Title: UK Armed Forces
Description: Her Majesty's Armed Forces news
Description: Her Majesty's Armed Forces news
Numbers - July 20, 2004 05:23 AM (GMT)
The Trafalgar class nuclear-powered submarine HMS Turbulent returns to her homeport at Devonport on Friday 16 July after spending six months on deployment, which took them to the other side of the world.
HMS TurbulentHMS Turbulent left Plymouth in January and, following a period of Operational Sea Training off the south coast of the UK honing the crew’s operational skills, the submarine headed to the Mediterranean where she conducted warm water trials before transiting the Suez Canal.
After crossing the Equator in May the boat headed southeast for Australia. Before arriving alongside in Fremantle they conducted a 36 hour exercise with the Australian Collins Class submarine HMAS Dechaineux. Turbulent's arrival marked the first Royal Navy submarine to visit Freemantle since 1997 and was also the furthest East the boat was to travel during the deployment and the furthest point from home.
The submarine sailed from Australian shores on the 11 Jun laden with boomerangs and didgeridoo’s and spent 13 days transiting the Southern Indian Ocean. The weather was poor with heavy seas and strong winds. This passage also marked the furthest south the boat was to travel during the deployment. Four days out from South Africa whales were detected singing to each other which, according to one observer on board, was "a lovely sound in the very quiet ocean."
On the way home the submarine called into the naval port of Simonstown in South Africa. During the visit members of the Ship’s Company took part in the construction of houses for the people of the townships on the outskirts of Cape Town. Assisting the non-profit organisation ‘Habitat For Humanity’ the Turbulent crew members spent the day finishing four new houses.
During their stay in South Africa some of the crew were also able to give vocal support to the Welsh rugby team who were playing the Springboks.
On sailing from Simonstown HMS Turbulent headed northwards for the first time in months and looking forward to returning to Plymouth. Now nearly at the end of the deployment the submarine will pick up 13 fathers and sons of crewmembers in Gibraltar for the last few days of the trip to give them an insight into life at sea.
Speaking on his way home Turbulent's Commanding Officer, Commander Andy Coles, said:
"We've had a fantastic six month deployment which has demonstrated the capability of HMS Turbulent to operate very successfully for long periods away from our base port. We've also been able to exercise with the United States, Australian and South African Navies. We are now looking forward to returning to our loved ones for some well-earned leave and a maintenance period alongside."
Royal Navy
HMS TurbulentHMS Turbulent left Plymouth in January and, following a period of Operational Sea Training off the south coast of the UK honing the crew’s operational skills, the submarine headed to the Mediterranean where she conducted warm water trials before transiting the Suez Canal.
After crossing the Equator in May the boat headed southeast for Australia. Before arriving alongside in Fremantle they conducted a 36 hour exercise with the Australian Collins Class submarine HMAS Dechaineux. Turbulent's arrival marked the first Royal Navy submarine to visit Freemantle since 1997 and was also the furthest East the boat was to travel during the deployment and the furthest point from home.
The submarine sailed from Australian shores on the 11 Jun laden with boomerangs and didgeridoo’s and spent 13 days transiting the Southern Indian Ocean. The weather was poor with heavy seas and strong winds. This passage also marked the furthest south the boat was to travel during the deployment. Four days out from South Africa whales were detected singing to each other which, according to one observer on board, was "a lovely sound in the very quiet ocean."
On the way home the submarine called into the naval port of Simonstown in South Africa. During the visit members of the Ship’s Company took part in the construction of houses for the people of the townships on the outskirts of Cape Town. Assisting the non-profit organisation ‘Habitat For Humanity’ the Turbulent crew members spent the day finishing four new houses.
During their stay in South Africa some of the crew were also able to give vocal support to the Welsh rugby team who were playing the Springboks.
On sailing from Simonstown HMS Turbulent headed northwards for the first time in months and looking forward to returning to Plymouth. Now nearly at the end of the deployment the submarine will pick up 13 fathers and sons of crewmembers in Gibraltar for the last few days of the trip to give them an insight into life at sea.
