The Army - efficient or not fights on the ground - the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy support them.
It is not the role of either the R.A.F. or the R.N. to support the Army other than in instances where it is called for. But I agree that the current conflict in Afghanistan has led the Army, coupled with the financial pressure on the defence budget, to try and present itself as the "only service". Its got some supporters, people who I'd have thought would ken better. Max Hastings demonstrated he can be as sweeping as any tabloid journalist when the incident involving the patrol boat crew from HMS Cornwall in the Gulf hit the headlines. If I recall he said that the Chief of the Defence Staff post should be permanently held by an Army Officer. More recently, he has suggested that the only obstacle to disbanding the R.A.F. is a lack of political will.
And he's a Historian!?
FB
