Drawing on Joint Support Enablement investment set out in the Defence Investment Plan, the Ministry of Defence intends to establish an integrated approach to international and domestic rail movements working with UK and allied industry. This framework will help enable the outload, sustainment and recovery necessary for warfighting and national defence.

At 1 April 2026 (most recently available data) 10.5% of UK full time trade trained army personnel were graded Medically Limited Deployable (MLD). Personnel graded as MND are not fit to deploy on Operations, they may be deployable on UK based exercises and should be able to work effectively for at least 32.5 hours per week. Personnel graded MND may require continued medical care, long term medication and access to secondary care facilities.

14.3% of personnel were graded Medically Limited Deployable (MLD). Personnel with a grade of MLD are medically fit for duty with minor employment limitations. A grade of MLD requires a medical risk assessment to be carried out for deployment. The decision on that deployment will depend on the medical condition, individual function, the proposed employment, length of the deployment and the medical support available. As such, it should not be assumed that only those personnel graded Medically Fully Deployable are able to deploy.

This response presents Medical Deployability Standard (MDS) for all full-time trade trained army personnel, including Gurkhas and reservists.

At 1 April 2026 (most recently available data) 10.4% of Royal Navy personnel and 7.2% of Royal Marines personnel were graded Medically Non-Deployable (MND). Personnel graded as MND are not fit to deploy on Operations, they may be deployable on UK based exercises and should be able to work effectively for at least 32.5 hours per week. Personnel graded MND may require continued medical care, long term medication and access to secondary care facilities.

9.3% of Royal Navy Personnel and 6.8% of Royal Marines personnel were graded Medically Limited Deployable (MLD). Personnel with a grade of MLD are medically fit for duty with minor employment limitations. A grade of MLD requires a medical risk assessment to be carried out for deployment. The decision on that deployment will depend on the medical condition, individual function, the proposed employment, length of the deployment and the medical support available. As such, it should not be assumed that only those personnel graded Medically Fully Deployable are able to deploy.

This response presents Medical Deployability Standard (MDS) for full-time trained personnel as regular untrained personnel cannot deploy.

The Royal Marines are the UK's specialists in amphibious, extreme cold weather and mountainous warfare. The Royal Navy has prioritised Commando Force outputs, with High North warfighting and wider Euro-Atlantic activity identified as a core task. As the Royal Marines' most demanding operational role, prioritising High North warfighting ensures the Commando Force remains ready to undertake a broad range of Defence tasks. Having deployed regularly to the High North for decades, they are able to meet these commitments within existing workforce capacity.

There are currently no plans to cancel other commitments as a result of increased activity in the High North and remain capable of delivering homeland defence, crisis response, maritime special operations, and other sovereign tasks as required.

The Ministry of Defence provides the House of Commons Defence Committee (HCDC) with Royal Navy Surface Fleet readiness days broken down by vessel output category on a six-monthly basis. This was last shared with the HCDC on 18 May 2026 and is readily available at the following link:

https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/53357/documents/298463/default

We take the security of all our personnel deployed overseas seriously and robust measures are in place to protect our Armed Forces personnel. Their safety is our top priority. Although for operational security reasons the Department do not comment on specifics for this activity, the Ministry of Defence keeps the force protection measures of our Service personnel under constant review.