Reflections on Defending an Independent Scotland: a View from Ireland

The people of Scotland will vote in a Referendum, on 18 Sept 2014, to decide on whether Scotland will declare for, or against, independence from the UK. In the event of a YES vote, an Independent Scotland will need to have its own Defence Forces to assure its freedom, underline its sovereignty, and provide for a secure environment for its people to live, and prosper. The object of this paper, written by Colonel Dorcha Lee, is to explore how the SDF (Scottish Defence Forces) could be established, with particular reference to lessons learned from the Irish experience. The Paper also presents aspects which might be considered in the formulation of a Scottish Defence Policy, and options on how the military aspect of such a policy could be implemented.

Colonel (retd) Dorcha Lee is a former Irish Defence Forces Provost Marshal and Director of Military Police. A graduate of the Irish Military College, he also studied at military schools in the US and France. He served a total of eleven years as a senior staff officer in Defence Forces HQ, in both the Chief of Staff’s Branch and the Quartermastergeneral’s Branch and participated in five different UN peacekeeping missions in Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria/ Israel, Iraq and Somalia. Col. Lee also served in Brussels as Military Advisor with the Irish Embassy. While in Brussels he functioned as Irish Military Delegate to the WEU, and as Irish Military Representative to the EU Military Committee when it was first assembled in March 2000.