andrew corbett

Senior lecturer in Defence Studies at King’s College London. My views are my own, but I might retweet folk with whom I don’t agree.

[Alex Luck @AlexLuck9]

Briggs speculates that the three boats for RAN have to be Virginia Blk III, based on his assertion that USN will not let go of newer Blk IV.

Such a change would carry far bigger implications than passing on the newer Blk VII. But evidence remains absent. https://t.co/rZkb9vi2AK

[andrew corbett @CorbettAndy]

@BrandonWarmke Same with strategy; most syllabus are the study of the thoughts of dead middle aged white men (and Sun Tsu). They are history modules. Few study strategy; how to wield ways and means to meet ends in today’s climate.

[andrew corbett @CorbettAndy]

@Anglo_Japan45 @BO3673 I’ve worked with a lot of fantastic American folk, but the dumb ones really are dum.

[andrew corbett @CorbettAndy]

@BO3673 @ThresherKing Do you think he meant Malvinas?

[Natasha Clark @NatashaC]

Bridget Philipson pretting seething in response to Nigel Farage at PMQs today, speaking to @AndrewMarr9 @lbc

"I cannot imagine how brave and how difficult it must have been for Henry's father to stand there and make that plea. And then when you see Nigel Farage responding in a way that he refuses to condemn the violence, he almost seems to enjoy it. It's really disturbing.

"I hope what is coming from Nigel Farage is a condemnation of the thugs that we saw out on the street. Those mobs throwing wheelie bins at police officers, attacking police officers, causing disruption to people's homes. It is sickening. And he really seems to enjoy, he seems to feed off people's grief and their suffering. And even when the family have said just not to do it, he can't help himself. And I think when someone shows you who they are, you've really got to believe it."

[Jim Stewartson, Decelerationist 🇨🇦🇺🇦🇺🇸 @jimstewartson]

TL;DR: He’s going to keep bullshitting his way to IPO.

This entire industry is based on an illusion. It deliberately mistakes a simulation of intelligence for intelligence itself.

Chatbots are a useful search feature, not a revolution.

It’s now a race for exit liquidity.

[Steven Pifer @steven_pifer]

Why would Rubio say something like this?

SecState's job is not to needlessly antagonize allies.

[Bev Jackson @BevJacksonAuth]

What an unedifying spectacle it was to see MPs speaking out against the EHRC Code of Practice - displaying embarrassing ignorance of the law. One MP even suggested that the CoP meant some people could no longer get married! 🤣

Worse than their ignorance is their dishonesty as to their real intentions - to have another run at amending the law to introduce Gender Self-ID in the UK.

They are welcome to try: they can consult Nicola Sturgeon for advice. But at least they should spell out their intentions instead of making a song and dance about the Code of Practice.

Another enraging aspect of the MPs’ brain-dead performances was their refusal to say the word “lesbian.” Not a single mention of the Lesbian Intervenors who helped to reaffirm the sex-based rights of gays and lesbians.

So it is a relief to see @soniasodha explain these matters to the legally, intellectually, politically - yes, and ethically - challenged members of parliament whose only version of courage is the courage to make fools of themselves in public.

[Hans Huygens 🇺🇦 @Eurohans]

‘The French response’ 😘

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

You can all see that Ukraine’s positions on the frontline are strong and that we are gradually taking back occupied territory. In May, Russia achieved almost no meaningful results on the battlefield. And that matters.

Please also pay attention to Russia's losses. They're losing 30,000 to 35,000 troops every month. And the nature of those losses changed in the past year: around 63% killed and another 37% seriously wounded. These are massive irreversible losses.

Even for Russia, this is becoming a serious problem, because the overall size of its occupation forces is shrinking.

From an address to the participants of the NATO–Ukraine Council meeting in Kyiv (2/5).

[Christopher Ramsay🌻 🇮🇪 🇺🇦 🇪🇺🇬🇱 @IOTEChris]

@OJoelsen We've seen that shape before...

[Aboo Hafsah @AbuHafsah1]

Why would a Sikh man be the face of Islam?

