Think Defence hopes to start sensible conversations about UK defence issues, no agenda or no campaign but there might be one or two posts on containers, bridges and mexeflotes!
There was this one-man review of Cyprus bases, but never saw anything published.
What, other than a few planes and two boats will be left when
2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment (2 R ANGLIAN) to move from Cyprus to RAF Cottesmore in Rutland in July 2012.
2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (2 YORKS) to move from Cyprus to Elizabeth Barracks, Pirbright in July 2013.
… or is part of this just normal rotation?
Phil
Normal rotation. Not heard of the UN mission ending or bases being handed back.
ArmChairCivvy
Thought so. Perhaps with A-stan winding down (??) the over-the-horizon reserve will be withdrawn
- I wouldn’t, if you compare an available bn to what can presently be put on amphibs
ArmChairCivvy
The news piece (15 Sept)covering the nomination of the first Commander of JFC included this line
“Decisions on the initial composition of the JFC and location of the headquarters are expected in October.”
- have I missed something? Or still in the “works”?
ArmChairCivvy
This one?
”
The MOD will publish a fully funded and balanced ten-year Equipment Plan by September 2011, and the National Audit Office will conduct an affordability audit of this; the first of its kind.”
“The MOD will publish a fully funded and balanced ten-year Equipment Plan by September 2011, and the National Audit Office will conduct an affordability audit of this; the first of its kind.”
got a letter from the Assistant Head, Strategic Defence and Security Review Secretariat, on the subject of the sdsr and what ambitions it helps to realise:
Sorry, I was just hoping that would catch people’s attention
Anyway, something quite significant has taken place. Kim Jong-Il has popped his clogs in North Korea.
Most analysts agree that the North Koreans knew this was coming, hence the introduction of his son to the world and the measures taken to gradually transfer power to him. But there’s still a risk that a power struggle could kick off, or that the son could press for a minor military incident in order to assert his authority, so naturally the South Koreans are getting nervous and have put their armed forces on alert.
Chris.B.
Just to update this quickly, western reporters on the ground in PyongYang are reporting gunfire and large troop movements. “Somethings not right” reported one experienced journalist.
Chris.B.
Should have checked that more closely. In all cases above those reporters were relying on source information from inside North Korea, so it may or may not be good, and is completely unverifiable for now.
ArmChairCivvy
Away from North Korea… Osprey has been in a gunfight for the first time:
“The Osprey wasn’t supposed to enter combat so lightly armed. Many other large rotorcraft have guns installed on their side doors in addition to a gun on the rear ramp, allowing them to lay down suppressive fire over a much wider arc. But the Osprey’s rotating nacelles block the sides, making door guns impossible and leaving it with just the ramp gun. To compensate, BAE Systems designed a plug-in belly turret fitted with a .30-caliber mini-gun. A crew chief controls the turret from a console inside the cabin. But the turret is heavy and unwieldy, and most squadrons opt not to use it.”
- I was suggesting this kit for Merlin CSARing
- Looks like Osprey SCAR credentials were only on paper (Speed, range…)for that particular role (or plenty of other aircraft, which then to match the speed would have to be fixed wing)
All Politicians are the Same
ACC
A CSAR package generally has a lot of other AC in it. During OUP a CSAR package may have included, dependent who was on station at the time. 2 x AV8B from Kearsage or Garibaldi, 2 Pave hawks from Ocean or merlin from Gabladi backed up by a C2 asset, AWacs, Sea Kinf, merlin and possibly AH 64D.
We really need the recent articles widget that used to sit in the top-right of the page, for there are too many global categories requiring far too much ‘effort’ to check for new content.
ArmChairCivvy
RE ” need the recent articles widget that used to sit in the top-right of the page, for there are too many global categories requiring far too much ‘effort’ to check for new content.”
- at least a “quick fix” by having the forum open-thread comments/contributions show up on the “Comments” page? Otherwise those forum pages will become the preserve of the dedicated (and even then wading through them is tedious, as Jedi pointed out)
Think Defence
Have installed a new comment editing bit of software so can you give it a try?
DominicJ
boobies for editing
DominicJ
i cant edit on my phone.
DominicJ
I’ll try to keep this one clean then
DominicJ
Nope, no luck at work either
DominicJ
Can we have a “hot topics” tab, to go with “recent posts” and “recent comments”?
Please sir, I want some more
Topman
TD could we have the time stamp back for the comments both the little box and the comments page?
Haven’t fell of the end of the world by the way, just a bit busy with other things and om currently overseas.
