How about getting rid of MoD in toto?

Scrap the lot of them, lock stock and multi-barrels?

And then get rid of all those useless 1-Stars and up that are just hoovering budget with sod-all return.

Then give the defence budget directly to Colonels -and-below to spend as they see fit on the kit they need.

You'd then get rid of the incestuous relationship between MoD, the Air-ships and the Defence firms who are just after making as much profit as possible regardless of the consequences.

Just my 2-penneth.

Cornish Stormrider ( & anyone else interested)

Try Here ~ http://www.britishveterans.org.uk/index.html

March on Downing Street, just as the police did. The march would be for ex-serving, families, friends and supporters of the Armed Forces...but crucially, also serving personnel (in civvies).

The precedent of the cops marching blew the argument of "political neutrality" out of the water and the only way things will improve will be if significant public opposition is mobilised. This sort of thing would get tens or hundreds of thousands marching.....there is an enormous amount of support amongst the public and plenty of serving and ex-serving within travelling distance of London. Add to that the organisational experience, drive and initiative of organisers. This CAN happen!

If enough march, then it will be impossible to charge or take administrative action against participants due to weight of numbers.

As an ex fishhead freddie, if a march was organised, I would attend.
It has gone too far.

With regard to building these new tankers in Korea - I wonder how much will be spent on First Class Air Fares and 5* hotac for MoD PE bods going backwards and forwards to the far east to monitor the build process etc etc. Probably about what it would cost to equip the boys n girls in Iraq and Afghanistan with body armour.....

having attended massive peace marches in london and also done the "only as far as the doorstep ma'am" at no10 if you need a hand to organise or indeed publicise i would be only too pleased to help. ( i think that makes sense!)

remember where i am if you want a petition to be set up having done it before. it's about bloody time that the government realise that they cannot take advantage of those instituions that they think won't fight back. as a nurse i've sat back and had it done and as a someone who lost a loved one through penny pinching in armed forces i want to help. let's stand tall, unite and shake up the spineless gits that live their unaffected lives behind their desks and the safety of the pen.

rant over..crack on!

It's about time you guys did something like this. As a supporter of the Armed Forces and a long suffering tax payer, I look forward to joining you on a march through Central London. The sooner the spineless cowards and donkeys in Downing Street, Whitehall and Abbey Wood get the message, the better. I'm sure many, many others feel the same way. Go for it!

March on London, a great idea.

But can you imagine all the girly infighting as to who's in step, do we march or do we saunter etc etc.

And I bet it would end up with Botnecks and Para's drinking in seperate pubs and then doing raids on each others pub, Matloets getting paraletic before the march and, the RAF not turning up because there was a hint of fog in the air. :).

And finally the Navy would probably have their buses hijacked by Iranian forces and then sell their stories to the Sun.

3 Para Mortars and the booties breaking into Harrods and making off with the Victoria's Secret collection and a selection of party frocks...:}

So..........After all the hype and stuff at their launch....Where are the UKNDA?? Didn't they set themselves up with ex senior officers as the outfit that was to campaign for properly funded Armed Forces?....It all seems very quiet......

What's a good date for a day out at Gordon's gaff then?

Been out since 1977 but I'd march. (Non of that noisy Pongo stamping stuff though, trad air force formation saunter).:)

Could be the biggest and greatest silly rig run ashore (p*ss up) in the history of the armed forces.

Sounds like a plan guys but I'd hate to see the headline:

"MoD March Massacre: Terrorists Strike London."

We must perhaps remove ourself from the popular delusion that the elected government, somehow, actually "runs" the country.
I noted with interest the comment on an earlier posting that the accelerated decline has been "over the last 25 years".
Perhaps that gives a clue?
25 years ago puts us immediately post the Falklands Campaign. A campaign waged in full face of the fury of the FCO and the Treasury who, post Suez, were diametrically opposed to any more perceived neo-colonial crusades or adventures.
The FCO was at the time of Maggie's gamble, as I recall, flabbergasted that the deliberately run-down armed forces could actually pull off such a potentially expensive and politically in the long-term, problematical, stunt.
Such a deviation from their agenda could not be allowed to happen again.
The pragmatic Establishment solution to discourage any further such " politically attractive" misadventures can be seen today.
If we just can't afford to keep on with such follies financially then, eventually, we won't .
"Three cheers all round and another Gin and Tonic, Sir Humphrey!"

RETDPI,

I must take issue with you.

At the end of the day, the elected government takes the decision on where the money goes. Yes, the grey suits may make recommendations, but the minister of a government department has to approve it via the paperwork. That was one thing that Yes Minister (and Prime Minister) actually left out.

Believe me, I've been there, done that, and have been tainted by the system. But the Brown government can no longer lament back to the Conservatives. How long is the average project cycle? Ten years? Labour have been in power for eleven years. That's an awful long time in politics.

And if terrorists strike London, The Masked Geek, that would be an issue for the Home Office first off. We could debate all day as to whether intervention in, say, Afghanistan for sake of argument, could've prevented an attack. That's one argument I don't fancy getting in to tonight, thanks.

GPMG - the Navy remark was a little below the belt, my friend... :)

I know some great pubs. When the police marched on parliament last month, no one could get near the bar!! Count me in on the march, and I'd bring friends, too.

"March on Downing Street, just as the police did. The march would be for ex-serving, families, friends and supporters of the Armed Forces...but crucially, also serving personnel (in civvies)."


...and to give added impact, a fly-past by a couple of TU-95s which had been "allowed" to enter UK airspace.

Don't forget the Bruntingthorpe Vulcan:ok:

Am I alone here in thinking that cuts of this level to strategic assets are EXTREMELY foolish and short-sighted, given that Moscow is becoming increasingly bolshy (pun intended) these days??

As much as I would love to see ship orders cancelled so we can afford the AT, SH and CAS assetts we so desperately need right now, I also seem to recall the "What use is the Navy?" conversation being had not so long before the Argies invaded the Falklands...

If I am to march in my civvies then I refuse to wear one of those baseball caps like the rozzers did.

We couldn't wear white... we need a very potent symbol. I'm not so sure that the RBL would like their poppy used for political purposes, but an equally powerful symbol would do the trick, methinks.

Can we start the march with a fly past ..... please, please.....

I propose low and slow until just over No 10 ...:suspect: (best time for an eta has to be 'sparrows f**t' that should be just about the same time as Gordon’s sat down with a bowl of porridge) then pull up, throttles through the fire wall, burners kicked in and max climb..... See how many windows are left :E:E:E


If nothing else Gordy will be awake when we get there :}