Mounting domestic pressures and tight budgets mean defence is likely doomed to always look like an easy cut when election time draws near.
Decades of under-investment and an unserious strategic culture have created a military whose primary function seems to be peacekeeping – but does less of that than Zimbabwe.
As it never attracted as much ire as Iraq we may never see a proper inquiry into a decades-long, £27.7 billion failure.
General Galtieri’s was a wicked regime. But his armies, unlike Vladimir Putin’s, at least respected the rules of war.
Media portrayals of ex-servicemen and women as PTSD-riven criminals shapes public perceptions and hurts the prospects of those leaving the Armed Forces.
Their armed forces had plenty of experience purging political dissidents, much less actually fighting wars.
As we approach the 75th Anniversary this week, please spare a thought for those who gave so much to protect our freedoms.
This is not about NHS on the cheap; the Army has a long history of having to upscale rapidly, and should be used in these troublesome times.
This would be the very definition of political corruption – using the party’s influence to intimidate a legally independent institution would be reprehensible.
In the wake of Johnson’s deal, the Government must balance its plan for Northern Ireland with strengthening “our precious Union” – all four parts of it.
“When I attended the commemoration of the 60th anniversary, some thought it might be the last…but the wartime generation, my generation, is resilient.”
‘The Fallen’ has become synonymous with the act of remembrance, but the origins of the poem are less well-known.
Imagine if they raised money to help honour the soldiers who answered Britain’s call during two world wars – thus showing more than anger and resentment.
The erroneous assumption that hostile states were no longer relevant has rightly been abandoned. Now our Armed Forces need the resources to meet the challenge.
For too long the space has played host to ugly and vacuous ‘public art’. This is a much, much better use for it.