Page 14 of 14 FirstFirst ... 4121314
Results 261 to 268 of 268

Thread: UK military problems & policies

  1. #261
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    13,366

    Default Britain faces serious questions on its defence capability

    A short, powerful and well-written article by Professor Lawrence Freedman, ex-Kings Wars Studies, in the FT and on open access (hopefully).
    Link:https://www.ft.com/content/805c7d1e-...4-0944c5f49e46
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 12-17-2017 at 02:26 PM. Reason: 246,942v
    davidbfpo

  2. #262
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    13,366

    Default Forget Britain’s nuclear deterrent – here’s what Russia is really afraid of

    Thanks to a "lurker" for the pointer to this different article by a Russia SME watcher. It is a short read and ends with:
    The defence review must consider British interests in the round, of course. But if deterring the Russians is a major concern, then it is worth paying attention to what might really deter them: a flexible, fast-moving and versatile force of true professionals. Not necessarily with the heaviest kit, the biggest ships or the priciest aircraft, but able to get where they are needed, when they are needed.
    Link:https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...-review-russia
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 01-19-2018 at 01:28 PM. Reason: 249,800v
    davidbfpo

  3. #263
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    13,366

    Default Dynamic Security Threats and the British Army

    Quite clearly there is contest within Whitehall-Westminster over the UK's defence budget, whether a current review will end up with reductions being made and the military being reduced.

    Step forward to the public rostrum @ RUSI, the UK's top soldier General Nick Carter, with a speech approved by his ministerial boss:
    In this one-off lecture General Sir Nicholas Carter, Chief of the General Staff, will elaborate on some of the increasingly real threats that pose a risk to the UK’s way of life as described by Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach in his annual Chief of the Defence Staff lecture to RUSI last December.
    Link to the speech, in a podcast, transcript and the Q&A (70 mins):https://rusi.org/event/dynamic-secur...d-british-army

    The CDS speech is far shorter (32 mins):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o6Y...ature=youtu.be
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 01-23-2018 at 04:34 PM. Reason: 250,205v
    davidbfpo

  4. #264
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    13,366

    Default Our Army is at its smallest since Waterloo – more cuts will kill it

    A short article in 'The Sun' by a ret'd Army officer; which opens with:
    Nearly eight years since the Conservatives came into government, we have self-inflicted a strategic loss of fighting power and reputation. We are facing another serious black hole in the defence equipment programme. What is going on?
    Link:https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/540184...-will-kill-it/
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 01-31-2018 at 01:17 PM. Reason: 251,329v
    davidbfpo

  5. #265
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    13,366

    Default Agile Warrior

    Just found that a new official UK Army quarterly publication, Agile Warrior, is partly available publicly as a NGO has publsihed Issue No.2.

    The official preface opens with:
    Agile Warrior (AW) is the Army’s intellectual examination of current and emerging threat and opportunities for land capability. It generates an evidence base to inform the continual transformation of land forces and force structures across all lines of development.It aims to be both reflective and progressive, challenging current assumptions where necessary.
    The issue has an outstanding article by the Anglo-Australian academic Professor Patrick Porter - who is very challenging to the orthodox view. Here is a passage near the end:
    The future of UK security policy is not all about counter-terrorism, weak-state stabilisation, and “asymmetry”. Indeed, claims that “hybrid operations” in Eastern Europe represent some radical new departure elide (a) just how much heavy capability such operations involve, (b) the centrality of subversion/disinformation to strategy throughout history, and (c) the risk of escalation to conventional/nuclear warfighting that represents “hybrid” warfare’s greatest danger. Strategy is about limitation, about ranking and ordering things we value into a hierarchy, distinguishing the vital from the peripheral. It is about partly shaping the future environment, rather than fatalistically just accepting it.
    Link:https://remotecontrolproject.org/wp-...arrior_2-1.pdf
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 06-03-2018 at 09:25 AM. Reason: Copied and edited from Blog Watch thread. 266,134v 13k up since last post. 272,481v today.
    davidbfpo

  6. #266
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    13,366

    Default Agile Warrior: update

    Contact has been made with the Editor; the publication is not on the web, pending negotiations and I have been added to the distribution list so other articles may appear here. Note since posting the previous post there have been 6,347 views.
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 06-03-2018 at 09:32 AM.
    davidbfpo

  7. #267
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    13,366

    Default Why are the British Armed Forces short of personnel?

    A short BBC radio discussion on the issues:
    How well equipped is Britain today to defend itself both at home and overseas?Britain's armed forces are struggling to maintain numbers. According to the National Audit Office there is a shortfall of more than 8,000 among military personnel (6% below authorised strength) and there is a significant shortage of personnel with skills in critical areas.

    The Army is at its lowest level since the days it was preparing to confront Napoleon, unable to meet even the reduced requirement of 82,000 regulars.
    Several reasons are cited: the lack of a current war to act as a recruiting sergeant, a recruitment process that's not working well, discontent within the ranks and a higher number of people leaving the forces than normal.
    We examine these causes and ask what effect the shortages have both on the battlefield and strategically.
    Link:https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b48z5q

    The speakers are all experts and it is quite good. They conclude 'not critical yet, except in an emergency - even more so for the RAF & RN who have far fewer reserves than the Army'.
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 01-15-2019 at 05:03 PM. Reason: 293,580v today; 21k up since April 2018
    davidbfpo

  8. #268
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    13,366

    Default RIP RAF?: One-Third of Britain’s Air Force Can’t Fly

    Unlike the last post on manpower this report using FOI found the RAF aircraft fleet is short of planes ready to fly:
    ...142 of 434 of the air force’s planes have been sidelined....Out of 60 Chinook helicopters, 19 are down, while only seven of 23 Pumas are operational
    The official response:
    The sustainment fleet includes aircraft undergoing maintenance, upgrade programs or being held in storage....Modern military aircraft are highly complex machines that require careful management and maintenance to ensure they are fit for service and in sufficient numbers to fulfil tasks we call upon them to complete.
    Link to original UK story:https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politi...orage-13803563 and to a US follow-on which is very slightly different:https://nationalinterest.org/blog/bu...%99t-fly-41527
    davidbfpo

Similar Threads

  1. Specially Protected Persons in Combat Situations (new title)
    By Tukhachevskii in forum Global Issues & Threats
    Replies: 119
    Last Post: 10-11-2010, 07:26 PM
  2. Officer Retention
    By Patriot in forum Military - Other
    Replies: 360
    Last Post: 07-03-2009, 05:47 PM
  3. Appreciation for the military from the civilians
    By yamiyugikun in forum Small Wars Council / Journal
    Replies: 23
    Last Post: 05-07-2009, 10:08 PM
  4. MCOs and SSOs in the 2008 edition of FM 3-0 Operations
    By Norfolk in forum Doctrine & TTPs
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 03-17-2008, 12:15 AM

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •