As ever, I salute them.
Having spoken to a couple of senior officers (well the most senior was a lieutenant colonel) down at the pub you get the feeling that they really, really, despise the government - past and present. It is not so much a feeling really; they said so themselves.
For myself, well, I am just glad that the fucking PFIs are finally coming to the end and in particular the MoD ones. Those which could be most vulnerable to cuts are the £13.8bn defence training academy; a £7bn programme to replace search-and-rescue helicopters, which has already been put under review; and a £10bn contract for aerial refuelling planes.
I have written a lot about these bloody things:
- Defence Academy in St Athan, Wales - utter shite
- The SAR rescue package from bloody Sikorsky and a load of other wankers
- And my favourite hating object; the A400M - what a load of dog shit
Now, a lot of people disagree with me about private contractors in the armed forces. Of course the are a lot of good arguments for them, they do save a substantial amount of money for example, but there are also a lot of arguments against them; they have no allegiance and their soul purpose is to make money. This makes them dangerous and complacent so much so that they take a very cavalier approach to human life. That is my biggest grudge against them.
If you want a bit less of the adolescent hodge podge that this blog is currently producing, and instead what to read a proper defence analysis then I suggest this piece.
3 comments:
Spitfire,
problem is that if the UK is to maintain a credible, expeditionary forces strategy, then we need airborne tankers and transport aircraft. The options for the latter are: new C17s or A400M. The C17 productio line is closing in 2012 and, apparently, we would need to order them now...but can we afford to?
Unfortunately the A400M is the only other strategic transport aircraft available on the market. If we want to transport stuff further than a few hundred miles, then we need something like A400.
The SAR helicopter project is to replace ageing Seakings which will have to go out of service by 2015 or, the government will have to spend lots of millions upgrading them. The choice here is either do away with rescue helicopters completely, thus removing a capability entirely (ejected pilots, civilian ships needing rescue will have no choice off the coast of the UK but to wait for a passing ship or a lifeboat from shore - which might just be to far away). Not having SAR helicoptes would pt Britain back to the 19th Century.
It is shameful and criminal that the country has been left in this disgusting financial state by Nu Labour fascists and I see no improvement under NuTory David Cameron-bollocks. He has no experience of real work and has no f'ing idea - witness his appeasing speech to Barrack Hussain about Britain being a junior partner in the last war. My God, even Eton has become a shite educational establishment...
All political parties in the UK, except for the fringe parties, have taken on Marxist principles and values - every one of them is leftist, greenist and PC to the core.
This virus was injected into the west in the 1960s by the Soviets to help undermine their enemy. Academics who were students then (many under the direct or indirect influence of the Soviet Union and its Marxist allies) are now in positions of power and influence and have, for thirty years, been happily teaching Marxist, PC, greenist bullshit and propaganda to our kids at college and Uni.
I foresee no absolute solution to our country's problems other than eventual civil strife and sectarian violence between militant, expansionary Islam (and its fellow-traveller academic, media and political 'useful idiots')and the working classes - who still clearly see the danger that our 'leaders' have gotten us into. They are not blind and, although they are considered stupid proles by academia, politicians and the media, they are Britain's last and only hope.
Our military is in very sad and is probably incapable of mounting any significant or worthwhile operations. The Falklands are their for the taking if Argentina tries.
The Marxist-media-political triumvirate only se military as some sort of armed Thuderbirds: for use in 'humanitarian operations'. The guns are inly needed to 'threaten' the bad guys. God help us all if we are faced with a proper war. We will be very vulnerable in the early days.
Yours A Proud Patriot.....what of, I am no longer sure.
Ooops my smellings and gramma leave a lot to be desired. That's the problem with using a laptop keyboard and not checking your work before posting!
Proud Patriot
Mr. Anonymous I thank you very much for that very thoughtful post which I agree with to a lot of extent.
About the A400M it really is a fucking useless aircraft, I have some experience of this kind of business (dont ask why) and I really can tell you that it is piss. If we cancel the A400M and get the C-17s before the line closes then we should be good go, plus we already have 8 C17s already so we would not have to do any integrating.
As for the SAR. I do not agree, on principle, with the notion that we privatise SAR that is just fundamentally wrong. We would not have to do away with SAR certainly not but the option we have currently is wrong and just too expensive. Upgrading the Seakings to the tune of millions but keeping the service public is far more preferable than spendings billions on a completey new consortium which, to add pain to injury, will be private! Thatcher went too far in her privatisation's. We have to stop selling of everything the UK has.
Everything else I fully agree with you. Don't worry they will get what they deserve one day; nature abhors a vacuum and that is what we have in this country, a political vacuum where people of principle have not yet found a mast to nail their colours to. They will find it sooner or later.
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