Bye Bye Boycee! Hello Crisps!

[Grimweasel]

So the fish head has gone (at last). Thats the Marines foray into battle over for the next 3 years.
Hopefully Crispy (Walker) will send the Army and Airforce into battle with the kit they need. Lets hope he reduces the Typhoon numbers by 50 and introduces a new service rifle!:cool:

[WE Branch Fanatic]

From the Daily Telegraph

Policy row made chief of defence quit early
By Michael Smith Defence Correspondent
(Filed: 24/07/2002)

Serious disagreements between senior naval officers and the Government were a key factor in the early retirement of the Chief of the Defence Staff announced yesterday by Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary.Admiral Sir Michael Boyce has clashed with the Government over its policy on the war on terrorism and the International Criminal Court. He also infuriated the Americans by describing their pursuit of the war on terrorism as "a high tech 21st century posse in the Wild West".

He is also believed to have opposed the decision to scrap the Royal Navy's 24 Sea Harriers in 2006 leaving aircraft carriers without any air cover until the introduction of the joint strike fighter in 2012.

His early retirement - chiefs of defence staff normally serve at least three years - follows the decision of the First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Nigel Essenhigh to retire early amid suggestions that he too was furious over the decision to scrap the Sea Harriers.

Defence sources said the announcement earlier this year that Adml Essenhigh was retiring "to manage his smallholding in Devon" was deliberately timed to coincide with the Budget "to bury the story" and that the real reason was "differences with the Government over naval policy".

Mr Hoon said both he and the Prime Minister felt that Adml Boyce had done "an absolutely superb job" and insisted he was retiring on time as part of a "well established system" whereby chiefs of defence staff only serve for two years. He will be replaced by General Sir Mike Walker, Chief of General Staff.

The whole story is at

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/07/24/nboyc24.xml&sSheet=/news/2002/07/24/ixhome.html

See also

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmhansrd/cm020508/halltext/20508h01.htm#20508h01_head0

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmselect/cmdfence/779/77908.htm

If anyone wishes to kick me to death over my obsession with this issue they are free to do so. I am equally free to make my points.

Grimweasel do you really think the current problems with equipment and funding are down to Admiral Boyce? Do you really think another CDS will be able to wave a magic wand and make everything superb?

[Sloppy Link]

WEBF

A little research before posting would reveal that Admiral Boyce is in fact leaving on time, the normal tenure for a Senior Staff job being two years. The two previous CDS's, General Guthrie and Field Marshall Inge held the post fot three years, the former because there was no one to succeed him and the latter took over early following a dalliance by his predecessor, Marshall of the Royal Air Force Harding. A brief visit to the MoD web site would explain this (you obviously have the time on your hands to surf the web) but just in case you are following your "getfitta" programme and do not have the time available, I have included an extract of former CDS's that have held the post for as much as six years (Admiral of the Fleet Earl Mountbatten) to as little as three months (Marshall of the Royal Air Force Humphrey).


1.1.56 -12.7.59
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir William Dickson GCB KBE DSO AFC (Deceased)

13.7.59 - 15.7.65
Admiral of the Fleet The Earl Mountbatten of Burma KG PC GCB GCSI GCIE GCVO DSO (Deceased)

16.7.65 - 4.8.67 Field Marshal Sir Richard Hull KG GCB DSO MA LLD (Deceased)

7.8.67 - 8.4.71 Marshal of the Royal Air Force The Lord Elworthy KG GCB CBE DSO LVO DFC AFC MA (Deceased)

9.4.71 - 21.10.73 Admiral of the Fleet The Lord Hill Norton GCB

22.10.73 - 23.10.76 Field Marshal The Lord Carver GCB CBE DSO MC (Deceased)

24.10.76 - 24.1.77 Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Andrew Humphrey GCB OBE DFC AFC** (Deceased)

9.2.77 - 30.8.77 Admiral of the Fleet Sir Edward Ashmore GCB DSC

31.8.77 - 31.8.79 Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Neil Cameron GCB CBE DSO DFC (Deceased)

1.9.79 - 30.9.82 Admiral of the Fleet The Lord Lewin KG GCB LVO DSC (Deceased)

1.10.82 - 31.10.85 Field Marshal The Lord Bramall KG GCB OBE MC JP

1.11.85 - 9.12.88 Admiral of the Fleet The Lord Fieldhouse GCB GBE (Deceased)

9.12.88 - 1.4.91 Marshal of the Royal Air Force The Lord Craig GCB OBE DSc MA FRAeS

2.4.91 - 31.12.92 Field Marshal The Lord Vincent GBE KCB DSO

1.1.93 - 13.3.94 Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Peter Harding GCB DSc FRAeS CBIM

14.3.94 -1.4.97 Field Marshal The Lord Inge GCB DL

2.4.97 - 15.2.01 General Sir Charles Guthrie GCB LVO OBE ADC Gen

16.2.01 - Present Day Admiral Sir Michael Boyce GCB OBE ADC

Pr@t.

[Harpooner]

You need to get out more Sloppylink you sad halfwitted idiot!!!

[Archimedes]

So based on that response I'd better keep the little nugget that Sir Andrew Humprhey died in post after catching Pneumonia on a visit to Norway to myself.... :p

And WEBF - after the debacle of the Torygraph's reporting of F3/AMRAAM integration (see the Keystone Kops go Flying thread), I wouldn't be too sure that the story doesn't have an agenda originating entirely within Canary Wharf behind it...

[Sloppy Link]

Harpooner,

Thank you, I knew that in time, someone would recognise my efforts.:D

Archimedes,

Well I'll be, I didn't know that!

All,

The former name of the CDS was the Chief of the Inperial General Staff (CIGS). Field Marshall Robertson holds the distinction of, having enlisted as a Private Soldier in 1877 and being promoted to Warrant Officer before being Commisioned, he is the only man to have worn every badge of rank that the Army has to offer as he retired as the CIGS immediateley after the First World War.

Hands over to the Royal Navy for the next bit of facinating trivia...!

[solotk]

Sir Michael Walker takes over?

Great, Just great, 1998-1999 and the year of the long knives (SDR) are now just a memory. I don't remember anything about gagging orders that may or may not have been issued, but I'm sure an ex-torygraph defence journo mate will :D

Nice to know reserve forces has a friend in the new CDS

Please excuse me, I have to adjourn to hospital, my sides have burst from laughing

:mad: :mad:

[Jimlad]

Lets see, useless piece of RN Trivia?

Lord Mountbatten allegedly preffered the uniform of the blues and royals to that of his own senior service uniform and as such wore it as often as possible as he was honorary colonel of the regiment.
Source "Inside the British Army" by Anthony Beevor.

useless but first thing i could think of...

[Sloppy Link]

Well done Jimlad, now, what piece of trivia can the RAF offer?

[Scud-U-Like]

Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding had two cats called 'Spit' and 'Fire'.

[canberra]

cds was not fromerly called chief of the imperial general staff. chief of the imperial general staff is what is now called chief of the general staff ie the professional head of the army.