Your weekly dose of defence news, biased opinions and poorly curated content. You’re welcome.
TOP STORY THIS WEEK
RN kicks off two day booze ban
Most recent photo I could find of a fully manned ship
In 1970, the Royal Navy scrapped a tradition that had stood since 1655 - the daily ‘tot’ of rum. The lads were fuming. Well, fast forward to 2026 and the powers that be have doubled down: sailors now have to endure two dry days a week while on board.
IN OTHER NEWS
30mins notice to move (out of your home)
The hallway of Halton House. As you can see, the whole place is a total dump.
You might recognise Halton House from Bridgerton. It also happens to be the Officers' Mess at RAF Halton - well, it was. Last week, residents were given just 30 minutes to pack up and get out after a structural survey deemed the building unsafe.
Rumour has it filming was set to commence the next day. I love the fact that a Netflix producer is chewing the ear off some poor clark somewhere saying “the MoD can’t be serious”…
…well I’ve got some news for you bebe…they are.
Welcome to our world.
If you want to see how the other half live - here is a gallery of the interior.
Russian pigeon detectives
I don’t think this is AI - but you can never be quite sure nowadays
Another totally normal bit of tech news this week: a Russian startup is reportedly ready to put chips into the brains of pigeons, turning them into aeronautical operatives.
The developers behind the project - codenamed PJN-1 (gen) - have (correctly) identified that the biggest flaws with UAVs are range and battery life. No such drama with our feathered friends; they can cover 400km a day and all they ask for are a few worms.
IN THE MEDIA
Podcast: Stalin the victor?
Not new this but it’s relevant to the Yalta Conference point below. HistoryExtra looks at how the "Big Three" carved up the world and whether the Western Allies got played. About an hour (cue: literally no one clicking the link).
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
Big events from the past, covered in brief and probably inaccurately.
4th February 1945: The Yalta Conference Begins
Imagine if Britain was still this important.
The Yalta Conference was a biggie. Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin met in the Crimea to plan the final defeat of Germany and the post-war carve-up of Europe.
While they were shaking hands and drinking tea, the "Iron Curtain" was essentially being measured for its first set of brackets.
JOB SPOTLIGHT
Changing things up? This is where we briefly look at career options from across the civvy world - everything goes here so expect some absolute drivel. Sometimes Forces Assist can help place you, sometimes we can’t. Either way we can offer advice.
PTI 4 LYF.
Civvies pay thousands for this.
PT is a good option if you bloody love phys. Not the most stable pay if you start out on your own, but there are loads of options to get things going.
We talk about this more on our insta - give us a follow:
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Driver Series coming up on our Insta
On our Forces Assist insta page, in the next few weeks we’re doing a deep dive into all things driving. Give us a follow.
Cheers,
Team Forces Assist
PS. get all your mates to sign up for Despatches and we’ll a) be grateful b) be grateful.