Quote Originally Posted by Boohugh View Post

Of course we are off-target on the whole issue of number of soldiers deaths anyway. Myrddraal was absolutely correct when he pointed out that soldiers will die if you send them into a fight, however well equipped they are. It isn't therefore a question of saving lives, rather it is a question of increasing operational effectiveness. More helicopters mean greater mobility, better armoured vehicles mean you can achieve the same firepower with fewer troops and so can then send those spare troops to other places, more UAV's mean better reconnaissance and target acquisition. It's all about force multipliers, not just about saving lives.
quite correct, having identified a need to replace old helicopters like the sea-kings which are older even than me, and set aside a £1.5 billion budget to acquire them as a military resource that will be needed in any event, when did it suddenly becomes ok to axe that budget and chop those helicopters when we are fighting a insurgency war in mountainous terrain against an enemy fond of IED's?

i am repeating myself, but the message does not appear to be getting through to some.