The UK army and Royal Marines were over-extended in Iraq and Afghanistan. The First Sea Lord went on record last week to state that the navy was being pushed past its limits.
Now it’s the RAF’s turn:
The RAF’s ability to continue operations over Libya into this autumn has been called into question by a senior officer.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Simon Bryant warned that the RAF was “running hot” over its contributions to the western support of Libyan rebels fighting renegade leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Both equipment and personnel were being placed under “huge demand”, he wrote in a briefing paper for MPs seen by the Telegraph newspaper.
“Should Operation Ellamy (Libya) endure past defence planning assumptions the future contingent capability is likely to be eroded,” he wrote…
“Morale remains fragile. Although fighting spirit remains positive, this assessment will be challenged by individual harmony targets as Operation Ellamy endures (after September).”
He flagged up “decreasing satisfaction” with wages and said the strategic defence and security review (SDSR) was continuing to “undermine the sense of being valued”.
Sir Simon added: “There is concern over the perceived lack of strategic direction which is restricting confidence in the senior leadership.”
There is probably also concern in the RAF about being the last service to complain about resources and OPTEMPO.
The British armed forces have been cut so much that almost any optempo beyond a simple rescue mission will stress them highly. The mighty British Empire has fallen quite far in my lifetime.
Alas, we are headed in the same direction.
And at roller coaster speeds, methinks. I have some doubt that this trainwreck can be stopped after the next eighteen months. I’m gittin’ down to hope for change, sigh…
Unlike YOU two guys, fortunately I have had the foresight to lay-in “mass quantities” of Barbancourt. Hopefully I’ll be blind drunk when the train-wreck happens..
…”I have had the foresight to lay-in “mass quantities” of Barbancourt…”
aka WMD, Weapons of Mass Discombobulation.
Roller coaster? No, it is, as Billy Beck says, a rocket sled to hell. I prefer Myers to Barbancourt, but I can’t afford it. Thus I drink the cheapest beer. I have said here before, that I want to be numb when they come for me. I do have some consolation of religion, but don’t really have the temperal lobes or temperament for it. I continue to attend services, though, out of hope.
What is worth noting to me is the fact that it is indeed being said, loudly and in public, by all of HM’s services. This is almost unprecedented, and is a very direct reaction to the wholesale, and seemingly panic-driven, near-total disarmament ordered by the civilian leadership of one of the world’s premiere military powers. The service chiefs seem perfectly willing to put it all on the line to openly contradict MOD and Tory government statements. Hogday, how much traction is all of this gaining in the public’s eye over there?
And that, along with the almost total lack of viable military in western Europe is a direct result of the US bearing a hugely disproportionate share of the NATO/Western Europe defense over the past 65 years. The US was always there, so why bother to build up a military?
Now the US is saying “Hey, we can’t keep this up forever.” and Europe isn’t ready to take it on their own.
Hi Comjam and pals, Just got back up North from a few days in my home town – London (my sisters 60th, yes sixtieth, wedding anniversary (I was an unexpected latecomer in my parents lives
Well, we visited Churchills War Rooms, a remarkable part of the Imperial War Museum. I left the following comment in the visitors book, “Wolfe, Nelson, Churchill…can anyone suggest who the next name might be in this sequence of our national heroes and saviours? because I’m struggling”.
As we sat in St James’s Park sipping a coffee, our Prime Minister was about 200 yards away in Number 10 giving a press conference. I believe one of his comments, on the subject of his Defence Chiefs’`leaked` comments was, “Sometimes I wish they’d do the fighting and let me do the talking”. In answer to your question, I’m not sure how many of the great unwashed know or care just how much damage was done by the succession of Labour governments.
We are facing a public sector workers strike in the coming months because of pension cuts, part of the `quick and painful` recovery policy (which I personally support).
My next door neighbour is RAF. He was posted to `recruiting` late last year but never got to do any because the RAF had no idea what places would be left to fill, so he was quickly re-assigned to RAF Valley, Anglesea (along with the newly wed HRH). She tells me it’s a totally unknown quantity at the moment. There’s a plan being mooted to re-structure the reserves, increase the numbers, give them a bigger role etc and allow the smaller professional army to maintain the more specialist, higher skill functions. As for the Navy? We wait and we wait. In the meantime, please can Uncle Sam keep up a ready supply of munitions and all the logisitcal support that is keeping us on station and effective in the Med. I’ll check out the papers for more info once I’ve washed my dirty laundry.
You left out Wellington.
