Christopher McRobbie

Dare to be honest and fear no labour. #AsOne believer, proud member of the #JockStrong gang and full time carer/walker for master Bruce

[The Herald @heraldscotland]

The Boston Globe has dedicated a full page in today's edition to the Tartan Army 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🇺🇸

The letter in Boston's largest newspaper reads: "Dear Tartan Army,

"You came for the World Cup, but gave us something more.

"For a week, you turned train stations into singalongs, Fenway into a football ground, and an ordinary June into something we'll be talking about for years.

"Boston has hosted championships, parades, and celebrations of every kind. But we've never hosted guests quite like you all.

"Thank you for the laughter, the bagpipes and the memories. The World Cup will move on. So will the songs, but we'll never forget the joy you brought to our city."

𝘐𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 @SPARScotland

𝘐𝘔𝘈𝘎𝘌: 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵

[Ben Volin @BenVolin]

In today’s @BostonGlobe

[adidas Scotland @adidasUK]

You can be born anywhere.
That’s chance.
The rest is… choice.
Choose the sun in Naples
and the rain in Glasgow.
Choose heading to a World Cup.
Choose tattie scones on a Tuesday
and pizza on a Wednesday.
Ignore everyone telling you it’s easier the other way
and embrace being the underdog.
Choose a skipper that’s always on duty.
Choose getting absolutely written off
and getting up and showing them anyway.
You can’t decide where you’re born.
But you can decide who you stand with.

CHOOSE SCOTLAND 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[1. FC Cologne @fckoeln_en]

Here, @Koeln, give us a hand please?

[Nicholas Drummond @nicholadrummond]

THE BRITISH ARMY AND THE DIP 🧵
✅The British Army aspires to field a NATO reserve corps with two deployable divisions. Each division will have 2 or 3 brigades or a total of around 20,000 troops. For an army of 73,000 this structure is entirely achievable. Within a NATO context such a contribution is credible / respectable.
✅ The British Army ideally needs another 7,000 regular troops and 10,000 additional reserves. Returning to the 2010 headcount cap of 82,500 is highly desirable, because it would allow sustainable unit rotations. At an average cost of £60K per regular soldier per annum and £10K per reservist, extra headcount would require an additional £520 million per year.
✅ The two divisions with 4 to 6 brigades would generate 4 combat units per brigades or 24 primary battalion sized groupings. Each division needs artillery, engineers, signal / intelligence, REME / logistics, and medical units to support them. There is nothing unreasonable about wanting this level of capability. Every other NATO member in Europe plans to be similarly configured. Ultimately, however. the issue is not force generation but ensuring the units we do have are properly equipped.
✅ The Army’s most critical capability gap is in artillery. It’s acquiring 72 Boxer RCH155 - enough for 4 regiments. It has 2 GMLRS regiments, but needs an additional 2-4. In particular, it needs to restore munitions stockpiles. This requirement implies an extra £1.7 billion beyond the £3 billion already allocated.
✅ In drone saturated battlefield environments, the Army needs to invest in air defence on an unprecedented scale to regain freedom of manoeuvre. This requires £2 billion in addition to the £800 million already allocated.
✅ The Army’s Bowman communications system is obsolete. Replacing this with a fully digitised architecture is already budgeted at £7 billion, but nothing has yet been approved or delivered. Without this investment, the much vaunted kill chain is only an aspiration.
✅ UAS, tactical cruise missiles, loitering munitions, and other aerial drones for surveillance and strike roles are here to stay. They need to be embedded across the force. That’s another £2 billion.
✅ Finally, another significant gap is combat vehicles to get to the fight and to manoeuvre. Under present plans, it is acquiring 623 Boxers, 148 Challenger 3, 589 Ajax, and 1,100 protected mobility vehicles. That’s around 2,460 vehicles. It needs twice this amount or an extra £10 billion.

So, those are the Army’s most important priorities. A lot of what I have listed is already in the Equipment Plan. But it needs around £18 billion in additional funding over 9 years to deliver all this — that’s £2 billion per annum over current funding.

Clearly, the Army is not going to get anything like the extra funding I have described, but now you know the scale of investment needed to deliver a minimum viable contribution to NATO.

The need for this level of funding is what happens when you stop investing in defence for 30 years.

[adidas Scotland @adidasUK]

CHOOSE SCOTLAND 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏆

@ScotlandNT @LewisCapaldi

[SPFL Mediawatch @SPFLWatch]

Tennent’s Lager have just released their World Cup advert today.

Feels like the hype train is really coming together.

[𝐃𝐈𝐆𝐁 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 @_DIGB]

This is fucking sensational 👏

[IRN-BRU @irnbru]

Made it to the big one

[Scotland National Team @ScotlandNT]

We. Are. There.

#FIFAWorldCup | @FIFAWorldCup

[Johnny Mercer @JohnnyMercerUK]

It’s been a pretty lonely fight over the years. So I’m pleased many more people far more important than me are involved now.

Lots divides the veterans community - and the community as a whole is held back by that division. Let’s see if this one issue can unite everybody and achieve change in the Government’s position for those brave veterans of Northern Ireland.

This is not a political intervention - it is moral. Prosecuting veterans on the whim of political tides is morally wrong and we should all stand against it.

[The SCOTS @The_SCOTS]

Join us for an evening of tradition, music, and remembrance at Mansion House, London on Tuesday 4 November.

🎟️ Book your table or donate now - https://t.co/TnQ4w6k82u

[Christopher McRobbie @McrobbieChris]

Take a bow 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[IRN-BRU @irnbru]

The world needs to know... IRN-BRU is not a soft drink. #IRNBRU #MadeInScotlandFromGirders

[Christopher McRobbie @McrobbieChris]

Birthday presents for 2025 sorted unless @irnbru starts selling their own versions!

[5th SFAB @5thSFAB]

Action-packed moments from the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center 25-01🌴

Lance Cpl. Bailie Doak navigates escape routes, Lance Cpl. Mark Main scans the skies for drones, and Lance Cpl. Luke Gregory secures positions showcasing the skills of @3SCOTS_CO 🇬🇧💪
@3SCOTS_CO

[5th SFAB @5thSFAB]

3SCOTS lead the charge at JPMRC 25-01

The 3rd Royal Regiment of Scotland is leading the way alongside the Indonesian Army, demonstrating the strength of our international partnerships.

@USARPAC @3SCOTS_CO

[Tancredi Palmeri @tancredipalmeri]

Luckily I don’t care about Great Britain.

Because otherwise, watching the BBC montage at the end of #Paris2024 , I would be rolling on the floor in tears.

Bullshit.
I am sobbing on the sofa as the emotional wanker I am.

What a majestic piece of art

[Sky News @SkyNews]

General Sir Patrick Sanders bids farewell to British army soldiers in video message.

https://t.co/u3KP8ykvRj

[IRN-BRU @irnbru]

1% of the time, we win, every time #OptimismBackInScotland

[NATO @NATO]

📜✍️ 75 years ago, 12 countries united to guarantee each other’s freedom and security. These founding members signed the North Atlantic Treaty, and NATO was born.

Today, 32 Allies stood together as the Treaty was displayed at NATO HQ for the first time in history

#1NATO75years