🦆 Mark Stirling (Retd)🦆

@AdeleNew4 Still not seen them in Carrington. But good to know they’re all still alive. #bucklowstmartinbutnotcarrington

A lovely evening in the sun on the Sale West Estate. Some good chats and really positive responses for Aidan Williams in the upcoming elections in May. #bucklowstmartin #May2026

@TheUCS473 Won’t be long before those cavalry troops will be giving a days pay to help fix it.

Greenlighting Ajax to protect jobs while delaying the defence investment plan until May as stockpiles run down. Funding yesterday’s mistakes and postponing tomorrow’s readiness.

@AdeleNew4 @TraffordLabour Love the response “as other’s don’t, we won’t really bother either” It matters what these elected representatives do Adele for all the residents in the Ward. However, for Carrington it’s nothing.

@MarkStirling13 @TraffordLabour Do you see other Parties campaigning in Carrington, Mark? I'm not being facetious, we do campaign in Carrington, just wondered if other Parties do too. I don't see others here in Partington tbh!

@TraffordLabour team spent time in the glorious morning sunshine doing some campaigning around Partington ahead of May's local elections today. Some good conversations were had, and its always a good opportunity to chat to our community about local issues.

@TheUCS473 I was thinking the same thing when I seen this. The days pay I was forced to give to that place over 23 years.

Does this mean I can have all my "voluntary" donations back for the Firepower museum?

@TotherChris Sad to think of the amount of photos in front of that building over the years. I look forward to see CR3 and boxer in the same position with a different name on the back ground.

⚙️ We can infer a great deal from the Question on Challenger 3 (CR3) timelines made in Parliament this week. The key phrase in the answer is 💬 "securing the necessary materials" and "mitigating risk". Allow me to translate. In a new-build, materials have been sourced at this point in a programme. "Securing materials" is a phrase that also been used in the context of Type 23 and Nimrod MRA.4 this far down a programme involving significant refurb. It likely means Challenger 2 hulls. The numbers and state that the hull supplier has to work with must be low and poor condition. "Mitigating risk" is another phrase used previously, this time in context of the MAA referring to the lack of CAD documentation for MRA.4 fuselages and necessitating a Risk Reduction exercise. It likely means the CR2 hulls are pre-CAD in the modern sense and likely sport unique differences or tolerances hull-to-hull, due to a lack of precision manufacture in the late 80's / early 90's era tooling. We can combine this inference with news coming out of Curtiss-Wright on contract modifications from Rheinmetall related to the Turret Drive Servo System (TDSS). It likely means the pre-CAD era non-precision CR2 hulls being refurbished have unique turret rings, or rings with a greater than expected tolerance, requiring individual fitting. Personal opinion is CR3 will also need a "come to Jesus" moment of self reflection, and source a new-design / precision-built hull before we dive too far down the turret ring rabbit hole and carry on struggling with coach-built era MBT's for the next 20-30 years. [ @UKDefJournal article in Reply]

@sharpe_le Larkhill got a load in about a year before I left. They just sat there, no way to charge them. Then there was also the dreaded conversion to them. Master drivers have to, well, master drivers.

@MarkStirling13 That would not surprise me, I’m sure it’s a struggle to charge the cars at Army HQ. All it does it’s cost our soldiers time and money.

We are led by complete fucking idiots. The crazy green scam has left the military in a shit state. There are units that have been given an EV fleet with NO access to a charging capability. Soldiers have to sit in Tesco to charge a vehicle at the end of the day. #LionsLedByDonkeys

@TheUCS473 Good! The Regtl Col and the RASM at the time have a lot to answer for!

Fresh evidence in Jaysley Beck’s case. She was failed at every stage after reporting the assault. Specialist prosecutors are expected to make a charging decision against others in the coming weeks. - The Times.

@thinkdefence Good job those 13lbs at Kings Troop are kept in firing condition 😉

Depressing. Time for the replacement with something German

@thinkdefence That’s 3Div’s whole CS OSG these days. Sad.

Only the true one remains!

@thinkdefence So it’s a carrier shell with a fragmentation payload design. Slightly different to a HE shell. They’re comparing apples to oranges here.

A video clip demonstrating the Elbit Systems M454 Super HE 155 mm artillery shell with enhanced fragmentation. The same approach with a heavy lift drone would be an interesting area denial weapon, especially when dropped in a pattern

@combat_boot @sharpe_le Sorry buddy, I need them at pace!

@MarkStirling13 @sharpe_le Can I give you them a decade late & at 10x the price?

We are screwed. Just saw a suggestion that we use AI in deployed HQ, but not for decision making support, red teaming or data wrangling, rather for “generating PowerPoint slides more efficiently”. Some snorkelling walloper wants to improve their chances of impressing Comd.

@combat_boot @sharpe_le While you’re at it, can you give me tonight’s lotto numbers?

@MarkStirling13 @sharpe_le I can dream. Maybe it’ll happen this time.

@combat_boot @sharpe_le 5-10 years. You’re being ambitious mate.

@sharpe_le Check back in 5-10 years time. 🙁

@thinkdefence The British Army, conceptually operate in the notional environment since 2014.

We are world leaders in nonsense aren't we, peerless

I hear 'at Height and Edge' is the new 'at Pace'

@thinkdefence @WHearnshaw this man isn’t lying!

When the British Army is 20,000 strong, it will still be organised into a Corps HQ and two Divisions.

@WHearnshaw @BO3673 I’ll give you a hint, you aren’t! (It’s all notional 😉) You’ve a shell of an OSG at best! Might be able to pad it out with some 25 poundrs.

@BO3673 Well either we are ordering a huge amount, or we aren't resourcing that plan

First thing that strikes me is 2x Deep Strike Bde AND 1x Corps Artillery Grp. I hate the Advance Force other than FLF BG - it is the Army simply being unable to let go of colonial soldiering. So 5x Brigades + whatever 11 Bde is (Light Strike Recce?). It's THIN. But realistic?

@WHearnshaw @BO3673 With a face such as yours Will. I hope you keep your camera off. 😉

@BO3673 Some Orgs default to do all calls camera off as the bandwidth can't take video. Presenting to avatars and icons is a bit depressing I must say

Have done a multi-day virtual course with some Gen Zedders and no idea what most of them look like! Cameras off the entire time. Cant get my head around that. Am I just old and miserable now?

@WHearnshaw @thinkdefence Bingo!! The Regular Army’s inability to think beyond capbadges.

@MarkStirling13 @thinkdefence The Capbadges losing their "extra" Battalions/Colours?

Thinking about the British Army, as one does, an achievable ORBAT is A medium weight response division based on Boxer, whatever protected mobility vehicles we choose, and truck based wheeled artillery/rockets etc. To the left, a single armoured brigade comprised three battegroups that rotate in and out of the Baltics. Vehicles would be CR2/3 based, and Ajax and derivatives To the right, a couple of light role brigades for air assault and garrison duties SF and SF Support separate ARRC You can argue whether this is good or bad, but it is realistic