Thin Pinstriped Line

As we draw to the end of 2012, it is perhaps a good time to take stock of where the UK finds itself at the end of a particularly busy year, and see whether any initial lessons can be drawn from the year gone, and what we can possibly predict lies ahead of us in 2013.     2012 – A very good year indeed… In the eyes of the author, 2012 has been a very good year in some ways for HM Forces. From a practical perspective, the standing of the Military in the UK has never been higher. The ability to step in at short notice and provide outstanding support for the Olympic Games, while simultaneously carrying out operations in Afghanistan, the Gulf, the Falklands and elsewhere demonstrates that for all the reductions that have gone on, the UK military can still rise to the occasion. Very few nations would be able to operate at the tempo that HM Forces have done this year, fewer still could then continue with the operational tempo of day to day operations that the UK is curren...

As the year draws to a close, and Humphrey had begun contemplating the drafting of his ‘2012 assessment, 2013 predictions’ piece, he was dismayed to see that the year is ending as it has begun – with a nonsensical piece of journalism attacking the MOD for the size of its magazine subscriptions. The MOD has confirmed spending approximately £600,000 per year on a variety of magazine subscriptions (which equates to roughly £2.10 per full time military and civilian in Defence). The reaction from the media has been one of outrage that at a time when we are firing soldiers left right and centre, we’re spending enough money to keep at least 6 Brigadiers in post on magazines. The reality as ever is more complex. The MOD has tried to explain that in fact MOD Main Building is not full of civilian staff sipping lattes, air-kissing and reading GQ, Cosmo and Loaded, while working in an environment out of ‘Absolutely Fabulous’. Instead the majority of the magazines subscribed to are more a...

On 17 December, General Sir David Richards (the UK Chief Defence Staff – CDS) gave a speech to the military think-tank known as the RUSI – Royal United Services Institute. The RUSI is a well-known international think-tank, and one which has over the years provided the venue for a variety of particularly interesting speeches, papers and other engagements. Traditionally the CDS will always give a ‘state of the nation’ address to the RUSI towards the end of the year, as an effort to not only look back, but also look forward and see what the future may hold for the British Military. Bluntly, many friends of the author believe the speeches are often fairly routine, covering ground regularly debated in public and reiterating policy over thinking outside the agreed position. This speech is notable though for being significantly more open than previous debates, and for its highlighting several areas where the General stepped away from the path of established policy and perhaps illumi...

In the previous part we considered why the UK is seemingly able to exert continued influence on the global stage. Continuing on this theme, this article will now look at some other  less quantifiable factors which means that the UK continues to be seen as a nation able to exert influence on the global stage.   A global legacy, and a global presence One of the more intangible aspects of the UKs ability to exert influence is its historical legacy. Whether you love, or loathe, the Empire, the fact remains that part of its legacy is of a series of institutions, law courts, and fondly imagined memories. Although the vast majority of the British imperial population has now passed on, there is still a legacy footprint of both those who settled in nations when they were still imperial possessions, and also those who were born imperial subjects, but who became independent leaders. Although very difficult to quantify, the UK is still in a position where in many nations arou...

Humphrey has reluctantly had to switch on the box for text confirmation of comments. This is because in recent weeks the site has become overwhelmed by spambots, resulting in literally hundreds of spam comments per day. Although verification is a major pain in the backside, it should reduce the spam traffic to the site significantly.

One of the reasons why Humphrey started this blog was to try and put start a more reasoned debate about the reality of the Falklands, and how despite our lack of Sea Harriers, the islands were not at risk of imminent invasion. Over the last year the aim has been to try and bring a little balance to a debate which can, at times, adopt the air of hysteria as we hear of legions of retired naval officers pontificating about how UK sovereignty is under threat due to our total lack of Harriers. Humphrey has had the genuine pleasure of meeting and engaging with members of the Argentine Armed Forces over the years, and he’d describe them as genuinely professional, intelligent, motivated and thoroughly decent people. He has a very healthy professional respect for them, but this does not mean he thinks the islands are under imminent threat of invasion. Today, reading an article that appeared a couple of weeks ago in the MercoPress (the South Atlantic news agency) about reports from Arg...

There are times when following the modern media that one feels like sighing deeply, ordering another G&T and hoping that salvation will eventually turn up. Today was one of those days. Reading the Daily Telegraph, the authors heart sank on reading an article which suggested that the British Army was considering scrapping the Apache Attack helicopter. This was bases on a public lecture by a senior member of the Apache helicopter force. ( http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9722347/British-Armys-fleet-of-Apache-helicopters-could-be-scrapped.html ) The gist of the article was that in 2017 the UK will find itself having to fund the technical support for the Apache AH64-D variant, as the US military will have moved to using the E variant. The result is that the Apache will req    uire a capability update in order to remain sustainable alongside its US peers. Currently the MOD is considering its options on how to proceed with this upgrade, and that Ministers wi...

There was news recently that the UK has somehow managed to usurp the USA as the worlds most influential nation for so-called ‘Soft Power’. While this may have generated some quick headlines, and will probably be seen as little more than a column filler for a quick story, there is actually something quite interesting here. The author has long held the view that the UKs military power is actually a fairly minor part of understanding why the UK still has a significant global reach and influence. It is perhaps easy to decry cuts to defence or force structures as this produces a tangible ‘loss’. One can map out the number of tanks, planes or ships and see a reduction over the years and make the assumption that somehow the UK is a less powerful or influential nation. Humphrey would argue though that actually this is just a tiny part of determining the sum of the UKs influence. There are many other things that perhaps matter more than whether we have 250 Challenger 2 tanks, not 400, ...

  There has been a lot of coverage of the news that the Chinese Navy has recently conducted the first jet trials on their new aircraft carrier (Liaoning), with a total of 5 arrested landings (so-called touch and go) being carried out on trials. This is clearly an impressive development, and shows that China has now proven itself capable of something that only the Navies of Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Russia, India, Thailand, the UK and US have previously done – namely land a jet at sea. Does this mean though that the maritime balance of power in Asia has altered, and that the Chinese are suddenly a more potent force? Look at some of the hype on the internet and you’ll see portents of doom, with people declaring that these landings somehow make the Chinese Navy immensely capable and that the USN and RN and all other navies are somehow irrelevant. A more balanced view is that actually this is a tiny step on a very long ...

News broke recently that the USS NIMITZ, one of 11 USN super carriers, has had her deployment to the Persian Gulf delayed by several months due to engineering problems. This delay will reduce the availability of carriers in the Gulf to just one active vessel for much of 2013. This news, while in itself not exactly unexpected – after all NIMITZ is nearly forty years old now, and it is inevitable that vessels that age develop machinery challenges – does perhaps illustrate a wider concern about just how thinly stretched the USN is now, and how this is likely to get more challenging. On paper from next week the USN will operate 10 aircraft carriers, all NIMITZ class, after the USS ENTERPRISE is decommissioned. In reality those 10 vessels are going to be thinly stretched across the globe. Right now, of the 10 hulls, Nimitz is undergoing repairs, three are forward deployed (two are in the Gulf, one is in Japan) and another is available for tasking in the US. One (Abraham Lincoln) ...