UK makes finest soldiers, says Jarvis, underlining troops' importance in digital age
The Defence Secretary has told a conference that he heard of his appointment following a visit to Sandhurst to meet cadets – 30 years after he stood in the same place as they did.
Dan Jarvis, who was speaking at the Rusi Land Warfare Conference, said it brought back the same feeling of "dread" when he saw the instructors' faces.
Mr Jarvis, who recently replaced John Healey in the role, attended Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and then went on to be a major in The Parachute Regiment during his military service, amongst other things.
"Being in the company of those cadets was an inspiring experience; being in the company of those who step forward to serve always is," he told the conference.
People will always be the most important asset
In his speech, he praised the work of those serving in the UK's Armed Forces, referencing the work of the RAF and 16 Air Assault Brigade in helping a British national suspected of having contracted a potentially fatal virus on Tristan da Cunha, a remote island in the South Atlantic.
"People will always be our most important asset in the end," he said.
"No doctrine, no technology, no plan, however sophisticated it might be, can succeed without the determination of the men and women whose experience and excellence is built from the ground up, shaped by history, hardened by experience.
"We produce the finest soldiers in the world."
Combining technology with personnel know-how
The Defence Secretary's remarks came after General Sir Roly Walker, the head of the British Army, spoke about how armies are still crucial for holding territory and winning conflicts, despite the increasingly technology-driven theatre.
Mr Jarvis agreed with the Chief of the General Staff that the UK will win wars by mixing soldiers' knowledge with sophisticated equipment, highlighting Gen Sir Roly's work in reforming the Army.
"The land forces which prevail tomorrow will be those who combine high-end platforms with mass, agility and considerable expertise," he argued. "General [Sir Roly] Walker has achieved this.
"He has done more to modernise than any other Chief of the General Staff in living memory."
Ukraine, innovation and drones
With the war in Ukraine still ongoing after more than four years, the defence secretary used his speech to reaffirm the UK's support for Kyiv and Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky, while suggesting that the conflict has led to a period of innovation in how conflicts are fought.
"The conflict in Ukraine began with troops in Soviet-era tanks. Today, it is waged with drones that think for themselves," Mr Jarvis said.
"Conflict always forces us to reach into the future. But these four years have accelerated military technology in a way we have never seen before."
Mr Jarvis delved into the debate over whether the UK Armed Forces should invest more heavily in drones, saying that although uncrewed aerial vehicles, ground vehicles and surface vessels are important, wars are still being waged in trenches, like in Ukraine.
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