121 UK Service personnel and 46 civilians have been honoured either for work in the Ministry of Defence or in other aspects of UK Defence.

ROYAL NAVY
APPOINTMENTS TO THE MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MOST HONOURABLE ORDER OF THE BATH

As Companions
Rear Admiral Amjad Mazhar HUSSAIN
Rear Admiral Robert Thomas LOVE OBE

APPOINTMENTS TO THE MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MOST EXCELLENT ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE

As Knight Commander
Vice Admiral Richard Jeffery IBBOTSON CB, DSC

As Commanders
Commodore Michael Peter MANSERGH
Commodore Christopher Michael Howard STEEL ADC

As Officers
Commander James Stephen DONNELLY
Commodore David John EVANS
Commander David John FAULKS
Commander Stuart Brian FURNESS
Captain Anthony Paul HOLBERRY
Captain Timothy Frederick Wilkins MARTIN
Commander Andrew Carnegie STEWART

As Members
Lieutenant Commander Stephen Edward ADAMSON
Lieutenant Commander Reginald Paul William BELL
Lieutenant Commander Andrew Patrick CLARKE
Captain Robert Nigel GINN Royal Marines
Major Mark John HARDIE Royal Marines
Lieutenant Commander Richard Simon HARRISON
Lieutenant Commander Anthony William Jervis JENKS
Warrant Officer Class 2 John Stuart JONES Royal Marines
Warrant Officer Class 1 Alistair McGILL QGM Royal Marines
Lieutenant Commander Paul NIMMONS
Lieutenant Commander Jack RICKARD
Chief Petty Officer (Diver) William SHARP
Warrant Officer Class 1 Ronald SINCLAIR Royal Marines
Lieutenant Rachel SMALLWOOD
Colour Sergeant Laird WEBSTER Royal Marines

ASSOCIATE OF THE ROYAL RED CROSS

Chief Petty Officer Naval Nurse Louise Stephanie SPELLER

ARMY

PROMOTIONS IN AND APPOINTMENTS TO THE MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MOST HONOURABLE ORDER OF THE BATH

As Knight Grand Cross
General Sir David Julian RICHARDS, KCB CBE DSO ADC Gen, late Regiment of Royal Artillery

As Knight Commander
Lieutenant General David Robert BILL,CB, late Corps of Royal Engineers

As Companions
Major General Gerald William BERRAGAN, late Royal Regiment of Artillery
Major General Timothy Gordon INSHAW, late Royal Corps of Signals
Venerable Archdeacon Stephen ROBBINS, QHC, late Royal Army Chaplains' Department

PROMOTIONS IN AND APPOINTMENTS TO THE MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MOST EXCELLENT ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE

As Commanders
Brigadier Michael Trevor GRIFFITHS, late King's Own Royal Border Regiment
Colonel Robert James HERRING, late The Royal Logistic Corps
Brigadier James Ian Stuart PLASTOW, MBE, late The Royal Green Jackets
Colonel Christopher Robert Francis RIDER, late The Staffordshire Regiment
Brigadier Christopher Linley TICKELL, OBE, late Corps of Royal Engineers

As Officers
Colonel Colin Mark ABRAHAM, late The Royal Logistic Corps
Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Godson Eyre BARTHOLOMEW, The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
Lieutenant Colonel James Jonathan BRASHER, The Yorkshire Regiment
Colonel Charles Walter Francis Mowbray COX, TD, late Royal Army Medical Corps, Territorial Army
Lieutenant Colonel Ian Roy HICKS, TD, Royal Army Medical Corps, Territorial Army
Lieutenant Colonel Andrew James LARGE, Royal Corps of Signals
Lieutenant Colonel David Hugh MEYER, AFC, Army Air Corps
Lieutenant Colonel Michael James Vernon SMITH, Army Air Corps

