BFBS Radio Sitrep

Presented by Kate Gerbeau with Christopher Lee.

In today’s Sitrep – there’s more reaction to last week's chemical weapons attack in Syria and how it's affecting US/Russian relations.   Find out how North Korea is testing the Trump administration and why the Royal Marines are to be restructured.   And, it's a 100 years this week that America entered the First World War...   TOPICS SYRIA – CHEMICAL WEAPONS/RUSSIA/US Chemical Weapons expert  Hamish De Bretton Gordon is a Michael Stathis, Professor of Political Science at Southern Utah University and BFBS Defence Analyst Christopher Lee   NORTH KOREA Michael Stathis, Professor of Political Science at Southern Utah University and BFBS Defence Analyst Christopher Lee   ROYAL MARINES Former Royal Marine and Special Boat Service officer, Lord Paddy Ashdown   WW1 & US INVOLVEMENT Michael Stathis, Professor of Political Science at Southern Utah University and BFBS Defence Analyst Christopher Lee   THURSDAYS at 4:30pm UK TIME on BFBS RADIO 2 and at 6:30pm UK TIME on BFBS & UK Bases   You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and at 1830 (UK time) on BFBS (via web & App in the UK and on FM in Scotland, Colchester, Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Catterick & Blandford Forum) On Sky Channel 0211 Alternatively listen again on the website, or download the Sitrep Podcast.

Chemical weapons in Syria. What happened? Who’s right, who’s wrong and what next? Find out what British troops are doing on Exercise Desert Warrior in Kuwait, and what the Royal Engineers are doing in famine hit South Sudan? One year in the job – Kate Gerbeau talks to the Service Complaints Ombudsman after she publishes her first Annual Report. And all the Queen's Soldiers...Why the Royal Lancers now belong to Elizabeth. GUESTS: BFBS Defence Analyst Christopher Lee. Topics: Syria/Russia/America Director General of the Royal United Services Institute Dr Karin von Hippel and BFBS Defence Analyst Christopher Lee Armed Forces Minister Mike Penning speaking from South Sudan. Interview with the Service Complaints Ombudsman, Nicola Williams. The Royal Lancers - renamed THURSDAYS at 4:30pm UK TIME on BFBS RADIO 2 and at 6:30pm UK TIME on BFBS & UK Bases You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and at 1830 (UK time) on BFBS (via web & App in the UK and on FM in Scotland, Colchester, Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Catterick & Blandford Forum) On Sky Channel 0211 Alternatively listen again on the website, or download the Sitrep Podcast.

This week: We ask who bombed civilians in Mosul was it IS fighters or coalition aircraft? Brexit has been triggered but why is the Prime Minister threatening to pull terrorist intelligence? Hear how the Royal Navy is fighting back against the hackers. And on the day the National Army Museum is re-opened to the public, we talk about the “little guys” – Britain’s 139 small regimental museums. GUESTS: BFBS Defence Analyst Christopher Lee. The Times Correspondent Michael Evans BBC World Service political Correspondent Rob Watson Managing Director of Airbus Cyber Security in the UK Ian Goslin The Antiques Roadshow Militaria expert Mark Smith THURSDAYS at 4:30pm UK TIME on BFBS RADIO 2 and at 6:30pm UK TIME on BFBS & UK Bases. You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and at 1830 (UK time) on BFBS (via web & App in the UK and on FM in Scotland, Colchester, Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Catterick & Blandford Forum) On Sky Channel 0211 Alternatively listen again on the website, or download the Sitrep Podcast.

SITREP TRAIL THURS, 23rd March (KATE PRESENTS TODAY)   Terror at Westminster…how did it happen and what can be done?  Who was the attacker and what’s the bigger picture?  Can modern terrorism attacks destroy democracy?  Listen to Sitrep to get all the latest defence analysis.   GUESTS: BFBS Defence Analyst Christopher Lee. Professor Michael Clarke, formerly Director General of the Royal United Services Institute Professor Anthony Glees, Director, Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies at the University of Buckingham Major General Julian Thompson, a former Royal Marine Commander who served in Northern Ireland and now a visiting Professor at King's College London. Charlie Winter, Senior research fellow at The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at King’s College, London. Michael Pregent, a former US Intelligence Officer and advisor to the Peshmerga. THURSDAYS at 4:30pm UK TIME on BFBS RADIO 2 and at 6:30pm UK TIME on BFBS & UK Bases.   You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and at 1830 (UK time) on BFBS (via web & App in the UK and on FM in Scotland, Colchester, Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Catterick & Blandford Forum) On Sky Channel 0211 Alternatively listen again on the website, or download the Sitrep Podcast.

