Royal Air Force (RAF)

The first RAF squadron (then as the RFC – Royal Flying Corps) was formed in 1912 and it upgraded to aircraft in 1914. The RAF is the oldest independant air force in the world with a long proud history, serving in all the major conflicts that took place during the 20th century, and continuing to do so in the 21st.

Now the RAF provide air support for a wide range of uses, both at war and in peace time. During the Cold War the RAF was an integral part of Britain’s nuclear deterrant.

United Kingdom Hoping For Brighter Future For All After Independence

Vessels such as HMS Ark Royal are a thing of the past

Scotland choosing independence is likened to Scotland leaving the UK (“Swinney takes flak over Navy shipbuilding claim”, The Herald, June 8).

As the United Kingdom is made up of only two Kingdoms, Scotland and England, plus a Province and a Principality (Northern Ireland and Wales), surely it is self-evident that on Scotland’s departure, there will be no UK, or United Kingdom of Great Britain. Instead there will be the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland.

Almost certainly the Principality and Province will have to be consulted on their relationship with the two Kingdoms and with each other. It is to be hoped that, for them too, the future could be brighter than the past.

Malcolm Black
Oban, Argyll.

To see more click here... 

SDSR - shame or relevant?

Whitehall

With the Strategic Defence and Security Review published in the autumn of 2010 speculation about the eventual outcome gathered pace and although denials are regularly issued by both politicians and the MoD it is a fact of life that we live in a society where secrets are hard to keep and as such we must expect the unexpected because politicians are thinking the unthinkable.

It is widely accepted that defence is a costly business and put simply is a bit like the insurance policy you hope you are never going to need. If you want your insurance policy to provide cover against all risks you accept the cost of a higher premium but on the other hand paying a lower premium will doubtless give you cause for concern and, unfortunately, this will be the end result of the SDSR if what we are hearing, seeing and reading becomes a reality.

It is an unfortunate fact of life that politicians are those who make everyday decisions about our lives, in the main without consultation, and that this is also true as far as the defence of the United Kingdom and our overseas commitments are concerned. Nowadays politicians have very little experience of the inherent dangers of soldiering because they have no experience of the profession – which is what it is.

Benefits of Joining the British Armed Forces: Why Would You?

In a nutshell... why on earth would you join the Armed Forces? It's rubbish pay, and you could get killed.

Not only that, you're a bit left wing and believe in a protest against imperialism (you might even be one of those nutters from Muslims Against Royal Familes or whatever nonsense they are called) and speaking out for the British common man, therefore you don't want to join the UK Armed Forces. You could be a disaffected former member of the Or you might not believe in war at all despite the UK Armed Forces being primarily an expeditionary defence force for at least the past 250 years. It hasn't embarked upon any sort of conquest for centuries (you might argue Empire existed BUT that was started by trading companies NOT the Armed Forces).

Whatever your objections, and they are many, they'd be against everything you believed in.

Besides, you never voted for the ConDem government nor even deputy Nick Clegg nor even the PM David Cameron. So why should you join?

Well, to put it into perspective - your oath of alligence is to the Head of state, in this case the Queen and your Regiment not to the government. Utter tosh you might say as the British head of state is powerless. The Commons runs things. True.

But none can deny that indeed you do swear your Oath of Allegiance to the Squadron or regiment, most of whom are your fellow Britons; and often in the case of the Army people from the same town or county. These are the good folk that you back and protect in a conflict. Most of which are common men and women. The heart of industry of this country.

Secondly - the money is not THAT poor. It's lower yes initially but not in the long term. Look for an equivalent job as a civilian that has the benefits of the military equivalent and pound to a penny you actually WON'T find one.
A Chef on a cruise ship won't earn £16k PA when they start but one on a Royal Navy ship will - but that's just one insignificant example.

The basic benefits included in most armed forces jobs are:

1. Free medical and dental care

2. Good rent for often decent accomodation

3. Job security which is poor in the private sector. Albeit until 2011 the public sector was safe but ride out this financial storm and things should be right again by 2013.

4. 6 weeks paid holidays plus bank holidays. You'll never find this in a civilian company (maybe if you work in a highly paid financial job in the city or are a banker however).

5. Despite the public sector cuts, Armed Forces still has of the best pension plans on the market.

But be realistic

The UK's Armed Forces are one of the largest in the world in terms of power projection. Deployed in a number of serious armed conflicts throughout the globe, it's likely that you might find yourself in one of these conflicts.

Which you may not take to as much as the next person...

Cameron, Obama, and Sarkozy vow Gaddafi must go - Regime Change then?

Looks like it's back to business once again for our Armed Forces.

Althought not quite sure we've quite got the logistics to just do it this time round. It's just been announced on BBC News that Cameron, Obama, and Sarkozy have said in a joint letter that there can be no peace in Libya while Gaddafi stays in power... mmmmm, looks like blatant regime change is on the cards then; despite a UN resolution clearly stipulating the contrary.

2003

The last time the UK got involved in regime change we got stung well and truely, and lambasted by the international community.
Funny too how the French have suddenly changed their foreign policy. Wonder why that is...? They were no where to be seen when we went into Iraq.

A Show of Gratitude to our UK Armed Forces

Well, it's about time we got started on this - long over due indeed.

But firstly, a big thank you to all the troops round the world, all the services for the work they are doing - it's a mostly thankless task mainly appreciated by close friends and family, and a few in the media. Other than that, the UK Armed Forces acts with what it can and with what it does, depending on the need and requirements of the time - Whitehall and the Treasury hold the purse strings and it just never seeems enough.  And in this time of cuts to the defence budget and commitments just about on every major continent - our troops need your support more than ever before.

Not only those that come back home but those that continue to suffer and those that never make it.

Thanks