Where’s the Navy when you need it?
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I’m an ex Army man – so I’m probably a bit biased, but the message from the First Sea Lord this week about our future defence cannot go without comment.
And the comment is simple: where the bloody hell is the Royal Navy in support of the disaster in Haiti?
If we’ve a need to project power globally, and all our current fighting in Afghanistan is about as far as you can get from water, why isn’t the Royal Navy doing something to support the efforts in Haiti?
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alandavies (alandavies) — January 21, 2010 @ 10:15 pm
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By Navy Lookout, January 22, 2010 @ 8:38 am
The Royal Navy normally has a ship on permanent patrol in the Caribbean but due to the penny-pinching and utter disregard or understanding of naval operations, this government withdrew the ships earlier this year. DONT BLAME THE ROYAL NAVY – blame the halfwits who run the government!
http://www.savetheroyalnavy.org
By Navy Lookout, January 22, 2010 @ 8:41 am
An Auxiliary Naval ship RFA Largs Bay will leave the UK before end of loaded with aid for Haiti but it will take approx 3 weeks before it can arrive. This shows the need for ships to be stationed overseas to respond to unforeseen events.
By T. Bovington-Holland, January 26, 2010 @ 10:03 am
Perhaps if the navy had a few more ships and better funding they could afford to keep a frigate stationed in every sea between Portsmouth and the ends of the earth. Unfortunately at the moment only the army is being favoured with what little extra money this government is prepared to spend on defence. No doubt when we face a future maritime threat, as surely we will, the government will be trying to play catch up with the demand for ships in the same way as there is now a mad scramble for helicopters. Given that it takes five years to build a ship we could find ourselves in trouble. It will of course be a case of too little too late again.
By Syd Morgan, February 7, 2010 @ 7:18 pm
Agree with you that the UK defence posture is not fit for purpose. Far from it. Too focussed on nuclear weapons and playing mini-me to US 'expeditionary' policies. And badly, badly managed by British governments. If Europe had the A400M up and running, we'd have been there soonest. 18th & 19th Century naval strategies are not feasible or affordable today. Earthquakes and tsunamis can happen anytime, anywhere.