22 October 2008

New Head of the UK Army

The UK has named their new commander of the Army:
Sir David, 56, currently Commander in Chief (land) based in Salisbury, will succeed Gen Sir Richard Dannatt as Chief of the General Staff in August 2009.
He has called for an international troop surge in Afghanistan, which could involve up to 30,000 more Nato troops and as many as 5,000 UK troops when forces leave Iraq.
Britain has about 8,000 service personnel currently serving in Afghanistan, and Nato has more than 50,000 in total.
'I think militarily there is a case for more troops, they don't all have to come by any means from the UK,' said Sir David, who was the first non-American to command US forces since the Second World War.



Here, too, is some commentary about the good general:
The appointment of General Sir David Richards to be head of the army next summer will bring a breath of fresh air to the job and some new thinking. But don't expect him to sound the retreat for British forces from Kabul, Kandahar and Helmand.



By: Widow 6-7

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