BFBS Sitrep

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.

In this week’s Sitrep, we ask why Donald Trump hasn’t got round to calling the Chinese President yet, and what that might say for US-China relations.   Plus we look at the President’s promise to boost defence spending.   We hear from a former head of the Army, ahead of the publication of a report into the investigation into abuse allegations in Iraq.   And after a minister warned more British troops could be sent to Afghanistan, we hear from a former captain who served three tours there.   GUESTS: General Sir Mike Jackson, former Chief of the General Staff; Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, former First Sea Lord, Scott Lucas, professor of American Studies at Birmingham University; Doug Beattie, former Army Captain   Thursday 1630 on BFBS Radio 2, 1830 on BFBS & UK bases, plus anytime afterwards online, or via the podcast.

Presented by Kate Gerbeau In today’ Sitrep there’s reaction and analysis as human rights lawyer, Phil Shiner, is struck off. In Afghanistan, the Taliban is in disarray – so is this a good time for peace? The Royal Navy leads the combined Naval Task Force in the Gulf for the first time. Trump's defence secretary, 'Mad Dog' Mattis, starts work in the far east. And Very Lynne’s new album to celebrate her 100th Birthday. PHIL SHINER Interview with MP and former British Army Officer Johnny Mercer TALIBAN   Professor Theo Farrell & BFBS Defence Analyst Christopher Lee HMS OCEAN BFBS reporter Simon Newton US RELATIONS ABROAD Professor of Political Science at the University of Southern Utah, Michael Stathis... VERA LYNNE 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 & 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.

Teresa May's will be the first foreign leader to meet Donald Trump, but who's going to get the most out of it?   And do the comparisons with Mrs Thatcher and President Reagan mean anything or is this going to be a very different relationship   NATO forges friendships in the Middle East with a new HQ in Kuwait.   Meet the women of the US Marine Corps and hear all about the Norwegian Military Experiment - how one unit tried a 50/50 gender split with surprising results.   GUESTS:   DONALD TRUMP & TERESA MAY VISIT Professor Michael Clarke formerly the Director General of the Royal United Services & BFBS Defence Analyst Christopher Lee.   BFBS reporter Tim Cooper interview with General David Perkins, commander of US Army training and Doctrine – discussing Brexit and US politics.   NATO Professor Michael Clarke formerly the Director General of the Royal United Services & BFBS Defence Analyst Christopher Lee.   US MARINES As the UK prepares to accept the first females into its own infantry, Hannah King has been taking a look at how the US Marines incorporate females.   NORWEGIAN ARMY Elisabeth Braw, senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council   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.

Tomorrow Donald Trump will become the 45th President of the United States of America.  In a special edition of Sitrep, Kate Gerbeau will ask “Should we be frightened?” A panel of experts are going to look at what Trump’s time as President & Commander in Chief of the American Armed Forces could mean for the rest of the world.  Will he forge closer ties with Russia? What will he do about NATO? What about Syria? And why is he so against China?  Find out the answers to those questions and many more in today’s Sitrep…………………………. GUESTS: BFBS Defence Analyst Christopher Lee. Former BBC Diplomatic Correspondent Bridget Kendall.  Bridget has spent a lot of time in Washington and Moscow and is an expert on Russian politics.  Professor of International Politics at the University of Birmingham Scott Lucas who can talk extensively about US foreign policy and the Middle East.  Dr Karin von Hippel, Director General of the Royal United Services Institute.  Karin was formally Chief of Staff to the US General John Allen when he was special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter Isil.  Simon Marks from Feature Story – our man in Washington who can tell us all about what we can expect at tomorrow’s inauguration ceremony. 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.