BFBS Radio Sitrep

As the Armed Forces struggle to recruit and retain the people and skills they need, a major review is recommending a radical rethink of British military life and careers.

The Haythornethwaite review found the forces need to do better at making their people feel valued.

It was commissioned by the Defence Secretary to study ‘incentivisation’ for servicemen and women.

Sitrep talks to the review’s military adviser, retired Lieutenant General Sir Nick Pope, to ask whether flexible working can work for the forces, why the internet really matters to people, and whether pay should be based on skills rather than rank.

The old military saying goes ‘winning the war is easier than winning the peace’.

Sitrep explains what the NATO summit has and hasn’t done to prepare for the end of the war, with the help of Major General Tim Cross, who led the UK’s post-war efforts in Iraq.

The summit delivered security guarantees for Ukraine from some allies, including the UK, but no timetable for NATO membership. We assess whether it was a good or bad result for Ukraine.

And what about NATO’s own defence? We take a look at the new Regional Defence Plans, and ask if the UK can deliver what it’s promising.

Ukraine’s counter offensive is being held up, in part, by densely packed Russian minefields. Former tank commander Justin Crump explains how they avoid the explosives, and clear a path through.

Professor Michael Clarke tells us what progress Ukraine has made in the last month, and why a much bigger push looks imminent.

Sitrep’s James Wharton has had exclusive access to British troops on the ground in Iraq as part of Operation Shader, he explains how their role has changed over the last 9 years.

And former army intelligence officer Louise Jones gives us a guide to the Do’s & Don’ts of social media for forces personnel.

Some Eastern European countries have called on NATO to strengthen its eastern borders following recent events in Russia. 

This week Germany said it plans to keep 4000 troops permanently in Lithuania, once the infrastructure is in place.

Germany already leads a multi-national battlegroup in Lithuania, as the UK does in Estonia, as part of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence. What could Germany’s move mean for the rest of NATO?

Sitrep talks to the former Chief of the Defence Staff, General Lord Richards, about the planned deployment and about the strength of Russian forces in Ukraine.

And finally, Sitrep hears from a Hercules pilot as the aircraft makes its last RAF flight… 

The armed forces need to do better at making their people feel valued to deliver military capability.

So says a major review of ‘incentivisation’ for servicemen and women – we explain its recommendations including flexible careers, simpler allowances, and skills based pay.

The UK is the only NATO country to recruit 16 year olds into the forces, and a UN panel has renewed its call for the age to go up to 18. We ask a member of that panel why.

And the former captain of a Royal Navy submarine explains the options and limits for undersea rescue operations.

As the Armed Forces struggle to recruit and retain the people and skills they need, a major review is recommending a radical rethink of British military life and careers.

The Haythornethwaite review found the forces need to do better at making their people feel valued.

It was commissioned by the Defence Secretary to study ‘incentivisation’ for servicemen and women.

Sitrep talks to the review’s military adviser, retired Lieutenant General Sir Nick Pope, to ask whether flexible working can work for the forces, why the internet really matters to people, and whether pay should be based on skills rather than rank.

The push to retake Ukrainian territory held by Russia has started modestly, but there is a bigger strategy behind it.

Michael Clarke explains how this is actually about stretching Russian forces, and Colin Freeman updates us from close to the front line.

Eleven British universities have been criticised for working with Iranian partners on technologies that could have military uses. Former tank-commander turned scientist Hamish de Bretton-Gordon tells us why he’s worried.

And we hear why British troops have been parking huge soviet-era air-defence vehicles in people’s gardens in Sweden.

Ukraine’s counter-offensive appears to be underway, bringing us a stream of contradictory claims and confusing headlines.

Professor Michael Clarke, and former intelligence officer Col. Philip Ingram, explain how we can make sense of it all in the midst of a disinformation war.

A top US Air Force officer has warned AI enabled drones could turn against their operators, and infrastructure, in pursuit of missions. We ask if artificial intelligence really could go rogue and threaten us all.

And Britain’s latest training effort for Ukraine – sharing support skills with their military chaplains. Chaplain General the Rev. Michael D Parker tells us why it really matters for the war effort.

9 years ago Ukraine’s northern neighbour, Belarus, vocally opposed Russia’s annexation of Crimea and was staunchly a non-nuclear state.

Now it’s host to Russian troops, and is just taking delivery of Russian tactical nuclear weapons. We explain the U-turn, and ask if it’s the start of a new ‘Soviet Union lite’?

NATO’s looking for a new leader, and the UK’s Defence Secretary is seen as one of several potential frontrunners. A former NATO insider explains how the whole process is a bit like appointing a new Pope. And we hear from Estonia – where British troops lead NATO deterrence – about the Baltic state’s latest threat assessment

With reports of an improvement in Russian battlefield tactics, that certainly could be the case. But, other intel suggests that the difficulties with enforcing discipline amongst junior ranks is actually worsening.

On this week’s Sitrep, Professor Michael Clarke will look at a new report which suggests Moscow has indeed, learned from its mistakes and is preparing a major Ukrainian offensive.

Also, as Russia changes tactics we’ll hear how high tech satellite imagery has become a vital tool for watching Russian forces in real time and discover who’s using that information.

As the RAF takes delivery of its latest...and last A400m transport plane, we’ll look at how it compares with the Hercules C130-J which it’s replacing.

And....it’s an exclusive club, but what’s it actually like being ejected from a fighter jet travelling at hundreds of miles an hour?....we’ll hear first hand from former RAF Navigator John Nichol. 

