Seth Jones: Welcome to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
I have the enormous pleasure of welcoming Admiral Sir Tony Radakin. He’s the professional head of the United Kingdom’s armed forces, military strategic commander, and principal military advisor to the prime minister and the secretary of state for defence. Admiral Radakin previously served as the first sea lord and chief of the naval staff from June 2019 until early November 2021. Commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1990, he has served in numerous command and staff appointments, both ashore and afloat, and in command of U.K. and international forces.
His operational tours have included the Iran-Iraq tanker war, security duties in the Falklands, NATO operations in the Adriatic, countering smuggling in Hong Kong and the Caribbean, and three tours in Iraq, each in command. I understand that this will be your last public speaking event as chief of the defense staff, but I know there is more to come. Word on the street has it that you are an avid squash player and sailor and have four boys. So as someone who came from a family with four boys, I’m sure you will have your hands full. Welcome, Admiral, to CSIS.
Admiral Sir Tony Radakin: Well, thank you very much, Seth. And it’s a pleasure to be back in Washington. Thank you to Lord Mandelson and the British defense staff, and to the Center for Strategic and International Studies for hosting, as you said, what is probably my last public speech as chief of the defense staff.
There normally comes a point when a chief steps down that they let forth on all the frustrations and opinions they’ve bottled up during their time in post. Those of you hoping for me to let rip or to spill the beans on the inner workings of the four different administrations I’ve served will be somewhat disappointed. I’m afraid I’m going to be irritatingly consistent. My narrative today is pretty much the same as it was at the outset of my tenure four years ago. And for those of you who haven’t made it through one of my speeches before, the gist is as follows: We are in a new, more dangerous era, but Britain remains safe. NATO is stronger. Russia is weak. And the West has the military, economic, and intellectual heft needed to buttress the global system.
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