Posted on 06/13/2011 5:05:12 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
Harriers would have been used for 'ground support' operations, attacking Col Gaddafi's land forces, Adml Sir Mark Stanhope said.
Adml Sir Mark Stanhope said the campaign would have been more effective without the Government's defence cuts.
The aircraft carrier and the Harrier jump-jets scrapped under last year's strategic defence review would have made the mission more effective, faster and cheaper, he said.
Sir Mark warned that the Navy would not be able to sustain its operations in Libya for another three months without making cuts elsewhere.
The First Sea Lord's comments will stir the debate over defence cuts that have left Britain without a working aircraft carrier and forced the Royal Navy's Harrier jump jets to be mothballed.
Highlighting military anger over the shrinking Armed Forces, another admiral warned that "comical" defence cuts would leave the Navy without enough ships to be effective.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
The Royal Navy, once Mistress of the Seas, has been reduced by Leftists to little more than a yacht club.
Sorry blokes, I don’t have the quid.
Can the Brits defend the Falklands?
Not to worry old chap Obama will keep up his illegal non-war plus probably sneak a few billion to the British Navy on the side.
In other news Robert Gates says we must reduce US military pay and benefits.
No problem, just borrow some money from the Duck!
Neither can we.
They should get an advance payment from whomever is planning to profit from the regime they’re trying to usher in.
Yeh and neither can we. The Brits just admit it.
Britain used to be the most powerful nation on the planet...unchallenged on the sea.
Now she cannot control a crowd in her own back yard.
I'm weeping.
They would be hard pressed to get two destroyers and a frigate there and then they would have to rely on US Navy unrep.
Shameful.
Yes.
The Admiral has stated that at present deployment levels, the Libya campaign will need boosting by August.
That dosent mean we have to pull out now or then. In fact we have most of the ‘Cougar Taskforce’ still in the Gulf but not involved in Libya, so we can and could use that battlegroup if needed, which imo is what the Admiral’s public statement is designed to do.
Also the RN has just sent 5 ships from that group to Libya as reinforcements.
The British ‘inability’ to defend the Falklands has been exaggerated.
Ground, we have a sizeable and well armed garrison.
Naval and air, we still have the capacity to sail to and defend/retake the island (frankly ignore the latter: a Argentine landing would get mauled), even despite the cuts.
To be honest, since the end of Empire in the 60’s, both the various Labour and Tory govts here have gutted the armed forces.
Why are you weeping?
FDR replaced the British Empire with the American Empire by winning WW II.
Exactly, it’s a bit rich some of the US posters on here bemoaning the fall of Britain as a world power, when it was largely because of American post-war policies that this happened.
I've been a hopeless RN, in the age of sail romantic since I can remember.
I recall David McCullough's description of 500 or so British Ships in NY harbor in 1776, and how they sailed up the East River. I can imagine few more imposing sights. One of my favorite books is “Life in Nelson's Navy” by Dudley Pope, purchased while I was, of all places, serving aboard the USS Forrestal. In the USN, I saw RN tradition all about.
And of course, the Aubrey/Maturin series which I reread every four years or so.
Britannia once ruled the seas...and they once had the largest empire by both population and land mass, in the history of the world. In many respects WE are descendants of that great empire.
It's even closer to heart than the loss of the Holy Roman Empire which once ruled the heart of Europe for 1000 years...and it's descendant, The Austrian and Austro-Hungarian empires.
It's kinda like when the Beatles broke up for the students of Western Civilization.
Yes, but only because Britain has troops, aircraft and ships on station there now. If they weren’t there, or the Argentine was able to put a sizeable force ashore anyway, the UK would struggle to assemble a task force that could retake the place.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.