Royal Navy Division

I have been contributing to this site for a little while now and as such have noticed the poster on the Home page for the Royal Navy Division.

In light of overstretch in Afghanistan and Iraq and elsewhere, how long do you think it will be before the MOD decides to re-introduce such a regiment into the conflict, comprising of RN and RNR..?

Next step general call up!

 

how long?? Never the RN is undermanned as it is, unless they take us oldies back into shore based jobs to release the younger generation

 

Matbe we should get the Poster removed just in case some "genius" at MOD Navy decides to drop something into the Ministry's suggestion box!!....and now that the Mighty Tom Watson has left, who will fight the Navy's corner...(can you taste the sarcasm?)

 

I was visiting a WW1 cemetery last weekend near Ieper (Ypres) at a place called Irish Farm. Apart from the overwhelming sense of loss of so many 18 and 19 year olds, from all over the Commonwealth - Oz, NZ, South Africa, Fiji, Jamaica and some places I had never heard of, I was surprised to see 4 headstones for RN personnel. Of course, they were members of the RN division.

It was a very poignant experience, but what struck me most was the sheer waste of a generation, at the behest of incompetent leaders. Ring any bells......?

 

Yep, My dads brother is buried near Bayuex, I took him across a few years back, he was a casualty in 1944, but just walking around those cemetaries is such a sad and sobering experience with thousands of white headstones line after line.

OK the incompetence wasn't there as much, but the sense of loss is still as strong.

Sadly once again we are in the "Lions led by donkeys" scenario i fear (politically if not militarily)

 

I was doing a weekend shoot recently and the OIC who happened to be present was chatting about the future of the branch i.e. GSSR which is essentially gun carrying in varying forms and continually kept referring to the branch as a battlion like, size, organisation so I think it may be in someones In tray for consideration in the Ivory Tower already! and if it isnt I dont think it will be much longer...lets face it the RAF have the RAF Regiment which works well!!

 

Trouble is, it is starting to sound like the medievil "scraping together" of a militia, than a strategic defence plan, particularly in light of regimental reductions in the army.....next thing after the RN Division will be HM Prison Punishment Battalions......that might not be such a bad idea....minefield clearance ...Hellmand province....certainly help with prison costs and population!

 

A recent Guardian cartoon (and yes, I know they're usually anti-military!).

 

The RN has the Royal Marines, which also works rather well!

 

Just tell them they'll get a chunky watch at the end of it and they'll be happy!

 

The Naval Division served in quite a few battles in the 1st World War:

Naval Division

Pretty impressive.

Nearly 50 000 casualties by the end of the war.

 

come_the_day wrote: The RN has the Royal Marines, which also works rather well!

Exactly why we don't need an RN Division. I agree with many of the remarks made above which suggest that we're too short handed as it is.

SF