BFBS Radio Sitrep

A new Government with a new budget but is it really good news for defence & Nato?

And what’s the reaction from the USA?

Why does Greece commit so much to defence with its huge economic problems?

The IS media machine is in full swing, but how should the West counter it?

And find out how geography can dictate global security

PRESENTER THIS WEEK: Kate Gerbeau

STUDIO GUEST:    BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee

OTHER INTERVIEWS: 

BUDGET

BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee & to Malcolm Brown from Feature Story News in Washington

GREECE

Tim Marshall, Former Diplomatic Editor at Sky News

IS PROPAGANDA

Charlie Winter, Quilliam’s Senior Researcher on Transnational Jihadism

PRISONERS OF GEOGRAPHY by Tim Marshall(book review)

10 maps that tell you everything you need to know about global politics. 

THURSDAYS at 4:30pm UK TIME on BFBS RADIO 2and at 6:30pm UK TIME on BFBS & UK Bases

You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and at 1830 (UK time) on BFBS (via web, App & DAB in the UK and on FM in Scotland, Colchester, Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Catterick & Blandford Forum)

Sky Channel 0211

Alternatively listen again on the website, or download the Sitrep Podcast.

A new Government with a new budget but is it really good news for defence & Nato?

And what’s the reaction from the USA?

Why does Greece commit so much to defence with its huge economic problems?

The IS media machine is in full swing, but how should the West counter it?

And find out how geography can dictate global security

PRESENTER THIS WEEK: Kate Gerbeau

STUDIO GUEST:    BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee

OTHER INTERVIEWS: 

BUDGET

BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee & to Malcolm Brown from Feature Story News in Washington

GREECE

Tim Marshall, Former Diplomatic Editor at Sky News

IS PROPAGANDA

Charlie Winter, Quilliam’s Senior Researcher on Transnational Jihadism

PRISONERS OF GEOGRAPHY by Tim Marshall(book review)

10 maps that tell you everything you need to know about global politics. 

THURSDAYS at 4:30pm UK TIME on BFBS RADIO 2and at 6:30pm UK TIME on BFBS & UK Bases

You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and at 1830 (UK time) on BFBS (via web, App & DAB in the UK and on FM in Scotland, Colchester, Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Catterick & Blandford Forum)

Sky Channel 0211

Alternatively listen again on the website, or download the Sitrep Podcast.

(First broadcast on Thursday11^th June 2015 at 4.30pm)

SITREP TRAIL THURS, 2nd JULY

Terror in Tunisia – after last week’s atrocities could the UK attack Islamic State in Syria?

Can anyone stop IS? And what do the lawyers say?

Find out what changes lay ahead for the British Army

It's back to The Somme - but what's the point in all these commemorations?

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PRESENTER THIS WEEK: Kate Gerbeau

STUDIO GUEST:    BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee

OTHER INTERVIEWS: 

TUNISIA/IS THREAT & REACTION

The new Chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Crispin Blunt, Hamish de Bretton Gordon, a chemical weapons expert working for NGOs in Syria and Iraq....and of course, BFBS Defence Analyst Christopher Lee.

POLITICAL REACTION

BFBS reporter James Hirst

LAND WARFARE CONFERENCE

BFBS reporter Rosie Laydon speaking to Director General of RUSI, Professor Michael Clarke

BATTLE OF THE SOMME CENTENARY EVENT

BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee

THURSDAYS at 4:30pm UK TIME on BFBS RADIO 2and at 6:30pm UK TIME on BFBS & UK Bases

You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and at 1830 (UK time) on BFBS (via web, App & DAB in the UK and on FM in Scotland, Colchester, Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Catterick & Blandford Forum)

Sky Channel 0211

SITREP TRAIL THURS, 25 JUNE

Nato ministers meet as Russia flexes its muscles.

Defence Spending…can the UK have its cake and eat it?

And…the Victoria Cross?  Is it time for a rethink on why it’s awarded?

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PRESENTER THIS WEEK: Kate Gerbeau

STUDIO GUEST:    BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee

OTHER INTERVIEWS: 

NATO TALKS

BFBS Reporter Rob Olver

RUSSIAN STRATEGY

BFBS Reporter Charlotte Cross

DEFENCE SPENDING

Bernard Jenkin MP

VICTORIA CROSS

Author Gary Mead (book review)

THURSDAYS at 4:30pm UK TIME on BFBS RADIO 2and at 6:30pm UK TIME on BFBS & UK Bases

You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and at 1830 (UK time) on BFBS (via web, App & DAB in the UK and on FM in Scotland, Colchester, Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Catterick & Blandford Forum)

 Sky Channel 0211

Alternatively listen again on the website, or download the Sitrep Podcast.