Marine A: did the Royal Marine's higher command fail? Why Putin's generals are watching British troops in Estonia, What can British troops do about famine in South Sudan? And its 100 years since the start of the Russian Revolution - but why isn’t Moscow celebrating? THURSDAYS at 4:30pm UK TIME on BFBS RADIO 2 and at 6:30pm UK TIME on BFBS & UK Bases You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and at 1830 (UK time) on BFBS (via web, App & DAB in the UK and on FM in Scotland, Colchester, Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Catterick & Blandford Forum) Sky Channel 0211

On the day the Queen unveils the Iraq and Afghanistan memorial, Sitrep reflects on three wars in which 682 British Service personnel died. Find out the Soldier’s view, the Ambassador’s view and the Veteran’s view in a special programme presented by Kate Gerbeau. GUESTS: BFBS Defence Analyst Christopher Lee. MEMORIAL Paul Osbourne rounds up the day’s events.   FROM THE ARCHIVE Rory Higgins and Susie Ferguson reporting for BFBS in March 2003   LIEUTENANT GENERAL SIR GRAEME LAMB Lieutenant General Sir Graeme Lamb was appointed General Officer Commanding 3rd (UK) Mechanised Division in the summer of 2003 - the start of the Iraq War.    SIR WILLIAM PATEY Sir William Patey, a former British Ambassador to Iraq and later Afghanistan.   AFGHANISTAN VETERAN ROAYL MARINE CASSIDY LITTLE Reflection on his military career.   THURSDAYS at 4:30pm UK TIME on BFBS RADIO 2 and at 6:30pm UK TIME on BFBS & UK Bases   You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and at 1830 (UK time) on BFBS (via web, App & DAB in the UK and on FM in Scotland, Colchester, Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Catterick & Blandford Forum) Sky Channel 0211 Alternatively listen again on the website, or download the Sitrep Podcast.

Why is Mr Trump handing out 54 billion dollars to the Pentagon?   Why a group of MPs says we must maintain relations with the Russians.   The RAF in the Middle East – why it’s a minute by minute operation   And - what can British troops expect when they deploy to famine struck South Sudan? GUESTS: BFBS Defence Analyst Christopher Lee.   TRUMP Dr Karin Von Hippel, Director General at the Royal United Services Institute.   RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA BFBS reporter James Hirst interview with Foreign Affairs Committee chairman  Crispin Blunt. OP SHADER BFBS reporter Simon Newton in Cyprus talks to British Major General Rupert Jones, deputy commander for the Combined Joint Task Force.   SOUTH SUDAN Sitrep producer Josella Waldron interview with the BBC’s Africa Correspondent Alastair Leithead   Al Qaeda Charles Lister is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington.   THURSDAYS at 4:30pm UK TIME on BFBS RADIO 2 and at 6:30pm UK TIME on BFBS & UK Bases   You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and at 1830 (UK time) on BFBS (via web, App & DAB in the UK and on FM in Scotland, Colchester, Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Catterick & Blandford Forum) Sky Channel 0211 Alternatively listen again on the website, or download the Sitrep Podcast.

The latest on what’s happening in the fight to take back Mosul from IS fighters. How British troops will soon be helping people in famine-hit South Sudan… Find out why British troops are being warned about honey traps, staged brawls and social media infiltration in Estonia. And Sitrep speaks to a former Army officer who has the ear of the USA’s new Security Advisor. GUESTS: BFBS Defence Analyst Christopher Lee. MOSUL Michael a former US Intelligence Officer and advisor to the Peshmerga. SOUTH SUDAN David Lomuria, a correspondent for Feature Story News in the capital Juba. HONEY TRAP Former Kremlin advisor Alexander Nekrassov LIEUTENANT GENERAL HR MCMASTER Retired Major General Andrew Mackay commanded British forces in in Afghanistan. THURSDAYS at 4:30pm UK TIME on BFBS RADIO 2 and at 6:30pm UK TIME on BFBS & UK Bases You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and at 1830 (UK time) on BFBS (via web, App & DAB in the UK and on FM in Scotland, Colchester, Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Catterick & Blandford Forum) Sky Channel 0211 Alternatively listen again on the website, or download the Sitrep Podcast.

What was on the agenda at today’s NATO meeting? Sitrep gets reaction from the Defence Secretary, Michael Fallon.   Has China lost all influence on North Korea?   Find out what the Marines are up to in Norway…   And waiting for justice - how long will it be before war crimes in Syria are dealt with in court?   GUESTS: BFBS Defence Analyst Christopher Lee. NATO Charlotte Banks interview with the Defence Secretary Michael Fallon.   MARINES - ARCTIC TRAINING Rebecca Ricks reporting on Exercise Clockwork in Northern Norway,   NORTH KOREA - NEIL DALL Emil Dall, Research Fellow in the Proliferation and Nuclear Policy Programme at the Royal United Services Institute.   WAR CRIMES Professor David Crane was the Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, where he indicted the Liberian President Charles Taylor.     THURSDAYS at 4:30pm UK TIME on BFBS RADIO 2 and at 6:30pm UK TIME on BFBS & UK Bases   You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and at 1830 (UK time) on BFBS (via web, App & DAB in the UK and on FM in Scotland, Colchester, Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Catterick & Blandford Forum) Sky Channel 0211 Alternatively listen again on the website, or download the Sitrep Podcast.