Clear-Eyed View of Defence

 

Oh dear, I spent a 35-year career in the Royal Air Force being encouraged by my Army colleagues to believe that warfighting capabilities such as boots on the ground, concentration of force, overwhelming firepower and mobility were key to winning battles.  I now understand that such shibboleths were merely “shields for sentimentality.”  I am trying to take the Defence Secretary’s advice to remain “clear-eyed” and hope, for all our sakes, that the novel defence proposals work when needed.

The sad truth, which has been apparent for some time, is that the UK could not field and support a fighting division.  That's it - time to pull down the shutters.