Paratroopers Hit By Pay Cut On Return From Afghanistan War

Thousands of paratroopers who have just returned from Afghanistan face a pay cut of as much as 10 per cent as the Ministry of Defence attempts to save more money.

Army chiefs have decided to end a supplement paid to each member of the regiment for parachuting. It is worth more than £2,000 a year. The MoD is struggling with an estimated £1 billion shortfall in its budget for the current financial year. Cutting the so-called Para Pay bonus will save more than £4 million a year. But it will be a significant blow to up to 4,000 soldiers just back from a gruelling tour of Helmand, many of whom take home little more than £1,000 a month.
Military chiefs have repeatedly been accused of damaging morale unnecessarily as they try to cut costs. In February, they used email to inform front-line soldiers they were being sacked. Weeks later, they warned thousands of personnel serving in Afghanistan that they might be made redundant later this year.
The wage cut for the Paras has already been signed off by the head of the Army’s resources and plans unit and goes before ministers in the coming weeks. It comes on top of a two-year pay freeze. All members of the Armed Forces who are trained to parachute, including soldiers, engineers, artillery experts and medics, are part of 16 Air Assault Brigade, and all receive an extra £180 a month regardless of rank, in recognition of the risks involved.