spheroid
My point was simply this:
- The UK military is stretched to its limits. On its knee's was the wrong way to put it. However I typed that after two bottles of a good red, so my thougth process was a bit muddled
- Motivation and leadership must come from and be directed from above, be it from a Flag rank or from a lance corporal. If there is a percieved lack of such motivation then the system will break down. The lack of such leadership from politicians will only exacerbate the situation. As an individual I can be motivated and I can try to motivate those around me, but it is not always an easy situation. Only this morning I was discussing this with a line engineer about motivation and qualification. He made the point to me that there are individuals who have lesser qualifications and types than he has, but who are in QA and recieve more pay! Thats fine if an individual wants to be in a QA position, but for the dedicated liney's it seems a tad unfair that they percieve themselves as worth less for the hands on job that they do.
- There is also the new and unsavoury influence of H and S to deal with, where the line between sensible and ridiculous is being blurred. Penalizing troops while in theatre for speeding on the ramp on a call out or dictating that standby crews cannot have a particular type of food, is taking things a little too far!
- Equipment: Agreed, some excellent, some not. However, the fact of the matter is that procurement and planning is quite often playing catch up with what is required in the field. Look at the lack of winches on the battlefield helicopters, which was only resolved after the mine field disaster.
- Civil perception: Once again, the perception felt within the Forces that they are not appreciated for what they do by the general civilian population. There are examples of fantastic support, the Red Arrows auction, which raised over 1.5 million pounds, however, the feeling on the ground within the Armed Forces at squaddie, sailor and airman level is that they are overstretched, under equiped and not appreciated for what they do. The fact that they are proud, motivated and have a burning desire to do the best they can is simply not appreciated.
As for the future King, he should be one of the two unless their father wants to hang in there indefinitely!!!
At the end of the day, all I am trying to say is, is that it is better to have someone at their level on board, than not.
percy