Speaking on his way home Turbulent's Commanding Officer, Commander Andy Coles, said:
"We've had a fantastic six month deployment which has demonstrated the capability of HMS Turbulent to operate very successfully for long periods away from our base port. We've also been able to exercise with the United States, Australian and South African Navies. We are now looking forward to returning to our loved ones for some well-earned leave and a maintenance period alongside."
Royal Navy
Switik - July 28, 2004 01:49 AM (GMT)
Maybe they can get Osama ahead of the Yanks ;)
Britain forms new special forces unit to fight al-Qa'eda
By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent
(Filed: 25/07/2004)
A new special forces regiment is being created to infiltrate Islamic terrorist groups such as al-Qa'eda, The Telegraph can reveal.
The Reconnaissance and Surveillance Regiment will work closely with the Special Air Service and the Special Boat Service. Its mission will be to penetrate groups, either directly or by "turning" terrorists into double agents.
It will be given the authority to operate around the world, working closely with friendly intelligence agencies such as the CIA and Mossad.
Security chiefs hope that the regiment, comprising up to 600 troops, will run a network of agents providing the West with accurate intelligence on potential terrorist operations, allowing attacks to be foiled. It will at first be formed from members of a highly secret surveillance agency - the Joint Communications Unit Northern Ireland - which has worked in Ulster for more than 20 years. The unit, which worked with the SAS, MI5 and the Special Branch, perfected the art of covert surveillance in urban and rural areas and created a network of double agents who supplied the British security forces with intelligence on terrorist attacks.
Its success stemmed from its ability to plant listening devices and cameras in the homes and cars of terrorists, to bug phones and to monitor suspects at close quarters.
Such was the secrecy surrounding the unit that few of its operations were made public. Members of the unit are, however, some of the most highly decorated men and women in the Services.
One of its successes was providing the information for the SAS operation in 1988 which led to the shooting dead of three IRA terrorists who were planning to attack British forces in Gibraltar. The unit also took part in an operation that thwarted an IRA plot to attack a police station at Loughgall, County Tyrone, in 1987. Eight IRA members were killed by the SAS in a carefully planned ambush.
Volunteers for the regiment, both male and female, will be taken from all three branches of the Armed Forces. Officers are keen to recruit those of Middle Eastern or Mediterranean appearance, as well as Muslims and members of ethnic minorities.
Recruitment has begun and volunteers must pass an intensive six-month training course, learning covert surveillance, communications, driving skills and first aid as well as close-quarter battle skills, using a variety of weapons. Priority will be given to those able to infiltrate or blend in with Islamic terror groups, rather than, as with the SAS, their fitness or fighting capabilities.
One officer said: "The SAS's role is essentially to kill people. This new regiment's role is to provide the intelligence for the SAS to do that."
rest of story
Britain forms new special forces unit to fight al-Qa'eda
By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent
(Filed: 25/07/2004)
A new special forces regiment is being created to infiltrate Islamic terrorist groups such as al-Qa'eda, The Telegraph can reveal.
The Reconnaissance and Surveillance Regiment will work closely with the Special Air Service and the Special Boat Service. Its mission will be to penetrate groups, either directly or by "turning" terrorists into double agents.
It will be given the authority to operate around the world, working closely with friendly intelligence agencies such as the CIA and Mossad.
Security chiefs hope that the regiment, comprising up to 600 troops, will run a network of agents providing the West with accurate intelligence on potential terrorist operations, allowing attacks to be foiled. It will at first be formed from members of a highly secret surveillance agency - the Joint Communications Unit Northern Ireland - which has worked in Ulster for more than 20 years. The unit, which worked with the SAS, MI5 and the Special Branch, perfected the art of covert surveillance in urban and rural areas and created a network of double agents who supplied the British security forces with intelligence on terrorist attacks.
Its success stemmed from its ability to plant listening devices and cameras in the homes and cars of terrorists, to bug phones and to monitor suspects at close quarters.
Such was the secrecy surrounding the unit that few of its operations were made public. Members of the unit are, however, some of the most highly decorated men and women in the Services.
