BFBS Radio Sitrep

As the western evacuation from Afghanistan enters its final phase, what are the key mistakes that led to the country’s fall to the Taliban? This week, we hear from an analyst who only left Kabul as the city was being taken over — she claims the US effectively sold out the Afghan government, and encouraged the Taliban to wait out the clock. We discuss what impact the withdrawal will have on other countries’ faith in western military powers, and whether it will prompt a fracture between the US and UK. Plus we ask what impact this last deployment in Afghanistan will have on the hundreds of British troops now pulling out of Kabul, and how it’s affecting veterans of the last twenty years.

The Service Complaints Ombudsman tells Sitrep that - despite progress - the system for raising and addressing grievances in the military is not efficient, effective, or fair. Sitrep looks at what we know so far about the promised Type 32 Frigate first mentioned by the Prime Minister in the funding settlement statement. And you can hear a special report from Cyprus where Royal Marines are testing new technology and systems.

Sitrep focuses on future Defence priorities and funding with the Armed Forces Minister James Heappey, Labour's Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey, the former Chief of the Defence Staff, Lord Richards and Professor Michael Clarke from RUSI . Plus Hannah King reports on how 'gun bubbles' are helping troops train for a deployment to Estonia. Follow us @bfbssitrep

Defence is to get a four year funding deal - what should the new money be spent on and how will it reshape the UK's defence policy? President Trump orders more US troops out of Afghanistan - but what does that mean for the fragile peace process? And how RFA Argus is supporting Hurricane relief efforts. Follow us @bfbssitrep

What is the future for US-NATO relations under a Joe Biden Presidency? The mission to rid the Falklands of landmines nearly 40 years after the conflict And we look at the role for defence in Space. Follow us @bfbssitrep

The armed forces helping to carry out rapid coronavirus testing in the government’s first mass pilot... What are the future defence, foreign and security challenges for the winner of the Presidential election in the US? And how different will Remembrance be this year due to the Covid pandemic? Follow us @bfbssitrep

In less than a week, the United States chooses its next President. In this week’s Sitrep, we get the latest on the race for military votes, and ask what four more years of Donald Trump, or a new start under Joe Biden, would mean for the UK, and for Nato. In the week special forces raided an oil tanker in trouble off the Isle of Wight, we ask whether the military could dragged into the ongoing Channel migrant and refugee crisis. We’ll find out how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted Gurkha recruitment, and hear from a former head of GCHQ who says we could all learn a lot by thinking the way spies do. Plus the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, tells us about his own relationship with the military, and why he thinks MPs should spend time with the forces learning how they work.

The future of the Integrated Security and Defence Review. Why is NATO planning to open a new Space Centre? How will Drone technology change combat? And what impact did GCHQ have in the Falklands War? Follow us @bfbssitrep

How has Army recruitment been impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic? Sitrep speaks to the Assistant Director of Army Recruiting. What lies behind North Korea’s decision to showcase its latest missile? The RAF has welcomed the arrival of the first of the P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft to its permanent home at RAF Lossiemouth. And the campaign to honour armed forces personnel from the Caribbean with a new monument at the National Memorial Arboretum Follow us @bfbssitrep

A new report from the IISS think tank says the Russian armed forces are significantly smaller than their Soviet predecessors, but better equipped with more professional personnel. We mark thirty years since women were first deployed operationally at sea with the Royal Navy... And why the Gurkhas are doing ‘wet gap crossing’ training in Northumberland. Follow us @bfbssitrep

The Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir Nicholas Carter, has set out the 'Integrated Operating Concept' this week. It's been described as the most significant shift in military thinking in generations. What is it and what impact could it have on the armed forces in the future? The new carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, is to join a major NATO exercise from this weekend. We hear from a former Naval commander. What’s the best way to improve NHS services for serving armed forces families and veterans? Follow us @bfbssitrep

Lord Sedwill, the former National Security Adviser and Cabinet Secretary who stepped down this month, talks exclusively to Sitrep about chemical and biological weapons, the changing nature of threats and the Integrated Defence Review. Why a new institute has been set up to study air and space power issues in defence and security and - out mortar training with the Duke of Lancaster’s regiment. Follow us @bfbssitrep

NATO’s Assistant Secretary-General talks exclusively to Sitrep about the possible long-term extreme threats to the UK and other NATO members And remembering the Battle of Britain 80 years on - we hear about the letters written by a Pilot Officer about the battle to his wife in occupied France. Follow us #bfbssitrep

Where are the Cyber threats to the UK coming from? The former head of the National Cyber Security Centre, Ciaran Martin, on Russia, China and the impact of Covid 19. More than two thousand US troops are to leave Iraq but is it the right time to draw down forces? We speak to the Chair of the Commons Defence Committee Tobias Ellwood. More than a million British soldiers have lived and served in Germany over the past 75 years. A new exhibition at the National Army Museum opens on Saturday looking at this unique deployment . Follow us @bfbssitrep

Germany says that Novichok has been used on a rival of President Putin - how will the international community react this time? What’s behind the recent tensions between Greece and Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean? Plus, Sitrep looks at how the Gurkhas are changing their recruitment process. We join the Royal Marines on training exercises and how some of Britain’s rarest reptiles are thriving in a military fuel site. Follow us @bfbssitrep

We look at the options facing the government as part of their Integrated Review of foreign policy, defence and security. Lord Dannatt, former Chief of the General Staff, tells us that the government must find more money for defence. We ask what will be the impact of the recent coup in the West African state of Mali on plans to send 250 British troops there as part of a UN mission? Sitrep reports on how German soldiers are using the British run Sennelager training area to prepare for a mission in Afghanistan next year - and we hear how the last surviving landing craft from D-Day has finally reached its new home.

As protests continue in Belarus, Sitrep looks at the wider implications. We hear from the man who was Britain’s ambassador in Minsk when Lukashenko took power 26 years ago on what’s likely to happen next. In the United States, the race for the White House is hotting up, with Joe Biden setting out his pitch to American voters. We ask a former head of the Royal United Services Institute what a Biden victory could mean for US allies, and find out why there’s talk about the military potentially being asked to remove Donald Trump from the White House if he loses, and then refuses to leave. A former head of GCHQ joins us to discuss the idea of “principled spying” — is it even possible? And we find out why Chelsea Football Club has adopted an historic Lancaster bomber. Plus we report from Biggin Hill airfield, 80 years after it played a key role in the “hardest day” of the Battle of Britain. Follow us @bfbssitrep

75 years on - what’s the legacy of VJ day? How should the government review the UK’s security and defence needs? We hear what military personnel are doing to help after the devastating explosion in Beirut And why the script of the film 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' caused concern in the War Office. Follow us @bfbssitrep

The Government offers aid and help from military personnel after the massive explosion in Beirut. What impact is the Covid 19 pandemic having on food supplies around the world? Sitrep has a special report on training with the UK Gurkha Company And the Battle of Balaclava, one man’s story as part of the Charge of the Heavy Brigade. Follow us @bfbssitrep

The Chair of the Defence Select Committee Tobias Ellwood on Donald Trump's plans to withdraw 12 thousand troops from Germany. We assess the role of artificial intelligence in future combat air systems. Why did Iran fire missiles at a mock-up of a US aircraft carrier? And what led to the abolition of the daily tot of Navy rum…50 years ago this week? Follow us @bfbssitrep