A record number of Members of Parliament and Peers were last month welcomed to the Defence Academy as part of this year’s Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme (AFPS).
Almost 60 cross party representatives, accompanied by supporting staff and trustees from the Armed Forces Parliamentary Trust attended the ‘Introduction to Defence’ programme. The annual initiative gives attendees the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of current military issues, which will inform their future participation and contribution in debates related to Defence issues.
The two-day programme included:
- insight into the strategic context for defence and security
- introductions to the single services and their respective maritime, air and space, and land domains
- introduction to UK Strategic Command
- MOD and the formulation of Defence policy
- military strategy and the global network
- UK strategic crisis response and planning
- MOD military assistance to the civil authority
- defence policy capability and acquisition
- update on the Russia-Ukraine War
Participants also had the opportunity to get ‘hands-on’ experience with flight simulation, cyber gaming, and small arms in the Defence College for Military Integration (DCMCI) Technology Hub, where subject matter experts were on hand to field questions.
A VIP dinner hosted by Major General Peter Rowell, Chief Executive and Commandant of the Defence Academy, saw James Gray, Chairman of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme, join the attendees and members of the Defence Academy’s Senior Leadership Team. An after-dinner talk was delivered by Charles Garrett, Director of Commonwealth Relations and Global Strategy for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Commenting on the programme, James Gray said:
The Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme offers Members of Parliament and Peers experience of the United Kingdom's armed forces. Run annually, it gives insight into the Royal Navy, Army, and Royal Air Forced Royal Air Force, and requires a minimum commitment is 15 days over a 12-month course.