Thanks Coco, how could I forget the Iron Duke – especially with 3 of my ancestors in the ranks at Waterloo, although unlike me, the didn’t use a nom de plume on the roll, so no good looking for `Hogdays`
Comjam – Sorry for delay. Have been down in `the smoke` (London) for a few days – (sisters 60th yes sixtieth, wedding anniversary – I’m not that old, I was just a very late surprise to my parents).
As another commenter has already mentioned, our PM commented in a press conference in Number 10, that he, “wished the generals would do the fighting and leave the talking to him” – one or two got called to Number 10 for a chat. As for this alarm `gaining traction` in the UK, I doubt the `great unwashed` realise just how much real damage was done over the past 14 years by the previous Labour governments and chancellor of the exchequer who, I believe history will show, was singularly un-enthusiastic in opening his purse to support the poor bloody infantry et al.
Our troops were seriously disadvantaged for far too long in both Iraq and Af’ due to lack of appropriate kit, not only the big stuff either. Acquisition and supply being particularly serious offenders. I do know a lot more, from a previous position I held, but will go no deeper on this matter. There has been a lot of good advice coming from some excellent military leaders, with serious frontline time, of late and it seems there are people in the MOD and Govt. listening. I think we will see a major review and a turn around in the fortunes of our reserve forces starting to take shape. Our army is without question the best trained in Europe and beyond, but there is much merit in the idea of giving more responsibility to the reservists for the less `hi tech` responses. Currently we have `90% of everything being done by 90% of the regulars` hence the high fatigue/high rotation conundrum.
Anecdotally, my neighbour is RAF. He was posted, last year, into a recruiting role, but it all came to a grinding, sudden halt in the face of the pending review, as the RAF had no idea what spaces they would be required to fill, if any. As its turned out, he’s already been re assigned to RAF Valley (along with the newlywed HRH Prince William).
Support for our forces is, on the whole, pretty darn good and the PM knows it and knows he cannot afford to mess up on this issue. In the meantime, I hope and pray Uncle Sam can keep supplying the kit and logistical support, without which our efforts in the Med would look really tired.
What the? Double vision or a tech glitch meant I did this twice cos the first didn’t fly. Hey ho.
Hogday, isn’t technology grand? Thanks for the perspective; I see that wstr has also helped give us the view from across the pond as well. That this is Tory policy seems so very odd to me, as I have always thought of these type of actions being an almost totally Labour type reaction: Keep the Dole alive, but send Tommy Akins to the rubbish bin. And sadly, I perceive no eloquent voice of outrage coming from the back benches anywhere in Commons. Ghosts are watching, and they are not amused.
A rubber band can only be stretched so far…
If it’s like the Dutch in Afghanistan, the only reason they’re keeping up the appearance of morale is because anyone sent home for any reason is immediately axed by the budget cuts.
When our mission there was recalled, the troops went almost directly from the transport aircraft flying them home to the unemployment lines, some of the equipment being shipped directly from the sandbox to new owners in Africa and South America who’d paid peanuts for almost new stuff, sold to generate money for nice “social programs” like subsidies for Islamic schools and mosques…
You know, when a society reaches a point where such an effeminate and euphemistic phrase of goobledy-gook mish-mash as
“this assessment will be challenged by individual harmony targets”
can actually be uttered by a head of the armed forces to be quoted in a newspaper, I don’t think it matters much if they even bother having a funded military anymore . . .
Wail Britannia
So much for “maintaining an even strain.” Wait, this IS an even strain across all of HM’s forces. And a bad one.
Astoundingly and sadly, Prime Minister Cameron bitch slaps back:
“There are moments when I wake up and read the newspapers and think: ‘I tell you what, you do the fighting and I’ll do the talking’.”
It should be noted that the First Sea Lord was responding on the fly to a reporter’s question during an scheduled press conference as part of ADM Roughead’s visit and if analysed point by point (and not press summations) is factually correct and non-political, but alas not ‘on message’ enough for the govt. ACM Bryant’s points on the RAF were contained in a requested, internal briefing note to Members of Parliament which was subsequently leaked. In other words both were performing their official duties in transparency and accountability and contrary to the impression given by the PM’s remarks were not running to the press for some unsolicited, back door, sniping.
The First Sea Lord has already had a meeting with no biscuits at Downing Street and the ACM may only avoid the same, if the govt wake up and realise how bad it looks to be doing this on a regular basis!
The cross party Commons Defence Select Committee is having another session today (22nd) with defence chiefs on the SDSR cuts, so it will be interesting to see how much these recent events dominate.