[Anna Turley MP @annaturley]

Farage could have been in Parliament today, doing his job, and ask any question he wanted of the Home Secretary about the tragic Henry Novak case.
Where was he?
Instead he hides behind pre-recorded rage-bait videos. Coward.

[John Foreman CBE @John_ForemanCBE]

‘This would be underpinned by a doctrine of ‘active deterrence’ replacing the conventional philosophy of deterrence by punishment’ 🧐

Kruger, as many do, confusing deterrence (all means, all the time to shape an adversary’s risk-reward calculation) with The Deterrent

[David Blagden @blagden_david]

“This British Army of the Dniepr would be a century-defining commitment like the British Army of the Rhine... We don’t have the troop numbers available to fulfil that promise easily… I’m not sure it’s been digested yet what a profound commitment that is”

Too right.

1/3

[olexander scherba🇺🇦 @olex_scherba]

Putin speaking at today’s St Petersburg Economic Forum….

[andrew corbett @CorbettAndy]

@SariArhoHavren

[Gary Holman @GaryGaryholman]

Today we remember Surgeon Captain Rick Jolly OBE RN, the Royal Navy doctor who became one of the most respected medical officers in British military history and the only serviceman from the Falklands War to be decorated by both Britain and Argentina.

Richard Tadeusz “Rick” Jolly was born in Hong Kong in 1946 to Polish parents who had endured Japanese internment during the Second World War.

Educated at Stonyhurst College, he went on to study medicine at St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College in London, qualifying as a doctor in 1969. After working as a junior doctor, he joined the Royal Navy in 1972, beginning a career that would eventually place him at the centre of one of Britain’s most famous military campaigns.

During his naval service, Jolly served with the Royal Marines, the Fleet Air Arm and in a variety of operational and training appointments. One of his most important pre-war roles was as Medical Officer to 42 Commando Royal Marines, gaining invaluable experience in field medicine and operational deployments.

By 1982 he was serving as the Senior Medical Officer of 3 Commando Brigade, responsible for the medical support of thousands of Royal Marines and soldiers deployed to the South Atlantic.

During the Falklands War, Jolly established and commanded the field hospital at Ajax Bay, housed inside a disused refrigeration plant overlooking San Carlos Water. The hospital quickly became known as the “Red and Green Life Machine”, named after the colours of the Royal Marines and Army personnel serving there. Working under constant pressure, often with limited supplies and under the threat of Argentine air attack, Jolly and his team treated more than 1,000 casualties, including around 300 Argentine wounded.

Remarkably, of the 580 British battle casualties who reached Ajax Bay alive, only three later died and none died under Jolly’s direct care. Friend and foe alike received the same treatment, earning the respect of everyone who passed through the hospital.

For his actions during the campaign, Rick Jolly was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). Years later, the Argentine government learned just how many of their soldiers had survived because of the work carried out at Ajax Bay.

In 1999, they awarded him the Order of May, one of Argentina’s highest honours. This made him the only veteran of the Falklands War to be officially decorated by both sides of the conflict. When he sought permission from Queen Elizabeth II to wear the Argentine medal, she personally approved the request.

Jolly remained in the Royal Navy until 1996, retiring as a Surgeon Captain after 24 years of service. In retirement he became a passionate advocate for veterans, helping to found the South Atlantic Medal Association and campaigning for greater recognition of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among former servicemen and women. He also wrote several books, including The Red and Green Life Machine, which remains one of the most important first-hand accounts of medical operations during the Falklands War.

Surgeon Captain Rick Jolly died on 13 January 2018 at the age of 71. His legacy endures not only through the hundreds of lives he helped save but through the example he set of professionalism, courage and humanity in war.

In a conflict defined by bravery on land, sea and air, Rick Jolly proved that sometimes the greatest act of service is not taking life but preserving it.

Courtesy of FactSlap

Borrowed from Facebook.

[andrew corbett @CorbettAndy]

@Dr_TheHistories @SarahLudford How did they get the direction of travel so precise over a distance so much further than line of sight?

[Tom Nichols @RadioFreeTom]

You mean former Senator Hagel, former chair of the PIAB, former member of the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Select Committee on Intelligence?
No. Why? Did he have a chip on his shoulder about his time in the military and I missed it? (Hegseth admits he does.)