A further round of Army redundancies is "extremely worrying" for military and civilian personnel based in Scotland, the veterans minister has said.
Keith Brown spoke out after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced that up to 5,300 soldiers are to be made redundant in the summer as part of the latest round of cuts to the armed forces.
Notices are to be issued on June 18 and further job losses among Royal Navy and RAF medical and dental personnel is also likely, the MoD said.
Mr Brown, SNP MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, said: "Today's announcement from the MoD about further army redundancies is extremely worrying - not only for our military and civilian personnel based here in Scotland, but also for their families, friends and the wider communities in which they live.
"While recent rounds of redundancies have been voluntary for the most part, it is expected that today's announcement will force willing serving personnel into unemployment and hardship - something that is far from needed in these difficult financial times."
The MoD has imposed "drastic and disproportionate" cuts in Scotland in recent years, with about 8,800 military and civilian MoD jobs lost since 2000, he said.
"Not only will today's announcement have a major impact on our economy, it will also have a devastating impact on our servicemen, servicewomen and their families," Mr Brown continued.
"We should bear in mind that many of those affected will have seen active service in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
"I am deeply concerned that Scotland's needs are not being addressed by Westminster and will take every opportunity to ensure that action is taken to continue our support for this extremely hard-working and dedicated group of people."
The redundancies form part of the cuts announced in the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, which will see the regular Army reduced to 82,000 by 2020. The first round in September 2011 saw 2,860 forces personnel made redundant while the second in June 2012 involved 3,760.
