Defence Chiefs backing Browne

Apparently the defence chiefs are backing Des Browne, according to this article on the BBC's website.

He has done some good for the military such as get them pay rises for example.

Seems to me that is missing the point. The Admirals, Generals and Air Chiefs don't fight wars, it is the sailors soldiers, and air crew who do. It seems that many of them are deeply unhappy about the whole Iran hostage thing, and have no confidence in Des Browne. So unless the defence chiefs fancy getting in the front line themselves, perhaps they should consult more widely.

I was listening the the Today program on BBC Radio 4 this morning and caught an interview between two people, one of whom was Lewes Page, author of Lions, Donkeys and Dinosaurs, and formerly of the Royal Navy . He thought that Des Browne resigning would be pointless, but did say that Admirals could as the Navy has more than a few.

One of the curious things about our armed forces is that we still have roughly the same number of chiefs as we did in the Second World War. Clearly this costs a lot of money, because these people not only have salaries, but they also have staff. In short in needs looking at.

For more on the Iran Hostage crisis see here.