barnstomer,
If you are suggesting that our bases in peacetime are not configured to defend against an out-of-the-blue SF attack then I guess you would be correct.
Do we think that is a current and credible threat that we have to be armed to the teeth to defend against at all times?
This situation was diffused by unarmed RAFP and the local plod; nobody seemed to feel the need to deploy all the guard force with weapons drawn. Proportionality is still a major factor in everything we do with weapons but I also wonder how a Kenyan style attack would play-out in the UK.