IG Defence

 

Foreword

The Initiative Groups defence policy is regarded as peaceful and rational. If implemented it would see our nation adequately equipped to deal with any real national threat swiftly and decisively and with limited loss of life.  Our policy is focused towards the demands of modern warfare and 21^st century threats. Battlefield dynamics have evolved greatly over the past 20 years and we must adjust and modernise our forces to meet the demands of the predominant non conventional methods of post industrial war fighting. We must also establish a solid national defence grid that would serve to defend our shores should it be needed.

IG’S policy is centred upon five principles

• A cap placed on military spending at 4% of GDP
• End all foreign combat troop deployments
• A reduction of military staff and personnel (the Army would represent  a substantial part of these reductions. The Navy and RAF would also be investigated and redundancies would be made where appropriate)
• The reallocation of funds towards research and development.
• The forming of a new highly advanced mechanised fighting force

Current on budget defence expenditure accounted for approximately 2.4% of GDP for fiscal year 2011/12. We would not reduce this figure but would make savings by withdrawing all comabt troops and equipment from Afghanistan and ending all other overt foreign engagements that do real and sizable damage to our standing abroad

• We estimate savings from the ending of all overt operations in Afghanistan to be in excess of £2bn  annually representing approximately 5% of the current £39 billion annual budget.

Proposed reductions in troop numbers and a selloff of outdated military equipment (note; equipment logistical in nature would be exempt from this as such equipment is a valuable asset that can be deployed for civilian use) would free up large amounts of capital for reinvestment in more modern weapons systems that require little or no human support.

• Our total troop number would be cut to 150,000 men from the current 364,000 (including reservists)
• Large scale redundancies to be phased in during the first two stages and fully enacted within one year of policy adoption.

Savings from troop reductions, equipment sales and the estimated £20bn saving over the next ten years from the end to the war in Afghanistan would provide the necessary funding for vastly increased research and development projects which we consider to be an integral part of our program. With an already sizeable military industrial sector, proper investment in weapons technology and its many civilian spin offs would provide Britain’s economy with a much-needed export resource and many high skilled, high paid science and engineering jobs that our young people desperately need.

 

The forming of a New Defence Force built from our existing stock of the Army and Royal Marines, combined with the resources of the RAF, Royal Navy and SAS is the final goal of IG’s policy. We consider such a force to be crucial in order to posses the capability to project power for national defence purposes.

The New Defence force would maximise our national defence capability and eliminate waste.  An Army of highly trained professional soldiers, with Land, Sea and air divisions, utilising cutting edge and nationally produced equipment, such as UAVs and UGVs would provide unparalleled national defence capabilities, paving the way for the new low-cost, high-powered army of the future.

 

Contact : Konstance@theinitiativegroup.org