CAF with 2% GDP

[OldSolduer]

I don't remember being consulted about this, I would have taken them!
.

We don't get "consulted" on quite a number of problems.

 

[Dissident]

We don't get "consulted" on quite a number of problems.

I am being facetious, of course. I'll paraphrase someone else: Non end user dictating end user requirements. Drives me up the fucking wall, but I refuse to give up and be silenced.

 

[OldSolduer]

I am being facetious, of course. I'll paraphrase someone else: Non end user dictating end user requirements. Drives me up the ******* wall, but I refuse to give up and be silenced.

I figured that

Like rucksacks...every time we get a new one, the bright ones equate that to "the troops can carry MORE kit now".

 

[BadgerTrapper]

I figured that

Like rucksacks...every time we get a new one, the bright ones equate that to "the troops can carry MORE kit now".

Then at least they'd start acquiring and looking for kit to issue. I'd also like to propose a replacement of the beloved Coleman stoves and lanterns! *ducks to avoid the rocks and tomatoes*

 

[PuckChaser]

I figure with a 2% GDP boost, we'd actually be a first world Army and be able to provide $#%@#$ boots in the system for all our soldiers. Nope, new tunics for pips and crowns.

 

[a_majoor]

I'd want to leverage that as much as possible. Bulk buys of all ammunition natures to get economies of scale (imagine if we were ordering in sufficient quantities to get rifle bullets for $.50 each, or Excalibur rounds for $35,000 rather than $70,000 each). We would then actually have enough to shoot so soldiers can be qualified and trained. You could probably extend that idea to lots of other consumables and training as well.

Bring manning up at least to the point that units are actually manned rather than skeleton formations (including HM's ships and Air Force units, of course).

And agree that before we even get a single new dime we need to identify and eliminate lots of waste in the system, especially the bottlenecks that slow down decision making. If we did that, raising defense spending to 2% of GDP would actually look more like raising it to 2.5%.

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

I'd have to check but I think 5.56mm Ball clipped is around $0.67 each.

 

[a_majoor]

Been quite a while since I priced it out, but my impression is it is more than a dollar a round.

Even if your price is correct, saving even $.10/round over millions of rounds adds up.

 

[Furniture]

A CAF with twice the budget might eventually be able to have a fleet of ships and aircraft capable of patrolling our borders, maybe we could even have a combat capable Navy and Air Force. You know, able to sustain a few loses and still keep up the fight.

In reality we would have very nice chairs in our workspaces and likely several more pay raises, maybe a new scheme added on top of Spec Pay and PLD to help retention in very select trades.

 

[OldSolduer]

And agree that before we even get a single new dime we need to identify and eliminate lots of waste in the system, especially the bottlenecks that slow down decision making. If we did that, raising defense spending to 2% of GDP would actually look more like raising it to 2.5%.

I agree with this philosophy. It might....would be painful but worth it in then long run.

Having said all this, the PM has said NO.

 

[Journeyman]

Music lessons for troops busking to make ends meet get the posting they want.

 

[Kat Stevens]

Pith helmets and cross belts for the army, square rig for the navy, and long leather dusters and flying helmets for the fly guys.  Martini-Henry SARP project finally gets off the ground.

 

[Edward Campbell]

Pith helmets and cross belts for the army, square rig for the navy, and long leather dusters and flying helmets for the fly guys.  Martini-Henry SARP project finally gets off the ground.

Quite right, Kat, we need to get back to real soldiering.

By the way, the fellow in the pith
helmet is Air Chief Marshal Sir Henry
Robert Moore Brooke-Popham, the
other fellow was one of the tiny handful
of truly brilliant generals of the 20th
century - a select group that does not
include Currie, Haig, Foch, Hindenburg,
Pershing, Patton, Montgomery, MacArthur
or even Brooke.

 

[Lightguns]

Quite right, Kat, we need to get back to real soldiering.

By the way, the fellow in the pith
helmet is Air Chief Marshal Sir Henry
Robert Moore Brooke-Popham, the
other fellow was one of the tiny handful
of truly brilliant generals of the 20th
century - a select group that does not
include Currie, Haig, Foch, Hindenburg,
Pershing, Patton, Montgomery, MacArthur
or even Brooke.

Sitting here in my misery of Base Duty officer and you leave me hanging, who is it?  I remember the pic but not the man!

 

[Edward Campbell]

Sitting here in my misery of Base Duty officer and you leave me hanging, who is it?  I remember the pic but not the man!

Does this help?

 

[Lightguns]

Thank you, now I remember the name and shall wiki him for a bit.

 

[Edward Campbell]

Thank you, now I remember the name and shall wiki him for a bit.

Most base libraries ought to have John Connell's two volume biography: Wavell: Solider and Scholar and Wavell: Supreme Commander.

 

 

[Colin Parkinson]

I'd have to check but I think 5.56mm Ball clipped is around $0.67 each.

5.56 retails at around .50cents a round for normal bulk ammo in 1,000 lots
http://www.reliablegun.com/en/federal-american-eagle-rifle-ammo-223-rem-55gr-fmjbt-1000rds-army-can-ar223


If the army can't beat that, then it's doing it wrong.

 

[dapaterson]

5.56 retails at around .50cents a round for normal bulk ammo in 1,000 lots
http://www.reliablegun.com/en/federal-american-eagle-rifle-ammo-223-rem-55gr-fmjbt-1000rds-army-can-ar223


If the army can't beat that, then it's doing it wrong.

Keep in mind that the Army may be paying more to keep guaranteed sources of supply in operation via the Munitions Supply Program.  It may be easy enough to buy ammo now, but in the event of a major conflict, unless you've got your own factory (or got a factory committed to you) you may well be SOL.

Lowest cost is not always the best choice for military supplies if it means you can't get them when you really need them.

 

[Humphrey Bogart]

Keep in mind that the Army may be paying more to keep guaranteed sources of supply in operation via the Munitions Supply Program.  It may be easy enough to buy ammo now, but in the event of a major conflict, unless you've got your own factory (or got a factory committed to you) you may well be SOL.

Lowest cost is not always the best choice for military supplies if it means you can't get them when you really need them.

Great point and this goes hand in hand with other stuff such as equipment procurement etc... industrial capacity is one of the major considerations when you invest in a new piece of equipment.