He said any change was bound to create uncertainty but "morale on operations remained high".
"The resilience of our personnel should not be underestimated. We are nearing the end of a very difficult period in defence and hope to see morale slowly recovering over the next couple of years.
Of course one could reasonably expect fighting spirit to be high on operations. For many who serve it is exactly what they were trained to do and it is resourced better than most areas of Defence. Morale, as opposed to one's spirit, is more pervasive and it will be interesting to see where UK Forces' morale is after Afghanistan. I hope it recovers for the sake our fine men and women who serve but the 'end of a difficult period' has just been extended by the Exchequer.