53 years old and disabled UUP man describes as ‘bizarre’ Army Letter advising him he could be part of Future Mobilisations
Ulster Unionist East Belfast representative Michael Copeland has described as bizarre a letter from the Army delivered to his parents home advising him that he could become an important part of future mobilisations around the globe.
Mr Copeland is 53 years of age and last wore a uniform over 30 years ago. He has also been disabled for 25 years as a result of a polio related virus.
The UUP man has given two possible explanations for the letter: it is either an internal record keeping exercise, or a measure of how desperate the government has become after years of cutting army numbers and slashing the defence budget.
In a statement Mr Copeland said,
“As a man no longer in his prime, 53 years old and moderately disabled after contracting a form of the polio virus 25 years ago I was somewhat surprised to read a letter sent to my parents home advising me that I remained a “vital, contributory part of the UK defence plan” and could become “an important part of future mobilisations”.
I left the Ulster Defence Regiment over 30 years ago and at that time transferred to the regular army reserve of officers. Since then I have received no communications from the army until this letter arrived. I would of course be ready, willing and pleased to discharge any obligation arising from my former service, although in what capacity would be hard to envisage in my current circumstances.
This letter could be seen as one of two things, an attempt to update records, which even after a lapse of 30 years could in some circumstances be understandable, or more worryingly, an indication of the perilous effects of years of cutting army numbers and slashing the defence budget and ill-conceived, politically motivated and under-resourced adventures.
Given the recent disbandment of the Home Service Battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment, who as a readily available, locally recruited aid to the civil power, freed up military resources for global deployment, I sincerely hope that the former rather than the latter explanation is correct.”