Internal warfare risks tearing the military apart

Inter-service rivalry is the last thing the new CDS needs as he seeks to reform the Armed Forces

Mourning the death of an esteemed colleague is hardly the best way to commence your tenure as the new head of Britain’s Armed Forces. But then Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, who takes over as Chief of the Defence Staff next month, is well aware of the many challenges he will face as the British military undergoes its most radical overhaul since the end of the Cold War.

The tragic death of Major General Matthew Holmes, the highly decorated Royal Marine officer whose funeral took place at Winchester Cathedral yesterday, certainly brings into sharp focus the difficulties Sir Tony is likely to encounter as he seeks to deliver the comprehensive reform agenda for the military set out in the Government’s Integrated Review, which was published earlier this year.

The aim of this ambitious programme is to enable the UK to defend itself against the rapidly changing environment of the modern battlefield, whether it is responding to cyber attacks or protecting satellites from threats posed by hostile states.

To achieve this ambitious goal, traditional war-fighting units, such as those employed during the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, are undergoing a significant overhaul to make them better equipped to handle future threats.

Sir Tony’s appointment therefore owes much to his ability to grasp the challenges that lie ahead, a quality that was much in evidence in the role he played in securing the controversial Aukus deal for Britain and the US to equip Australia with a new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.

Sir Tony’s willingness to exploit new opportunities certainly helped him secure the top military job in the face of stiff opposition from other candidates, as it ultimately persuaded Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Prime Minister Boris Johnson that he was the best man to establish, as Sir Tony himself put it, “a global force delivering for Global Britain”.

Given the emphasis the Government has placed on securing new global trade ties, it makes sense that a Royal Navy officer should assume responsibility for protecting the nation’s prosperity, with the vast majority of goods being shipped on the high seas.

Mr Johnson, who is a keen advocate of the Navy’s two new 65,000-ton Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, has spoken enthusiastically about restoring Britain’s position as “the foremost naval power in Europe”, a role he sees as essential with the opening of new trade routes, especially with the “tilt” towards the Indo-pacific region envisioned by the Integrated Review.

Nevertheless, the new military chief ’s evident enthusiasm for change, which has earned him the nickname “Radical Radakin”, is not universally shared by his colleagues, and is said to have been the cause of the bitter falling-out between the late Maj Gen Holmes and his former Navy boss.

As part of the wholesale reorganisation of the Senior Service that has been taking place during Sir Tony’s tenure as First Sea Lord, the Navy has been seeking to redefine its relationship with the Royal Marines.

During the past two decades the Marines have won many accolades for their heroism in the predominantly land-based conflicts of Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria, where they have suffered significant casualties, while the Navy has almost been the forgotten service as its opportunities for frontline action were limited.

For the wars of the future, though, the Navy plans to have a more integrated force, one where it exerts closer control over the Marines as it develops the Future Commando Force concept. But Sir Tony’s plans to make the post of Commandant General, the professional head of the Royal Marines, a part-time role has attracted strong criticism from several distinguished officers, including General Sir Gordon Messenger, who served as vice chief of the defence staff from 2016-19 and was one of several high-ranking former Marines who wrote to Sir Tony last January laying out their concerns.

Maj Gen Holmes also fiercely resisted the change while he was in charge of the Marines, with the result that he was removed after two years, which has been seen as a factor in his decision to take his own life. Relations between the Navy and Marines have not been helped by accusations from Navy sources that former Marines – known as the “junta” in Navy circles – are “using this tragic event to their own ends”.

This unhappy state of affairs is hardly the welcome Sir Tony needs as he prepares to assume his new responsibilities, and the ill feeling between the Navy and Marines needs to be resolved quickly in the interests of the nation’s military preparedness.

With Chinese warplanes regularly violating Taiwanese air space, and Russian President Vladimir Putin holding Europe to ransom over its energy supplies, the global threat environment becomes more menacing by the day.

To defend Britain’s interests, our Armed Forces need to be at the top of their game, not consumed by bitter inter-service rivalries.