Just finished the last couple of posts in the bridging series and then I think its back on the the Future of series
Sorry for the delays
x
You haven’t missed much. Me and Chris B(AE) have weaponised Phil and flogged him to the Saudis. But apart form its been quiet.
Chris.B.
Japan deal in the works. As soon as we crack the harpoon situation.
And I cant believe the Chick-Phil-A gag didn’t get a better response. I know it’s a fairly obscure reference to a less well known American Fast Food chain, but c’mon!
x
The US has never invaded a country that has a Chick-Phil-A branch. True.
Thanks for the Nordic link (even though the headline was bigger than the actual story). Basically the proposal was about Nordic-wide incident management (including shooting down rogue airplanes or boarding suspect ships)as the area overall is huge and it is all done on a national basis now, ie. a good deal of it double.
Not to forget that there already is deep co-operation
- at the procurement level, including keeping the manufacturing of basic munitions going
- at the EU BGs level(ireland remembered their Norse roots and joined!)
- and in ISAF the Finnish-Swedish contingent being practically one
Alex Salmond has made these “Nordic” noises about defence, but has not given them any concrete content.
- Scotland independent or not, there should be the same kind of incident management joint area as proposed by the Swedes for the Nordic area
- the other potential members have so many assets available that the effect on the availability of RN resources elsewhere can only be beneficial (not that there would be many, other than the protection of off-shore assets, in the area today)
Topman
Redundacies announced today 1000 in the RAF, 3000 in the army and 300 in the rn. People have the next couple of months to apply. Looks like it will be the last round for the rn and the raf.
Very nice piece. Have you read much Richard Overy? Not just his “Why The Allies Won” but some of the follow-on work. Think you’d enjoy it.
PS,
You and x’s cross-talk in the Typhoon/Rafale thread ref: groceries (important to a war footing, in an academic bit of a past life I did some Public Record Office grunt work on rationing and commodity controls) made me pine for Waitrose, wallet-buggering though it is. Out here in the northwest corner of North America it looks like a wet spring, but hopefully that’ll bring in the wine grapes over our north-facing fence like last year so I can start a second batch of Chateau des Mademoiselles (what else do you call your private label when you have four daughters?)
A review of the Track T800 CDi diesel (yes, diesel) motorcycle. Still not convinced. Perhaps if they had a look at a Ural AWD sidecar outfit and see if they can come up with something similar…
Another result of the messed-up security policy the SDSR is?
Think Defence
Was that in the SDSR McZ, can’t remember.
I can imagine that is going to be one gigantic database even though it is only for a year.
Big brother is here
Sven from Defense and Freedom takes a big interest in these issues
ArmChairCivvy
The only limit is the size of storage as mentioned
- already years ago the mob operators were placed under obligation to store who called whom (and from what “cell” mind you)
- and the records were to be kept for 10 years! You can throw away your book keeping records after 7
ArmChairCivvy
Just when the EU privacy initiative gets to grips with Google and Facebook who have done this, from foreign soil, “And the huge databases could also be used by internet service providers, particularly to work out which advertising to target at users.
Broadband firms including BT came up with a scheme almost three years ago to target advertising, but it did not get off the ground.”
for years, we then follow the UAE and Indonesia who thought (and got a lot critique for it)that it was not OK for a foreign comms provider to give terrorists an instant and encrypted communication channel on their soil, without their sovereignty extending to the servers where encryption can be undone… on the need-to-know basis; obviously there is a cost to it
BTW, I hadn’t realised the 10 year mandatory retention period had fallen flat on its face (there is still a period for which those records are kept)
Observer
TD, no worries about Big Brother.
There was an idea for this in Singapore, extending to even phone conversations, and it is still ongoing, but one thing people found out very fast is that a few million people spamming and talking equals to a massive case of info-overload. No living person could possible go through that mess to extract anything meaningful for future plans. You could talk about blowing up the US embassy and it’ll probably get lost in the background mess.
What these records are good for, and the only reason we’re still keeping them, is forensics. You can’t get future plans out of that mess, but once something happens, you can backtrack on a specific trail and ignore the rest to reconstruct events.
So, no Big Brother, more like CSI-Post Disaster Reconstruction.
James
Sad news, not just for the Red Arrows but more importantly, for the impact that 2011 clearly had on one of their pilots.
I think that the services have made tremendous steps in personnel welfare in the last ten years, not just in provision of medical services and post-care, but also and importantly in a corporate recognition that people involved in very high stress roles need relief. It’s all very different from the “stiff upper lip and carry on attitude” that was widely prevalent through my service.