As Members
Major Phillip John ABRAM, Royal Corps of Signals
Major Jeremy Bayard BARRON, The Royal Irish Regiment
Major Thomas Julian BATEMAN, The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
Major James Richard BRYDEN, The Yorkshire Regiment
Major Michael Edward George CALDICOTT, The Royal Logistic Corps
Major Andrew John CERSON, Adjutant General's Corps (Staff and Personnel Support Branch)
Major John Lockhart CLARK, Corps of Royal Engineers
Major Andrew Robert DEVEY, Corps of Royal Engineers
Acting Lieutenant Colonel James McShane DOCHERTY, West Lowland Army Cadet Force
Major Simon John DOYLE, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment
Chaplain to the Forces (3rd Class) Ian Robert GAMBLE, Royal Army Chaplains' Department, Territorial Army
Captain Andrew Steven GEE, The Royal Logistic Corps
Captain Robert Martin GILLESPIE, The Royal Irish Regiment
Colour Sergeant David Alan HUMMERSTON, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment
Major Samuel Leslie HUMPHRIS, The Yorkshire Regiment
Major Toby Clive Mainprise-King JACKMAN, The Royal Gurkha Rifles
Captain James Andrew KEELEY, Grenadier Guards
Major Andrew Gordon LEWIS, The Royal Logistic Corps
Captain Noel Robert Henry MAGILL, The Mercian Regiment
Captain Keith John MAHONEY, The Mercian Regiment, Territorial Army
Captain Craig Alexander McBURNEY, The Rifles
Captain Ian Stephen MOORE, The Royal Welsh, Territorial Army
Major Nicholas Paul MOTT, Welsh Guards
Colour Sergeant John Paul MYERS, Welsh Guards
Major Shaun Howard NIELD, Royal Regiment of Artillery, Territorial Army
Captain Simon Leslie John OLIVER, Royal Regiment of Artillery
Captain Andrew PEMBERTON, The Rifles
Captain Clive PHILLIMORE, The Royal Logistic Corps
Sergeant Sean Peter POWELL, Corps of Royal Engineers
Staff Sergeant Wesley Robert QUIGLEY, Royal Army Veterinary Corps
Captain Michael REED, The Light Dragoons
Warrant Officer Class 1 Nicola SEYMOUR, Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps
Captain Jay SHAW, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
Warrant Officer Class 2 Paul Andrew SIMPSON, Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
Captain Andrew John SLATER, QGM, The Parachute Regiment
Staff Sergeant Robert SMITH, The Royal Logistic Corps
Major David Mark STANBRIDGE, QGM, The Parachute Regiment
Chaplain to the Forces (3rd Class) Alan Christopher STEELE, Royal Army Chaplains' Department
Captain Stephen Brian SUTHERLAND, The Royal Logistic Corps
Captain Mark Robert TODD, Royal Corps of Signals
Major Mark William TORPY, AFM, Army Air Corps
Warrant Officer Class 2 Raymond Allan WALL, The Parachute Regiment

QUEEN'S VOLUNTEER RESERVES MEDAL

Sergeant Robert Colin Michael BURNS, The Royal Logistic Corps, Territorial Army
Captain Shaun David LAMMING, The Parachute Regiment, Territorial Army
Major Michael Paul ROWE, The Royal Logistic Corps, Territorial Army
Lieutenant Colonel Colin Louis SHIEFF, TD, Royal Army Medical Corps, Territorial Army

ROYAL AIR FORCE

PROMOTIONS IN AND APPOINTMENTS TO THE MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MOST HONOURABLE ORDER OF THE BATH

As Knight Commander
Air Chief Marshal Simon BRYANT CBE ADC

As Companions
Air Marshal Christopher Mark NICKOLS CBE
Air Marshal Peter William David RUDDOCK CBE
Air Marshal David WALKER CBE AFC

PROMOTIONS IN AND APPOINTMENTS TO THE MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MOST EXCELLENT ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE

As Commanders
Group Captain Jonathan BURR OBE DFC
Group Captain Richard John Christopher POWELL OBE

As Officers
Group Captain Nigel James COLMAN
Wing Commander Andrew John COOPE
Group Captain Colin Hugh HICKMAN
Wing Commander Andrew Timothy MARTIN
Wing Commander Simon Christopher PRIOR
Wing Commander Harvey SMYTH
Group Captain Ian Richard TOLFTS

As Members
Squadron Leader Garry DONOVAN
Corporal Karen Elizabeth EDWARDS
Master Aircrew Andrew Michael GILLETT
Reverend (Squadron Leader) Ruth Victoria HAKE
Corporal Kristian Lawrence HARRISON
Squadron Leader Richard James HILLARD
Master Aircrew Darren ISAAC
Flight Sergeant Richard Leslie KNOWLES
Flight Lieutenant Jacqueline Aileen MACDONALD
Sergeant John MCCLYMONT
Warrant Officer Christopher Charles MILES
Squadron Leader Paul Michael ROSE
Squadron Leader Stephen STANTON
Warrant Officer Derek WINTRIP
Reverend (Squadron Leader) Edward Laurence WYNN

ASSOCIATE OF THE ROYAL RED CROSS

Flight Lieutenant Anthony Whinton NICOL

Tom Parfitt in Moscow writes in the Guardian's weather blog:

Russia is - unsurprisingly - well-equipped for battling snow. From its fleets of
gritting lorries to its nationwide army of dvorniki - the street cleaners who wake
Russians every winter morning with the "scrape-scrape" of their shovels - this a
country that knows how to fight the frost.