Presenter Kate Gerbeau

Yemen – we hear from a reporter on the ground in the wartorn region

Europe's Migrant Crisis deepens but what next for the Royal Navy's involvement?

There’s a new man in the defence Committee Chair - but what will Julian Lewis bring to the job?

The Afghan Appeal fund celebrates 10 years of building schools in Afghanistan.

And ...The 1805 battle of Waterloo, what does it mean for you?

(First broadcast on Thursday 4^th June 2015 at 4.30pm)

Who’s our biggest threat – Islamic State or Russia?

And should the UK send ground troops to fight alongside the Iraqi Army? One former British Army Commander thinks they should.

Will America’s snooping restrictions have an impact on British Intelligence?

Could there be major development problems for the carriers’ new F35 fighter jets?

And why Forces’ sport is an integral part of military life …………………………

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PRESENTER THIS WEEK: Kate Gerbeau

STUDIO GUEST:    BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee

OTHER INTERVIEWS: 

Defence Cuts

BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee

Ukraine/ISIS

Professor Paul Rogers from the department of peace studies at the University of Bradford

ISIS in Iraq

Lieutenant General Graeme Lamb served in Iraq as Deputy Commanding General of the multi-national force.

F35s

Former Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander Sharkey Ward

Amercian & British intelligence gathering

Richard Norton-Taylor who writes for the Guardian on defence and security matters

Forces Sport

BFBS Reporter Julian Evans

THURSDAYS at 4:30pm UK TIME on BFBS RADIO 2and at 6:30pm UK TIME on BFBS & UK Bases

You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and at 1830 (UK time) on BFBS (via web, App & DAB in the UK and on FM in Scotland, Colchester, Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Catterick & Blandford Forum)

 Sky Channel 0211

Alternatively listen again on the website, or download the Sitrep Podcast.

PRESENTER THIS WEEK: Kate Gerbeau

(First broadcast on Thursday 28th May 2015 at 4.30pm)

Find out how the next SDSR is shaping up.

What the new Crowsnest surveillance system will mean for the Royal Navy.

Why Obama has spoken out about Russian’s aggression towards Ukraine.

And, why China could be heading for a show-down with the US over the disputed South China Islands.

And from British Soldier to Blackwater - life as a security contractor in Iraq.

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PRESENTER THIS WEEK: Kate Gerbeau

STUDIO GUEST:    BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee

OTHER INTERVIEWS: 

QUEEN’S SPEECH AND  SDSR

BFBS reporter James Hirst interview with Professor Malcolm Chalmers, from the Defence and Security think tank - The Royal United Services Institute,

CROWSNEST SURVEILLANCE FOR THE ROYAL NAVY.

Commander Graham Edmonds, Vice Chairman, at the UK National Defence Association.

RUSSIAN/NATO/UKRAINE.

Professor Michael Stathis from the University of Southern Utah & BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee.

CHINA &  THE DISPUTED SOUTH CHINA ISLANDS.

Mark Stone Asia Correspondent for Sky News.

BLACKWATER

One former British soldier talks about his time as a Blackwater contractor in Iraq.

THURSDAYS at 4:30pm UK TIME on BFBS RADIO 2and at 6:30pm UK TIME on BFBS & UK Bases

You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and at 1830 (UK time) on BFBS (via web, App & DAB in the UK and on FM in Scotland, Colchester, Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Catterick & Blandford Forum)

Sky Channel 0211

Alternatively listen again on the website, or download the Sitrep Podcast.

(First broadcast on Thursday 21st May 2015 at 4.30pm)

AS IS gathers ground in both Syria & Iraq, Sitrep speaks to a leading expert on Islamic State as the militants continue to gather ground in Iraq and Syria.

Also this week, is America sending weapons into space?

Nato chiefs of staff list new security challenges.

And why more people are dying in conflict despite fewer wars being fought.

