Thin Pinstriped Line

It has been announced that the UK is going to admit women to every single role in the armed forces, including the Special Forces. For the first time in our history, men and women can apply to do every single job in the military, regardless of gender, providing they meet the appropriate standards. To most people this seems a common sense outcome, but to some it has been the cause of outrage. There are former service personnel out there who have for some years now been deeply opposed to the role of Women in the infantry, and have made no effort to hide their anger. Just read these quotes, taken from a Daily Telegraph article in 2016: “The people who have demanded this change – politicians desperate to be seen as “progressive”, feminist zealots and ideologues hell-bent on equality of opportunity without exception – would never dream of volunteering. Indeed only a very small number of women will want to join the infantry and of those only a fraction will have the physical capa...

The United Kingdom has few allies closer than the Netherlands. Both nations are modern, outward looking and instinctively maritime in their view of the world. Long standing NATO partners and with significant experience of working together across the globe, the Netherlands Armed Forces are highly respected as being capable, well equipped and staffed with first rate personnel. The relationship between the RN and the Royal Netherlands Navy is extremely close, particularly between the Marine Corps and the Submarine Services. It is therefore extremely pleasing to hear that the Netherlands will be deploying a warship to form part of the inaugural ‘Carrier Strike Group’ (CSG) deployments for HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH in 2021 HERE This is a significant announcement and it has several ramifications that are good news for the Royal Navy. Image by Ministry of Defence; © Crown copyright The Carrier Strike Group concept is a way of operating and deploying vessels that is going to utterly al...

Research completed for a Parliamentary Question has revealed the number of days spent at sea per year since 2010 for the entire Type 23 fleet ( HERE ). This question, seemingly designed to make entire legions of former staff officers and civil servants shudder with horror at the research effort required to answer it, reveals that since 2010 the entire Type 23 force has spent a total of 32.5yrs at sea (or assuming crew of 185) roughly 2.2 million man-days). This works out that each Type 23 has spent roughly 28.5% of its time at sea annually – although this will vary considerably depending on what the vessel was doing (e.g. operations or deep refit). It is perhaps easy to look at these figures and ask whether seeing hugely expensive ships spend less than a third of their time at sea represents value for money, and whether more can be done to better utilise them. Doubtless some journalists will seize on these figures as ‘proof’ of defence cuts, without asking what they mean. Imag...

The Royal Air Force has recently publicised the details of its scheme designed to attract former service members to re-join the RAF. The scheme is intended to provide an opportunity for people who have left to consider applying to re-enter the military and resume their career. (Full details can be found HERE ). To some serving personnel the process is controversial since rejoiners can be considered for promotion into a higher rank, depending on the experience they have accrued while outside. To some this is seen as ‘an insult’ to serving personnel in that it rewards those who have left, while not addressing the root cause of what is causing people to leave in the first place. To Humphrey this scheme is a very welcome and common sense idea that has the potential to bring a real infusion of people back into the system to fill gaps which would otherwise be empty. The reality of life is that everyone who joins the armed forces will one day leave or retire. The career model for de...

A flurry of announcements recently has highlighted the importance of refits and basing for the Royal Navy. Hardly the most high profile or ‘sexy’ of topics for many followers of defence issues, but one that cuts to the heart of why the UK retains such globally capable and deployable armed forces. On Monday 8 October, it was formally announced that the Type 26 ‘City’ class frigate would be homeported in Plymouth, ensuring that this would be the RN’s ASW centre of excellence for decades to come. While hardly a well-kept secret, the confirmation will come as welcome news to locals, keen to see affirmation that Devonport Dockyard has a long term future. Basing of ships is an increasingly high-profile issue, and one that can arouse strong emotions. The days of there being multiple classes of ships scattered across the UK have gone forever, instead with modern ships generally being based by class in one port. This move not only makes life easier from a personnel perspective, but al...