Short Falls in the UK Military
- Over ambitious (or poor strategic decision making mechanisms in government which fail to tie in 'ends', 'ways' and 'means' effectively).
- Under-resourced (or just exceptionally bad at resource management).
- Sclerotic chain of command.
- Intellectually weak and lacking in intellectual integrity.
- Politicised (small 'p') general staff.
But things have improved hugely over the last 6 years in all areas. The biggest changes still be made are in intellectual ethos, a (still) unwieldy and bureacratic chain of command and the politicisation aspect.
The Top Brass and the Politicians: Strained Relations
A month old, RUSI commentary on relations between the UK military and politicians, which starts with:
Quote:
Recent tensions between British politicians and the military top brass are a symptom of the uncertainty over whose long term vision for British defence policy is the more realistic. Such tensions are not new, demonstrating the inability of policymakers to get to grips with strategy.
Link:http://www.rusi.org/analysis/comment...4E10D753A41ED/
Pointer to Soviet experiences
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Red Rat
I am reading 'AFGHANTSY' at the moment (
Amazon Link) and it is amazing the similarities between our experiences and the Soviet...
There are two links to excerpts from 'Afghantsy' on the Soviets in Afg. thread:http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ead.php?t=9483
Thread's theme straying of late
Moderator's Note
Many of the recent posts do not sit well in this thread, The UK in Afghanistan, so I will be moving them to the more general, current thread Winning in Afghanistan:http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...t=7128&page=44
I will add a caption to that thread and any posts moved. Work in progress today. Meantime carry on.