Thin Pinstriped Line

The new Secretary of State for Defence Gavin Williamson took his first session of Parliamentary questions on 27 November. It is a reminder of his swift rise to power that his first session at the dispatch box ever came as the most senior Minister in one of the most senior Departments of State. Over the weekend the whispers by backbench MPs about disquiet on potential defence cuts gained full voice, with hints that at least one Minister was prepared to resign if the Army was cut, while other Ministerial sources darkly blamed a civil servant for the likely outcome of the current SDSR. In Parliament today the SofS was left in no doubt of the strength of feeling by his backbench colleagues about this issue, which has become a lightning conductor for Tory MPs angry at the state of the Party, and furious that the Labour Party, led by a life long pacifist is able to go on the offensive about defence cuts made by a Tory government. ‘Deny Everything’ There was frustration among m...

It has been revealed that HMS DIAMOND, a Type 45 destroyer, is returning home significantly earlier than planned from her deployment due to ‘broken propellers’. This has led to the curtailing of her Middle East deployment and the prospect of a Christmas at home for her crew. For the RN, 2017 was supposed to be ‘the Year of the Navy’, yet as the year draws to a close, it seems to be in a position where it does not have a single escort ship deployed outside of home waters. The MOD have reasonably pointed out that today there are 16 ships outside of home waters on operations (primarily in the Gulf, South Atlantic and Caribbean) with a further 16 preparing to deploy. The RN is fond of using the mantra ‘we must be ready to fight tonight’ as a reminder that when on operations, there is a need to switch from a peacetime mentality to going to war in a matter of hours. With this latest news, coupled with the revelations about further cuts, the question needs to be asked – ‘Is the ...

For Those in Peril On the Sea. The Argentine Navy has reported that one of their submarines (the ARA SAN JUAN) has gone missing. She was on transit to her home base and reportedly experienced technical difficulties of some form, and since then all contact has been lost. A major international SAR operation is underway, including assistance from Brazil, Chile, the UK and the USA. Everyone hopes that the SAN JUAN will be found as soon as possible with her crew unharmed and that she returns home soon. But this incident highlights several issues of relevance to the UK and the RN that are worth considering. Firstly, the possibility that SAN JUAN may have been lost highlights the dangers inherent in submarine operations. Almost every major navy has in its history experienced a serious submarine disaster. Operating at depths under the ocean is very challenging and not something where you can cut corners or take risks. For the RN it is a timely reminder of the importance of inv...

The news from Zimbabwe is that some kind of coup attempt is underway against President Mugabe’s regime. If successful then few will mourn the passing of one of Africas most despotic regimes, which took a country from riches to ruin, and committed huge numbers of human rights abuses and atrocities against its own population. For the UK, this represents a potential change for the better in what has been a strained relationship for decades. There is a chance to try and reset relations and rebuild good working links to a country that has suffered enormously for too long.  In the short term though events remain unclear, and no one is entirely sure of who is in charge, or where the President is. For the UK there are also a number of implications of this coup for both the MOD, and wider Government. The value of Defence Attaches The Defence Attaché network is often maligned and misrepresented, seen by some as a career path to send old and not particularly good officers out to ...

The Times reported on Sat 11 November that the total number of MOD civil servants has grown, at a time when the regular armed forces face the risk of further manpower cuts. This has led to some MP’s demanding answers as to why the MOD seems to have its priorities so wrong. The MOD civil service is a much maligned and poorly understood beast. In broad terms the phrase MOD ‘Civil Servant’ covers a vast range of people from storemen, dockyard workers, canteen assistants and munitions workers through to policy wonks, rocket scientists and intelligence analysts. In very broad handfuls the MOD is split into two sides – the ‘industrials’ who make up roughly 50% of the workforce and the ‘non industrials’ who make up the balance. This temporary growth needs to be looked at over a period of long term sustained decline in the strength of the MOD civil service. In 2003 there were roughly 120,000 civil servants employed by the MOD. Today there are approximately 55,000 and by 2020 there wil...

The Sunday Times reports today  (PAYWALL LINK) that the Royal Navy is thinking of removing two of the four MCMV vessels that it has permanently based in the Gulf. This is seen as inevitable following the removal of a pair of Hunt class from service as an in year savings measure. The worry is that there will be significant damage to bilateral relations with the US over this issue. The RN has maintained a reasonable presence in the Gulf for many years, which is built around three core roles – a.         the ability to provide a surface escort (either AAW or ASW) that can operate in a high end war fighting environment, and integrate into US CVBGs. b.        An MCMV squadron and support ship to provide an integrated ability with the USN to ensure an effective mine clearance capability in the region. c.        Support ships such as tankers, stores ships and a repair capability (now...

The National Audit Office issued a report today into cannibalisation in the Royal Navy. This practise, is not as one might think in light of recent headlines, something indulged in by submariners. Instead it refers to the process of taking equipment from one ship, and swiftly moving it onto another. The headline figure that the media are focusing on is that these incidents are up nearly 50% in the last few years, at a considerable cost to the taxpayer. Firstly it is important to realise that the process of cannibalisation (or STOROB as referred to in the Service) is not unique to the RN. All navies do it to some degree or another. It is also not a new process, and dates back many years. For instance the old HMS EAGLE after paying off was used for years to provide a source of spare parts for HMS ARK ROYAL. Many other ships in reserve or lower readiness states have been donors of spare parts to other ships. This is not a new thing, nor is it surprising that it is done. Why doe...