BFBS Radio Sitrep

Andrew Fox always knew he wanted more from his Army career. But poor eyesight kept him out of the Army air corps, and a bad luck injury ended any hope of Special Forces selection.He didn’t give up though, and his moment came when he took on another of the Armed Forces toughest selections. P-Company to join the Parachute Regiment.Andrew talks to Kate Gerbeau about passing the selection and finally finding a regimental home where he belonged.

Neil Greenberg is a world leading expert, and practitioner, in military mental health.He signed up to the Royal Navy while still in medical school, then travelled the world on ships and submarines, not just attending to crew health but getting stuck into everything else required of an officer to keep a vessel operating successfully.But it could have been very different, had he not heard a radio interview by chance.Professor Greenberg tells Kate Gerbeau how the medic of a luxury liner inspired him to mix healthcare with adventure, all with the aim of making a difference.

Liz McConaghy joined the RAF on her 19th Birthday and flew on Chinooks for seventeen years.She helped save hundreds of lives on MERT rescue missions for dangerously-wounded troops, during her ten tours of Afghanistan.But saving others lives left a big impact on Liz’s own, and months after leaving the RAF she attempted to end her life.Liz tells Kate Gerbeau why, the moment she woke up in hospital, she chose to live, how it made her into an author, designer and advocate working to inspire and help others through similar struggles.This podcast includes descriptions of battlefield injuries, and discussion of suicide. Visit bfbs.com/audiencesupport for details of organisations that can offer support and information.

Julian Thompson had already served thirty years in the Royal Marines when a phone call, in the dead of night, would come to define his career.It brought news of an imminent invasion, and orders to lead 3 Commando Brigade more than seven-thousand miles across the Atlantic, in just a matter of days, to liberate the Falkland Islands.He tells Kate Gerbeau how his first reaction to the call was horror at being so unprepared, but that chaos always reigns and victory goes to whoever sorts out the chaos quickest.

Andy McNab faced the IRA in Northern Ireland, served on numerous SAS covert operations around the world, and was captured behind enemy lines in Iraq.But he tells Kate Gerbeau the real moment that made him was reading a Janet & John children’s book at the age of 16.It unlocked the Army career which took him away from a life of teenage crime, and eventually led him to becoming a bestselling author of more than 50 books, all thanks to a Sergeant Major who he thought was “the world’s oldest soldier”.

Rosie Stone was recording an audio diary at the moment she came under fire on a patrol in Southern Afghanistan.This was her first experience of a combat situation after more than eight years service in the Army.But it became a very different learning experience as she was given shelter and tea by local Afghan women while a gun battle raged behind their compound wall.Rosie shares her recording of that moment with Kate Gerbeau, and explains how that moment shaped her new life as an expert in human security and gender in conflict.

On the 16th of December 2008 HMS Endurance suffered a very sudden and catastrophic flood in the South Atlantic.Tom Sharpe was in temporary command of the Royal Navy ice breaker as her engine room filled in less than half an hour, and she lost power in turbulent seas.Tom tells Kate Gerbeau why he ignored advice from the UK to abandon ship, how he led his crew to save the ship from sinking, and how it gave him confidence to lead without being risk averse.

“Please don’t look back, more dangerous times lie ahead which means you need to look forward… so that we are ready if war chooses us”. So says the head of the Army, General Sir Roly Walker, in this special edition of Sitrep explaining what 2025 may bring.Kate Gerbeau and Professor Michael Clarke tackle some of the biggest questions for our defence. Could fighting in Ukraine end, and might British troops be sent as peacekeepers or trainers? Would Russia make a military move against another European country? And will the Defence Review be a revolution or evolution for our Armed ForcesThe Chief of Defence Staff, the heads of the Royal Navy and RAF, and a team of top experts also share their assessments of what’s most likely to lie ahead, right around the world.

Sitrep’s Simon Newton is back from the frontline of Ukraine’s war with Russia.  He shares stories from troops who led the push into Kursk,  how British Challenger 2 tanks are used (and extremely well hidden), and the challenges of even reaching the frontline.The UK led Joint Expeditionary Force is a British defence success, according to a new study.  But the author Ed Arnold joins us to explain why the JEF is facing a use-it-or-lose-it moment that threatens the credibility of the force.And Mike explains how military opportunism led to the downfall of Syria’s regime, why Israel has seized the same window of opportunity to launch a third major military campaign, and the West’s worries about the Islamic State terror group also seizing the moment. 

Two architects of the Strategic Defence Review have lifted the lid on how they’re working on the plan for the future of our Armed Forces.But when they tell MP’s one aim is to get it “as least wrong as possible” on predicting future conflicts, does that inspire confidence?  Kate and Mike are joined by Sitrep’s Sian Grzeszczyk Melbourne to analyse what’s been revealed, and what is still shrouded in secrecy.Syria’s civil war appeared dormant for years, but has suddenly reignited.  Last time it led to the UK’s Operation Shader against jihadist terrorists, so are we going to have to rethink the ending of that operation?Brigadier Gavin Thompson explains why he and several dozen other British Officers are embedded into Kuwait’s armed forces, and gives an insight into their life and work in the small gulf state.