Training for lethality, readiness and deterrence

Former UK Chief of Defence Staff General David Richards talks to Peter Roberts about how important training is in generating a capable and lethal military force, and whether technology can substitute for live field exercises. General David’s former experiences in integrating computers and simulation into training and education is illuminating, but comes with a warning that simulation alone cannot replace time in the field, at sea, or in the air: something no one in industry believes and yet has become fashionable for military and political leaders to gravitate towards. Recounting his experience during a former period of great power competition and preparing for conventional combat on a grand scale, General David talks through the pressures on budgets and why training becomes a “quick saving” but, in capability terms, cutting training and education budgets is not only a false economy but ultimately dangerous.