Widger, You really are very rude and aggressive, aren't you? I admitted that my original post was trite but personal insults are not required and don't give a very good impression of yourself. Attack the post, by all means, but not the poster. How does being rude add anything? Its very easy to snipe in a forum but we still have not heard YOUR ideas.
And seeing as you were getting personal, for info I am not an ex WE rating & have served very happily at Dartmouth, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Culdrose, Yeovilton, the usual Sea Appointments and several Joint Appointments. I have also worked in the Defence industry for a number of years and experienced the delay, expense and inefficiency of the contracting/ procurement system. I don't consider I have a chip on my shoulder about any of the Naval Bases. However, the fleet is getting smaller and 3 Naval bases are not required for the number of vessels in service now or in the future. The Naval Base study as long ago as 1999/2000 did recognise that & actually recommended the closure of Portsmouth but other (political) factors came in to play. The fleet is now smaller than it was then, and forecast to get smaller. Whether Portsmouth or Devonport stays open is immaterial really, but one should have closed and I suggested that should be Portsmouth simply because Devonport already has the FOST areas and the refit/ support capabilities for all RN vessels that Portsmouth does not.
As for Dartmouth, the income gained does not cover its costs. That income is likely to continue if the training carried out was also transferred.
Smart Acquisition has been criticised on several occasions by some very experienced people in the NAO and on the Commons Defence Select Committee. I don't think its a great example of how to run things. In particular bidding for contracts is hugely expensive and bureaucratic & those bid costs just go back on the MoD's bill. A typical PFI will cost over £1M to the contractor to bid & the costs to the MoD are equally massive. In many cases the transfer of risk to the Contractor has also not actually been achieved.
I do realize that several Air bases are about to close, what I am suggesting is that more needs to be done. No, its not ideal & I appreciate that real estate is important but the Defence budget is under pressure to achieve more with less (or the same), so how do we do that? Unpalatable decisions have been made in the past (axing of the RNs Diesel Boats and SHAR, amalgamation of several Regiments, loss of the Jaguar etc etc) but it may be time for some more unpalatable decisions to be made and for some capabilities to be axed.
No one expects a full blown defence review here but what are your ideas for juggling the lack of money with the commitments. What unpalatable decisions do you recommend as being least bad? Headlines will do but no rude answers please. As for Rum Ration, I don’t post on there; in some respects I would suggest that it’s a forum that is more suitable to the rude and aggressive…..like yourself.