- Jan 6, 2018
- 11,637
 | Ministry of Defence 1995 Defence Summit | |
Jason Green MP, the Secretary of State of Defence has summoned senior figures of the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces which includes but is not limited to the Air Chief Marshal, First Sea Lord and Chief of the General Staff. THe purpose was to carry out a meeting to discuss the budget requirements and goals for the British Armed Forces for the next two years. The '1995 Defence Summit' as it was named is hosted at Whitehall and remained a private and top secret discussion due to the sensitive information regarding British Defence. It had begun on the Monday morning at 09:30, the sound of rain clashing against the windows was the highlight of the sound whilst officials entered and took their respective seats. Once everyone was situated, the door was closed for privacy and the Secretary of Defence, Mr Green, begun to speak.
"Good Morning all. Thank you for coming today, I hope you are all comfortable. I'll like to get straight to the points, hopefully we'll get home early today.", a sharp grin rolled on his face, those in the meeting retained their focus on him. "I'd like to begin by giving an overall account of defence expenditure. Unfortunately the promises made by the Prime Minister haven't been put into motion yet given how short his term has been thus far. He has reassured me of the continued intent to expand the budget for the armed forces which will likely push into next year. Until then, we are covered by a seven-percent budget based on the GDP. Enough to sustain our current force and more. With that in mind, and the exception of humanitarian missions, we also don't foresee any upcoming threats that would involve military intervention by ourselves." Jason paused, taking a sip off his glass of water. "By the end of this year, I want to see the target quantities for equipment to be reached across the three branches. This would bring us to full operational readiness and then we can discuss further procurement from that point on. By September this year, we will be expanding our Naval Reach and having patrols in planning or deployed across all the continents of interest and to offer reassurance to our oversea territory. With that in mind, I would like to welcome the First Sea Lord to put forth his objectives for the Royal Navy."
Following that, the First Sea Lord Stood.
"Thank you, Mr Green. As per my discussions with you all individually, I have some .. inspirational plans to really boost our Naval capacity and base the size on one not unlike the United States. We are an island nation, and bias aside, I strongly see the need to double our strength and activity in the Maritime Environment; encouraging force projection with carrier strike groups, and having a more respectable role across the world and in line with the top tier naval forces. I am pleased to confirm that RFA Argus will be arriving in Madagascar shortly to participate in Operation Bolus, the humanitarian mission to assist Africa against the growing Ebola epidemic. This is a single step into becoming more involved in International Affairs and showing support for those in need. Let us also not forget the Royal Marines and Fleet Air Arm who are supporting Argus during their deployment. Next Month, we will be deploying HMS Albion which will be hosting a Special Forces Task Force; this will be becoming a group dedicated to rapid response globally until the full deployment plan for patrols is complete going into next year.
That been said, long term we aim to have a Vanguard Class submarine at sea continuously as it remains our most aggressive deterrent against any threat.
Ice Breakers are to be deployed to Antarctica, before the mad rush of countries aiming to lay their claims, we'll lay ours. Fortunately, the Falkland Islands, where they are based, is much closer.
Aside from that, we will be having a Carrier Strike Group always in the water ready for any operations or changes to political systems that it needs to respond too.
As you can tell, we have a lot of plans for the Navy and we fully intend to make it our largest asset, capable of force projection as much as the United States Navy is capable of supporting. Thank you."
The First Sea Lord sat down having confirmed his plans for the Navy. Jason Green begun to speak.
"Given we are an island nation, I could not agree more with the sentiment and need of our Navy. I would like to address one point given the United Kingdom Special Forces falls under my remit. After discussion with the Air Chief Marshal and Chief of the General Staff. We have decided that the Special Forces Joint Aviation Unit will be getting decommissioned on an official basis. As of right now, it is it's own unit that is not used to the capacity that it is worth financially. Hosting it's own aircraft and crews doesn't work when the jobs it carries out can be done by the respective air branches of the Navy, Army and Airforce. We will be returning aircrews to their original branches, and specific flight squadrons will be assigned to the Special Forces Support Group as a case-by-case basis. This will see the existing SF Aviation fleet of Blackhawks, MH-47D Chinooks and the AC-130 Gunships either joining existing services, getting decommissioned or getting replaced with more viable craft. Next, I'd like to invite the Air Chief Marshal."
The Air Chief Marshal nodded, "The Royal Air Force has been focusing on expanding it's capability with exercises and operational deployments. Not as eventful as the Navy, no doubt, but the Air Force is getting utilized as VIP Transport, with Tristar transports currently in Germany, one en-route to the Netherlands. This doesn't sound much but it's providing experience when it comes to official assignments. We had also seen two Tri-Stars enter exercise with our fast attack squadrons during Exercise Swift Response which is the first return of the Quick Reaction Alert Force since 1989. We will continue to expand on this and provide 24/7 protection of the UK with intercepting aircraft as and when needed. Going forward, we will be working closer with the Navy and Army to deliver a first-class service."
With that, Jason spoke again.
"Now I'm aware the Army hasn't got any news today. They don't do much these days." he spoke in jest, prompting some laughs across the room aimed at the Chief of General Staff who had earlier confirmed some major changes were still underway with the army. "Is there any questions? Aimed at any branch or the MOD itself?"
(( Feel free to pitch in and RP as a Minister of Defence to ask a question directly about Finance, Budget, expansions, plans, etc. Until my next post ))