Throughout the Review I have therefore been determined to ensure that the Armed Forces, the civilians who support them, and their families should be kept informed about its conduct. Now that the Review has reached its conclusions, I am equally determined that they should be told about its outcome as rapidly and fully as possible. This pack of fact sheets forms a key component of that process. They should be used as the basis upon which commanders and managers discharge their obligation to explain the outcome of the Review to their staff. These fact sheets can only go so far.
Much work needs to be done to implement our conclusions.
Although we have tried to answer all of the questions that people will ask, in some areas the implications will not become clear until that work has been completed. Where that is the case, we have been frank and said so. The Strategic Defence Review provides a coherent long term vision for Britain's defence and the people who work in it. I firmly believe that it represents a good outcome for the Armed Forces, for defence, and the nation as a whole.