UK Defence cuts - Quick quiz

Two numbers

189,560

85,730

Which do you think is the number of Active UK Armed Forces personnel and which is the number of Civil Servants employed at the Ministry of Defence,

Media reports suggest that:

• The British Army has more Generals than active Challenger Tanks
• The Royal Navy has more Admirals (Full, Rear and Vice) than commissioned ships

In cuts that have been made to address the straitened financial situation in which the UK now finds itself, which is exacerbated by financial skullduggery by the previous administration, where do you think that the cuts are falling hardest?

• On front line personnel 
• On support personnel 
• On the officer class 
• On MOD civil servants

Talking of the previous administration, please recall that these are the same people who sent troops into combat zones, ill and under-equipped having committed forces on dubious grounds.

Defence cuts? 

• Bring our troops home and let them stay home unless we need them to go somewhere to defend British interests.  Back from Afghanistan, Cyprus, Germany anywhere that isn't a British Overseas Territory (so not the Falklands)
• Make reductions first, in the MOD among the civil servants - instead of 1 Active military person to 0.45 Civil Servants, bring this down to 1:0.2 (so reduce civil servant numbers by 48,000)
• Reduce the number of senior officers, Admirals, Generals, Air Chief Marshall and such ranks - far less 'chiefs' allows for better equipped and managed 'indians'

The first number above is current armed forces personnel.  The second number is the number of civil servants employed at the MOD.  Does anybody think we would have such a ratio if we were engaged in a direct shooting war?