Winchester & Chandler's Ford MP, Steve Brine, paid a special visit to the Army Training Regiment this month.
Steve performed the role of inspecting officer for a group of new recruits passing out at the end of a 13-week course to begin their career in the British Army.
ATR Winchester, based at the Sir John Moore Barracks on Andover Road, hosts basic training where civilians are transformed into soldiers. They then move onto the next stage of their training and development before deployment.
Mr Brine, who was hosted by Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Jim Phipps, saw some of the facilities on the site before officially inspecting the recruits and giving the main address at the parade ground. Around 500 visitors were in attendance including friends and family of the recruits.
Steve said; "I am really proud to represent Winchester with our proud military links so it meant a lot to me to be asked to be the inspecting officer and meet some of the hugely impressive next generation of the British Army.
“Through the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme I have been fortunate enough to attend similar parades – at Lympstone where we train Royal Marine Commando’s and at HMS Rayleigh where sailors begin their career – and they are always really emotional occasions. Just talking to the young men and women at ATR Winchester is a reminder of the strong sense of service they have, many of them following in the footsteps of family members, but also how they are regular people about to remarkable things to keep us safe.
“Many congratulations to all who graduated in this cohort and good luck with your phase two training.”
Steve was accompanied on the day by his son William (13) who was on the final day of Easter holiday from school.
Speaking after his visit, the MP spoke out forcefully against the disposal of the facility as planned by the Ministry of Defence under its Future Soldier programme. That is due to happen sometime in 2026 as things stand.
He said; “It’s no secret I think it would be a travesty to lose this facility to the Army and to Winchester. It’s a really valued MoD site because of its green open space setting but also because it’s a relatively modern base. I understand Pirbright is the place where all this training will go in the future but remain far from convinced it has the space to expand should we need to scale up the size of our army.
“We live in a more uncertain world than even a few years ago when these plans were announced – there exists an “axis of authoritarian states” in the words of the Prime Minister – so I think it would be absolute folly to lose ATR Winchester. Once it’s gone it’s gone and, while I appreciate that would have implications for Winchester in terms of future housing, it’s better to face that now and make other plans given the reality of geopolitics today. I shall go on making this point to Ministers every day I have left as our MP because this is about something much bigger than us.”
The MP welcomed the Prime Minister’s announcement in Poland that defence spending will rise by £75bn over the next six years and added his voice to calls for spending to rise above Nato’s 2% of GDP target to 2.5%.
