Chief of Defence Staff Sets out Vision in RUSI Annual Defence Lecture
Readiness, resilience and reconnecting society and the military at the heart of speech given to RUSI members, held in Banqueting House.
Giving the Annual Defence Lecture to RUSI for the first time as Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton outlined the need for a "whole of society approach" to build "national resilience" in the face of growing uncertainty.
Speaking inside Banqueting House and addressing an audience of 300 RUSI members and international media, Sir Richard addressed threats facing the UK, saying:
The situation is more dangerous than I have known during my career and the response requires more than simply strengthening our armed forces. A new era for defence doesn't just mean our military and government stepping up – as we are – it means our whole nation stepping up.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, Chief of the Defence Staff
Trench Gascoigne Essay Prize Presentation
The evening also saw the presentation of the Institute's Trench Gascoigne Essay Prize, given for original writing on contemporary issues of national and international defence and security. The prize dates back to 1874 and is now in its 151st year.
This year’s winners were:
Scott Mackie, Postgraduate Researcher, Durham University, the winner in the category 'students currently in full-time education', for his essay entitled 'Entropy and Empire: From Expansion to Endurance as the Measure of Spacepower'.
Yazan Issa, Officer Cadet, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, the winner in the category 'individuals in the first 15 years of their military career', his essay entitled 'The Semantics of Defeat: How Strategic Language Obscures Continuous Conflict'.
The recording of the lecture and Q&A is available for RUSI Members to watch.Â