Month: November 2025

The Ajax programme dates to when I was Head of Reliability in the Ministry of Defence in 2008, after FRES was cancelled by the Chief of the General Staff. Unfortunately, the MoD in its wisdom closed the Reliability Group after I deployed to Baghdad and as a result there was insufficient technical oversight of the programme in the competition phase, before contracts were signed in 2014.

To my mind, the reliability problems and technical issues that have delayed the introduction of this vital equipment can be put down to the indiscriminate culling of system design engineers at Abbey Wood in the shadow of the merger of the old Defence Procurement Agency and the Defence Logistics Organisation. Under a culture of “Change” and “Efficiencies”, the delivery of aircraft, ships and tanks suffered subsequently you cannot ask Defence Contractors to mark their own homework!

If the MoD had spent more on technical oversight in the early stage of the programme and less on McKinsey change management fees, we would not have wasted so much money further down the line. More importantly, Ajax would now be integrated into British Armoured Brigade Combat Teams and we would be closer to being able to fulfil our commitments to NATO Allies.

When Will We Have Full Operating Capability?

When I heard last week that the distinguished American Envoy in Kyiv, Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, intends to leave his post, I was very worried about what was about to follow. It is now clear that he was being side-lined by Trump’s advisors in Washington, who remain intent on pulling the rug from the US commitment to Ukraine (as happened to Afghanistan in February 2020, during his first term in office).

It is also pretty obvious that the good General does not agree with the 28-point plan that has been foisted on President Zelensky, but is helping him to manage the difficult situation that has arisen through Trump’s appeasement of Putin. The demands on Zelensky to concede a large chunk of Ukraine and reduce the armed forces by one third look like ham-fisted bullying, but the big question is whether the European Union negotiators in Geneva will be able to rebalance the equation and allow Ukraine to achieve a dignified peace.

In the meantime, fighting on the front line and drone-bombing will continue unabated.

The situation reminds me of a similar moment in history when the British government debated whether to make peace with Bolshevik Russia in November 1920. Winston Churchill, who was the War Secretary at the time, voted to continue military assistance to the Free Russians, but the Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, voted to re-open trade with Moscow and to end British support to the beleaguered White Russians in Ukraine. The peace deal sealed the fate of millions of Ukrainians, who were later killed by Stalin in his Holodomor.

Much of the training for our soldiers is about helping them to see through the “Fog of War”. This term was developed in the 19th century to describe the uncertainty on the battlefield i.e. having to make decisions with sub-optimal information. For example, late on the 18th June 1815 at Waterloo, the clouds of smoke from artillery and the folds in the ground prevented the generals on both sides from seeing who was winning the hand-to-hand combat.

In the 21st century, media and politicians cannot deal with uncertainty because it makes them look unprofessional. In the case of military operations, they pretend that surveillance systems, Air Power and precision weapons are the answer and gloss over the real issue, which is high-intensity training. It is possible to see through the fog of war, if you spend hours and hours on exercise (my rule of thumb was to spend one third of a year manouvering in the field in order to reach a standard where you can intuitively make the right decisions).

In Ukraine, last week, thick fog enabled Russian troops to move further into the key strategic city of Pokrovsk. For several days, the West’s surveillance drones were ineffective because visibility was so poor. This allowed Russian infiltration operations to succeed because we have become too dependent on technology and avoided putting boots on the ground. If we wish to prevent Putin from winning this war, we will need to change our strategy soon.

19th Century Fog of War

The structure of Remembrance this year has had three distinct parts to it. The Westminster Field of Remembrance, which was opened by Her Majesty the Queen. The second weekend in November events, which include the Royal Albert Hall Festival, the Cenotaph Parade in Whitehall and Church Services throughout the country. And finally, today’s Armistice Memorial Service at the National Arboretum, which was attended by the Princess of Wales.

This three-legged-stool, which has developed over time in response to the needs of those who defended the Free World and their descendants, is part of Deep British Culture. Unfortunately, this is under threat from those who wish to “reinvent” the commemoration because they do not agree with concepts of loyalty and duty to one’s country. Their arguments stem from a naïve ideology that oversimplifies the complexities and realities of war. I am all for inclusion, especially to those who feel disenfranchised, but we should not dilute the military involvement and nor should we allow the ignorant to denigrate our way of life.

It seems to me that the words “We Will Remember Them” are more poignant this year than ever before. This is not just because so few are left who fought in World War II, but also because the World has become increasingly dangerous since the end of the Covid Pandemic.

However, Remembrance Sunday was not always so obvious. Forty years ago, one of my soldiers asked why he had to march to church to commemorate something which was signed so long ago that it was irrelevant, especially as no member of his family had been affected by the two World Wars.

In reply, I attempted to put some perspective on the only day of the year when the Padre has a captive audience. I talked about the millions of men and women who gave their lives in the cause of freedom and explained how in every ship, regiment and air-base there is a book of remembrance for those who have died In Service since the Second World War. I added that it was appropriate that collectively, we should take the opportunity of considering whether we are really leading our lives as we should.

I am not sure that I convinced him at that time, but very sadly, he later became a grieving father when his son, who followed him into our regiment, was killed in an explosion while on patrol in Lashkar Gah. The strength of a family regiment is seen in the pain and grief we all share when a soldier dies.

As we approach Armistice Day, it’s worth reminding Wikipedia AI producers that it is not a “celebration” and that Armistice Day and Remembrance Day are not the same thing, unless 11th November lands on a Sunday.

This year, my first thoughts are with those who suffered from abuse during their time in the Armed Forces. Many of us who spent a large part of our lives in the military inevitably will have witnessed cases of mental, emotional and physical coercion under the pretext of team-building. Those who suffered include naïve young male and female soldiers, as well as mid-career aspirants. It is sad that incidents of racism and sexual assault still sully the military and that the same mistakes are being repeated again and again as highlighted in court this week by the appalling case of Gunner Jaysley Beck.

One of the tasks I was given when I was responsible for Royal Armoured Corps initial training at Winchester was the integration of female recruits. This was at the same time that the Deepcut Recruit Training Scandal was occurring. Part of the reason we succeeded where others failed was a strict adherence to the principles of Investors in People. The Army stopped using this standard about five years later and to my mind, that explains why it still has a big problem with its management of personnel in 2025. If the Assistant Chief of the General Staff is genuinely interested in eradicating this problem, he would do well to reintroduce IiP accreditation across the Army today.

Army Recruit Training In 1997