Afghan Handover 'On Track' – Hammond

The recently appointed Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has told the a major servicemens' institute that they are "on track" to handover security to Afghanistan by 2014.

During his first major address as Defence Secretary at the Royal United Services Institute in London on Thursday morning, Mr Hammond said Britain is not trying to create a "perfect Afghanistan" but would ensure "terror groups" could not use the country as a base in the future.

During his early morning speech, Mr Hammond said: "The successful conclusion of the combat mission in Afghanistan is my first priority."

Mr Hammon also announced that women will be allowed to serve in Royal Navy submarines for the first time, saying the armed forces shouldn't be "slaves to tradition" and had accepted proposals for change.

"In that spirit I can announce today that I have accepted the recommendation of the first sea lord that women should be allowed to serve in submarines in the future."

The Defence Secretary said female officers would serve on the Vanguard submarines from late in 2013, followed by ratings in 2015.

"Women, officers and ratings, will also be able to serve on the Astute class submarines from about 2016," he said.

The minister also said the military was likely to financial stresses as the department cut costs and imposed reforms over the coming years.

He said: "Eliminating the black hole in the defence budget is the only way to sustain military capability over the long term. If we don't reshape now we won't be in a position to order new equipment in the future.

"Our challenge is to move from the fantasy budgets of the past to firm foundations for the future. This is a transition that is essential to the future of defence – but no one should be under any illusion that it will be easy or pain-free."

(DW)