Don't mention the war marra (tenuous link I know)... we could only last 4 day's https://www.thenationalnews.com/wor...abeths-lack-of-arms-sets-alarm-bells-ringing/
Tbf we've only been able to give an invader a bloody nose for decades now. Excellent capability on the front foot as part of a coalition, but something like Ukraine are experiencing would give us massive issues. Successive governments using the military as an easy source to claw back money from and only putting it back in when someone gets needlessly killed and the political consequences of the penny pinching appear.
Think we've been downgraded by both the US and France from tier 1 to barely tear 2... all seems to me to be on the tories watch. Even Defence Secretary Ben Wallace recently admitted that the Army had been “hollowed out”, after claims from an American general that the UK was no longer a top-tier fighting force. Sailing on maneuvers without a full compliment of jets and guns sends the wrong signals to Putin and have been reduced to a joke to our allies, scandalous.
The French aren't a great deal better and I'd argue that our greater experience would win that one. However, all that experience and talent is now leaving due to very poor senior management. The current officer cadre is largely crap - penny pinchers, micro managers and egomaniacs whose first priority is themselves, and the people who made things work despite their bosses actions have gotten fed up. They're off, replaced by cheaper people with little to no experience. But they're cheaper and that's the number one priority. Loads of qualifications, no common sense and an attitude of 'I know better' is way more pervasive than when I joined up. You've got officers with a couple of years in the service ignoring or attacking twenty five year veterans because they're offering advice based on that experience, with predictable results. And then they try to blame the veterans when it goes tits up in exactly the way they're told it will. It's only a matter of time before an absolute catastrophe somewhere. This happened under Labour a couple of times. The Nimrod exploding, inadequate kit for Iraq and Afghanistan.
Hmm many countries still have compulsory military training. Compulsory might not work for us? But the TA or Army reserve could be massively expanded giving 'volunteers' incentives. My cousins husband is Swiss, I was visiting them a while back and he rocked up at their house in an armoured wagon, towing a great big howitzer! I have to say I was quite envious. I do also remember another cousin, who became an expert skier, cos the UK NATOs job was in Nordic countries. Then as per the post above most of our forces ended up in the desert, where kit designed for cold wet climes was useless. There is a boot making factory in Richmond not far from Catterick, a lot of the men went and paid for themselves better boots.
Looks like Isabel Oakeshott has kicked off the COVID inquiry early. Hancock potentially in a bit of bother over care home testing.
Hancock is a word beginning with C ... ... and I don't mean Celebrity. Having blood on your hands is one thing, selling a book, lying and laughing about it is something else.
Misinformation is a real problem in the world we live in. Modern technology and the availability of immediate information should have made the world a better place but its also made the spread of propaganda and the feeding of lies to the credulous much easier. Edit: just realised the cartoon relates to the Hancock messages !! Point still stands though.
Matt Hancock, who gave a journalist his WhatsApp messages to cherry pick in order to sell his 'I'm a Hero' book ... ... is complaining that she cherry picked his WhatsApp messages to make him look a prat. Hero or prat, should we have a poll
Bearing in mind that only the loonies still believe that's true, what does that tell us? Maybe you could ask him Smug, as the sole ambassador to whatever planet he's on.
Hancock has said it's a betrayal of trust... In fairness, he knows exactly what a betrayal of trust is. So does his wife and his constituents.
It would be interesting to see who did and who didn't believe that was true if it was said about a Labour MP. I'm also not entirely sure what's wrong with him saying 'call me Dave'. Anyway, doubt has been cast on whether that's the kind of thing that he'd do too.
