Tri-Service
#SDSR2015: David Cameron's Message To Armed Forces
The Prime Minister has expressed his thanks to members of the British Armed Forces ahead of the Strategic Defence and Security Review.
David Cameron was keen to stress that SDSR 2015 would make the UK's services among the best equipped and funded in the world.
This is definitely a better defence review for the Armed Forces than five years ago. Instead of capabilities being cut we’re getting new ones, and there will be a small uplift in numbers of servicemen and women.
The key points so far: New rapid-reaction ‘strike’ brigades, new Maritime Patrol aircraft, F35 Joint Strike Fighters brought in more rapidly, £12bn more spent on hardware etc etc.
For a comprehensive list click here: #SDSR2015 - The Facts
It's all very well having this great equipment, but you need people to operate and use it. The last official figures showed the forces were about 4.4% below trained strength so this Strategic Defence and Security review will need to address recruitment.
That's something the influential Commons Defence Committee says it is “particularly concerned” about, warning that “poor recruitment and retention of service personnel will prove an early and dangerous vulnerability to our defence and security".
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