Hasn't this thread been done or am I going mad? ///

Already been pointed out to you by Baldric, this is a different question.

Admittedly it is on a similar theme, but when has this ever been a reason not to post on a more up to date report?

/// Speaking yesterday in Parliament, former defence minister Sir Nicholas Soames urged the Government to ‘do away with political correctness’, praising ‘the extraordinary gallant and distinguished service by Sikhs to this country down the generations’. ///


aog
The ignominy of it all. Destined to be forever a pink jelly baby.Still I appear to be in good company.
I think this is just a social experiment as usual to appease the ethnic minority and I am rather cynical of it appearing close to an election.
I read a head honcho from the RAF saying that our fighter squadrons have been greatly reduced and could not stem the tide of vast Russian bombers wishing to visit us with ill intent.We have lost many main battle tanks. A lot of the fleet has been mothballed and any new ships are on the slips. We have no carrier borne fixed wing aircraft to go on our new carriers when they are completed. No parachute Regiment. Large scale cuts of all ranks in all services. But suddenly we can find the money to recruit a Sikh Regt. The only other MOD adverts I see are asking for reservists. That is soldiering on the cheap if you ask me( not that reservists do not come without a vast wealth of experience). It was the TA RAMC that put all our lads and lassies back together so well in recent conflicts. Which brings up the subject of No Haslar and No Military Hospital Woolwich either.
Savage defence cuts being made and a Sikh regiment will be a panacea in a time of crisis.??
If you want one good reason why ethnic regiments are a bad idea, then google "pals battalions" BTW my mum was a Londoner born and bred to Londoner parents and was a member of the London Irish regiment simply because they were recruiting when she wanted to join up.
I wondered how long it would take for somebody to muddy these waters with the Gurkhas!

The Gurkhas are a remnant of the British Indian Army. It is true that, in the main, they are a single ethnicity regiment (or more accurately, a Brigade). Their position within the British Army is unique and is based on a number of historical factors. Recruitment to the Gurkhas is not open to UK citizens, only to those from Nepal. Recruitment takes place only in Nepal. Applicants have to undertake to remain Nepalese citizens throughout their service.

In short, there is no reasonable comparison between recruitment to the Gurkhas and this half-baked ill conceived proposal to recruit to the British Army on the basis of race or religion. The government should be doing all it can to ensure social cohesion and integration takes place in the UK and this serves only to fuel division and separation, which is the last thing any army could do with.
///the extraordinary gallant and distinguished service by Sikhs to this country down the generations’. ///

I do not think any one would argue that point but "time to do away with political correctness"?? I believe that this exercise is precisely demonstrating that.
No, it's a dumb idea.

However there's an anomaly in your question. The first part refers to Nicholas Soames' idea for a Sikh regiment, but the second part (the pamphlets) has nothing to do with setting up a separate regiment.
I think all the Gurkha's officers are (white)British. I wouldn't imagine our own 'ethnics' would be happy with that setup.

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