British Armed Forces War. Repeatedly emerging victorious from conflicts has allowed Britain to establish itself as one of the world's leading military and economic powers. Today, the British Armed Forces consist of: the Royal Navy, a blue-water navy with a fleet of 74 commissioned ships, together with the Royal Marines, a highly specialised amphibious light infantry force; the British Army, the UK's principal land warfare branch; and the Royal Air Force, a technologically sophisticated air force with a diverse operational fleet consisting of both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft. The British Armed Forces include standing forces, Regular Reserve, Volunteer Reserves and Sponsored Reserves. Its
Irish in the British Armed Forces times John Joe McGee. Aside from the obvious paramilitary opposition to Irish involvement in the British Armed Forces, the Irish rebel song tradition has developed which also voices opposition to Irish enlistment or criticised the actions of the British forces in Ireland. Some of the best known of these include; "Join the British Army", "The Recruiting Sergeant", "Foggy Dew", "Come Out Ye Black and Tans", "Who Is Ireland's Enemy?", "Go On Home", among others. "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye" and "McCafferty", while not of republican origin, carry much of the same spirit. As part of the general Gaelic Revival of