AIBU to think the stockpile advice suggests something to come??

If you enlist at 16 are you going to realise this implication?

In WW1 a lot of older veterans were recalled. They did not go to the front, but they were used to train men particularly young recruits. So a medical might not exempt you completely from service - it may only exempt you from front line service with deployment elsewhere.

There are a huge number of logistics jobs - a huge percentage of older men in WW1 were put into labour corps which isn't particularly well known about largely because they weren't front line battalions so they weren't deemed important so records for these battalions were not kept in the same way. A lot of what these corps did is therefore lost to history. They essentially were soldiers with spades not guns though and they did a lot of the digging and maintenance of the support for the front lines. The efforts of getting food to the front and getting ammunition to the front was enormous but crucial. They were away from the front line but this doesn't mean they were always out of danger. One of my relatives was in the labour corps and got caught up in gas attack and was hospitalised. It affected his health for years after. Obviously it's changed a lot since WW1 but a failure of a medical isn't necessarily going to stop you being useful in a crisis.

Again reflecting on WW1, people know that a lot of boys lied about their age to go to war, but this was cracked down on by 1918. And this didn't stop very young lads from enlisting. They could enlist from age 16 or 17. They were then called up immediately on turning 18 for full training. If they changed their mind in this period they were screwed. I don't think much has changed in this respect in terms of the youngest you can effectively sign your life away.

Another relative was in a battalion that was actually a territorial battalion. A lot of the men who were in it at the outbreak of war were immediately put on standby the day war was declared and then formally called up for training the following day. Many of these men were in the late thirties or even four times with the officers being older. Again many of these men were important as they had skills others didn't have and they were crucial in training later recruits who signed up after the declaration of war. They were sent to France in early 1915.

I think you have to see moves like this as increasing our war readiness. It is an uneasy feeling to see plans like this. Tbh it's probably not a bad idea because the territorials in 1914 were caught off guard really and it would be better for the reserves to be ready than to do all this after the outbreak of war.

The thing is, if you had talked about this ten years ago it wouldnt feel so real or scary. The fact other countries are also doing the same, if not going much further, and the fact it feels foreboding is a reflection on international instability... The two go hand in hand.

Works alright for a brief powercut (if no electric doors or shutters) but if a power cut is extended then the shop might not continue doing that.

There was a power cut local to me. The corner shop took cash and wrote down purchases on paper. No other shop remained open. Independent corner shops tend to be very good at adapting.

as do the shutters to get in the shop, and his fridges and freezers :)

If there's a power cut your corner shop might not be selling anything because tills require power.

Surely when someone joins the military they would know that means they could be liable to call up later in life if they are in the reserves?

If there was a power cut the freezer would stop working and alll your carefully stockpiled food would be wasted. In the unlikely event of that happening or there being no water I’d just go to the corner shop. I don’t think we need to be crazy.

I wouldn't worry about that (except for the fact that the UK military doesn't know how to find its reservists and apparently hasn't even thought about it before) its just making sure they are able to call up reservists if needed and seeing how long that'll take. This should have been a regular exercise long ago, my country calls up reservists all the time.

Interesting. Thanks for that article. I must admit I haven't been following the events of the Russia Ukraine war for a while due to worrying about the state of the UK. I didn't realise Russia was doing so badly. It demonstrates that Russia isn't in a position to be seriously invading anywhere else. I suppose they have remote attacks to infrastructure. I trust our government about as much as I trust the Russians tbh.

This article is interesting showing different possible outcomes, depending on what Russia does and what NATO does.

https://www.theglobalist.com/why-putins-next-move-in-his-war-against-ukraine-is-against-europe/

There's a rabbit off somewhere. I'm not buying any of this. It seems too contrived on our side.

I don't know, d'you think the EU is trying to spook Putin by saying 'look the whole of NATO is totally ready to invade you!' in some attempt to make him back off? I doubt that would happen, especially as Putin has a bunch of nukes sitting there.

Depopulation? Well it would work, sadly. It could be conventional fighting in the neighbouring countries to Russia, but in the UK? Likely to be something else, I'd imagine, as you can't get tanks to the UK easily, but you could send drones. It's all very unsettling and I'm going to see what else I can dig up.

Apparently! Of course there would still be a medical before they tried to deploy you somewhere but still! This whole thing is quite crazy, and people in the country are not going to be happy about it.

It's all very strange. They do seem utterly determined that there will be a war with Russia. However, modern warfare isn't really about trenches and hand to hand combat now, so where exactly is this war going to take place? Are they just looking for cannon fodder? Trying to get rid of us or something?

So if you ever been in the forces and under 65 you have no choice? Fml.

A lot of dhs family are ex military and mid 50's

There is definitely something coming. Next Spring marks a big military exercise, but that's not what's concerning.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/army-veterans-recalled-war-armed-forces-bill-military-mobilisation-uk-5Hjdh82_2/

https://londonlovesbusiness.com/uk-to-call-up-95000-retired-members-of-the-armed-forces-for-war-like-preparations/

Army veterans up to the age of 65 are to be recalled, 95,000 of them. This Spring exercise will be compulsory. There's a lot more going forward. Even a school recruitment campaign! Horrific. There are 4 phases to this preparation for war. Poland are well ahead with all this, for obvious reasons being on the border with Ukraine. Active conscription is back in a number of EU countries. NATO are saying war by 2030.

The Telegraph has a lot to say on this but unfortunately I don't have a subscription, I wonder if any of you do.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/09/07/army-to-mobilise-veterans-war-preparation/

I really hope this is all hyperbolic but it doesn't feel like it, more like the UK is being pushed onto a war footing, a war none of us want! If you aren't on the reserves list or other military list, then you'll be on the Home Defence program, whatever that is.

I might start keeping an empty water container in my car, I drive past a natural spring on my way to and from work so could easily fill it up if there's a storm on the way.

That's a good thing. I have decided to buy a small camping stove so that I'll be able to at least boil water and fill a thermos, or heat small amounts of food. Will definitely try it out whilst all is good so I know what I'm doing!

More articles out today.

We had a shopping delivery today and the driver said most of his round this week has been bottled water! At least people seem to be listening.

Yes we have the folding water carriers too; we don't have a bath.

Yes. We do have a small amount of water stored but not really the space for more, so off the back of this I have ordered some more water carriers that fold flat for easy storage. I can keep them with other supplies and prioritise additional drinking water in these and then fill the bath.

Filling the bath with water if we have a storm alert is extremely good advice.

Cool dark and dry is as safe as anywhere. We had ours stored for years in a wardrobe in a spare room , the room was a dumping ground and never had extreme heat spikes like you would get in a caravan/ tent through the summer

They are now stored in a tin ( big tin ) in the cupboard under the stairs , with the tin of candles and matches, the spare batteries, power banks, torches etc

As someone who is used to going up to 8 days without electric in the winter, head torches are a life saver - especially if you have children. They mean you can move safely room to room leaving hands free. Get the usb charagable ones and some sort of solar trickle charger or wind up charger

This sounds mad, but believe me it's got us out of a hole As soon as we are on storm alert, I fill the bath with water . Last big storm the water plants went down as well and we were without water as well - only a short while, but while the roads were blocked, we had water for washing and flushing without having to waste bottled water . Im also so very lucky that I live on farmland and the farm has a wind turbine, wells and generators and is very good at allowing neighbours up to use the electric after the milking is done .

And thanks @Mespher . That's great info 👍