Page 8 - Demo

8INTRODUCTION BY SEMINAR CHAIRMANAir Marshal Sir John CurtissNigel Baldwin and his team seem to have timed this event withremarkable prescience, although I%u2019m not sure that, when they selectedthe topic for this seminar, they could really have predicted that ourForces would once again be on active service, this time in Iraq. But it is afact that just twenty-one years ago, on 2 April 1982, Argentina invadedthe Falkland Islands. Three days later, the aircraft carriers Hermes andInvincible sailed at the head of what was to become one of the largestTask Forces in recent history, resulting in the recapture of the islandsafter only seventy days. This indeed was one war that would be over byChristmas.It is one thing to start your life in war, as I did, but it was perhaps evenmore satisfying to end one%u2019s career, after forty years, following theconclusion of a very different and very successful one. It may be ofpassing interest to note that, in many ways, I found it a lot easier to flywith Bomber Command during WW II than I did being the AirCommander in the Falkland campaign. In other words, going to war isvery much easier than sending others to war.But we must move on, as we have a lot to get through today. We havesome sixteen speakers. Most of them played an active role in thecampaign and all are distinguished. Indeed we already have two formerChiefs of the Air Staff in the auditorium and our current CAS will bejoining us later. We are fortunate indeed. We also have the largestaudience ever assembled for any of the Society%u2019s meetings and I knowthat many of those who are here today served in the campaign. Some ofyou will, I hope, wish to participate in the question period and I welcomethat, but all of this puts considerable pressure on the time available to us,so I do ask you to exercise great discipline: the speakers to stick to theirtime; everyone to return promptly after lunch and, when it comes to thequestion period, please make sure that you give your name before youask your question; keep your question succinct and don%u2019t make speeches.So, having set a good example by finishing well within my own allottedfive minutes I will hand over to our first speaker.