16 April 2025, 15:59

By Steven Wood

When local authorities are stretched, whether due to bin strikes, flooding or public health crises, it is now increasingly common for the Armed Forces to be called in.

The military’s reputation for speed, reliability and discipline makes it the go-to solution when no one else has the capacity to respond.

The bin strike in the West Midlands is the latest example, where local authorities have turned to military personnel to step in and keep essential services running.

While these deployments speak to the professionalism of our Armed Forces, they also raise an important question: are we doing enough to equip them not only for defence, but also for the broadening scope of civic support they’re now expected to deliver?

Deep tech innovation could represent the next frontier in operational support, ensuring that the military is not........

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