Attended by senior military, decision makers, luminaries of the defence community and on one evening hosted by the Chief of General Staff, the annual Army Expo delivered a road map of how the Army will meet existing and future challenges.
Major Jennifer Stevenson (RA) reads her script under a spot light at The British Army Expo 2024.
Chief of the General Staff (CGS) General Sir Roland Walker KCB DSO ADC Gen and Secretary of State for Defence of the United Kingdom, The Rt Hon John Healey MP at The British Army Expo 2024.
Lance Corporal Macpherson (left) and Lance Corporal Davis (right) from 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment talk to guests at The British Army Expo 2024.
This year’s slogan was 'The Army The Nation Needs', so whilst the show was there to engage, enthuse and excite, as the phrase suggests, it was also there to re-assure how we can face future threats with confidence.
It did this in a number of ways, with impressive set pieces, as the parade ground of Wellington Barracks was temporarily transformed into a series of displays. These were designed to draw out the best of the modern Army with an emphasis on improvements to existing technology and the Army’s most prized asset, its people.
Brigadier Simon Carvel, the Director of Army Expo 24, introduced attendees to this year’s Expo and its aim to tell the story of today’s Army. A story which rested on three pillars:
- Its purpose: To protect the nation and help it prosper by fighting and winning battles from land.
- Its people: Their values and standards, their commitment to service, and their ability to deliver.
- Its response: With appropriate urgency to the increasing dangers and complex problems and being best prepared for the war we don’t want to happen.
CJOC
The first step on the journey took the audience into a Combined Joint Operations Centre or CJOC. For those who didn’t already know, they learned that it acts as a command and control centre for major operations and exercises. Reference was made to the recent Exercise Steadfast Defender, the large-scale NATO training exercise which took place across Europe earlier this year.
NATO
It reminded those attending that the UK’s national defence plan is NATO, and strong and credible land forces are essential for the UK to be able to influence and lead within that alliance. Alliances were the focus of this part of the Army’s narration: Combined, “our international allies and partners” and Joint, "our Naval and Airforce colleagues".
From the CJOC guests stepped out into the light, under the watchful gaze of hovering drones the audience got a better look at military modernisation as they were introduced to members of the Ranger Regiment.
EMBRACING NEW TECHNOLOGIES
Over the past thirty years, the British Army has undergone a profound change. From technological advancements to strategic innovations, our capabilities have evolved to meet the demands of a rapidly changing global security landscape.Major Matt Selby, Futures DirectorateThe serving members of the Rangers were quick to demonstrate their technological advancements in the form of ear defenders, in built radio and the capacity to send and receive sophisticated digital data packages in the field.
In keeping with the theme of light, highly mobile troops, a Jackal 2 was brought out. The Jackal 2 with its two fuel containers can operate within an area of 1000 km. The audience was given a picture of what a decade of modernisation had done in terms of the changing face of troops and equipment, building towards ‘The Army The Nation Needs.’ Similarly an updated AJAX was on hand to show the latest improvements (from having to reload every six rounds to automatic firing).
The Greatest Asset
“The core purpose of the Army is to fight and win wars on and from the land. We’ve seen some of the equipment and heard a bit about how we’re going to use it to provide the response the nation needs, but now I’d like you to follow us to meet some of the people who are at the heart of what we do.”
Major Jen Stevenson introduced a number of people who exemplify the modern Army, from Recruiting Sergeant Dereck Vaughn, to Corporal Joe McCloud who joined via the Army Foundation College in Harrogate or mother of three, MBA student, Major Emma Proctor.
Everyone had a story to tell and to show by example why the culture of the modern Army was able to modernise and become The Army The Nation Needs, and how the culture of the Army has allowed these individuals to grow and develop, to forge lasting bonds of friendship as well as a career.
The Army The Nation Needs
No organisation can afford to stagnate in the twenty first century and the Army is no exception, Expo 24 showed a recognition of this, understood that ‘if we fight with old ideas, chances are we lose.’ This is widely understood by the defence community, and it is easy to see why, not least with the Strategic Defence Review coming.