John Nichol’s life was saved by explosives attached to his seat. In 1991 he ejected from a burning RAF Tornado jet, along with pilot John Peters, saving their lives but also leading to their capture by Iraqi forces. In a new book, ‘Eject! Eject!’, John Nichol charts the history of the ejection seat and shares the stories of how it has both saved and changed thousands of people’s lives. He tells Kate Gerbeau what it’s like to be thrown out of plane at 600 miles per hour, how a terrifying 30-second manual process now happens automatically in the blink of an eye, and why ejecting is just the start of the story

It looks the Ukraine war is at a tipping point, with a counter-offensive imminent, which would take the war into a significant new phase.

Professor Michael Clarke explains how a cat-and-mouse game is already underway along hundreds of miles of front line, and do fresh western weaponry promises deliver what President Zelensky said he was waiting for?

Russia’s returned to bombarding Kyiv every 48 hours, journalist Iryna Sysak tells Sitrep what it’s like to be back living under regular attack.

Plus the war of words between the Wagner group and Russia’s ministry of Defence. Where do the mercenary army’s loyalties really lie?  

Artificial Intelligence seems to be coming of age, but some of its pioneers are warning AI could soon get out of control.

On Sitrep we explain how Britain’s armed forces are already using Artificial Intelligence, and Steve Meers from the AI Lab at DSTL tells us what he’s working on to help servicemen and women in the future.

Major Sam McEvoy of the Royal Corps of Signals was involved in the Army’s first operational deployment of AI. He tells us the genie is out of the bottle, and while AI won’t replace humans, people who use AI will replace the ones that don’t.

Professor Michael Clarke helps us understand the military up and downsides of AI, and an adviser to the Ministry of Defence talks us through the ethical dilemmas of Artificial Intelligence. 

The coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla includes the UK Armed Forces’ biggest ceremony for 70 years.

On Sitrep we look at the plans, the rehearsals, and hear from a veteran of the Grenadier Guards about the kind of personal preparations required of 7000 servicemen and women.

Russia has accused Ukraine of attempting to assassinate President Putin in a small-drone

strike on the Kremlin. Ukraine firmly denies any part.

Professor Michael Clarke explains why it would be ‘monumentally stupid’ were Ukraine to have been involved in this ‘firework stunt’.

Sitrep hears from someone who played a key part in the journey of King Charles III to his role as commander in chief of the UK’s armed forces.

Most of the King’s five years as a serviceman were spent as a pilot, but before he stepped into uniform to fly jets and helicopters he learned to fly a twin-seat single-propellor Chipmunk plane.

His instructor was a young Flight Lieutenant, Philip Pinney, who tells James Wharton his story training future King to fly, preparing Charles for hands on military service.

Sitrep gets the inside stories from some of the UK’s biggest military decisions of recent years, as we examine the art and politics of command.

Former Chief of the Defence Staff, General Lord Richards, explains how he once told David Cameron ‘a term in the cadet force doesn’t qualify you to do my job’, but still had a good working relationship with the PM.

And former Defence Secretary, Sir Michael Fallon, reveals how at the start of Operation Shader he had to personally authorise air-strikes, including decisions on which weapons would be used.

Kate Gerbeau also talk to Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman about his book “Command” which analyses the politics of war, and Professor Michael Clarke explains how those lessons apply to military operations happening right now.

Russia has sent a fleet of ships, pretending to be fishing trawlers, to size up our wind farms and power cables for possible attacks according to a new documentary.

Professor Michael Clarke explains how the UK is already ramping up its military capabilities to track and deter this kind of Russian activity.

An Iraq veteran gives us his verdict on the new book ‘How To Fight a War’ – and its author Dr Mike Martin explains why he thinks lethal violence is just communication your enemy can’t ignore. 

And we scroll through the new interactive map which shows where British forces are most busy in Europe, and the different defence ties we have with our near neighbours.

Do tanks trump technology? Do missiles matter more than manpower? And can the better thinker beat the stronger fighter?

Dr Mike Martin’s new book ‘How To Fight A War’ argues that psychology is the key, and that war is as at least as much a conversation as it is a physical battle.

The head of the Army, General Sir Patrick Sanders, has called the book ‘essential reading’.

Dr Martin explains his key principles which could decide victory, or defeat, and former soldier James Wharton gives us his thoughts on whether it all stacks up, based on his experiences of fighting in Iraq.

Sitrep looks behind the headlines of a huge leak of top secret US documents, including on suggesting 50 British special forces troops have been on the ground in Ukraine.

Professor Michael Clarke will assess the damage from the leaks, and explain the official ‘health warnings’ on what’s been revealed.

Ukraine doesn’t just want western fighter jets, it also wants veteran fighter pilots to join its fight. Decorated US Lt Colonel Dan ‘Two Dogs’ Hampton tells us why he wants to sign up.

And we assess America’s new military foothold in Asia, because ‘China has scared the living daylights’ out of the Philippines.

Air Marshal Richard Knighton has been named as the new Chief of Air Staff. We talk to one of his predecessors, Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford, about what the job involves, the challenges ahead, and what AM Knighton’s leadership will mean for the men and women of the RAF.

The NATO/Russia border has just doubled in length as Finland joins the alliance. Will it be a burden or heavy lifter in NATO, and why is Britain already seen as Finland’s mentor?

And Royal Marines have, very quietly, deployed on exercise in South Korea for the first time since the war there. We explain why the country is building up military ties with Britain and Europe.