12.—(1) If, for the purposes of regulation 10, the qualifying date in relation to a person would have been earlier than that specified in section 30B(7) of the Contributions and Benefits Act (incapacity benefit: rate) but for the fact that on that earlier date he was a serving member of the forces, the qualifying date in relation to him shall nevertheless be that earlier date.
(2) In this regulation “serving member of the forces” has the meaning given to it by regulation 1(2) of the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 1979(1), except that it does not include a person who falls within that definition by reason only of the fact that he was undergoing training or instruction for a continuous period of not more than 72 hours in any of the forces specified in paragraphs 2 to 9 of Part I of Schedule 3 to those Regulations.