An interesting aspect of the men making up the army is that it was a purely British army. Described by Robert Tombs, in his textbook, The English and Their History, "a "New Model Army" of 22,000 men was formed under central, not local, control, directly paid by Parliament, and excluding foreign mercenaries" (Tombs 233). Every man in the army was fighting not only for their life and their religion, but also for their country. The idea of an army made of only men of the nation may seem normal today, but before this, mercenaries, or soldiers of fortune would make up a large part of your army. These soldiers fought to make a living, not to change to political and social aspects of England. The rest of your army would be a levy, or civilian militia in modern terms. In other words recruiting, training, and paying an army will build you a mighty force, appose to raising a militia and hiring every soldier you can find.

With the creation of the New model army also came about a modern recruitment system. The old system was flawed to say the least, "Parliament's armies were recruited from regional associations but soldiers were often reluctant to campaign away from their local areas" (Plant) Cromwell changed this. He proposed a National army with no regional associations. You joined the army, trained, had an income, and got sent wherever Parliament thought it best. This aloud England to have a strong army that could deploy anywhere necessary with ease.

Plant, David. “The New Model Army.” The New Model Army, 2007, bcw-project.org/military/new-  model-army. 

Tombs, Robert. The English and their History. First Edition. Vintage Book, 2014.