I hope you will not throw your g-suits out of the cockpit if a Sillyvillian and tax payer chimes in here in self-defence.
I think today’s news about the reappearance Russian Bears patrolling the North Atlantic will serve as a reminder to the public that not all threats are always obvious. In my view we face a real threat from China and Russia as well as from certain Middle Eastern states. It is by no means certain that our new economic interdependence with these countries will keep us safe. Even if the threat is created only for the sake of political posturing, this is still a threat that we must continue to meet if we intend to maintain our economic and political independence.
The present state of our armed forces is a REAL concern to me and is more important than more populist issues. I suspect that the same feeling simmers with a great many people. You can help yourselves by taking every opportunity you can to spread the message. I have attended lectures recently where RAF personnel have made clear to anyone who listened attentively as to the way things really are and at an RAF event last week a very obvious problem was demonstrated without the need for words. Most of us know people who have served at some time or are serving now and I feel there is a rising tide of anger about what the Politicians laughingly call “overstretch”. It is time for the armed forces to speak more openly even if that runs contra to your ethos.