Thin Pinstriped Line

The MOD has once again been attacked for the practise of recruiting 16yr olds to join the Armed Forces. According to reports cited in the Guardian, a paediatrician and health professional have attacked the MOD for the practise, which apparently puts childrens health at risk, and does not allow them the ability to make a rational choice. There has long been opposition to the idea that 16yr olds can join the armed forces in the UK, which is apparently alone in Europe in permitting this practise to occur. There are concerns about the youth of the individuals, the risk they are exposed to and the fact that they may be too young to understand what they are getting into. Added to this are concerns that the Armed Forces recruit from deprived socio-economic areas, giving the perception that somehow young potential recruits are expendable cannon fodder. There is a strong patronisingly paternalistic presumption in parts of UK society that somehow ‘experts know best’ when it comes to w...

It is a truth universally acknowledged among public commentators that the Royal Navy doesn’t have a clue what it is doing when it comes to the armament of its aircraft carriers. This week there has been a minor explosion of concern on various sites about the news that HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH (QE) will only have 2 of her 3 planned Phalanx mounts fitted in the current upkeep period, with the last one to be fitted towards the end of 2020. This is apparently shocking, awful, proof the RN has no clue and apparently our carriers are now vulnerable and defenceless. Lots of complicated diagrams are floating around on some sites that show how theoretically QE is at risk from an incoming missile, plane or other risk. How on earth could the Royal Navy let this shambolic state of affairs happen? The truth of the matter is a little more prosaic than this, and it is worth exploring in a little detail to understand what is going on here. Night Time F35 landings at sea- Image by Ministr...

The growth of the Chinese Navy in recent years continues to be of significant concern to many nations. With the resources and capability that a rapidly growing economy and population of over 1bn people can provide, the Chinese Navy (PLAN) has gone in barely a generation from being a littoral ‘brown water’ navy to being one of the most powerful forces in the Asia Pacific region. The growth in Chinese naval power has not necessarily translated into a rapid growth into a globally deployable navy. The majority of their vessels have remained based inside the Asia Pacific region, with only relatively limited deployments into the wider world. While there is doubtless intent to reach globally in due course, currently Chinese deployed naval capability outside of their local region is considerably less than that of the US or Royal Navies. It is significant then to spot the presence of a Chinese amphibious vessel at the NAVDEX defence exhibition, held in the UAE , this week. For the fir...

The Secretary of State for Defence delivered a keynote speech to the RUSI on February 10 that, depending on your point of view could either have been an inspired piece of setting out evidence-based policy making, or providing a capability-based shopping list of ideas for the Departmental credit card to buy. Intended as a heavy hitting speech, it gained widespread attention for many reasons, and perhaps some unfair criticism for what was contained in it. The purpose of this article is to consider some of the speech and what it may mean for UK defence policy in the years ahead. The first point to note is that this was a speech that did not really announce any substantive new policy shifts.   The Minister was keen to set the tone of an attitude shift towards global presence, suggesting that he felt Brexit provided the best opportunity in 50 years to redefine the UK’s global role. This date is significant, harping back to the 1968 Defence Review that saw the ending of the U...

100% of people who join the British Armed Forces will, at one point or another leave. These reasons will vary – some will retire after a long career, others will leave their basic training establishment at the earliest possibly opportunity. Some will soldier on for a few years then walk away, others will be killed. This is perhaps useful context for the news that the MOD has launched a review into retention to understand why there has been an increase in personnel leaving the military at earlier than expected points, and what can be done to fix this challenge. The peculiar challenge of a military career is that, at present, it relies almost exclusively on direct entry at the most junior point in the system, which then feeds the manpower pyramid. The system relies on recruiting plenty of junior people, with numbers thinning the further up the ranks you go. This pyramid theoretically reduces manpower numbers, reflecting the diminished requirement for more senior personnel i...