I wish ..
.. there would be a new structure installed to govern our Armed Forces.
For, at the end of the day if you have a cabinet who fail to appreciate the crucial nature of successfully managing the military, or who are in any way indisposed to the military, then the Armed Forces will forever be kicked about and mistreated.
In Thatcher's day (despite her lack of service experience) this was not a problem but subsequently, well, that's another story.
What I would like to see is an utterly reformed hierarchical arrangement within the government with the appointment of a military Chief of Staff who's powers incorporate those of the Defence Minister.
This Chief of Staff would be a member of the cabinet and there would no longer be a Defence Minister, the Chief of Staff would assume the minister's responsibilities as well as acting as the primary adviser to cabinet on all matters pertaining to the military.
There should be a cross-party agreement that the post of Chief of Staff (Defence) be non-politically aligned and the post occupied by a candidate elected from among the three services and rotated (as at present) between them.
The Chief of Staff then serves the nation by managing the Armed Forces with the executive powers formerly held by the Minister of Defence, by acting as primary adviser to the government on defence issues (as a member of cabinet) and by supporting the work and life of the Forces with the benefit of his own experience as an active serviceman.
Such a person, if chosen well from a board of senior staff across the services, would have the opportunity to develop the potential of the Armed Forces, to "sell" this potential to the government at every opportunity and, crucially, the defend the Forces from within the heart of government.
One of the key strategies of this new structure would be to eliminate much of the bureaucracy within the Ministry of Defence and to streamline this with significantly smaller administrative units (perhaps in some cases devolving authority to specific units and branches).
An arrangement along these lines would give our Armed Forces a chance at survival, of developing their own unique abilities and enabling them to truly serve our country to the very best of their ability.
As I say, a wish!