Ultimately, that army as with all the other land forces of the Anglosphere exists as an instrument of national policy, and not as a tool for the lads to go off and get their jollies. Should the desire for close combat be so great, there are ways and means for those individuals who desire it so greatly to gain that experience should their own nation's policies be unpalatable.

Having spent a bit of time with teams and individuals from those land forces that are more closely engaged in close combat, if there is any implication of institutional cowardice as claimed above, I would suggest that it either comes from those not worth listening to or simply exists in the minds of some of those who think their nation's policies should be more martial.

I doubt that there are many who doubt that the RAInf (or any other corps) will not hold up its end of the stick if called upon to do so...