But a new piece of snow-clearing hardware being used in the Urals city of Nizhny
Tagil has shocked even the locals: The T-72 tank.

"The thing is that tractors and other special machinery can't always cope with
drifts more than a metre high," explained Ivan Sakharov of UralVagonZavod , the
town's famous factory that converted from building train carriages to tanks during
the Second World War. "But our tanks can."

The Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, Peter Luf MP, today laid in Parliament, a Green Paper entitled Equipment, Support andTechnology for UK Defence and Security: A Consultation Paper.

He said "The first duty of Government is the security of our nation. It is therefore
essential that the UK equips itself with the right tools to tackle current and
future threats. The convergence of defence and security that underpinned the
Strategic Defence and Security Review means that we should seek to bring together
our approach to equipment, support, and technology in both the defence and security
sectors. I have therefore worked with the Minister for Security in preparing this
Green Paper to reflect our new approach. We have also included cyber security as a
separate section because it is a new and fundamental challenge.

"Our default position is to use open competition in the global market; to buy
off-the-shelf where we can; and to promote open markets in defence and security
capabilities. We will take action to protect our operational advantages and freedom
of action, but only where essential for national security.

"The UK currently enjoys a strong industrial presence in the defence and security
markets and export success abroad in those markets; last year, defence and security
exports achieved around £8.5 billion revenue. We are committed to doing more to
promote exports of both defence and security products from the UK to responsible
nations, as well as to boost the role of small and medium sized enterprises, both in
their direct and indirect supplies to the Government and its agencies."

The Green Paper is available online at http://defenceconsultations.org.uk/. The
formal public consultation period will run from January to March 2011 The Government plans
to publish a White Paper on these issues in 2011.

Defence Viewpoints will publish further comment and analysis shortly

The Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans (Andrew Robathan MP ) today announced that the
Government is committed to providing effective, through-life, health services for UK Service and ex-Service personnel.

As part of this commitment, the Department of Health and Devolved Administrations, with support from the Ministry of Defence has piloted a new mental health care service for former members of the Armed Forces in six National Health Service trusts across the UK. The final pilot, in Scotland, is due to be completed in April 2011.

Independent evaluation of the pilots by the University of Sheffield Centre for Psychological Services Research, which my Department commissioned, has been completed. Their independent evaluation report has been published today.

The Report identifies key components of successful services and makes a number of recommendations. The Department of Health will consider the Report and examine how its recommendations fit with existing and planned enhancements to NHS veterans mental health services, including those recommended by Dr Andrew Murrison MP.

Bernard Gray has been appointed as the MOD's Chief of Defence Materiel, leading on the delivery of all aspects of the Defence Equipment and Support Plan. This includes responsibility for MOD assets worth £104Billion and an annual operating budget of £13Billion.

Bernard Gray replaces General Sir Kevin O'Donoghue who has been in the post since its creation in April 2007 and is retiring. Bernard Gray will take up his 4 year appointment on 4 January 2011.

As the Prime Minister prepard to chair a National Security Council meeting to discuss the options around the Strategic Defence and Security Review Ian Godden, Chairman of A|D|S, the UK's aerospace, defence and security trade
organisation, highlighted the significance of decisions on defence spending

The Government needs to bear in mind that as well as the decision-maker on defence
it is also the customer.  Its decisions have a profound impact on our armed forces
and the 300,000 people who work across the UK in the defence industry to support our
troops.  The defence budget has been relatively flat with little in the way of
increases over the last 20 years while other Government departments have seen their
budgets double or even triple over the same time period.  With our troops constantly
being asked to do more with less, the Government keen to increase exports and
defence able to deliver enhanced returns on investment - a £100m spend yields £227m
in returns - it makes no sense on any level to be cutting investment in defence
because of this knock-on effect on our armed forces and economic recovery.  Defence
is 10 per cent of UK manufacturing and Britain is currently number one in Europe and
second only to the US in terms of the global defence exports market but this
position would be under threat if investment is cut, leading to a dearth of new
programmes to export.

Furthermore, the proposals for a greater reliance on high-technology equipment in
the future do not align with the cuts of over 20 per cent in the MoD research and
technology budget over the last three years - that have already cost hundreds of
high-skilled jobs in the industry.  This budget, of less than 1.4 per cent of the
total defence budget, must be reprioritised within the MoD to deliver the future
capabilities for our armed forces.

