• The post you are reporting:
   
  I have just been giving this more thought to this important issue and there is an aspect no-one here has covered on this and it is one that I have not dealt with on my blog.
  
  There really is nothing to fear from this arrangement with the French at all.....
  
  They want to control costs and to get more bang (literally) for the buck as the aim.
  
  If we were to fully or even partially integrate our armed forces with the French a huge cost would be incurred that would offset any cost savings.
  
  Think for a moment.
  
  Consider tanks.
  We would have to change the gear boxes to slow down forward speed and increase reverse speeds. You just cannot swap a gearbox in a Challenger around because it wont fit, a whole new gearbox would have to be designed, manufactured and installed.
  
  Then there is the cost of equipping every unit from a section size upwards with a white flag. Its not just the cost of the flag its also the laundry bill, they wont stay white for long with heavy use in the field.
  
  As for ration packs. Our troops could not stomach the cheap wine that French peasants love. Even in the unlikely event of France selling us decent Bordeaux at knock-down prices the cost of including wine in every pack would be prohibitive.
  
  Lets not forget the two hour lunch breaks.
  The cost of extra personnel to fill the gaps in stag duty alone would offset all the potential savings.
  
  Then there are the language difficulties. I can guarantee that the French will expect us to pay for the modifications to their communications needed to increase the volume to shouting levels.
  
  Yes, never fear - this is not a step towards integration

Report Post

Your Name

Reason