Obi
Spot on Obi!
Basically, all of the armed forces need "more butter, or less bread to spread". As the polititians decide how big the loaf is, they must be made to also least give us enough butter to do the jobs they give us!
The CAS/CNS/CGS all stand to gain the serious respect of their airmen/sailors/troops by standing up when sustained ops are being demainded of their services and when "overstretch" is becoming accepted as the norm.
As Neville Shute said in his autobiography, Slide Rule, recalling his experience of wartime service in the RN, the best commanders were those with wealthy backgrounds, landed estates, family businesses etc. as they were willing to shoulder personal responsibility and could afford to do thair duty to the Navy in the highest sense......
When standards of administration decline, and expert opinions are ignored which lead to forced compromises being accepted in is perhaps no surprise when contracts go over-budget, fail to meet performance specs, or arrive late (or not at all). Look at MR4, A400M, Type 45, Astute, CVF, FLynx.
What we need are "top brass" who are not afraid to speak up when matters on which they are the professional experts are in the news or under a "political spotlight". It's all pretty simple really, we need more "butter", period. (And the need is compounded cumulatively by inadequate funding for the last 20 years, which in spite of past promises and by "savings" the armed forces have made by cuts in manpower and base closures......has left us with absolutely NO fat!)
MB
MB