Point of order: 'Defence' has a 'c' in it.
So, this story is that an ex-Treasury man, now entrusted with protecting and running the MoD, claims that the Treasury gives the MoD what it needs. It's almost as shocking as headlines like "BLAIR TELLS FIBS".
Okay... so what about the penny-pinching capped actuals which have crippled our ability to claim advances for overseas duty? Working in the US for a week a short while back showed how inefficient and difficult the system is, as 5 out of the 6 of us didn't have our claims paid at all. All because of a stingy system to claw back money that, traditionally, was an entitlement, and swamping admin staff with receipts as a consequence.
Oh, then there's Resource Account Budgeting, which robs back money already given to the MoD. I don't have the exact figures, but I suspect that even with a £5bn per year increase in the budget we're still getting less than inflation as a net increase. Of course, budget increases don't mean anything if not spent properly. NHS budget doubled? Two words: "sacked nurses". I wouldn't trust this Government to spend 10p of my money.
What's that? Defence cuts? Ah, yes. 7,500 RAF personnel cut from the books. Dozens of aircraft taken out of service or orders cancelled. The RN reducing to become smaller than the French Navy for the first time in nearly 250 years. The Army reducing closer and closer to 100,000 personnel. Tanks taken out of service. RAF bases closed, so that we become dependent on fewer runways and lose redundancy. No replacement for the ancient VC10. Not enough money spent on the airbridge to the sandpit. Caterers slowly ditched in favour of cheap, inefficient and poor-quality contractors. Decaying buildings not cared for. Not enough body armour.
Oh, and Mr Browne:
... the longer the operation goes on, the more we learn, and that includes learning about what we need, and responding accordingly ...
Indeedy. But as any fule kno, there's no point claiming we can increase capability if we don't have enough to start with. That's not how wars should fought. We didn't succeed at the D-Day landings with the War Office saying, "ah, they
might need those new gliders and some artillery pieces, but we'll keep hold of them and see how they do". It's absurd. We need the kit NOW, not when things go wrong and demonstrate just
how badly we need it.