You go to war with the press you’ve got

Abstract

Most journalists are not experts in military equipment, so when “informed sources” tell them that the Government is sending in troops to Afghanistan with sub-standard gear, they tend to believe them. But in most cases, says Steve McNally, they’re wrong. And he should know: as a Territorial he served with the Royal Artillery in Helmand Province last year. Journalists, he says, are all too keen to take the bait of a “bungling government” sending poorly-equipped soldiers into battle, because it fits their particular narrative; but in so doing they are misinforming their audiences, misrepresenting the Government and undermining the serving troops.