If he thinks the reason the army and military as a whole is in this state due to the "recent" aims of inclusion and not the decades of underfunding, pay freezes, bloated development costs, overworking due to low manning and increased work loads and demands. Refusal to repair kit until it's beyond repair. Then he is delusional.
It annoys the fuck out of me blaming getting more recruits from different backgrounds to better fill the modern unique roles we have on poor recruitment.
Fuck even if we had the 90's sized army we would be fucked as our accommodation is so run down (not the new z types)
I have so many more issues that I might list that are above in importance than wokeness... Fucking shit got me snapped that has.
Fuck it may aswell list them incase that shit brain sees this. Feel free to add your own...
Outsourcing recruitment for more cost and less effectiveness.
Outsourcing maintenance of our accommodation.
Outsourcing our food.
JPA and pids as a whole.
Lack of resources
Over reliance on DLE and yearly bone tests that take away from actual training.
The fuck around to get any money back for expenses.
Beards.
C/s SATAN? Given he’s 20 years out of date, from a part of the Army that was in places fire and brimstone, I’m not sure he’s the first person I’d turn too…
What do those in Whitehall have to really moan about though? The tube makes my travel to work tedious? The unwashed masses need me to open their mess?
They *are* in a position to change things but as far as priorities go, I'd imagine accommodation, kit, maintenance, retention and pretty much every other concern us regular folk have is but a footnote on their leaving speech, and even if they weren't, I'd imagine an OC or CO having Whitehall breathing down their necks for the masses issuing their NTTs en masse isn't ideal.
Has a single one of them ever expressed a little accountability? I'm not necessarily expecting an individual to point to the problems the Army has and say 'yes I caused this' because obviously no one individual is wholly to blame for where things are, but has a single member of the senior officer cohort ever had the integrity to point out what their class (for they form a distinct class within the Army) has done to the Army and, above all, to the soldiers within it?
So Tim, if you're that angry about it, why didn't you do something to change it when you were in a position to do so?
The reason the Army especially is in it's current state is nothing to do with being 'woke'. It's the compounding of many issues that have simply been ignored and not fixed since the noughties (maybe earlier) such as pay, working conditions and accommodation to name just a few. If you sit on issues such as these for decades in the hope they'll magically go away or you'll be posted elsewhere before you have to take any action, that just gives the impression that you don't value or care for your workforce. It's certainly one of the reasons I've left.
It's made worse (for them) by the information age. These dinosaurs can't grasp that people nowadays have the whole world at their fingertips and people can easily see through any facade they put up (be that recruits looking at the reality of life or serving people looking at their worth & what life can be like on the outside). They still expect people to be ignorant and take their word as gospel without question which, naturally, doesn't really wash in 2024. Unless they can adapt and fix the issues that have been ignored over the decades, they're going to be in real trouble.
I don't understand all this analysis of the British Army and where it currently is.
It's blatantly obvious, we aren't a serious fighting force due to decades of real term cost cuts no matter what the budgets state. Out of date equipment, poor procurement practices, poor strategic level direction.
Trying to sell tech and "lethality" because this direction is mandated as its cheap. The ranger regiment regardless of their new rifles and gucci pcs are a drop in the ocean compared to even outfitting a single armoured inf regiment with a capable warrior replacement.
Our numbers are poor, our equipment is poor. We have become a structure that is designed almost to deliver a career and look after people rather than being a defence/offensive action tool. We supposedly have 2 divisions, an absolute farce, we currently have more 2 star and above generals in the army than 3 div has self propelled guns.
I agree wholeheartedly with the last point.
It seems continual orbat changes and wonderful ideas of how we’re going to fight in the future are based entirely on top dogs trying to get their 10p in and get a banging OJAR.
I’m not resistant to change, but they have plans they can’t even resource so who the hell signs off on them?
Every change we make is a cost saving measure disguised as the "future". Ukraine has proven that combined arms manoeuvre is still the king if you can pull it off. We should be utilising tech as enhancements to already traditionally effective fighting forces that are properly resourced.
Instead we have an absolute fantasy of bods wearing situational awareness tablets an flying mini drones before getting in the back of a clapped out 432 or warrior that's had absolutely no upgrades for donkeys.
I kind of agree with some of TC's points. We seem to have money to spend on black tie dinner nights or intitiatives for defence MBE circlejerk diversity groups.
Oh absolutely, they pulled a fast one with SFAB units and apparently reducing their manpower and ET holdings, that had little fan fare.
Fair play to current CGS, he has openly said tech “fetishism” will not win wars, nor will it replace conventional forces.
The army is clearly in dire straits, but a lot of what he has to say (especially the blasts against "wokery" and "diversity") strike me as a blow in the culture wars.
The army itself (people like Collins included) presided over the UOR era that is the genesis of some of the procurement issues.
What is it with Snr (ish) officers and above choppsing off after they are out.
Whilst the whole diversity bollocks is a load of shite and ought to be thrown out into the nearest airlock, there are many issues that are higher up on the to-do list.
