Christmas Message From Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope – First Sea Lord

2011 has been an extraordinarily busy year for the Royal Navy – by which I mean all, repeat all Arms, Branches and Trades that form the Senior Service.

For much of this year, as many as 8000 sailors and marines (nearly a quarter of the entire Royal Navy) have been deployed protecting our national interests.You have been making a difference in Afghanistan, Libya, the Indian Ocean, Middle East, Atlantic, Caribbean, and in home waters; bringing a hard won degree of stability to our world, and doing so with your characteristic professionalism, bravery, humour and overwhelming sense of duty.

Whether you – sailor, marine or civil servant – have been on ops, supporting ops or, equally importantly, preparing the Royal Navy for the future, be in no doubt that your contribution is hugely appreciated: not just by myself and the wider Defence community, but by the British public and the many countries we work alongside.

I am acutely aware that – as we strategically set our sights on delivering the Future Navy Vision, by generating the Future Force 2020 – this has also been a year of considerable challenge and change as we reshape the Royal Navy for that future. The next few years will, I predict, be no different. And so I understand that this is an unsettling period for many of you whose skill, dedication and courage remain fundamental to our operational success. I also know this is an unsettling period for your families, upon whose loyal support we will always depend.

Yet, whilst the transition to Future Force 2020 will not be easy, there rightly remains significant ambition, purpose and progress across a range of organisational change programmes. Together with a formidable equipment plan – including new Aircraft Carriers, Type 45s, Astutes, Type 26s, upgraded helicopters, new Fleet Support ships and the successor deterrent – we continue to meet the milestones that will ensure we have a rebalanced Fleet configured to deal with future threats at sea and from the sea, in the air and on the land. We are building a Royal Navy that will continue to best serve Britain’s interests and to which we can look forward with confidence.

All of our thoughts are with those facing Christmas without loved ones, in particular those who have been killed in action or have died in service. And we pay tribute to those wounded in action or in the course of duty. We also remember over this Christmas period the nearly 3000 sailors and marines away from the UK – serving in Afghanistan, deployed in some 20 ships and submarines, or on operations elsewhere around the world – and their families back home.

Finally, as we reflect on 2011 and look ahead to 2012, you have every reason to be proud, very proud – just as I am and the British public is – of your noble endeavours and courageous achievements, undertaken in the finest traditions of the Service. My grateful thanks go to you and your families, and my best wishes to you all this Christmas and New Year.