British tank names always seem to begin with 'C'.Why?

[jarndice]

The British Armed Forces ceased conscription in 1962,
The Army had for to long had a reputation for being the dumping ground for the men that the other arms did not want,
With the advent of a Professional Army the putative recruit had to pass an exam in the recruiting office before being accepted,
Once in the soldier would then progress through the ACE 3/2/1 (Army Certificate of Education) ACE ! was based upon the civilian "A" Level it would take three weeks to get through each course,
There was the Trade course again graded into 3 separate courses 4/6 weeks long, a pass would give the soldier a pay rise and I have had private soldiers with their number 1 trade getting higher wages than a Lance Corporal with only a class 2 qualification,
The ball breaker was the 2 and 1 drill certificate these were a bit like Marmite,
This was full on soldiering and it was rather more than marching
The aim of the unit was to get the newest recruits through the courses as quickly as possible while still keeping the units commitments up to the mark,
A lot of juggling but there was a massive increase in the soldiers morale as he worked his way up the ladder,
We would get men who had been written off by society and turn these potential deadbeats into educated well motivated smartly turned out men,
And if the soldier passed all the courses he was automatically in line for promotion to WO1 with just time, discipline and luck to overcome to achieve it.
With the change to a professional Army the commitments of a grossly inflated Army did not end but the reduced amount of available manpower made the original workload far too much and has actively discouraged recruitment and yet politicians still order the Military to serve across the hot spots of the world as if we still had 1/2 million on tap instead of 85,000 men and women.
Sorry rant over.

[43rdRecceReg]

The British Armed Forces ceased conscription in 1962,
The Army had for to long had a reputation for being the dumping ground for the men that the other arms did not want,
With the advent of a Professional Army the putative recruit had to pass an exam in the recruiting office before being accepted,
Once in the soldier would then progress through the ACE 3/2/1 (Army Certificate of Education) ACE ! was based upon the civilian "A" Level it would take three weeks to get through each course,
There was the Trade course again graded into 3 separate courses 4/6 weeks long, a pass would give the soldier a pay rise and I have had private soldiers with their number 1 trade getting higher wages than a Lance Corporal with only a class 2 qualification,
The ball breaker was the 2 and 1 drill certificate these were a bit like Marmite,
This was full on soldiering and it was rather more than marching
The aim of the unit was to get the newest recruits through the courses as quickly as possible while still keeping the units commitments up to the mark,
A lot of juggling but there was a massive increase in the soldiers morale as he worked his way up the ladder,
We would get men who had been written off by society and turn these potential deadbeats into educated well motivated smartly turned out men,
And if the soldier passed all the courses he was automatically in line for promotion to WO1 with just time, discipline and luck to overcome to achieve it.
With the change to a professional Army the commitments of a grossly inflated Army did not end but the reduced amount of available manpower made the original workload far too much and has actively discouraged recruitment and yet politicians still order the Military to serve across the hot spots of the world as if we still had 1/2 million on tap instead of 85,000 men and women.

Sorry rant over.

A very informative, and informed rant, if I may so so, Shaun All my cousins did National Service, by the way, but I missed it by four years, or so. But I did the (Sunday) parade ground stuff elsewhere.
I think there's a good argument for having retained it. Maybe, the shower of 'Snowflakes' could have been shaped into Hailstones

Conscription in the EU

Conscription in the EU.jpg (42.45 KiB) Viewed 1236 times

This is what conscription looked like, in the EU, circa 2010. Rampant liberality has engendered something of an anti-military ethos in EU nations. Thus, Erdogan can threaten to dump 2.5 million asylum seekers upon hapless Europe, without the faintest hint of a counter-threat, nor even a whimper, from the bureaucrats in Brussels. OK, politics aside, It seems odd that conscription if being phased out just at a time when the EU is shaping up to be s superstate, and planning to build its own federal army.

[jarndice]

I served alongside conscripted service personnel from Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany,
The Belgium Soldiers were worse than useless, 18 months is nowhere near long enough to learn how to effectively operate modern military equipment most of it either American or British and they in the main did not speak English,
The Dutch had a unique attitude to the army, They were mostly opposed to warfare and yet they had one of the finest sub-machine guns I have ever used, the "UZI" unlike the Belgium Army issue very obsolete "Grease Gun" or the even older Thomson Military (Tommy Gun)
The German Army produced men very aware of the hazard facing their divided country to the East and were as good at soldering as the Brits but they were terribly politicised,
I never got used to seeing German National Servicemen with the rank of Gefreiter (Lance Corporal) piloting Sud Aviation Alluette 2 helicopters,
They had the same issue Fabrique National rifle as the British except their's had the full auto facility unlike the "SLR", In summary In all the years of my Service I saw nothing to convince me that a conscripted Army was worth having except for the numbers and every British Soldier I spoke to on the subject was also against it.

