Notes From a Small Military

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Chapman admitted he had never come across "this body count mentality" in the forces, slamming Harry's claim of 25 kills as "slightly ridiculous". Because the Prince was a Apache pilot who used cannons or missiles from a range some way away from the action, Chapman says there is no way he could ID or bury anyone. High level analyst/commentator/communicator for TV/radio channels on defence/terrorism/radicalisation/Middle East

Now the last time I looked over the last seven days, it was sort of plus-2 or minus-2 [degrees Celsius in Ukraine]. So, a bit of thaw, a bit of hardness. That's the stuff which will be churned up and doesn't enable you to do combined arms operations. There doesn’t seem to be any indication, in terms of any depth of Russian potential offensive that we’re seeing any intelligence indicators of that. So, I'm not quite sure it will come this month. There might be something on the 24th, of course. The mobilization of hundreds of thousands of people does not by itself give you a capability. The capability, of course, is the sum of a number of things, including your training, your equipment, your morale, your logistics. And I would suspect that the Russians will culminate, which is a military term which means they will run out of offensive power before they reach the objective of trying to capture both [Donetsk] and Luhansk, certainly before the end of March. They've not reached any of their timelines so far in their campaign. Finally, to improve transparency and accountability to the public and ensure that the robust response that the police take to misconduct is both visible and open to public scrutiny, I am consulting on holding police disciplinary hearings and appeals in public.

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In 1994 he returned to 2 PARA as a company commander for an 18 month operational tour in Belfast, prior to becoming 2IC 1 PARA and was promoted to Lt Col in March 1996. He joined the British Army in September 1980 after sponsorship at Lancaster University. He was the only army student to achieve a first class honours degree in his year. He joined 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (2 PARA) and fought in the Falklands campaign, including the Battle of Goose Green. He stayed with 2 PARA until May 1985 which included his first Northern Ireland (NI) tour in South Armagh. You can also still join BIPC events and webinars and access one-to-one support. See what's available at the British Library in St Pancras or online and in person via BIPCs in libraries across London.

Chapman: Now, of course, it doesn't make sense militarily. But for example, rather like the discussion early in March last year about a no-fly zone. From a military perspective, the advice you give is, “Can we?” Yes, we can, we could impose a no-fly zone. But politicians ask two different questions: “Should we?” and “Must we?” So, you do need a strategy bridge between political intent and military power. But you also need that between the senior military folk and the politicians. And ultimately in a democracy it's the politicians who make the decisions, not the military men. Our Family Station in St Pancras is open from 10.00-12.00 every Friday and we're continuing to welcome schools, as well as families and adult learners to our courses and access events. All our in-person and livestreamed events are going ahead. Other services

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Finally, the government has already announced a consultation on protections for police whistleblowers to ensure that concerns can be raised without fear of disciplinary action. Today’s consultation document contains further proposals, including strengthening the independent route for whistleblowing to the IPCC and allowing the IPCC to conduct investigations in a way that protects the identity of the whistleblower. Capability is the sum of a number of things, including your training, your equipment, your morale, your logistics.” Chapman: I think you will at some stage. Like all these things, we've really gone through a four-phase cycle -- and this really came from the Ukrainian defense minister -- where any weapons system, there's always a “No,” then it's “Look at the technical feasibility” in phase two, then it's phase three, “Let's train them on it.” Then phase four, “Let's give it to the Ukrainians.” Chapman: The problem for the Ukrainians is twofold. Firstly, you can't recapture your territory by remaining on the defensive. And secondly, trying to negotiate territory which you still don't occupy is very difficult from a Ukrainian perspective when I don't think the psyche of Putin is to give anything away. So, the best leverage comes from decisive military victory from a Ukrainian perspective, and that is offensive operations, not defensive operations.