There is of course room for reform within the armed forces, the industry and the
MoD to deliver even greater improvements and we are committed to playing a full part
in these changes that will also deliver savings.  But the implications for any
further cuts in defence spending in terms of their impact on our troops, our
national security, our global trading position, our economy and on the long-term
capability of our industry to continue to supply the best possible equipment to our
armed forces cannot be ignored.

Royal Air Force

Air Marshal C. N. Harper, CBE, to be the United Kingdom Military Representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the European Union on March 11, 2011, in succession to Lieutenant-General D.R. ill, CB.

Air Vice-Marshal G.E. Stacey, MBE, to be Commander British Forces Cyprus and Administrator of the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia on November 4, 2010, in succession to Major-General J.H. Gordon, CBE.

Air Vice-Marshal J.A. Young, OBE, to be Chief of Staff Support Headquarters Air Command in December 2010, in succession to Air Vice-Marshal N.J.E. Kurth, CBE, who is retiring from the Service.

Air Commodore P.A. Atherton, OBE, to be Assistant Chief of Staff A3/A5 Headquarters Air Command, in December 2010, in succession to Air Commodore A.D. Stevenson, OBE.

Air Commodore A.D. Stevenson, OBE, to be Air Officer Commanding No 83 Expeditionary Air Group and United Kingdom Air Component Commander, Al Udeid, Qatar, in January 2011 in succession to Air Commodore K.B. McCann, CBE, whose next appointment has yet to be announced.

Group Captain D. Best, OBE, to be promoted Air Commodore and to be Director Air Operations, Headquarters Joint Command, Kabul, in December 2010, in succession to Air Commodore A. Monkman, CBE.

Group Captain S.C. Evans was promoted to Air Commodore on July 19, 2010, when he took over as Head Joint Doctrine Air and Space at the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre in succession to Air Vice-Marshal R. Lock, CBE.

Group Captain C.R. Elliott, assumed command of Royal Air Force Halton on September 6, 2010, in succession to Group Captain G. Tunnicliffe.

Group Captain A.J. Innes, OBE, assumed command of Royal Air Force Leeming on September 15, 2010, in succession to Group Captain W.R. Gibson.

Group Captain M.E. Sampson, DSO, to be Commanding Officer Royal Air Force Coningsby on December 10, 2010, in succession to Group Captain J.J. Hitchcock.

Army


Lieutenant-General Sir Nick Parker, KCB, CBE, Late Royal Green Jackets, currently Deputy Commander International Security Assistance Force and United Kingdom National Contingent Commander – Afghanistan, to be Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, in the rank of General, in succession to General Sir John McColl, KCB, CBE, DSO, in February 2011.

Major-General T.P. Evans, DSO, MBE, Late Light Infantry, currently Chief of Staff Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, to be Chief of Staff International Security Assistance Force Joint Command – Afghanistan, in succession to Major-General C. J. Boag, CBE, in December 2010.

Brigadier P.D. Jones, MBE, Late Royal Anglian Regiment, currently Assistant Defence Attaché and Head British Army Staff (United States), to be Director Force Reintegration, Headquarters International Security Assistance Force – Afghanistan, in the rank of Major-General, in succession to Major-General R.L. Barrons, CBE, in May 2010.

Brigadier S.L. Porter, CBE, Late Royal Anglian Regiment, currently Assistant Chief of Staff J5 Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, to be Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Representative Europe, in the rank of Major-General, in succession to Rear-Admiral Jorgen Berggrav, Royal Norwegian Navy, in December 2010. 

General Sir Richard Dannett, Chief of the General Staff - GCB (Knight Grand Cross of the Military Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath)

Vice Admiral Trevor Soar, incoming Commander-in-Chief Fleet - KCB (Knight Commander of the Military Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath)

Air Marshal Christopher Moran, incoming Commander-in-Chief Air Command - KCB

Air Marshal Stuart William Peach - CB

Three have been three new Chiefs of Staff appointed at the MoD today.

NEW CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF: AIR MARSHAL S G G DALTON CB BSc FRAeS FCMI RAF

Air Marshal Stephen Dalton joined the RAF after graduating with a 2.1 honours degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Bath University. Subsequently, whilst based in the UK and Germany, he flew the Jaguar on 3 tours in the tactical reconnaissance and ground attack roles. During these tours he flew on exercises in Europe (Norway, Italy, France and Spain), the USA and Canada. On completion of the Advanced Staff Course, Air Marshal Dalton commanded No 13 Squadron flying the Tornado GR1A, during which he was deployed on Operation JURAL flying reconnaissance missions over Iraq; for part of the period he was the Commander British Forces JURAL for Op SOUTHERN WATCH in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.