Report: British Armed Forces Challenged...

Summary

Co-authored by Timothy Edmunds of CGIA and Anthony Forster in cooperation with London-based think tank Demos, this pamphlet warns that the traditional assumptions of UK defence policy are increasingly unsustainable in the face of operational over-commitment, budgetary constraints and societal scepticism. In response, it calls for:

• Greater public understanding about the kind of missions and risk that serving men and women face in modern warfare.

•  A total review of the organisation of the Ministry of Defence and the role of the armed forces to make sure there is a fit with the new national security strategy based on current threats and risks.

• A Sustained effort to repair the 'Military Covenant' between service personnel, their families and the nation.

• A wider debate about the true costs of the expeditionary warfare that has grown to become the cornerstone of UK defence policy. Also, an open and wide public debate about the benefits this provides to UK security.

• Greater prominence and support for domestic roles of counter terrorism, responding to national disaster and homeland defence for UK armed forces.

• More attention to pay, terms, housing and conditions for serving men and women, above the acquisition of expensive, high tech military equipment.

Links and Downloads:

• Demos press release
• the Report