UK Must Be Ready to Fight War in Three Years, Says Army Head

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BBC: Britain must be ready to fight a war in three years, the new head of the Army has said.

Gen Sir Roland Walker has warned against a range of threats in what he called an "increasingly volatile" world.

But he said war was not inevitable and the Army had "just enough time" to prepare itself to avoid conflict.

Central to this was doubling the Army's fighting power by 2027 and tripling it by the end of the decade, he said.

In his first speech in the role on Tuesday, Gen Walker said the UK faced danger from an "axis of upheaval".

Among the key threats facing the UK in the coming years, highlighted by the general in a briefing, is an angered Russia, which could seek retribution against the West for supporting Ukraine, regardless of who wins the war. » | Jonathan Beale, Defence correspondent | Ian Aikman, BBC News | Tuesday, July 23, 2024

LGBT Veterans Want Military Ban Report Immediately

BBC: Campaigners are urging the government to immediately release the findings of a review into the treatment of LGBT veterans who were forced out of their jobs as a result of being gay.

Until 2000 it was illegal to be gay in the British military - with more than 5,000 veterans thought to be affected.

Some have given evidence to a review launched last year but are concerned the report has not been published yet.

The government said it would consider the recommendations "in due course".

One veteran told BBC News she wants the government to apologise because gay officers' lives "were robbed" by the ban. » | Lauren Moss, LGBT correspondent & Josh Parry, LGBT producer, BBC News | Friday, June 9, 2023

Britain Is Becoming A Friend Who Can't Be Trusted, Says Top US General

Gen Odierno said that British defence cuts are already
jeopardising US-UK joint operations

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH In an exclusive interview, Gen Raymond Odierno, US army Chief of Staff, says UK defence cuts are eroding his country's confidence in our commitment to global security

Ever since the Cold War ended more than two decades ago, America has never entertained any serious doubts about Britain’s ability to fulfil its commitment as a vital military ally when tackling threats to the Western alliance.

Until now. For the dramatic cuts to Britain’s defence budget implemented since the Coalition took power in 2010 have led to a number of senior US military officers and politicians openly questioning whether, when it comes to fighting the wars of the future, Britain has the capability to be an effective ally on the battlefield.

The Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy have all suffered cutbacks to the extent that they are no longer able to undertake the kind of missions that Britain has historically supported.

Now, General Raymond Odierno, the Chief of Staff of the US army, who has fought alongside British forces in several conflicts, including the recent campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, has become the latest senior officer to express his concerns in public, telling The Daily Telegraph when I met him in Washington last week that he is “very concerned” about the impact the cuts are having. Read on and comment » | Con Coughlin | Sunday, March 01, 2015

UK Not 'Full Partner' with US, Says Former Defence Chief

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Robert Gates, who served under Bush and Obama, says the “fairly substantial reductions” in spending mean Britain can no longer be a leading military player


Defence cuts are limiting Britain’s capacity to be “full partner” with America, a former US defence secretary has said.

Robert Gates, who served under George W Bush and Barack Obama, said the “fairly substantial reductions” in spending mean Britain can no longer stand alongside the US as a leading military player.

For decades British Armed Forces have had a so-called “special relationship” with their counterparts across the Atlantic - particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan recently - but Mr Gates’s comments indicate that partnership could be over.

He said America had always been able to “count on” Britain to stand shoulder to shoulder with them militarily, but reductions in spending mean UK forces can no longer offer a “full spectrum” of capabilities on land, in the air, and particularly at sea.

The Army is currently going through sweeping cuts as part of Coalition cost-cutting which will see the loss of 20,000 regulars by 2020, while there are further reductions in spending for the Royal Navy and RAF.

Mr Gates told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: "With the fairly substantial reductions in defence spending in Great Britain, what we're finding is that it won't have full spectrum capabilities and the ability to be a full partner as they have been in the past."

The former US defence chief singled out naval cuts as particularly damaging, noting that for the first time since the First World War Britain does not have an operational aircraft carrier. » | James Edgar | Thursday, January 16, 2914