Following the recent joint military exercise between the West Ardian Celtic Nations and the CNN the Ministry of Defence have been undertaking a review on the performance of Arcaibhian forces. Speaking to the Gazette the Minister of Defence, Rory O'Muir, explained what was unearthed and what the future holds for the nations armed forces.
"Overall our troops fared well. They were competitive against an extremely well organised and well disciplined force. Lets remember that the CNN forces have been active fairly recently in a real warzone whereas, thankfully, its been a long time since we have seen any actual combat. I pray it stays that way for a very long time but it did show us that in some ways we were a little naïve. Tactically we did everything by the book however it was clear the CNN did not. They were able to bring into play their experiences. Technologically we were able to go toe to toe in a vast number of areas. The equipment made by the Celtic Co-Operative Armament Project was very impressive but in some fields of operation we lacked some capabilities. It was a series of scenarios that tested everything and I would say I came away giving us a score of 7/10 which when it comes to defence is not good enough, we should be aiming for a score of 10/10."
We then asked Minister O'Muir what steps would be taken to achieve that perfect 10 score he aims for. "There are some areas of technology that let us down. The A-3 Abomination strike fighter lacks the real sophistication needed for modern combat and meant that our ground forces lacked a real close support option. As this platform also provides our platform for electronic warfare and advanced training its perhaps time to move on. I'm going to be asking our representative at the Celtic Co-Operative Armament Project to examine whether other nations see a similar gap in their capabilities and if so look at a way we can work together. If they don't then perhaps we can look at purchases from neighbours. In terms of our forces gaining more real life experience we are obviously not going to go looking for a war just for a classroom. We will though be looking for more exercises against friendly nations. I plan on meeting with Sir Harry Samuelson of East Moreland about some kind of regular exercise between our nations."
The Queen visited several units involved in the exercises and said, "I was impressed at the manner in which our troops were reflective. They've signed up to do a very special job for the nation and its people. My job is to ensure they have the right tools and the right skills. From what they told me and what Minister O'Muir has we need to tighten up in some areas. I'd like to thank the others involved for this learning experience."
