The British armed forces have a mixed attitude to domestic work. It is not what those on the ground signed up for
When the state is in trouble, the armed forces step in—and they are being called upon increasingly often. According to the Ministry of Defence, there were 359 instances of civilian aid last year and there have been 237 in the year to date. That is up from 120 or so in the four previous years and fewer than 80 in 2015. Numbers are not available further back, but are expected to have been lower.
Things began to change under David Cameron, prime minister from 2010 to 2016. In 2012 troops provided security at the Olympics after a private contractor,, slipped up. When water levels rose a few years later, Mr Cameron’s attitude was: “We’re going to be dealing with some pretty horrendous floods. Why the hell are soldiers still sitting in barracks?” recalls Air Marshal Stringer. Local-authority budgets fell by a fifth in real terms in the decade to 2020.
More sophisticated work often reflected deficiencies elsewhere. Logistics specialists built considerable expertise in Iraq and Afghanistan, and were well-suited to sorting out problems insupply chains, for instance. Meanwhile resilience forums, which were supposed to co-ordinate local responses, turned out to be of wildly varying quality. At least 300 military planners were sent to government departments and local authorities to help.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
James Corden 'offered £15m deal' for US TV to keep him as Late Late Show hostThe star looks set to become the highest paid British TV personality after relocating to the United States back in 2015 to front his popular late night talk show series
Read more »
Colombia's most-wanted drug lord 'Otoniel' capturedColombia had offered a reward of up to about $800,000 (3 billion pesos) for information concerning Otoniel's whereabouts, while the US government had put up a reward of $5 million for help locating him.
Read more »
Opinion | The class divide at the heart of the British pummeling of Meghan MarkleMeghan Markle is once again in hot water with the British tabloid press for daring to — shock, horror — take a stand for paid parental leave in the United States.
Read more »
What's inside Wes Anderson's latest curio 'The French Dispatch'?Wes Anderson's new magazine-style anthology film, plus 'Becoming Cousteau,' 'The Harder They Fall' and more.
Read more »