YOU AND THE RAF Top Level Messages
Top Level Messages are unclassified monthly statements issued by the senior staffs of the MoD which define the Government’s stance on current and emerging policy. They provide an insight the Government’s and therefore the RAF’s, priorities. Here we have reduced them to a very brief format of the top and supporting lines relevant to the RAF only, but think they are worth a scan.
OPERATIONS AFGHANISTAN British forces are in Afghanistan for one overriding reason: to protect our national security by helping the Afghans take control of theirs. This means building up the capability of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) so that they can prevent Afghanistan from ever again becoming a safe-haven for international terrorists who seek to systematically destroy our way of life. The UK Government does not seek a perfect Afghanistan, but rather a stable Afghanistan that is able to manage its own security effectively.
The UK is part of a UN-mandated, NATO-led international mission in Afghanistan supported actively by 49 countries. The UK’s force level in Afghanistan has reduced from 9,000 at the end of 2012 to 7,900 at the end of May.
LIBYA On 19 June, the Prime Minister informed Parliament of the Lough Erne G8 summit agreement to train more than 7,000 troops to help the Libyan Government disarm and integrate militias and improve security and stability of the country.
As part of this effort, the UK has offered to bring up to 2,000 Libyan Armed Forces personnel into the country in smaller groups to be trained by British Armed Forces personnel in basic infantry skills and junior leadership training at the Bassingbourn Barracks in Cambridgeshire. The Libyan Government has agreed to pay for this training.
The Government firmly believes that a stable, open and democratic Libya contributing to wider regional stability and security is in the UK’s interest.
MALI The UK is concerned about the situation in Mali and the threat that violent extremist groups in the north pose to the citizens of Mali, to stability in north and west Africa and to international security.
22 Envoy Winter 2013
At the start of the mission in Jan 13 the UK provided support to French and African operations with strategic air lift and surveillance; these commitments ended in April and May respectively in line with the reduction of French combat operations.
The UK supports an effective, inclusive and sustainable political process that leads towards elections and the restoration of full democratic rule in Mali.
TRANSFORMING DEFENCE
Defence must adapt to stay ahead, configure capabilities to address tomorrow’s threats, build more versatile and agile forces for the future, and ensure our people have what they need to do what we ask of them. The MoD is making this happen by Transforming Defence and will deliver:
• Battle-winning Armed Forces, smaller than before but able to reach across the world and operate across the spectrum from high- intensity combat to enduring stabilisation activity, who work with each other and with allies, equipped and trained for their task,
their families well supported, trusted to shape their own future and manage their own resources within Defence;
• A smaller, more professional Ministry of Defence that supports Ministers in setting clear priorities for the outputs required of the Armed Forces and the Department, and holding them to account for meeting them; supports the Armed Forces in delivering what they are tasked to do; and reports honestly and openly to Parliament and the public;
• A hard-headed approach to what we can afford, now and in the future, getting the most value we can from each pound of taxpayers’ money.
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