The Guardian understands that more than 500 military personnel are expected to receive five days of training before being asked to work in frontline positions. The first are supposed to arrive for training a week on Monday, Home Office staff were told. Managers sent memos to staff on Friday delaying the start of basic training for other new Border Patrol agents, which normally lasts three weeks, pending the arrival of members of the armed forces. However, in a sign of tension between government agencies, the Ministry of Defense said it had not yet agreed to second its staff to the Home Office, despite receiving a written request. The developments follow a vote on Thursday in favor of industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services union, which represents Border Force guards across the UK. The Guardian revealed on Thursday that plans signed by Home Secretary Suella Braverman said military personnel would receive less than a week of training so they could cover jobs at ports such as Dover and airports including Heathrow. They could also be expected to process people crossing the Channel in small boats, amid an expected increase in the coming weeks. Officially, the Home Office has to ask for help under the protocol of military assistance to civilian authorities and in recent days has submitted its request for several hundred troops to cover expected staffing gaps at ports and airports. This has sparked a debate in the Foreign Office as to whether the request should be granted in full or in part, although it is recognized that the Home Office has little choice. No final decision had been made on the deployment of military personnel as of Friday afternoon. The request would have to be signed off by a minister – likely to be Defense Secretary Ben Wallace given the sensitivity of the development – ​​and on a number of previous occasions the Foreign Office has rejected requests for help, arguing there was a simpler way for an internal department to resolve of the problem. It is also understood that senior Border Force officers have been asked to seek training so they can also check passports in the event of a strike. Reacting to the developments, PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “This is pure desperation on the part of Suella Braverman. Time and again, the military has made it clear that it has its own work to do and does not want to spend time covering up the government’s failures. “The government’s attempts to recruit a striking workforce through the civil service have also failed, which is not surprising when it continues to treat its workforce with contempt, offering them only a 2% pay rise. “Instead of fighting for increasingly desperate solutions, the government should sit down with us at the negotiating table and agree a fair pay rise.” Former Defense Secretary John Spellar said he was met with resistance when he tried to call in the army to deal with fuel protests under Tony Blair. “They don’t like to get involved in industrial disputes, so I can’t imagine they will like this idea,” he said. The Border Force is under increased pressure from an increase in small boat crossings in the Channel. The Home Office is also under pressure to reduce overcrowding at Manston and other processing centers for asylum seekers. A Home Office spokesman said: “We are disappointed that the union has voted in favor of industrial action. Our priority will always be to keep our citizens safe and our borders secure, and we will not compromise on that. “As the public would expect, we have plans in place to minimize potential disruption during a potential strike while we continue to carry out substantive checks.”