As a committed civilian , albeit one borne int he 1950s when we really did have armed forces on a large scale (but then so did everyone else) it does seem to me that we could get rid of the tri service approach and just have a defence forces approach. That might get rid of some of the sqaubbles?? and would get rid of the 3 admirals per ship allegations wouldnt it? It wouldn't affect front line folks but logistical and admin functions could be streamlined. After all they all report to a defence ministry even if they a have been the aggressor more often than not lately and might have to invade Spain over Gibraltar if the Daily Mail is correct .