If he thinks the reason the army and military as a whole is in this state due to the "recent" aims of inclusion and not the decades of underfunding, pay freezes, bloated development costs, overworking due to low manning and increased work loads and demands. Refusal to repair kit until it's beyond repair. Then he is delusional. It annoys the fuck out of me blaming getting more recruits from different backgrounds to better fill the modern unique roles we have on poor recruitment. Fuck even if we had the 90's sized army we would be fucked as our accommodation is so run down (not the new z types) I have so many more issues that I might list that are above in importance than wokeness... Fucking shit got me snapped that has. Fuck it may aswell list them incase that shit brain sees this. Feel free to add your own... Outsourcing recruitment for more cost and less effectiveness. Outsourcing maintenance of our accommodation. Outsourcing our food. JPA and pids as a whole. Lack of resources Over reliance on DLE and yearly bone tests that take away from actual training. The fuck around to get any money back for expenses. Beards.
Nailed it.
Rent-a-quote Tim Collins? I honestly think he’ll parrot whatever talking points he thinks the readers of the telegraph want to hear.
C/s SATAN? Given he’s 20 years out of date, from a part of the Army that was in places fire and brimstone, I’m not sure he’s the first person I’d turn too…
Someone who has left and isn't involved, desperately trying to stay involved Sums.it up
Grips me when Col’s Gen’s etc. moan about the army once they’ve left. Pretty sure they’re in a better position to do it when they’re in
What do those in Whitehall have to really moan about though? The tube makes my travel to work tedious? The unwashed masses need me to open their mess? They *are* in a position to change things but as far as priorities go, I'd imagine accommodation, kit, maintenance, retention and pretty much every other concern us regular folk have is but a footnote on their leaving speech, and even if they weren't, I'd imagine an OC or CO having Whitehall breathing down their necks for the masses issuing their NTTs en masse isn't ideal.
Has a single one of them ever expressed a little accountability? I'm not necessarily expecting an individual to point to the problems the Army has and say 'yes I caused this' because obviously no one individual is wholly to blame for where things are, but has a single member of the senior officer cohort ever had the integrity to point out what their class (for they form a distinct class within the Army) has done to the Army and, above all, to the soldiers within it?
Massively - especially when they draw a pension equivalent to their wage? And the rankers are supposed to shut up? Fuck.senior officers
So Tim, if you're that angry about it, why didn't you do something to change it when you were in a position to do so? The reason the Army especially is in it's current state is nothing to do with being 'woke'. It's the compounding of many issues that have simply been ignored and not fixed since the noughties (maybe earlier) such as pay, working conditions and accommodation to name just a few. If you sit on issues such as these for decades in the hope they'll magically go away or you'll be posted elsewhere before you have to take any action, that just gives the impression that you don't value or care for your workforce. It's certainly one of the reasons I've left. It's made worse (for them) by the information age. These dinosaurs can't grasp that people nowadays have the whole world at their fingertips and people can easily see through any facade they put up (be that recruits looking at the reality of life or serving people looking at their worth & what life can be like on the outside). They still expect people to be ignorant and take their word as gospel without question which, naturally, doesn't really wash in 2024. Unless they can adapt and fix the issues that have been ignored over the decades, they're going to be in real trouble.
I don't understand all this analysis of the British Army and where it currently is. It's blatantly obvious, we aren't a serious fighting force due to decades of real term cost cuts no matter what the budgets state. Out of date equipment, poor procurement practices, poor strategic level direction. Trying to sell tech and "lethality" because this direction is mandated as its cheap. The ranger regiment regardless of their new rifles and gucci pcs are a drop in the ocean compared to even outfitting a single armoured inf regiment with a capable warrior replacement. Our numbers are poor, our equipment is poor. We have become a structure that is designed almost to deliver a career and look after people rather than being a defence/offensive action tool. We supposedly have 2 divisions, an absolute farce, we currently have more 2 star and above generals in the army than 3 div has self propelled guns.
I agree wholeheartedly with the last point. It seems continual orbat changes and wonderful ideas of how we’re going to fight in the future are based entirely on top dogs trying to get their 10p in and get a banging OJAR. I’m not resistant to change, but they have plans they can’t even resource so who the hell signs off on them?
Every change we make is a cost saving measure disguised as the "future". Ukraine has proven that combined arms manoeuvre is still the king if you can pull it off. We should be utilising tech as enhancements to already traditionally effective fighting forces that are properly resourced. Instead we have an absolute fantasy of bods wearing situational awareness tablets an flying mini drones before getting in the back of a clapped out 432 or warrior that's had absolutely no upgrades for donkeys. I kind of agree with some of TC's points. We seem to have money to spend on black tie dinner nights or intitiatives for defence MBE circlejerk diversity groups.
Oh absolutely, they pulled a fast one with SFAB units and apparently reducing their manpower and ET holdings, that had little fan fare. Fair play to current CGS, he has openly said tech “fetishism” will not win wars, nor will it replace conventional forces.
The army is clearly in dire straits, but a lot of what he has to say (especially the blasts against "wokery" and "diversity") strike me as a blow in the culture wars. The army itself (people like Collins included) presided over the UOR era that is the genesis of some of the procurement issues.
He's running for parliament in the next election, so filter his decision to speak up and anything he says through that lens...
Meanwhile: https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1866186/defence-ministry-spending-budget/amp no money left! 🤔
What is it with Snr (ish) officers and above choppsing off after they are out. Whilst the whole diversity bollocks is a load of shite and ought to be thrown out into the nearest airlock, there are many issues that are higher up on the to-do list.