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MOBILISE BUILDING MOMENTUM BUT 'MORE TO BE DONE'
FOREWORD: GENERAL SIR PATRICK SANDERS
THIS first edition of 2023 marks the launch of the re-modelled British Army Review, the journal of British military thought. I was pleased to be asked to write the foreword and I encourage you all to read, digest, consider and engage with the articles in this edition, and, indeed, in the subsequent editions.
The CHACR, the Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research, as part of their remit to help the British Army with the development of the conceptual component of fighting power, have the task of compiling, editing and publishing The British Army Review. I urge you to continue to engage with them not just through the journal, but through the full range of what they offer the Army, be it online or in person. It is only through exercising our minds that we can generate the intellectual edge that will ensure the British Army can out-think, as well as out-fight, our adversaries.
The events of 2022 have provided us, if we needed it, with a stark reminder about our responsibilities. This context demands a combatcredible force; fully integrated across Defence and other instruments of national power, and interoperable with allies and partners. The Army must be fit for the most acute threats and adapt at pace as those threats evolve. The Russian invasion of Ukraine on the 24th February 2022 reinforced the imperative to enhance the Army’s readiness, resilience and competitiveness and the acceleration of planned modernisation to prevent the spread of war in Europe. It necessitated a whole-Army effort to ensure the Army’s ability to fight and win wars.
I instigated Op Mobilise to address, directly, the purpose of the Army: to be ready to fight and win wars on land. This is my main effort, against a background of an Army as busy and committed as it has ever been. We will only be able to fulfil our obligation to NATO and to our government and people, if we are ready so to do. We must be trained and equipped, with a full-strength workforce that is ready and able, at the shortest of notice, to meet the nation’s challenges and commitments head on. This requires not just the right resources, but the right mindset.
The Assistant Chief of the General Staff opens this new edition of The British Army Review by arguing that, “the supposed dichotomy between mobilise and modernise is false”. He is right to do so. While the Army must mobilise to meet the immediate threat, we must do so concurrent to the modernisation required to meet the challenges of the future.
I’m therefore delighted that the section on mobilisation in this journal includes not just academic and military-practitioner articles, but also a representation from UK industry. They are an integral part of both modernisation and mobilisation. Drawing on lessons from Ukraine, we seek to accelerate and prioritise the procurement of ground-based air defence, long range fires, electronic warfare and signals intelligence, and unmanned aircraft, as well as replenish our strategic stocks and improve our operational logistics, and continue to develop our training and wargaming options in partnership with defence industry. By mobilising and modernising we will both support industry partners and further UK prosperity by creating opportunities for Defence exports around the world. If we are to be a genuinely mobilised and flexible Army, then our industry partners must be just that: partners.
At the heart of mobilisation is a culture of individual responsibility for readiness, resilience, and adaptability. This re-launched British Army Review, the journal of British military thought, provides not only a focus on mobilisation but a variety of excellent articles for the professionally curious. I encourage all ranks in the Army to read it, thoroughly, as part of your fitness programme for your conceptual component. – General Sir Patrick Sanders, Chief of the General Staff
