War with Russia

“Please tell me this is this good news and that someone who’s less of a bastard will take over.”

“Maybe not,” replied Allenby. “We’ve been picking up that his likely successor is even more of a hardline nationalist, which is a real worry. He’s been ranting about enemies within and the stab in the back; the need to take revenge on NATO for the Russian defeat and the fact that they had to return the Baltics to get Kaliningrad and their missiles back.”

Morland was thoughtful. “Yes, I can see how that must have hurt Russian pride.”

“Well, that was the NATO plan.”

“I hear that you might have had something…”

“Enough, Tom. You know I can’t go into any of that. Anyway, you’ve certainly been through the mill. You were lucky to get away with it after the President put that Spetsnaz guy on your trail.”

“Yeah, so you told us at GCHQ.”

“Did you know he set up the ambush at Pravdinsk?” said Allenby.

“I didn’t, but I can’t say I’m surprised. I saw him order the snipers to open fire on those Russian girls in Riga and then, there he was, leading the camp attack in Latvia. It seemed a pretty massive coincidence and I began to wonder if he had been told to track us down. When I saw the compound lights had gone out, I suspected we might be walking into a trap, but it was far too late to back out by then. Tell me. Was he killed in the air strike?”

“We don’t know. It’s strange. We’ve not picked up anything on him at all, although we were able to track pretty much everything else. It’s as if the Russians are deliberately not saying anything to cover his tracks.”

The atmosphere chilled slightly, as they both contemplated the possible consequences of that.

Closing the newspaper and with it the subject, Allenby turned the conversation back to Morland. “What is the Army going to do with you?”

“The CO hasn’t told me what he wants me to do next. I’ve been hanging around barracks, trying to keep busy. To be honest, I’m not sure about staying in the Army. I’ve loved my time, but I guess I’ve already had more than my share of excitement. The problem as I see it is that, with these endless cuts, there isn’t much of a future any more for people like me.”

“That bad?”

“Yes, that bad. Did you know that Sergeant Wild has PVR’d—resigned—and with him going, Archer and Watson are talking about following him into civvie street. It’s not as if I have any arguments to stop them.”

“You don’t think the politicians will have learned from their lucky escape this time… Maybe improve things?”

“Come on, Nicola! Not a chance of it,” Morland said bitterly. “There’ll be lots of eye-catching, big-ticket items. Like lashing out on money for Special Forces, or jam-tomorrow equipment purchases that will make for great headlines. But precious little of what really matters. What’s needed is for the powers-that-be to recognize the need to put some genuine muscle back on the bones from where it’s already been hacked away. Don’t tell me that the Baltics were won back by air strikes, cyber and smart bombs alone.

“Sure, they were essential props. But without the right people doing the right things at the right time, shiny toys will only get you so far. And the unavoidable fact is that the Russians only had a go at the Baltics in the first place because the President reckoned our weakness gave him that opportunity on a plate. Putting that right is going to cost real money and I just can’t see it happening. As any politician will tell you, there’s no votes these days in spending money on defense. Even after what so nearly happened. That simple.

“What’s more, the political leadership needs to understand that it’s all about people. Once you get rid of well-trained professionals, you can’t just wave your wand and expect them to reappear as if by magic, just because you need them again. Our forces are as formidable as they are because of our training. Day in day out, year in year out. Getting better at our jobs all the time. Just as in any line of work. But you can’t be a banker or a plumber and a reservist and train your heart out for a few weeks every year and then, come the crisis, expect to put your uniform on and hope to be a fraction as good as a professional. It just doesn’t work like that, however much the politicians wish it did and tell us it can. In battle you need to survive the first encounter and to do that you need to be a highly trained professional, who is part of a highly skilled team.

“History is full of ill-trained armies that broke when they hit smaller bands of professionals who knew their trade and had the right kit. Britain has understood that for the last few centuries and look where it took us… but no longer, it seems. Trouble is, and I’m sorry if I’m sounding too much the cynic, there’s no headlines to be had in well-motivated and well-supported soldiers just quietly getting on with their jobs…” Morland realized his voice had risen in agitation at what he saw as the betrayal of everything he believed in when he had joined the Army.