British Army faces "huge challenges," Gen Sir Nick Houghton says Sir Nick said it was too early to judge the reservist plan. He said: "We think that we have produced a good offer. We've got to get out the message that people who join now are joining something that is exciting, will give them all sorts of rewards and has a very, very strong future. He said that the British Army remained resilient. You can't compare these 82,000 regulars of the 21st Century with Victorian figures. These are 82,000 regulars, the vast percentage of which are deployable capability, not mess waiters or guards. It's a force that's networked by modern communications. Private soldiers are connected to close air support and artillery fires. The capabilities of soldiers nowadays are transformed from what they were even a decade ago.