Gen Sir Nick Houghton would not be drawn on whether Britain would get involved in Syria
The new chief of the defence staff has warned that armed forces cuts mean the UK will have to lower expectations of its military capability in future.
General Sir Nick Houghton said many service personnel had been left feeling "cynical and detached" by the cuts.
Gen Houghton said in an interview for MoD magazine Defence Focus he would do more to listen to their concerns.
The general also talked of the need to cut down on bureaucracy and change the culture within defence.
Gen Houghton said he planned to be "honest, straight talking and supportive" to those working in defence, in times he described as "quite difficult for many of them".
He said there was scope for better internal and external communications - and the MoD had risked people becoming cynical and detached from what defence was trying to do.
'Uncertain world'
The Yorkshireman replaced General Sir David Richards as chief of the defence staff in mid-July, at a time when the MoD is still making regular soldiers redundant while trying to increase the number of reserves.
Gen Houghton admitted it would be a huge challenge to make manpower reductions, keep people motivated, maintain the right skills, and continue to prosecute military operations - although not an impossible task.
He said: "Defence has quite rightly focused on Afghanistan in recent years but getting back to a contingent posture that offers genuine political choices for the dangerous and uncertain world we face is now a clear priority."
Gen Houghton said the UK would have to "recalibrate" expectations of what military force the nation could now field from a standing start, although he would not be drawn on Syria.
"As it stands, no decisions have been made on our involvement in Syria," he said
"It is, nevertheless, the duty of the Ministry of Defence to provide options for the use of military force in scenarios such as Syria and military advice on the utility of those options."
Meanwhile, Conservative MP John Baron has warned the government not to use allegations of chemical attacks in Syria as a "ploy to draw us more and more into the conflict".
Mr Baron told the BBC's Newsnight programme weapons inspectors needed to verify whether chemical weapons had been used - and who was behind the attack.
He has recently led calls for MPs to be given a vote before any decision is made to arm rebel forces in Syria.
Đăng ký: Tieng Anh Vui
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