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PRESENTER THIS WEEK: Kate Gerbeau

STUDIO GUEST:    BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee

OTHER INTERVIEWS: 

Abdel Bari Atwan, author of "Islamic State - The Digital Caliphate"

BFBS reporter Victoria Smith interview with the International Institute for Strategic Studies Director of transnational threats and political risk, Nigel Inkster, as it publishes its 2015 Armed Conflict Survey.

X-37B Spacecraft  with Kenneth Chang ,Science Reporter from The New York Times,

BFBS reporter James Hirst talks to the people behind a new film giving a unique insight into the Afghan Army in Helmand .  "Tell Spring Not To Come This Year"

THURSDAYS at 4:30pm UK TIME on BFBS RADIO 2and at 6:30pm UK TIME on BFBS & UK Bases

You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and at 1830 (UK time) on BFBS (via web, App & DAB in the UK and on FM in Scotland, Colchester, Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Catterick & Blandford Forum)

 Sky Channel 0211

Alternatively listen again on the website, or download the Sitrep Podcast.

PRESENTER THIS WEEK: Kate Gerbeau

In Syria - have the Generals had enough of Assad?

Is NATO lining up it's Baltic army?

Who will be the new Chair of the Defence Select Committee?

RAF Chinooks are being prevented from helping in Nepal. Has Britain sent the wrong type of helicopter?

And some right royal opinions have aired about the Ministry of Defence.

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PRESENTER THIS WEEK: Kate Gerbeau

STUDIO GUEST:           BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee

OTHER INTERVIEWS: 

Sir Andrew Green, a former British Ambassador in Damascus.

Former Chief of the General  Staff, Lord Dannatt, discussing the possibility of Nato troops being deployed to Baltic states.

The Conservative MP Colonel Bob Stewart talking to Tim Cooper about the now vacant position of Chair of Commons Defence Select Committee.

Nepal Aid - Yurendra Basnett , Research Fellow from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI)

THURSDAYS at 4:30pm UK TIME on BFBS RADIO 2and at 6:30pm UK TIME on BFBS & UK Bases

You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and at 1830 (UK time) on BFBS (via web, App & DAB in the UK and on FM in Scotland, Colchester, Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Catterick & Blandford Forum)

 Sky Channel 0211

Alternatively listen again on the website

How Gurkha engineers and the RAF are providing aid to Nepal

Trident - why the debate goes on?

There's a new man in charge of Northern Cyprus, will that help the stalled peace talks?

And Britain's Greatest Generation with stories of VE Day and beyond.

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PRESENTER THIS WEEK: Paula Middlehurst

STUDIO GUEST:           BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee.

OTHER INTERVIEWS: 

NEPAL AID EFFORT

Ghurka Welfare Trust chairman; General Sir Peter Wall speaking to James Hirst and BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee

TRIDENT

Interview with former Chief of the Defence Staff Lord Boyce, and BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee

NEW PRESIDENT OF NORTHERN CYPRUS

Correspondent - Mike Theodoulou

BOOK REVIEW

Sue Elliot, Co-Author of "Britain's Greatest Generation”

The Mediterranean migrants crisis…did we heed the warnings?

The use of drones -  are we being told everything?

100 years on what did we learn from Gallipoli?

and…with two weeks to go…what are the main defence issues dominating the election?

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PRESENTER THIS WEEK: Kate Gerbeau

STUDIO GUESTS: BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee and former Royal Marine, Major General Julian Thompson.

OTHER INTERVIEWS: 

General Sir Nick Parker, former Commander, Land Forces speaking to BFBS reporter James Hirst ahead of the general election on defence issues.

Book review with author Chris Woods, a former BBC Panorama producer whose new book is Sudden Justice, America’s Secret Drone Wars

How the US UK Joint Exercise in The States is helping to cement the special relationship.

Russia - The Big Question, should we be frightened of Putin?

Find out about the report on Britain's nuclear deterrent that no-body wants published.

In Syria, Is President Assad still using chlorine and cyanide in attacks against his own people?

And The Election - why no one wants to talk defence.

PRESENTER THIS WEEK: Kate Gerbeau

STUDIO GUESTS: BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee,

(First broadcast on Thursday 9^th April 2015 at 4.30pm)

The Tories want to talk Trident - but what does it mean to voters?

Why is Iran sending ships to Yemen?

Where are North Korea's missing missiles?

And why 2015 is a big year for the Gurkhas...

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PRESENTER THIS WEEK: Kate Gerbeau

STUDIO GUESTS: BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee,

OTHER INTERVIEWS: 

Naval Historian and defence strategist Professor Eric Grove on Trident.

