Deciding when you’ve won a battle is hard enough. Once upon a time, this was decided by Heralds from both sides, who argued it out then the combatants’ leaders agreed to the decision. If a King is killed, that’s a definite result, which might decide who wins the actual war. These days it’s not so […]
How Do We Win the Afghan War? Read More »
Being followed isn’t nice no matter who you are – and can be the beginning of a crime in which you are the victim. You have to trust your instincts in deciding if this is the case, and it’s much better to err on the side of caution – and assume the worst. The earlier
How to deal with Stalkers, Muggers & Road Ragers Read More »
So, in Sergeant Alexander Blackman’s ill-fated, video’d patrol, what was going on? Sadly all we know about now, after much investigation and even more nonsense in the media and blogosphere, are the defensive posturings of the various factions that this has affected. None of it is helpful. The Court Martial’s official legal line that murder
“Marine A”: are we too flakey with liberal confusion to support our own people? Read More »
One worst-case possibility in the “Sergeant A” Afghanistan murder trial, is that the patrol were trying to make a snuff movie. The puerile taped dialogue sounds that way. But that’s looking at it from a Forces’ PR perspective, as this could have got Sergeant A off the murder charge… The guy could have been dead,
Sergeant A – headcams and the Snuff Movie defence Read More »
What are now regarded as crimes in Northern Ireland, used to be, not very long ago, considered acts of heroism, resistance to tyranny and patriotism. Songs were written about them, Guinness and Bushmills drunk, medals issued and even careers enhanced. But to those clouded by the hypocrisy of hindsight, to say this this might seem
Security Forces’ “Crimes” in Northern Ireland Read More »
You’ve probably seen this story – about a WW2 Bomber Command veteran who died without family or friends in a nursing home. This obituary led to a call for people to attend his funeral. The end result was a huge crowd standing outside because the chapel was totally full. There were uniformed Air Cadets, veterans
We should be remembering Veterans while they’re still alive. Read More »
I was down with my old military unit today – at Poole in Dorset. With their last Afghanistan deployment behind them, they’ve been training very hard to get everybody back to the unit’s proper role – the use of naval gunfire. They’d just finished a very arduous training course to get their naval communicators and
After Afghanistan: getting back to “normal”…. Read More »
An article in the New Yorker triggered off some ideas I’ve been thinking about for the past few days. It was a about an agency setting itself up to sell celebrities’ free time for huge amounts of money – as if they were empty hotel rooms. For a self-aware person to sign up to this,
Self-Awareness as a Survival Mechanism – and Duty Read More »
By accident, the United Kingdom has done “The Right Thing” with regard to Syria.One could argue that this is how democracy operates; by cutting through the politicking to what people really think when it’s important. But we were lucky. To ensure we learn and achieve something useful from this, the UK must stop trying to
A Litmus Test for War: Britain’s National Interests Read More »
After the the bugled debate on whether Britain should take military action against Syria and its chemical weapons, parliamentary voices are now demanding that the Prime Minister be stripped of his legal right to send British forces into action. They are encouraged by the Prime Minister’s declaration that as Parliament has debated Syria, that’s an
Consequences of All British Military Action Requiring Parliamentary Approval Read More »