The British Army is working globally, with commitments stretching from Eastern Europe to the Falkland Islands. Our exercise and training programme, too, is continuing apace.
However, we can expect no let up and the coming months are going to be a critical period – not least because, come this time in 2027, we must have doubled our fighting power as per the mandate laid down by the Chief of the General Staff, Gen Sir Roly Walker.
We will then need to maintain our momentum to fulfil the second part of his directive – to treble it by the end of the decade.
There are a couple of points I’ll raise on this front.
The first is that we must continue to focus on our own part in achieving these aims – in short, doing our job to the very best of our ability.
While it is healthy for us all to have a professional curiosity about the wider world, it is important that we don’t get distracted, worried or disheartened by events over which we have no control.
Let us instead ensure that we are doing our soldiering well, mastering our tradecraft, building strong teams and improving our organisation.
It is also important we embrace new technology as it comes online and provide feedback throughout the chain of command to ensure it delivers what we need.
We return here to the word ‘techcraft’, which I’ve mentioned before. It is all about the link between the technologists producing our kit and us as tacticians.
AI is something I’ve been talking about lately – and it is a classic example of an area where we can help.
We must be able to think critically as soldiers when we use AI and treat it more like a teammate rather than a tool. This is not going to be a proverbial magic wand – the most powerful weapon is a soldier with a good mind and ability to use it.
The coming year will be demanding, but it is an opportunity to develop professionally as we uprate our army.
