Originally Posted by Warmtoast
I was fascinated to see recent figures about the size of the Royal Navy, in particular a statement made in parliament that “There are now 40 admirals and 260 captains in the Royal Navy. However, as a result of defence cuts, there are only 19 active warships.”
So the Royal Navy has 15 times more commanding officers than active warships, with 40 admirals and 260 captains but just 19 ships.
The statistics were revealed by Tory MP James Clappison during a defence debate in the Commons on 17th October, here:
House of Commons Hansard Debates for 17 Oct 2013 (pt 0002)...
I don't know where Mr Clappison gets his "40 admirals" from. The RN website shows there are 31 serving officers of flag rank (i.e. admirals) in the Naval Service, including several engineers and a surgeon:
Perhaps he was including the Chaplain of the Fleet and the six Royal Marines generals?
Or maybe he was thinking of:
Admiral of the Fleet HRH the Duke of Edinburgh (Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom)
Admiral of the Fleet HRH the Prince of Wales (Honorary rank)
Admiral of the Fleet HM King Olav of Norway (Honorary rank)
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Edward Beckwith Ashmore, GCB DSC (First Sea Lord and Chief of the Defence Staff 1977 - no longer active)
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Benjamin Bathurst (First Sea Lord 1993-95 - no longer active)
Admiral HM King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden (Honorary rank)
Rear Admiral Prince Michael of Kent (Honorary rank)
Rear Admiral Sir Frederick Donald Gosling, KCVO (Honorary appointment)
Originally Posted by Warmtoast
...He highlighted the plight of the Navy by revealing there are now 13 captains for every destroyer and frigate, and about two admirals – who each earn more than £100,000 a year – per warship...
Comparing the number of RN captains and admirals with the number of destroyers and frigates is just as silly as comparing the number of RAF squadron leaders with the number of combat aircraft squadrons. Apart from 19 DD/FF, the RN also runs, mans and maintains LPHs, LPDs, SSBNs, SSNs, offshore and inshore patrol vessels, fishery protection vessels, survey vessels, an ice patrol ship, MCMVs, naval air squadrons, shore establishments, naval bases, EOD units, Forward Support Units, etc., etc. Even the Royal Marines and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary come under the Fleet Commander's purview. As in the other services, senior officers also serve in national, NATO, EU and other HQs as well as in foreign exchange posts and embassies abroad.
There have already been swingeing reductions to 'the top brass' over the past few years (e.g. the RN now has only a single 4* (admiral) and two 3*s (vice-admirals) at the top) and I expect there are many more to come. However, let's get things in perspective. Essentially, rank now recognises the
relative scales of pay, privileges and status needed to retain someone's services. For example, the RN's 'all of one company' ethos puts its doctors and dentists in uniform and gives them stripes appropriate to their relative professional status and seniority. Exceptionally, chaplains in the RN are not given stripes but there are understandable reasons for this and they are compensated in other ways.
I have used this analogy before but it's worth repeating. We can compare the Armed Forces with another public organisation to see the irrelevance of senior military rank to
absolute pay, power and status:
AIM OF ORGANISATION
UK ARMED FORCES: To defend the United Kingdom, and Overseas Territories, its people and interests and to act as a force for good by strengthening international peace and security.
BBC: To educate, inform and entertain.
NUMBER OF FULL TIME EMPLOYEES (2013 FIGURES)
UK ARMED FORCES: c.170,000 uniformed personnel (excluding reserves and civil servants)
BBC: c.23,000 staff
SIZE OF ANNUAL BUDGET
UK ARMED FORCES: c.£42bn
BBC: c.£5bn
SALARY OF HEAD OF ORGANISATION
UK ARMED FORCES: Gen Sir Nick Houghton, Chief of Defence Staff - £240k (
link)
BBC: Tony Hall, Director-General - £450k (down from £671k for Mark Thompson) (
link)
OTHER STAFF WITH SALARIES OVER £200K
UK ARMED FORCES (
link)
None. Maximum salary is currently £187k for a 4* RN Admiral/RM General in the Naval Service (1 in toto), normal General in the Army (4 in toto) or Air Chief Marshal in the RAF (2 in toto).
BBC (
link)
Peter Salmon, Director, BBC North (£375k)
Helen Boarden, Director, Radio (£340k)
Tim Davie, CEO, BBC Worldwide & Director, Global (£335k)
Zarin Patel, Former Chief Financial Officer (£322k)
Lucy Adams, Director HR (£320k)
Bal Samra, Commercial Director (£315k)
Dominic Coles, Director of Operations (£300k)
James Purnell, Director, Strategy & Digital (£295k)
Ralph Rivera, Director, Future Media (£295k)
John Linwood, Chief Technology Officer (£280k)
Roger Mosey, Editorial Director (£270k)
Danny Cohen, Director, Television (£262k)
Daniel Danker, Former General Manager, Products & On Demand (£246k)
John Yorke, Controller of Drama Production and New Talent (£240k)
Ben Stephenson, Controller, Drama Commissioning (£240k)
Peter Horrocks, Director, Global News (£233k)
Janice Hadlow, Controller, BBC Two and Interim Controller, BBC Four (£227k)
Emma Swain, Head of Knowledge Commissioning (£220k)
Roger Wright, Controller, Radio 3 and Director, BBC Proms (£220k)
Beverley Tew, Group Finance Director (£214k)
Bob Shennan, Controller, Radio 2, 6 Music and Asian Network (£213k)
Mark Freeland, Head of Comedy (£212k)
Zai Bennett, Controller, BBC Three (£212k)
Anne Morrison, Training Academy Director (£210k)
Philip Almond, Director, Marketing (£210k)
Nick Betts, Controller of Business, Drama, Films and Acquisitions, Television (£210k)
Nicolas Brown, Director, Drama Productions, Vision (£210k)
Lisa Opie, Controller of Business, Knowledge and Daytime (£208k)
Shane Allen, Controller, Comedy Commissioning, Television (£207k)
Andy Griffee, Project Director, W1 (£207k)
Kate Harwood, Head of Drama, England (£205k)
Sarah Jones, Group General Counsel, Operations (£205k)
Graham Ellis, Controller Production and Deputy Director, Radio (£202k)
Mark Linsey, Controller, Entertainment Commissioning (£202k)
Several more BBC executives earn more than the heads of the RN, Army and RAF. Perhaps CNS, CGS and CAS are in the wrong game? They could be making much more money as the BBC's Head of Comedy.