Thin Pinstriped Line

  News today (link HERE ) that the UK government is spending significant sums on sending military and ‘Senior Civil Service’ children to private schools in the UK. This has led to a number of debates on twitter and elsewhere which suggest that somehow only an elite get access to this perk, while others (the mainstream rank and file) are mysteriously denied it. Underpinning it all was a sense that somehow it was wrong for British public sector workers to receive funding from the State to send their children to good schools.  The debate about Boarding School Allowance (or CEA as its known in the military) is a long one. It owes its roots to the days back when large chunks of the armed forces and government were based overseas across the Empire, Dominions and beyond. Until the 1960s movements occurred mainly by troopships, taking families and personnel out to their stations on a leisurely journey that lasted many weeks. Once in post, people would remain there for potential...

Just when you think the near relentless attempts by the media to demoralise and demonise the Civil Service have reached a new low, there was depressing news in the Telegraph blames the MOD for failing to cut the number of Civil Servants, which apparently means the Armed Forces are being denied the ability to raise funds for new equipment ( LINK ) Reading this sort of ‘news’ is a damning indictment on just how poor the levels of research and analysis are in many media outlets these days, and how desperate they are for a story that tries to give ‘bad news’. The actual story relates to the news in the 2015 SDSR which imposed a nearly 30% cut on the overall headcount of the MOD Civil Service from roughly 55000 to roughly 40000 in a review which was politically barred from downsizing the Armed Forces, in order to save funds. The key point to note is that an SDSR is the entry review to a five year process of actions and tasks – and the commitment was to reduce numbers by 2020, not b...

Amidst the good news about the arrival of QUEEN ELIZABETH into Portsmouth for the first time, some Facebook and other social media sites have been discussing the Royal Navy at length. These sites commentators generally fall into one of two categories – the first is a long series of rambling ‘things were so much better when I were a lad in the mob and worked 25 hours a day in black & white and the RN is definitely going to the dogs’ brigade, and the other much smaller number are those who focus on the positives, while accepting the actual challenges the RN has got today. One of the most difficult stories to consider is the forthcoming removal from service of the Harpoon weapons system. To many this signifies that the Royal Navy is in decline, that it will apparently not be able to sink a ship and that this means all is lost. The purpose of this article is to consider whether this is actually the case or not. From the outset Humphrey wants to be clear – no one instinctively welc...

On the eve of the first entry into Portsmouth by QUEEN ELIZABETH, it is good to take stock of how far the Royal Navy has come in recent years, how much has been gained (and lost) and what sort of state the Naval Service is in today. An article reposted on Twitter this afternoon by Kings College Defence Studies Department (link is here HERE) rebroadcast an article that was written back in February of this year. It took a critical (and it has to be said error strewn) view of the state of the RN, which Humphrey would not necessarily agree with in its entirety. In response to a suggestion by one of the PSL twitter followers, this is an attempt to take a critical response to the article, and provide a strictly personal view of whether 2017 is ‘the year of the Royal Navy’. What is the good news? In simple terms 2017 has proven to be a remarkably good year for ‘ships in the water’ and in new capability entering into the public eye. The arrival of QUEEN ELIZABETH is naturally rem...

Without doubt the most impressive defence related story of the week was the news of QUEEN ELIZABETH and the USS GEORGE W BUSH steaming together off the coast of Scotland in concert with a variety of escorts. The sight of a pair of allied carriers operating together is increasingly uncommon, and its even less common to see a US carrier in UK waters these days. The pictures are genuinely stirring – two of the largest and most complex warships in human history sailing together, one returning from operations in the Middle East and the other at the start of a career that will see her doubtless spend many years deployed in the Middle East. But its not just a photo that is so compelling here, it’s the deeper story of integration and co-operation between the US and UK that makes this such a fabulous story to tell. Any nation can put on a photo shoot of ships together at sea – indeed when you have multi-national maritime exercises between countries that don’t work closely together, t...

The British Army is a magnificent institution with a long proud history and many admirable qualities. Humphrey is proud to say that he has worked at LAND HQ, served on a Divisional Staff overseas on TELIC and deployed on the ground with the Army on HERRICK and spent happy times living full time in Army Officers Messes. But, despite his emotional infatuation, there are still many difficult questions that face the Army today about its role and future. It occupies a curious place in both the emotional heart of the nation and the head of policy makers. The public if asked are usually aware of an organisation steeped in regimental tradition, know of units like the SAS, Guards and Parachute Regiment and may know a little bit about the equipment such as tanks (noting that all APCs are tanks to the layman’s eye…). They recognise it from state ceremonial, where it is an integral part of the national fabric and identity, and are proud of the perception of ‘our boys’ serving overseas in warz...