Edward Schwarck is a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute specialising in Asia Studies, discussing Japan.

Lal Shahi,(POR: Lal Shar-hee) the Manager of BFBS Gurkha Radio service down in Shorncliffe, on the Gurkha 200 Anniversary celebrations.

75th Anniversary of the Second World War's 'Battle of Narvik', Ron Cope has written a book on the battle. It's called "Attack at Dawn'

THURSDAYS at 4:30 UK TIME on BFBS RADIO 2and at 6:30 UK TIME on BFBS & UK Bases

You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and at 1830 (UK time) on BFBS (via webb, App & DAB in the UK and on FM in Scotland, Colchester, Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Catterick & Blandford Forum)

 Sky Channel 0211

Alternatively listen again on the website

(First broadcast on Thursday 26th  March 2015 at 4.30pm)
 
British troops train up Syrian Rebels – is this the start of something bigger?
 
Why are  the Saudis are bombing Yemen.
 
The voice of reason from the Vicar of Baghdad…
 
Does Argentina really fancy another pop at the Falklands?
 
And Richard the Third – were you there when they buried him?
 
 
 
 
PRESENTER THIS WEEK: Kate Gerbeau
 
STUDIO GUESTS: BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee, military strategist Professor Eric Grove.
 
OTHER INTERVIEWS: 
 
Canon Andrew White – known as the Vicar of Baghdad, is in Jerusalem.
 
Chair of House of Commons Defence committee, Rory Stewart speaking to James Hirst
 
Major General Julian Thompson, who commanded 3 Commando Brigade, during the Falklands War.
 
 

THURSDAYS at 4:30 UK TIME on BFBS RADIO 2and at 6:30 UK TIME on BFBS & UK Bases
You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and at 1830 (UK time) on BFBS (via webb, App & DAB in the UK and on FM in Scotland, Colchester, Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Catterick & Blandford Forum)
 Sky Channel 0211
Alternatively listen again on the website

(First broadcast on Thursday 19th  March 2015 at 4.30pm)

British troops are going to  Ukraine, but what exactly will they do there?

Terror in Tunisia  - why did terrorists target the fledgling democracy?

The budget – good news for veterans and military charities.

Post Traumatic Stress disorder – what happens when it’s the nurse who suffers?

And all aboard, as a new look for navy personnel is announced…

PRESENTER THIS WEEK: Kate Gerbeau

STUDIO GUESTS: BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee,

OTHER INTERVIEWS: 

Toops to Ukraine & terror attack in Tunisia, Michael Evans from The Times

The Budget – BFBS reporter James Hirst & Michael Evans from The Times

Major Lawrence Roche on Exercise Tractable on Salisbury Plain

Army Nursing officer Kerrie Pealin discussing her personal experience of Post Traumatic Stress disorder.

THURSDAYS at 4:30 UK TIME on BFBS RADIO 2and at 6:30 UK TIME on BFBS & UK Bases

You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and at 1830 (UK time) on BFBS (via webb, App & DAB in the UK and on FM in Scotland, Colchester, Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Catterick & Blandford Forum)

 Sky Channel 0211

Alternatively listen again on the website

Tony Blair speaks exclusively Sitrep’s Kate Gerbeau ahead of tomorrow’s service of commemoration for the war in Afghanistan at St Paul’s cathedral.

Plus: Why is everybody getting obsessed about 2%?

And taking the war against IS personally – why former British soldiers want some of the action.

PRESENTER THIS WEEK: Kate Gerbeau

STUDIO GUESTS: BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee,

OTHER INTERVIEWS: 

Former Prime Minister, Tony Blair interview with Kate Gerbeau

Professor Malcolm Chalmers who is RUSI’s Director of UK defence policy studies, discussing Britain’s 2% contribution of GCP to NATO.

Simon Marks reporting on Defence Secretary Michael Fallon visit to Washington this week.

Two former Army officers, Tony Harris and James Banks, debate why former soldiers are heading off to fight IS.

THURSDAYS at 4:30 UK TIME on BFBS RADIO 2and at 6:30 UK TIME on BFBS & UK Bases

You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and at 1830 (UK time) on BFBS (via webb, App & DAB in the UK and on FM in Scotland, Colchester, Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Catterick & Blandford Forum)

 Sky Channel 0211

Alternatively listen again on the website