By the way it is Jonathan BAND not Bond and definately not James.
I have got to defend Admiral West. He has, like all three Service chiefs been hit by the treasury and has had to make some tough decisions. He has mortgaged the current navy in the hope that we will get something better in the future and he has my support. Under his tenure we are now months away from main gate on the CVF which will bring Maritime (notice I did not say NAVAL) Aviation into the 21st century. No, we cannot afford all we want at this moment in time, but he at least put in place, a vision that placed the projection of airpower and support of ground forces above all else. For those not familiar with this man, you might like to read the link below. He has been one of the best 1SLs we have ever had and has not been afraid of making difficult decisions now for future benefit. He has my respect!
P.S> Note how he speaks about JOINT OPERATIONS and does not just spout about his Service. There are some on these fora that could learn a lesson there!
http://www.warshipsifr.com/pages/int..._alanWest.html