Armed Forces Cuts

[LDNmummy]

So I am not a fan of the armed forces in any way shape or form, but I do admire those who put their well being on the line for others and sympathise with servicemen and servicewomen (are these one word titles?) who are now facing cuts and job losses.

Regardless of my views, I think it is disgusting how members of the armed forces have to deal with limited funding for good equipment and conditions already, and now the current spate of cuts and job losses strikes me as very unfair.

AIBU to think this or ill informed on the issue?

According to an article I read today in The Sun (which I do not buy but happened to read in the doctors waiting room today), the armed forces is at serious risk of not being able to perform their duties by 2015 and will be stretched even further than it currently is.

I am really looking for more info on this from those better informed, and other people's views on what is going on. I know there are a lot of MN's who have friends and loved one's in the Armed forces so thought I would ask.

[MrsVidic]

There is a lot of waste within the MOD. There is a lot of theft- diesel gets stollen a lot from the bases, uniform gets stollen and flogged on ebay and also a lot of admin and logisitcs are not conducted in a cost effective way. For example a base may change from RAF to Army and then a lot of things have to be moved - only for the base to change back in a few years. Some of the things were moved to a uk base abroad- just ot be moved back.

Yet the people who suffer for this are the front line. Unacceptable and wrong like you say.

[EdithWeston]

MrsVidic: do you have links for those allegations?

I think the question boils down to whether or not you think we should have Armed Forces at all. Because if you do, then it follows that you resource then properly (otherwise, why bother).

The absolute scandal of inadequate kit in Iraq and Afghanistan, which cost lives, is a nadir which must be avoided in future at all costs.

But the coalition's SDR has been a complete cost-driven farce. It could have been the opportunity to look properly at the role of force in modern politics. But it wasn't - it's conclusion was "let's pretend we have the same capacity on even smaller size".

BTW: if I were identifying cuts, I'd start by saving admin and merge the RAF into the AAC and Fleet Air Arm. And as UK Armed Forces is fast reducing in size to have about the same size/capability of the US Marine Corps, I'd either cut the number of British 4* posts (about 16) to the same as US Marines (about 4 - I suspect these figures are out, but I hope you get my thrust), or I'd decouple rank from pay (as happens already in eg DMS), so the peacock uniforms are still there but the pay cost isn't.