This year marks the 350th anniversary of the Royal Marines – the Royal Navy’s soldiers, an elite fighting force with a proud history of successful operations almost continuously around the globe.More
A recent rise in tension between Spain and Britain over Gibraltar is a cause for concern, although the dispute is very unlikely to escalate into a military conflict. Spain and the UK are both part of the EU and NATO and anyone with a grain of common sense can see that it is in both countries interest to remain firm allies.
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The seas and ports around our coast are vital to our economy and require policing for our safety and to ensure international law, treaties and agreements are upheld. With 17,820 Km of coastline and the world’s 5th largest Exclusive Economic Zone, one of the UK’s greatest natural resources and environmental responsibilities, is the sea. While high-profile controversies about aircraft carriers are important, the RN’s less glamorous but key role in UK maritime protection should not be forgotten.
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On 30th September the Royal Navy announced the 1,020 personnel to be made redundant in the first ‘tranche’ of 5,000 redundancies that the government has forced on the RN. At least 350 of those leaving will have been thrown out against their will as here have not been enough volunteers for redundancy.More
Current air operations in Afghanistan, emphasising the under-resourcing of helicopters, obscures the continuing dependency of the UK on the sea and sea-based airpower. The historic and future dependence of the UK’s economy on the maritime environment drives the long-term requirement for the UK to have a flexible and proportionate global reach. This is not currently receiving the attention it deserves. More