I very much hope all ends well.
Think Defence
Just in case anyone was wondering I have decided not to do anything on todays bad news, the Warrior or going over the 400 casualties.
I have seen today that much stuff pontificating about why we should withdraw from Afghanistan, how crap Army vehicles are, what the ‘answer’ is to IED’s and how the milestone means we should do this or that.
Frankly, I find the bandwagon jumping, trotting out long since prepared commentary that was ready for when we went over 400 and the general look at me look at me theme rather shabby and distasteful
Just a personal opinion but it would be good for many journalists and tweeters to just remain silent on the subject for a day or two, remember what it is they are talking about.
Phil
Shame on those that just can’t resist the opportunity to make a point long enough for even these chaps to make it back to Bastion.
They were big boys in a war zone. They hit a bloody massive bomb of some kind. They didn’t stand a chance and they died.
I just hope they didn’t know what hit them.
The Grief Ghouls disgust me. A destroyed family is not news. Grief and despair and agony is not news.
There was this one-man review of Cyprus bases, but never saw anything published.
What, other than a few planes and two boats will be left when
2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment (2 R ANGLIAN) to move from Cyprus to RAF Cottesmore in Rutland in July 2012.
2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (2 YORKS) to move from Cyprus to Elizabeth Barracks, Pirbright in July 2013.
… or is part of this just normal rotation?
Normal rotation. Not heard of the UN mission ending or bases being handed back.
Thought so. Perhaps with A-stan winding down (??) the over-the-horizon reserve will be withdrawn
- I wouldn’t, if you compare an available bn to what can presently be put on amphibs
The news piece (15 Sept)covering the nomination of the first Commander of JFC included this line
“Decisions on the initial composition of the JFC and location of the headquarters are expected in October.”
- have I missed something? Or still in the “works”?
This one?
”
The MOD will publish a fully funded and balanced ten-year Equipment Plan by September 2011, and the National Audit Office will conduct an affordability audit of this; the first of its kind.”
- from a reliable source: http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/DefencePolicyAndBusiness/DefenceEquipmentBudgetRisesAsFutureForceTakesShape.htm
It’s not only the RM that make fleeting visits
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/11/warships-gunships-spyplanes-somalia/
“The MOD will publish a fully funded and balanced ten-year Equipment Plan by September 2011, and the National Audit Office will conduct an affordability audit of this; the first of its kind.”
Has this actually arrived yet?
http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/press_notice_home/1012/10121520.aspx
http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/1012/major_projects_report_2011.aspx
They look promising
I was doing some research on something else and came across this story/video:
http://www.innovationnewsdaily.com/libyan-rebels-military-robot-2056/
Cost-effective defence procurement?
got a letter from the Assistant Head, Strategic Defence and Security Review Secretariat, on the subject of the sdsr and what ambitions it helps to realise:
http://jedibeeftrix.wordpress.com/2011/12/17/letter-from-the-mod-what-are-the-forces-for-and-how-does-the-sdsr-achieve-this/
IMPORTANT!!! READ!!!!
Sorry, I was just hoping that would catch people’s attention
Anyway, something quite significant has taken place. Kim Jong-Il has popped his clogs in North Korea.
Most analysts agree that the North Koreans knew this was coming, hence the introduction of his son to the world and the measures taken to gradually transfer power to him. But there’s still a risk that a power struggle could kick off, or that the son could press for a minor military incident in order to assert his authority, so naturally the South Koreans are getting nervous and have put their armed forces on alert.
Just to update this quickly, western reporters on the ground in PyongYang are reporting gunfire and large troop movements. “Somethings not right” reported one experienced journalist.
Should have checked that more closely. In all cases above those reporters were relying on source information from inside North Korea, so it may or may not be good, and is completely unverifiable for now.
Away from North Korea… Osprey has been in a gunfight for the first time:
“The Osprey wasn’t supposed to enter combat so lightly armed. Many other large rotorcraft have guns installed on their side doors in addition to a gun on the rear ramp, allowing them to lay down suppressive fire over a much wider arc. But the Osprey’s rotating nacelles block the sides, making door guns impossible and leaving it with just the ramp gun. To compensate, BAE Systems designed a plug-in belly turret fitted with a .30-caliber mini-gun. A crew chief controls the turret from a console inside the cabin. But the turret is heavy and unwieldy, and most squadrons opt not to use it.”
