BFBS Sitrep

The new head of the Army has warned the UK has three years to be ready to fight a war or deter conflict.

General Sir Roly Walker’s talked about an “increasingly volatile world” but he said war wasn’t inevitable and the Army had "just enough time" to prepare itself.

He says he wants to double the Army's fighting power in three years (and triple it by the end of the decade) and he’s stressed the need to modernise quickly using technology like AI.

Professor Mike Clarke and former army officer Ed Arnold, who’s now at RUSI, join Kate Gerbeau and reporter Sian Grzeszczyk Melbourne to discuss the plans and the future shape of the battlefield.

And in the latest of our series, we hear about the moment that made Andrew Fox after 8 years in the army… passing P Company to earn his maroon beret and become a Para.

The new head of the Army has warned the UK has three years to be ready to fight a war or deter conflict.

General Sir Roly Walker’s talked about an “increasingly volatile world” but he said war wasn’t inevitable and the Army had "just enough time" to prepare itself.

He says he wants to double the Army's fighting power in three years (and triple it by the end of the decade) and he’s stressed the need to modernise quickly using technology like AI.

Professor Mike Clarke and former army officer Ed Arnold, who’s now at RUSI, join Kate Gerbeau and reporter Sian Grzeszczyk Melbourne to discuss the plans and the future shape of the battlefield.

And in the latest of our series, we hear about the moment that made Andrew Fox after 8 years in the army… passing P Company to earn his maroon beret and become a Para.

From where the armed forces are deployed around the world, to the kit they have for the job, and how they’re looked after, the government has launched a “root and branch” defence review.

Two people who’ve been hands on with past reviews, Lieutenant General Sir Nick Pope and Sitrep’s Professor Michael Clarke, explain what will be different about this one and the job that it has to do.

Sian Grzeszczyk-Melbourne has been talking to Defence ministers and gives us some insight into their thinking on accommodation problems and a new Armed Forces Commissioner, who’ll be an access-all-areas advocate for service personnel and families.

And one of the RAF’s first female fighter pilots, Mandy Hickson, tells us how dogfighting on two-wheels was the moment that made her.

From where the armed forces are deployed around the world, to the kit they have for the job, and how they’re looked after, the government has launched a “root and branch” defence review.

Two people who’ve been hands on with past reviews, Lieutenant General Sir Nick Pope and Sitrep’s Professor Michael Clarke, explain what will be different about this one and the job that it has to do.

Sian Grzeszczyk-Melbourne has been talking to Defence ministers and gives us some insight into their thinking on accommodation problems and a new Armed Forces Commissioner, who’ll be an access-all-areas advocate for service personnel and families.

And one of the RAF’s first female fighter pilots, Mandy Hickson, tells us how dogfighting on two-wheels was the moment that made her.

Around one in twenty of the UK’s MPs have military experience, but what do they bring to the job and does it help them make a difference?

Sitrep talks to the new MP for Derbyshire North, Louise Jones, and Jonny Ball who hosts the Veterans in Politics podcast and has mentored several of the new intake to Parliament.

India’s Prime Minister claims to be neutral on the war in Ukraine, but he’s been pictured hugging President Putin on a visit to Moscow.  So what’s Narendra Modi up to, and should we be worried?

And Colonel Rosie Stone shares her “moment that made me” – conversations about motherhood, gardening and football while under fire, for the first time, in Afghanistan.  She tells Kate Gerbeau how it led to her new career as an expert in gender and human security.

Around one in twenty of the UK’s MPs have military experience, but what do they bring to the job and does it help them make a difference?

Sitrep talks to the new MP for Derbyshire North, Louise Jones, and Jonny Ball who hosts the Veterans in Politics podcast and has mentored several of the new intake to Parliament.

India’s Prime Minister claims to be neutral on the war in Ukraine, but he’s been pictured hugging President Putin on a visit to Moscow.  So what’s Narendra Modi up to, and should we be worried?

And Colonel Rosie Stone shares her “moment that made me” – conversations about motherhood, gardening and football while under fire, for the first time, in Afghanistan.  She tells Kate Gerbeau how it led to her new career as an expert in gender and human security.

The Allied Reaction Force is the new “tip of the spear” for NATO’s military power. It’s  described as a strategic, high-readiness, force-generated, multi-domain and multinational capability.

The ARF replaces the NATO Response Force and Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), as part of a radical update of military structures and plans since the invasion of Ukraine.

The idea is to pack more military punch more quickly, and significantly the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) has been delegated authority to deploy the ARF without having to wait for NATO’s decision-making committees to give approval.

General Sir James Everard, a former Deputy SACEUR, explains why the ARF matters, how it will work, and the UK’s part in this new force that sits at the very top of NATO’s plans to be able to mobilise up to 300,000 troops if needed.

The Allied Reaction Force is the new “tip of the spear” for NATO’s military power. It’s  described as a strategic, high-readiness, force-generated, multi-domain and multinational capability.

The ARF replaces the NATO Response Force and Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), as part of a radical update of military structures and plans since the invasion of Ukraine.

The idea is to pack more military punch more quickly, and significantly the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) has been delegated authority to deploy the ARF without having to wait for NATO’s decision-making committees to give approval.

General Sir James Everard, a former Deputy SACEUR, explains why the ARF matters, how it will work, and the UK’s part in this new force that sits at the very top of NATO’s plans to be able to mobilise up to 300,000 troops if needed.

75 years since NATO was created to defend Europe, Sitrep asks what’s needed to do that job properly today.

From organising hundreds of thousands of troops, to digging ditches and ensuring bridges can carry tanks, the challenges are explained by Professor Michael Clarke and Oana Lungescu, a former senior advisor to the NATO Secretary General.

Part of the jigsaw is the new Alliance Reaction Force. It’s commander, Lieutenant General Lorenzo D’Addario tells Sitrep how the ARF plans to pack more punch more quickly.

And former Royal Navy Commander chooses his ‘moment that made me’, when an engineering mistake flooded his ship and threatened to sink it.

75 years since NATO was created to defend Europe, Sitrep asks what’s needed to do that job properly today.

From organising hundreds of thousands of troops, to digging ditches and ensuring bridges can carry tanks, the challenges are explained by Professor Michael Clarke and Oana Lungescu, a former senior advisor to the NATO Secretary General.

Part of the jigsaw is the new Alliance Reaction Force. It’s commander, Lieutenant General Lorenzo D’Addario tells Sitrep how the ARF plans to pack more punch more quickly.

And former Royal Navy Commander chooses his ‘moment that made me’, when an engineering mistake flooded his ship and threatened to sink it.