The Secretary of State for Defence Phillip Hammond speaks to Kate Gerbeau on Sitrep and discusses the British deployment to Mali and today's news about defence spending......

Also this week: how do you stop extremism – is education the answer rather than conflict?

And find out why the Defence Select Committee want to hear your views on the provision of Service children’s education

PRESENTER:  Kate Gerbeau

STUDIO GUESTS:  BFBS’s defence analyst, Christopher Lee

OTHER INTERVIEWS: 

The Secretary of State for Defence Phil Hammond discussing Mali, defence cuts and Syria

Lt Gen Jonathan Riley on the British Forces mission to Mali

President of the Quilliam Foundation Noman Benotman on extremism

The Chair of the Defence Select Committee James Arbuthnot on Service children’s education

You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and on BFBS Radio at 1830 (UK time)

Alternatively listen again on the website.

Should more troops should go to Mali and why North Africa is now a global concern?

What shape will the Army be in after the latest round of redundancies?  And can the Reserves plug the hole?

Who are the new names at the top of the military command?

How should the centenary of the First World War be commemorated?

And how does the Prime Minister’s Europe speech affect the Armed Forces?

PRESENTER:  Kate Gerbeau

STUDIO GUESTS:  BFBS’s defence analyst, Christopher Lee & Major General Julian Thompson

OTHER INTERVIEWS: 

Forces News reporter Charlotte Cross with a report from Mali

The Shadow Secretary of State for Defence Jim Murphy discussing Mali, defence cuts and women on the front line

WW1 Centenary commemorations with Professor Sir Hew Strachan (pro: STRAWN) and Major Sir Michael Parker – organiser of many Royal Tournaments and military events.

You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and on BFBS Radio at 1830 (UK time)

Alternatively listen again on the website.

Is the Hostage crisis in Algeria retaliation against the French intervention in Mali or something else?
 
Why Russia’s top general tells Nato that Afghanistan pull out spells disaster
 
Are forces children getting a good deal when it comes to their education?
 
And what prompts A-listers like David Beckham and Ray Winstone to visit injured troops in hospital?
PRESENTER:  Kate Gerbeau

STUDIO GUESTS:  BFBS’s defence analyst, Christopher Lee
 
OTHER INTERVIEWS:
Analytst Jon Marks on Algeria
BBC Mark Doyle in Mali
Headteacher Su Scrimshaw telling us what it’s like to run a school where the majority of students are from Forces’ families.
Sir Bob Russell from the Commons Defence Select Committee discussing Service children’s education
Forces News reporter Claire Sadler talking to actor Ray Winstone
 
You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and on BFBS Radio at 1830 (UK time)
Alternatively listen again on the website.

Will America keep its commitment to Afghanistan post 2014

And what difference will the new faces in the US Administration make to the transition?

What can we do to increase our cyber security awareness?

Why there’s an increasing worry that Syria will use chemical weapons

And how do you stop the violence and demonstrations in Northern Ireland…..

PRESENTER:  Kate Gerbeau

STUDIO GUESTS:  BFBS’s defence analyst, Christopher Lee & Dr Martin Macauley from University College London

OTHER INTERVIEWS: 

Professor Michael Stathis, political scientist from Southern Utah University

Forces Radio reporterTim Cooper on the National Audit Office Report, speaking to Phillip Hammond

Forces Radio reporter Rosie Laydon on Cyber Security interviewing Major General Jonathan former head of cyber-security at the MoD.

Northern Ireland analyst Chris Ryder on Belfast.

You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and on BFBS Radio at 1830 (UK time)

Alternatively listen again on the website.

This week there’s more pressure from Argentina over its claims to the Falklands Islands

Why America thinks Europe should pay for its own defence and security including Afghanistan.

There’s a warning over military intervention in Syria & the consequences of drone strikes in Yemen.

And there’s concerns over the future capabilities of the Royal Navy.

PRESENTER:  Kate Gerbeau

STUDIO GUEST:  BFBS’s defence analyst, Christopher Lee & Professor Paul Rogers, from the Dept of Peace Studies at Bradford University.

OTHER INTERVIEWS: 

Jonathan Foreman from Civitas Institute discussing moving the international aid budget to the armed forces.

Professor Sir Paul Newton on Syria 

Iona Craig, the Times Yemen correspondent, on drone strikes in Yemen

Steve Bush editor of British Warships And Auxiliaries 2013/14

You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and on BFBS Radio at 1830 (UK time)

Alternatively listen again on the website.