- I was suggesting this kit for Merlin CSARing
- Looks like Osprey SCAR credentials were only on paper (Speed, range…)for that particular role (or plenty of other aircraft, which then to match the speed would have to be fixed wing)
ACC
A CSAR package generally has a lot of other AC in it. During OUP a CSAR package may have included, dependent who was on station at the time. 2 x AV8B from Kearsage or Garibaldi, 2 Pave hawks from Ocean or merlin from Gabladi backed up by a C2 asset, AWacs, Sea Kinf, merlin and possibly AH 64D.
One more unexplicable Gordon Brown decision unravelling:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/8975866/Baroness-Ashtons-diplomatic-service-accused-of-basic-failings.html
- should be closely integrated with defence policy,or v.v. but in two years have not even set up secure comms with national embassies around the world
- talk about living in the Brussels bubble
@ Admin
re. site design
We really need the recent articles widget that used to sit in the top-right of the page, for there are too many global categories requiring far too much ‘effort’ to check for new content.
RE ” need the recent articles widget that used to sit in the top-right of the page, for there are too many global categories requiring far too much ‘effort’ to check for new content.”
- at least a “quick fix” by having the forum open-thread comments/contributions show up on the “Comments” page? Otherwise those forum pages will become the preserve of the dedicated (and even then wading through them is tedious, as Jedi pointed out)
Have installed a new comment editing bit of software so can you give it a try?
boobies for editing
i cant edit on my phone.
I’ll try to keep this one clean then
Nope, no luck at work either
Can we have a “hot topics” tab, to go with “recent posts” and “recent comments”?
Please sir, I want some more
TD could we have the time stamp back for the comments both the little box and the comments page?
i was asked to promote this link:
http://labourfriendsoftheforces.org.uk/resettlement-consultation/
it may be of interest to the TD service crowd.
Haven’t fell of the end of the world by the way, just a bit busy with other things and om currently overseas.
Just finished the last couple of posts in the bridging series and then I think its back on the the Future of series
Sorry for the delays
You haven’t missed much. Me and Chris B(AE) have weaponised Phil and flogged him to the Saudis. But apart form its been quiet.
Japan deal in the works. As soon as we crack the harpoon situation.
And I cant believe the Chick-Phil-A gag didn’t get a better response. I know it’s a fairly obscure reference to a less well known American Fast Food chain, but c’mon!
The US has never invaded a country that has a Chick-Phil-A branch. True.
nordic military cooperation:
http://politiken.dk/newsinenglish/ECE1509688/swedish-military-wants-nordic-cooperation/
My recent analysis on the new US strategy and its impact on the UK and NATO. http://ukarmedforcescommentary.blogspot.com/2012/01/new-us-defense-strategy-cuts-uk.html
Land forces lose, Air and Navy gain, as expected.
Also, little update with some of Hammond’s statements from the US. http://ukarmedforcescommentary.blogspot.com/2012/01/philip-hammond-from-us.html
Hi Jedi,
Thanks for the Nordic link (even though the headline was bigger than the actual story). Basically the proposal was about Nordic-wide incident management (including shooting down rogue airplanes or boarding suspect ships)as the area overall is huge and it is all done on a national basis now, ie. a good deal of it double.
Not to forget that there already is deep co-operation
- at the procurement level, including keeping the manufacturing of basic munitions going
- at the EU BGs level(ireland remembered their Norse roots and joined!)
- and in ISAF the Finnish-Swedish contingent being practically one
Alex Salmond has made these “Nordic” noises about defence, but has not given them any concrete content.
- Scotland independent or not, there should be the same kind of incident management joint area as proposed by the Swedes for the Nordic area
- the other potential members have so many assets available that the effect on the availability of RN resources elsewhere can only be beneficial (not that there would be many, other than the protection of off-shore assets, in the area today)
Redundacies announced today 1000 in the RAF, 3000 in the army and 300 in the rn. People have the next couple of months to apply. Looks like it will be the last round for the rn and the raf.
Time for a joke http://realwebworth.com/www.thinkdefence.co.uk
- got to this one by going in again through the search engine (sometimes much faster than waiting the site to refresh)
Wow, where do I sign up for a sale
Off any topics this caught my eye for something impressive and equally infuriating and depressing at the same times
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/in-depth/analysis/rethinking-the-ambulance/1011491.article
Just a quick heads up for everyone
Have decided to moderate comments a little more closely
This place is starting to become an unpleasant place and I am not going to allow that to happen after all the hard work I have and continue to put in.
