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2012 Conference Concept

For the past two decades, the British Army has been continually engaged in overseas operations, including the 1991 Gulf War, operations in the Balkans, and, most notably, the long-term counter insurgency missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The Army has become mission specific and bespoke as a result, but as NATO’s plans for transition in Afghanistan progress and following recent experience of the government’s approach to interventions, it now has the opportunity to re-forge itself to meet the requirements of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review.

The challenge of transitioning from an Army that is constantly undertaking large-scale, long-term operations, to a force that prepares for and is capable of providing government with relevant and effective choices for tackling a wider range of strategic challenges, is significant.  “Resetting” the Army requires a greater appreciation of how land forces can contribute to, and achieve precise effect across, Standing Commitments, Defence Engagement, tasks such as Deterrence and Containment, while still being an instrument of first choice for interventions.  It will require extensive changes to the way people are educated and trained, to develop the moral and conceptual components of fighting power in such a way that personnel are able to cope with uncertainty and respond to constantly changing circumstances effectively.  The structure of the Army itself needs to be revised to facilitate this new posture, and to contribute to the broader Defence Reform agenda.

The Land Warfare Conference represents a opportunity to influence thinking and decisions.  On behalf of the Chief of the General Staff, the Conference will encourage professional debate and discussion within the land environment and with a wider Whitehall and international community about:

  • How the Army fits into National Government
  • How the Army is reshaping itself
  • The demands ‘contingency’ will place on people, structures and equipment
  • What capabilities need to be retained as the Army transitions and how capabilities can be built up more rapidly

The Army and National Government

While the Army has shown that it is an organisation capable of adapting to meet challenges in Afghanistan, it must achieve more than tactical success.  Going forward, the Army must be able to understand the government’s strategic intent at home and abroad, be able to interface with government and Departments at the strategic level in such a way that the utility of land forces and military choices are understood better, and develop a better appreciation of how to deliver precision effect.

Re-forging the Army and Defence Reform

The Ministry of Defence and armed forces are going through a period of significant transformation following the Levene Report, Future Reserves 2020 study and ongoing work to develop the ‘Whole Force Concept’.  What should the nature and composition of the British Army be for the future, and how should Reserves and contractors be integrated?  What opportunities are presented by the Army being entirely UK-based?

Developing people

The way the Army’s people are educated and trained needs to change.  They will need to be educated to develop the necessary skills and expertise to meet Standing Commitments, the demands of Defence Engagement at home and abroad, and to develop a rapid intervention capability in uncertain and constantly changing circumstances.

Capability requirements as the Army transitions

The rapid development of technology over the last five to ten years to meet the demands of current operations makes the Army the owners of leading edge capabilities over and above that found elsewhere in government.  Examples include counter-IED, information acquisition, integration and exploitation, CBRN detection/clearing capabilities, command, control and communications, and air support.  A challenge will be identifying and prioritising those capabilities developed for the current campaign that should be brought into core.

A significant amount of investment has also been made in people skills to operationalise counter insurgency doctrine in Afghanistan, in areas such as cultural understanding and partnering with indigenous forces.  These skill-sets have relevance to the new Defence Engagement Strategy: as Afghanistan draws down, maintaining and fostering the correct skills will be necessary to maintain the competencies necessary for other tasks.  Identifying these skills will be vital.



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