The British Chiefs of Staff
| Author | Frank Cooper |
| DOI | 10.1177/095207678600100302 |
| Date | 01 July 1986 |
| Published date | 01 July 1986 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
The
British
Chiefs
of
Staff
Sir
Frank
Cooper,
former
Permanent
Under-Secretary,
of
State,
Ministry
of
Defence
Abstract
Thais
paper
looks
at
successive
attempts
to
coordinate
defence
policy,
in
Britain
-
from
the
setting
up
of
the
Chiefs
of
Staff
Committee
in
1923
onwards.
It
shows
hiow
innovations
such
as
the
creation
of
a
Miniister
of
Defence
in
1946,
and
the
creation
of
a
Chief
of
Defence
Staff
were
less
inmportant
than
personalities
and
traditions
in
the
Services.
The
1964
unification
of
the
Ministry
of
Defence
was,
in
turn,
criticized
as
coordination
-
especiallv
oni
polic'l
anid
resource
decisions
-
was
difficult.
Further
authority
was
granted
the
Chlief
of
the
Defence
Staff
in
1982,
but
in
1984
the
Secretary
of
State
proposed
further
cenitralization.
It
has
been
well
said
that
for
more
than
half
this
century
Britain
was
defended
by
Committees.
The
Chiefs
of
Staff
Committee
itself
was
appointed
in
1923.
In
the
words
used
at
the
time
the
Chiefs
of
Staff
of
the
three
services
were
to
have
'an
individual
and
collective
responsibility
for
advising
[the
Governmiienlt]
on
defence
policy
as
a
whole,
the
three
constituting
as
it
were
a
super-chicf
of
a
War
Staff
in
commission.
In
carrying
out
this
function
they
will
meet
togetlher
for
the
discussion
of
questions
which
affect
their
joint
responsibilities'.
It
is
worth
noticing
that
at
that
time
there
was
nio
Secretary
of
State
for
Defence
and
no
Ministry
of
Defence.
There
were
three
plhysically
separate
Ministries
-one
for
each
Service
and
each
headed
by
a
politician
wlho
was
a
member
of
the
Britisl
Cabinet.
The
Cabinet
and
its
Defence
Committee,
at
that
time
known
as
the
Committee
of
Imperial
Defence
[CID]
with
its
own
smiiall
Secretariat
(Military
and
Civilian),
considered
defence
issues
and
took
decisions.
The
Chiefs
of
Staff
Coim-
mittee
was
a
sub-committee
of
the
CID.
The
Prime
Minister
had
a
special,
if
ill-
defined,
responsibility
for
defence.
Why
were
the
Chiefs
of
Staff
created?
Paradoxically
one
element
was
the
belief
that
there
should
not
be
a
Secretary
of
State
for
Defence
or
a
Ministry
of
Defence.
Such
steps
would
over-concentrate
power.
But
there
was
a
perceived
need
for
co-
ordination.
In
World
War
I
the
Royal
Navy
and
the
Army
had
fought
what
sonme-
times
seemed
to
be
separate
wars.
The
Dardanelles
operations
in
1917
had
shown
Public
Policy
antd
Adminiistrationi
Volume
1
No.
3,
Winier
1986
I
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