However, I do have issues with kids from Dorset or Michigan, Brisbane or Alberta dying in the defence of Europe
Err isn't that sort of the point of NATO (Oz aside) - Article 5 and all that? Are you suggesting that NATO should be disbanded?
Whether events have outpaced NATO is a separate question, for the last 45 years I'd have said NATO should be kept, but these days..... not so sure. And Article 5 has only been invoked once, nowhere near the North Atlantic and numerous non-NATO members contributed (many far more than some of the NATO members). My issue isn't what NATO do, or don't do, in response to a threat; its what they are forced into by the actions of an EU with a foreign policy and military capability with its own agenda. Hypothetically, imagine an EU army sparking a conflict between Greece and Turkey which drags in Russia, and then invoking Article 5.
Some halfway house where you squander billions on homemade hardware selected for the country of manufacture
'cos that never ever happens in the UK, US etc etc - [/QUOTE]
The Chinook was not built in the UK, but purchased anyway, and currently supporting the French because they don't have that capability.I'd argue that where we have had a platform with poor capability, performance or reliability, its been a eurofudge project. Ask the Australians how they are getting on with the NH90 or Tigre......
and then run to the US, UK and Commonwealth when it turns to sh1t.
When exactly did it last "turn to sh*t"? I think you've spent a little too long bingeing on Guy Martin's TV progs or listening to Farage's speeches.
The most recent examples in Europe would be Bosnia, Kosovo and Ukraine. In Bosnia, other than the French, the EU contributed very little either militarily or politically, likewise Kosovo, and it was mainly the US that did the heavy lifting once NATO took over. Since the annexing of Crimea in 2014, the US has really beefed up its presence around the Black Sea and the UK has small forces deployed in the Baltic (trip wires rather than deterrents)
I guess you kept your opinions to yourself while you were serving...
No more or less than you, I would guess.