Wstr, any sense of stars may be left on the table (i.e. resignation over principle) to get the message across?
Unlikely at the very top; it’s only recently that the British Chiefs have started talking so robustly whilst still in post. Previously it was seen as a little distasteful (not the done thing old boy) and most kept stum until retirement, only then expressing concerns in partially ‘in-house’ forums such as speaking at RUSI or SSI.
Further down the ladder though there has been 4 or 5 senior officers at Col to 2-Star level who have quit in the last three years (including the head of army bomb disposal) and a recent army voluntary redundancy scheme was massively oversubscribed with double the expected numbers of responders.
*Breaking news*. To complete the set (navy, air force and now army) the Chief of the General Staff (head of the UK army) is to question the govt’s Afghan withdrawal schedule in a documentary tonight. There’s no indication of when it was recorded but if the PM is unhappy now, he may be fuming over his cornflakes tomorrow morning!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/defence/8590812/Head-of-British-Army-questions-deadline-for-Afghan-troop-withdrawal.html
He flagged up “decreasing satisfaction” with wages and said the strategic defence and security review (SDSR) was continuing to “undermine the sense of being valued”.
More than a bit of Tommy Atkins and the Thin Red Line in that statement, isn’t there?
And on a related note, have they taken away the tubas from Belgium’s main fighting force–the Army Band?
We’ve been carrying the UKs/Europe’s/NATOs water since May 7/8,1945…
… it appears the chickens have finally come home to roost…God help us. Best
It’s only been over the last 40 years that we have increasingly carrie the UK. Some have tried, but after Maggie went, the slide really accelerated.
A fair point. Best
But we really were pretty satisfied with the status quo in NATO thru the Thatcher period. The Germans maintained a ground force which equaled or exceeded ours; their ASW assets were formidable–as was the GAF. The Dutch and the RN also had a formidably equipped ASW force and were far more experienced in conducting ASW in European waters than were we. And Sweden, while not part of NATO, had a capable Air Force as well. And the Danes and the Belgiques, had a well-trained and motivated Air Force, (tho small and under-equipped) as well. Add in the French (although not part of NATO at the time)and the forces avail to carry out the Defense of Western Europe in-theater were considerable. We weren’t really worried about their inability to project power “out-of-theater” due to lack of sea-lift, heavy airlift, etc., as that wasn’t envisioned as NATO’s msn/cncern.
Of course the free-rider status of NATO nations has finally come to bite them in the you-know-where as European politicians have allowed EVERY branch of their armed services to atrophy after the Berlin Wall came down and the SU went away. And with America now economically/financially/militarily unable to ans every 911 call solo and as the threat to European interests due to terrorism and refugees (the Camp of the Saints effect) has dramatically changed along with their own economic/financial circumstances they find they’re out of airspeed and ideas–and that fact is slowly beginning to dawn on the general public (whose fault it all is anyway because of their welfare-state mentality and demands on the public fisc)
But my point is that until Gates’ speech, NO prominent American politician or Cabinet officer of ANY stripe has
heretofore (iirc) publicly asked/warned NATO nations to change their ways or sounded the alarm with the American public as to the long-term ramifications of this state of affairs going forward. In some quarters this would be labeled a “failure of leadership.” Far be it for rum-soaked me, however..
[...] So in essence Sarkozy is telling the Italians to stick with it. David Cameron also pledged that Britain would continue the mission as long as necessary; despite the warnings of his top military officials of the strain that this is putting on the UK’s armed forces. [...]
[...] So in essence Sarkozy is telling the Italians to stick with it. David Cameron also pledged that Britain would continue the mission as long as necessary; despite the warnings of his top military officials of the strain that this is putting on the UK’s armed forces. [...]
The paper tiger commences to implode. Best
Snake Eater, there appears to be no countervailing force in Europe. I wonder if this will aid right-wing parties in the EU and the UK? Seems that changing the players in power is the only way to prevent cultural collapse.
Some of the UK science-fiction writers are getting downright dystopian. One story (IIRC) has protagonists that were Americans expelled from an Islamic Europe. The US Navy was used for a future Operation Magic Carpet. Bad things happen after that.
Almost all UK SF is dystopian, unlike classic American SF, in which the Kewl&Manly protagonist prevails, does horrible execution among the bad guys, gets the girl, and Saves The Day. Why anybody would want to read “escapist” fiction in which the fictional world is even nastier than the one he lives in, just escapes me.