Armed forces of an independent Scotland

On Sun, 11 Jul 2004 22:30:49 +0100, (phil hunt)
wrote:

On Thu, 08 Jul 2004 18:23:35 -0400, Peter Kemp wrote:

4-6 fisheries protection vessels, alsae guid for keeping the damn
English away fra the wee oil platferms.

Makes sense.

A few MPAs (again 4-6) for long range patrol, plus C2 of any SAR work,
plus a dozen Merlins for both land and naval work (SAR, troop
transposrt, resupply).

What're MPAs?

Maritime Patrol Aircraft (e.g. Nimrods in RAF service)

If Bonnie auld Scotland did ever split, I see them (if you haven't
guessed I'm not a native Scottish speaker) more as an Ireland (minimal
forces except for peacekeping and EEZ patrol), than a Sweden
(extremely large and competant forces for the size of economy and
population).

That's probably what would happen.

Though bear in mind Sweden spends a lower proportion of GDP on
defense than the UK does. The MoD doesn't seem to be into value for
money. Why do they employ more civil servants than soldiers?

Because it's cehaper to have a civvy doing things like procurement and
support than a military bod who is wasted behind a desk (as long as
you have enough military types around making sure we deliver what they
need). Trust me, my equivalent military bod earns a hell of a lot more
than I do.

Peter Kemp

In message , Peter Kemp
writes
On Sun, 11 Jul 2004 22:30:49 +0100, (phil hunt)
wrote:
The MoD doesn't seem to be into value for
money. Why do they employ more civil servants than soldiers?

Because it's cehaper to have a civvy doing things like procurement and
support than a military bod who is wasted behind a desk (as long as
you have enough military types around making sure we deliver what they
need). Trust me, my equivalent military bod earns a hell of a lot more
than I do.

Ditto. My "military equivalent" ranks make twice what I do, but I'm
current to searide and tabbed to deploy and most of them aren't. So
they're safe at home while I can be grabbed and dropped into a warzone
to *directly* support operations if needed. Oh, wait one... who's the
better deal?

I could complain, but then if I *do* end up in Basra I get various extra
allowances which my Navy oppos don't. (On the other hand even with the
allowances I'm *still* earning less in Basra than them Navy equivalents
in cushty billets back home...)

But I like the work, which is why I'm there rather than in the private
sector.


Also, at least where I sit, many of those 'civil servants' are
themselves ex-Navy who are contributing irreplaceable expertise for much
lower cost than keeping them in uniform. I'm not familiar with the
hinterlands of UK MoD, which is where I presume the huge 'waste, fraud
and abuse' must be - because the only reason the Forces are doing so
much with so little now is that they've contracted out so many 'non-core
tasks' to civilian staff who cost less and get less leave than Service
folk.

(Not knocking the Forces, either: they're the ones *fighting* when push
becomes shove, while we're just asked to get up with them to help,
advise and guide - and try not to get hurt while they do so.)



--
He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.
Julius Caesar I:2

Paul J. Adam MainBoxatjrwlynch[dot]demon{dot}co(.)uk