PubFather

Worry not glyn - have not metamophised into some rabid dog - and thanks you for the "much respected" plaudit!

Safe on that front too!

Good to be back and thanks to all who have said hello - I will rather more infrequent in posting than previously, and will dispear once the infant arrives!!

__________________
Nemo Me Impune Lacessit - Scottish Motto

"They that approve a private opinion, call it opinion; but they that dislike it, heresy; and yet heresy signifies no more than private opinion” Thomas Hobbes - Leviathan

gunnut

Welcome back Pub. I would post a French joke for you but I left it at home.

__________________
"Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

Dreadnought

I think he just answered Glyn...Children!

__________________
Fortitude.....The strength to persist...The courage to endure.

Dreadnought

Gottcha covered..........
Q: How many French soldiers does it take to change a light bulb?

A: Five: one to sit on his ARSE and watch and do nothing.
one to turn tail and run.
one to roll over.
one to surrender to the light bulb and snitch out occupied sockets.
and one to pick up a phone and cry "Le HEEEEEEEELP" to the United States.

*French tanks have 6 gears, 5 reverse and 1 forward. The forward gear exists in case they are attacked from behind.

Dectilion

I just thought it through, and it occurs to me, the plan is to have one CVF in commission and one in refit. So using one as a LPH isn't viable, id imagine the navy would rather have a carrier than and LPH. And i doubt typical load of JSF would be 12, though a should have taken into account the units going to the RAF

HistoricalDavid

Wahey, PubVader's back!

PubFather

Ideally, yes, but you have to understand the realities of the situation. At some stage, Ocean will be in re-fit.

The brand new CVF's wont be.

Therefore, as now, one of the CVF's will play a role not suited to them... the numbers game makes it unavoidable....

On the typical load front - its a bit of speculation true - however it depends whose winning the propaganda battle at the time, and the RAF has been more sucessful than the RN in recent years.

12 sounds like bugger all, although compared to the SHAR, it is a massive increase in capablilty. Surging RAF units to bolster the organic RN contingent isnt ideal but certainly better than nothing..

PubFather

Love a good French joke....

Officer of Engineers

Dave!

Boy or Girl?

__________________
Chimo

JMH

Well, I know it may be hard to face the facts, but the British Labour Government has been committed to significantly slashing the UK Defence forces since it came into power ten years ago. Have you ever wondered why?
According to the British Labour Government it is far better to invest in soft power rather than hard power. Soft power is investment in the EU, UN, and foreign financial aid (especially to Africa). Hard power is investment in Defence, Intelligence and Industry to build a military to confront enemy nations and prevent wars from occurring through deterrence and decisively winning a war should deterrence fail. Soft power is the Neville Chamberlain approach to dealing with dictators and unstable governments which is: give them what they want and you will be able to avoid war through appeasement. Essentially, use bribery to pay for national security by preventing wars from occurring through keeping dictators and unstable governments happy by the rewards or bribes given to them.

This is all fine and dandy because as long as the USA keeps a substantial military presence in Europe the UK's national defence is assured. But, unfortunately September 11, 2001 happened and a new war started that does not have any boundaries and the enemy does not come from any particular state. Consequently, deterrence and soft power have no influence at all against the terrorist enemy in this new War on Terror. The British government decided to join the War on Terror with the USA and has deployed its military to Iraq and Afghanistan and other locations. While the War on Terror has progressed the USA has substantially increased its Defence Budget while the British Government has substantially increased its investment in soft power while it continues it cuts in defence and hard power. This policy is the epitome of weakness and presents a divided front to terrorists and terror sponsoring states. Terrorists and terror sponsoring states will exploit this weakness, as was so aptly demonstrated by Iran's capture of British military personnel. The morally bankrupt Europeans are so heavily set in their policies of appeasement and indifference to international threats that they blame the USA for the Muslim Terror threat and they would not be disappointed if the USA loses in Iraq and Afghanistan. These Europeans will not wake up to the Muslim Terror threat until huge numbers of Europeans have been killed by these terrorists, and when Europe finally does wake up, they will look to the USA for their security. The disturbing thing is that every day the UK is becoming increasingly like the morally weak Europeans.

Dectilion

tragic but true JMH, with one small exception, the Islamic extremist threat is actually almost entirely America's fault

gunnut

Oh of course it is. Bush's 2003 invasion of Iraq caused the 1983 bombing in Beirut, the 1986 bombing in Berlin, the 1988 bombing over Lockerby, the first WTC bombing in 1993, Khobar Tower bombing in 1996, the twin embassy bombings in 1998, bombing of USS Cole in 2000, 2001-09-11, and Bali bombing in 2002.

It all makes sense now. Thanks for your ever so enlightening argument supported by strong and logical historical evidences.

Bowman

It's great that Britain will soon have two "proper" aircraft carriers. I understand that the F-35 will be a capable attack aircraft, but will it be credible in the air superiority role?

Dectilion

err, gunnut, the US has been interfering and mucking up in the middle east for half a century, the Iraq war is just another thing America's done wrong

JMH

You seem to be ignorant of World War I, Lawrence of Arabia, the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the 1922 British-Iraqi War, the 1940 British-Iraqi War, the Suez Canal Crisis, The 1955 withdrawal of Major Royal Navy Units from East of the Suez and the 1989 withdrawal of the Royal Marines from Kuwait (which precipitated Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait). The USA filled the security gap in the Middle East left by the decline of the British Empire in order to protect western oil interests (at that time primarily European oil interests). The UK and France have screwed up the Middle East since the Napoleonic Wars. The Ottoman Empires authority which held the Muslim extremists in check was replaced by the British Empire in the Middle East after World War I. After the British Empire left the Middle East in the 1950's, no empire has risen to replace them. From 1955 to 1990 the USA used primarily Naval Power, Air Power, foreign aid, economic warfare and diplomacy to protect western oil interests in the Middle East. This changed to the use of military land power as well after Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. Consequently, since 1955 there has been nothing to hold back the rise of Muslim extremism. The only periods throughout history that Muslims have lived in relative peace is when they have been occupied and largely controlled by an Empire (Persian, Greek, Mongol, Ottoman, British/French empires).

Your rather simplistic it's all America's fault for Muslim Terrorism, is indicative of the apparent fact that you have been infected by the Socialist drive for isolation and defeat for the USA in the War of Terror-which is manifested through Liberal support for Muslim Extremists, demonizing the USA and labelling Jews and Christians worldwide as Fundamental Extremists who, according to Socialists and Liberals are the root to all the Worlds Problems. (These Socialists and Liberals see Muslim extremism, represented by Wabbiasm, Sharia Law, Taliban and Muslim Terror Groups as the antidote to "fundamental Christians and Jews", and they privately admire the Muslim terrorists and are doing all they can do politically, economically and diplomatically to ensure a Muslim victory over the West (USA) in the War on Terror.) Leading Socialists and Liberals depend on ignorance and deceit in their campaign to demonize the USA and prop up Muslim extremism and you like millions of other ignorant Westerners and other people throughout the world blindly fallow these socialists and liberals and never take the time to find out the truth.