[43rdRecceReg]

I was thinking more along the lines of the discipline factor, as a benefit of National Service systems, rather than the calibre of soldier they disgorged, Shaun.
The UZI is an Israeli weapon, by the way, although it's interesting that the Dutch decided to have it on their inventory.
Some European nations are happy to let others do their fighting for them, I guess, or want to keep permanently below the radar because of an (understandable, of course) aversion to conflict.
The Swiss system is the most interesting of all. In effect, they don't really have a standing army, as such; but they do have virtually every fit man on call, when needed. Practically every house in Switzerland
has some atom-bomb proof shelter at hand, and every man of fighting age has an SLR at home. They also have some incredible defences, and it's easy to see why the Germans baulked at the idea of invading Switzerland during the war. The Swiss were bonkers about bunkers. They have thousands of them, and some you can visit. I'd recommend the Reuenthal (artillery) fortress on the Swiss-German border.
The swiss also make some wonderful weapons. I would want to be equipped with the SiG P226 and SIG SG 550/552 assault rifle, if I were in the military. I've used both a fair bit, and have not found anything to compare with them, save for the Beretta M9 (M92) pistol, and the Swiss-made M4 (SG47) rifle.

[43rdRecceReg]

I forgot, here's a link to Reuenthal museum + the other major military museums in Switzerland, for anyone with a yen, and who's not yet looked beyond the cuckoo clocks, chocolate box houses, and fondue sets to be found there.
http://www.festungsmuseum.ch

[jarndice]

My Sister English and her Husband Italian live in Switzerland working as interpreters at the UN in Geneva,
Their communal cellar/shelter used to be regularly inspected to insure it conformed to local ordinances but in recent years such checks have been relaxed.
When Singapore split from the Malaysian federation in 1965 discovering shortly after that the British were planning to leave the Far East they formed their own defence force BUT with one difference,
Every young person would be conscripted into national service but aside from the Singapore Defence Force these young people could be deployed as Hospital staff or Forestry or park assistants(Yes Singapore does have a forested area),
A more intelligent use of the nations human resources than inflicting them willy nilly upon a military system that could be overwhelmed by so many young men and women but still getting them away from their homes and instilling a sense of community responsibility among them.
An Idea that might be usefully instigated in the UK.

[43rdRecceReg]

My Sister English and her Husband Italian live in Switzerland working as interpreters at the UN in Geneva,
Their communal cellar/shelter used to be regularly inspected to insure it conformed to local ordinances but in recent years such checks have been relaxed.
When Singapore split from the Malaysian federation in 1965 discovering shortly after that the British were planning to leave the Far East they formed their own defence force BUT with one difference,
Every young person would be conscripted into national service but aside from the Singapore Defence Force these young people could be deployed as Hospital staff or Forestry or park assistants(Yes Singapore does have a forested area),
A more intelligent use of the nations human resources than inflicting them willy nilly upon a military system that could be overwhelmed by so many young men and women but still getting them away from their homes and instilling a sense of community responsibility among them.
An Idea that might be usefully instigated in the UK.

Agreed.
Unless it has changed, the (then 50-year old) German system required kids to spend six months in the military, but; as an alternative- for those with serious objections-six months could be spent in community service.
It struck me as being reasonable system, and certainly better than paying under-18s to do...well, effectively, zilch.
Partly because of the Brexit uncertainties, but mostly because of love of Swiss culture, my Son is in the process of becoming a Swiss citizen. In his position, I'd apply too, as I share his love for the country, and it's determination to retain its essential Swiss-ness. I go there twice a year, and it's not nearly often enough. However, since I'm partial to Rösti and German, I tend to prefer the parts of Switzerland on the Zürich side of the Röstigraben (language divide), where he lives. Geneva's outwith the Rösti catchment area, but not without its attractions. Living in Switzerland (from Zürich), you can have breakfast in Germany; take afternoon coffee and cakes in Austria; and have an evening meal in the Italian canton of Switzerland- all in one day. This is easily achieved by ferries along the Bodensee (lake Konstanz), and shortish, spectacular train rides. Must do that again, soon.
Update: It seems the Germans abolished conscription in 2011.
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-to-suspen ... /a-6315122

[43rdRecceReg]

Back on tank naming conventions, here's another discussion :
https://armorama.com/modules.php?op=mod ... _id=239954

[Black Knight]

Back on tank naming conventions, here's another discussion :
https://armorama.com/modules.php?op=mod ... _id=239954