Set Sail for Brigadoom

Britain has played a very minor role in the still-nascent European Union military—which is separate from NATO—and its few dedicated officers and assets involved with the EU will likely revert to being part of NATO only. Most forces associated with the EU are French and German. However, Scotland and Northern Ireland voted strongly to remain in the EU Thursday, and Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Friday her Scottish National Party will swiftly re-stage the September 2014 referendum on whether to depart the UK and seek Scotland’s own EU membership. In the last referendum, it was agreed that if Scotland became independent, it would retain some portion of British military assets based on its soil, including some Typhoon fighters and A400 transports, but those plans evaporated when Scotland voted to remain in the UK. Scotland’s exit from the UK would affect US nuclear posture, as the Navy bases some of its ballistic missile submarines in Scotland, along with 58 Trident II missiles and their associated infrastructure. SNP officials said that if Scotland voted to leave the UK, they would move to implement their goal of becoming “nuclear-free” within four years of the vote, forcing the US Navy to seek another home for its subs.