As you might have seen from some of my recent comments, patience is starting wear thin
Fair warning and all that
This is interesting: historical overview of putting societies onto a war footing. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01bpkjn
Original taster article from the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17011607
James,
Very nice piece. Have you read much Richard Overy? Not just his “Why The Allies Won” but some of the follow-on work. Think you’d enjoy it.
PS,
You and x’s cross-talk in the Typhoon/Rafale thread ref: groceries (important to a war footing, in an academic bit of a past life I did some Public Record Office grunt work on rationing and commodity controls) made me pine for Waitrose, wallet-buggering though it is. Out here in the northwest corner of North America it looks like a wet spring, but hopefully that’ll bring in the wine grapes over our north-facing fence like last year so I can start a second batch of Chateau des Mademoiselles (what else do you call your private label when you have four daughters?)
good one from the Offshore Balancer:
http://offshorebalancer.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/the-tyranny-of-distance/
A review of the Track T800 CDi diesel (yes, diesel) motorcycle. Still not convinced. Perhaps if they had a look at a Ural AWD sidecar outfit and see if they can come up with something similar…
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/motorbikes/9088717/Track-T800-CDi-review.html
http://cgblog.org/2012/02/04/why-i-choose-the-gun/
Dunno where to ask that question, but seems to be valid here.
Any thoughts about this one
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/9090617/Phone-and-email-records-to-be-stored-in-new-spy-plan.html
Another result of the messed-up security policy the SDSR is?
Was that in the SDSR McZ, can’t remember.
I can imagine that is going to be one gigantic database even though it is only for a year.
Big brother is here
Sven from Defense and Freedom takes a big interest in these issues
The only limit is the size of storage as mentioned
- already years ago the mob operators were placed under obligation to store who called whom (and from what “cell” mind you)
- and the records were to be kept for 10 years! You can throw away your book keeping records after 7
Just when the EU privacy initiative gets to grips with Google and Facebook who have done this, from foreign soil, “And the huge databases could also be used by internet service providers, particularly to work out which advertising to target at users.
Broadband firms including BT came up with a scheme almost three years ago to target advertising, but it did not get off the ground.”
for years, we then follow the UAE and Indonesia who thought (and got a lot critique for it)that it was not OK for a foreign comms provider to give terrorists an instant and encrypted communication channel on their soil, without their sovereignty extending to the servers where encryption can be undone… on the need-to-know basis; obviously there is a cost to it
BTW, I hadn’t realised the 10 year mandatory retention period had fallen flat on its face (there is still a period for which those records are kept)
TD, no worries about Big Brother.
There was an idea for this in Singapore, extending to even phone conversations, and it is still ongoing, but one thing people found out very fast is that a few million people spamming and talking equals to a massive case of info-overload. No living person could possible go through that mess to extract anything meaningful for future plans. You could talk about blowing up the US embassy and it’ll probably get lost in the background mess.
What these records are good for, and the only reason we’re still keeping them, is forensics. You can’t get future plans out of that mess, but once something happens, you can backtrack on a specific trail and ignore the rest to reconstruct events.
So, no Big Brother, more like CSI-Post Disaster Reconstruction.
Sad news, not just for the Red Arrows but more importantly, for the impact that 2011 clearly had on one of their pilots.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9121679/Female-Red-Arrows-pilot-moves-to-ground-role.html
I think that the services have made tremendous steps in personnel welfare in the last ten years, not just in provision of medical services and post-care, but also and importantly in a corporate recognition that people involved in very high stress roles need relief. It’s all very different from the “stiff upper lip and carry on attitude” that was widely prevalent through my service.
I very much hope all ends well.
Just in case anyone was wondering I have decided not to do anything on todays bad news, the Warrior or going over the 400 casualties.
I have seen today that much stuff pontificating about why we should withdraw from Afghanistan, how crap Army vehicles are, what the ‘answer’ is to IED’s and how the milestone means we should do this or that.
Frankly, I find the bandwagon jumping, trotting out long since prepared commentary that was ready for when we went over 400 and the general look at me look at me theme rather shabby and distasteful
Just a personal opinion but it would be good for many journalists and tweeters to just remain silent on the subject for a day or two, remember what it is they are talking about.
Shame on those that just can’t resist the opportunity to make a point long enough for even these chaps to make it back to Bastion.
They were big boys in a war zone. They hit a bloody massive bomb of some kind. They didn’t stand a chance and they died.
I just hope they didn’t know what hit them.
The Grief Ghouls disgust me. A destroyed family is not news. Grief and despair and agony is not news.