Further cuts to the armed forces have raised renewed fears about what the future truly holds for RAF Leuchars.
According to the current proposals for the site, Leuchars will close as an RAF base and become an army barracks some time by 2015, while Caledonia at Rosyth used by the Royal Navy will be shared with the army.
Following the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) announcement of more planned cuts to army personnel, however, concerns about whether or not the Fife-related moves will happen have again been raised prompting more calls for clarity.
The MoD revealed on Tuesday that 4,200 redundancy notices will be served on military personnel in June, in the second of three rounds of cuts which will mean 17,000 in total being cut from the armed forces.
But it is understood that many of the 2,900 redundancies planned for the army could relate to posts in Germany from units that were due to make the switch to Scottish bases including those in Fife.
While the MoD has yet to confirm where most of the jobs will be lost, North East Fife MP Sir Menzies Campbell is seeking a commitment from the MoD that the deployment of troops to Leuchars will take place as planned.
”These reductions in all three services go well beyond what was anticipated at the time of the defence review,” he said. ”They underline the need for continued campaigning to ensure that the undertakings given in relation to the deployment of army units at RAF Leuchars are implemented.
”It is clear that the black hole in the defence budget is having a much deeper impact on defence expenditure and in turn capability than was ever expected. The result of these financial reductions inevitably means that the UK’s ability to take part in some military operations will be affected.
”A defence review, if properly conducted, should set out clear foreign policy objectives and a proper analysis of the military resources required to meet these objectives. The more we reduce defence expenditure the more pressing is a review of these objectives.
”Political uncertainty about Scotland’s future does not help.”
Roderick Campbell, MSP for North East Fife, described the speculation as ”unwelcome” and said it could be resolved by the release of a ”proper timetable” for the changes by the MoD.
Mr Campbell said: ”It is always disappointing to see any job losses and with the job the armed forces of the UK have done, over the last decade in particular, is very sad.
”Following the basing review that confirmed these cuts would be forthcoming, on top of the closure of RAF Leuchars, the refusal to provide information of where these cuts will be made geographically is simply adding to the uncertainty in the community.
”We are still waiting for the UK Government to produce a proper timetable for when the army might move into RAF Leuchars. Time and again we have been promised the army will move in but still the UK Government cannot confirm the details.
”The position was already unsettling but with continued delays and additional cuts being made to personnel numbers, the UK Government is causing unnecessary worry in the local community.
”The RAF is already guaranteed to leave the Leuchars base but the potential reduction in the promised number of army personnel to be based there, and throughout Scotland, is just adding to the concerns.
”The sooner the timetable for the army to move into the RAF Leuchars base is clear, the better.”
This week’s MoD announcement confirmed a cut in army numbers of 2,900, RAF numbers by 1,000 and the Royal Navy by 300. By 2015, the navy and RAF each have to cut 5,000 jobs, and the army 7,000.