Comments on: Political soldiers?

By: Warriors: Politicians by other means. | Kings of War

Warriors: Politicians by other means. | Kings of War — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:58:28 +0000

[...] I agree with him about the need for a more politically engaged military, as I’ve outlined here before. But that’s as far as I’d go – the decision to embark on war should be made by [...]

By: Are British soldiers mercenaries? « Kings of War

Are British soldiers mercenaries? « Kings of War — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:21:37 +0000

[...] British soldiers mercenaries? By Kenneth Payne The paper by Hew Strachan I mentioned last time makes another intriguing point: The British armed forces are composed of volunteers who have [...]

By: Cheri

Cheri — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:55:40 +0000

Thank you for your answer to my question.

By: Kenneth Payne

Kenneth Payne — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:27:59 +0000

Hi Tom – certainly ex-servicemen have played a part in shaping the debate, especially, those now in the Lords. Their impact diminishes once they’ve left the services though, compared to serving chiefs.

You’re also right that there’s a large inter-service dimension to the argument – that’s the aspect I focused on in this post. But I think there are different opinions within the services too: for example, tensions between fast-jet and helicopter branches within the RAF.

I like your last point on SDRs, even if you’ve made me feel old. A couple of weeks ago, Dannatt described one as a ‘near certain prospect’, and you can bet he knows. But I suspect the timing is contingent on wider politics, because a new government would certainly want to put its own stamp on things. The same probably goes for the second iteration of the National Security Strategy.

By: Tom Wein

Tom Wein — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:11:24 +0000

I seem to remember being told that the Armed Forces used to have a couple of pet think tanks, staffed by former generals and admirals, who would do the necessary lobbying, thereby allowing the military to remain apolitical.

I agree though that the quickest way to end this sort of public debating is for the people in power to make a decision, one way or the other; this is a relatively simple civ-mil relations debate, in that the debate is inter-service, rather than being between the politicians and the military. That means that any decision will please at least some soldiers.

How politicised a process is an SDR? I was only 9 last time we had one, so I dont know the details. Would it be considered improper for a government which is about to fall to commission one, for instance?