“Everything starts and finishes with the soldier.”

“I understand all the problems for the Ministry of Defence, of course I do; working within a budget and trying to do so many things is not easy.”

“If you move between battalions, you are still within the same tribe.”

“Intervention continues to be a prominent dimension of the post-cold war world.”

“It is absolutely bedrock to the British Army's philosophy that a commanding officer is responsible for what goes on within his command.”

“Military operations cannot be tidy or free of friction - particularly in a coalition whose contributing nations see the campaign through national prisms.”

“Missing your lunch is not exactly the end of the world.”

“Nations, not least America, retain full command of their national forces.”

“Not much over ??1,000 a month for the private soldier on operations is hardly an impressive figure.”

“Soldiering is a very important profession, is it not?”

“The Russians are a very sentimental people.”

“Well, the U.N. Security Council resolution 1973 is very clear. It says all necessary measures to be taken to protect civilians and civilian areas. I mean, that to me is very clear.”

“You cannot expect soldiers to change people's minds. That has to be done in other ways.”