Mon, 18 Feb 2013

Live footage of military operations in Afghanistan aired on ITV as part of a recruitment campaign for the UK’s Territorial Army (TA) during the past weekend.

The 17 adverts will show TA soldiers going about their everyday duties as reservists in Afghanistan alongside their regular counterparts, with each advert running for roughly one minute, the viewer will be transported directly to the front line.

Also running next weekend (23-24 February), the 60-second ads are part of a new TA LIVE campaign, a 12-month push to promote the TA, including over 150 demonstrations and public events over the next month alone.

The TA will increase in number to 30,000 by 2018 and the wider reserve force will double in size to 35,000 by 2020, meaning challenges for employers and recruiters dealing with individuals whose second career has been the cause of “outrageous discrimination”, according to the force’s ex-leader.

TA LIVE will illustrate the huge range of exciting opportunities available to Reservists and help encourage more people to consider joining the TA.

Major General Ranald Munro, deputy commander Land Forces (Reserves), says: “We think this is a great way to demonstrate and educate the public about the role of the TA and the vital contribution they make to the UK Armed Forces. I know that there are plenty of people around the country who can play a key role in shaping the future of the Army.”

One of the ads, broadcast yesterday [17 February] at 20:15, can be viewed via YouTube below:

• A separate announcement from the Ministry of Defence means seriously injured veterans are guaranteed financial support of around £7k a year for life. Nicholas Harrison, the founder of SoldierOn!, a charity that works with service leavers who have been made redundant on medical grounds to help them into meaningful work, tells Recruiter that while the support “will be warmly received”, but adds: “Money, however, is not the only answer and we hope that recruiters won't think that all needs have been catered for… What value will an extra £7k a year have to someone sitting at home with no real sense of 'purpose'?”.