MR BAINBRIDGE is entitled to his views (Letters, April 4) on preservation: I have sympathy with some of them, indeed, MOD's Defence Estate Strategy demonstrates commitment to conservation and public access.
However, when he sets himself up as the arbiter of what is a 'better place' for military training, he is neither qualified nor correct.
The end of the Cold War, which was based upon nuclear deterrence and armoured warfare in Central Europe, is not relevant to training on Dartmoor. Training for general war did not take place on Dartmoor; it happened in Germany and Canada. Training for less intensive deployments — 'the leaner, faster reacting Army' to which Mr Bainbridge refers, now more than ever, requires extensive training areas.
This and previous Governments have accepted the need for military training in National Parks. Dartmoor is ideal for such training, as recent pictures of the Falklands' war and commitment of the Royal Marines to the harsh environment of Afghanistan remind us, only too starkly.
R C B Nutting
Lieutenant Colonel
Commander
Wyvern Barracks
Exeter