One of its successes was providing the information for the SAS operation in 1988 which led to the shooting dead of three IRA terrorists who were planning to attack British forces in Gibraltar. The unit also took part in an operation that thwarted an IRA plot to attack a police station at Loughgall, County Tyrone, in 1987. Eight IRA members were killed by the SAS in a carefully planned ambush.
Volunteers for the regiment, both male and female, will be taken from all three branches of the Armed Forces. Officers are keen to recruit those of Middle Eastern or Mediterranean appearance, as well as Muslims and members of ethnic minorities.
Recruitment has begun and volunteers must pass an intensive six-month training course, learning covert surveillance, communications, driving skills and first aid as well as close-quarter battle skills, using a variety of weapons. Priority will be given to those able to infiltrate or blend in with Islamic terror groups, rather than, as with the SAS, their fitness or fighting capabilities.
One officer said: "The SAS's role is essentially to kill people. This new regiment's role is to provide the intelligence for the SAS to do that."
rest of story
joojump - July 28, 2004 06:59 AM (GMT)
sas, i think they're the best in the world
Informer - August 13, 2004 01:55 AM (GMT)
Lockheed Martin Hellfire Scores Perfect 6-For-6 in British Army Live-Fire Tests
(Source: Lockheed Martin; issued Aug. 11, 2004)
ORLANDO, Fla. --- The British Army Air Corps recently fired Lockheed Martin AGM-114K Hellfire missiles in a live-fire training exercise at the British Army Training Unit-Suffield (BATUS) in Alberta, Canada. The missiles scored six hits in six launches in their first live-fire tests with the British Army Air Corps.
This was the first live-fire event for the Hellfire missiles using the Westland Apache AH-Mk1 (Longbow Apache) helicopter. The Canadian government granted permission to fire the rounds in BATUS. During the first two Hellfire exercises, targets were tank-size mockups and both tests were successful. In the second exercise, all four Hellfire missiles also hit their targets.
“We are extremely pleased with Hellfire’s 100 percent mission success in its first live-fire tests with the British Army Air Corps,” said Andy Marshall, program manager of international Air-to-Ground Missile Systems (AGMS). “The Apache AH Mk1 and M299 launcher can carry any combination of anti-tank and blast fragmentation Hellfire II rounds as well as the fire-and-forget Longbow Hellfire.”
The six engagements employed Hellfire in a wide range of modes, including autonomous designation, remote ground designation, and designation by a second aircraft. The high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds used were manufactured by Thales, near Belfast, Northern Ireland, under a UK industrial partnership with Lockheed Martin under contract from INSYS Ltd. as the UK Apache munitions prime contractor.
“The precision-strike semi-active laser seeker of the Hellfire II, plus the all-weather millimeter wave seeker of the Longbow Hellfire, gives the British Army Air Corps operational flexibility in combat,” Marshall said. “The Apache AH Mk1 has unmatched lethality, and the Hellfire missile family gives it the ability to defeat a wide range of targets in all kinds of battlefield conditions.”
The Longbow missile is the product of a Lockheed Martin/Northrop Grumman joint venture.
Baltimore-based Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems is a world leader in the design, development, and manufacture of defense and commercial electronic systems and sensors, including airborne radar, navigation systems, electronic countermeasures, precision weapons, airspace management systems, communication systems, space sensors, marine and naval systems, government systems and logistics services.
Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, Lockheed Martin employs about 130,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services.
(Source: Lockheed Martin; issued Aug. 11, 2004)
ORLANDO, Fla. --- The British Army Air Corps recently fired Lockheed Martin AGM-114K Hellfire missiles in a live-fire training exercise at the British Army Training Unit-Suffield (BATUS) in Alberta, Canada. The missiles scored six hits in six launches in their first live-fire tests with the British Army Air Corps.
This was the first live-fire event for the Hellfire missiles using the Westland Apache AH-Mk1 (Longbow Apache) helicopter. The Canadian government granted permission to fire the rounds in BATUS. During the first two Hellfire exercises, targets were tank-size mockups and both tests were successful. In the second exercise, all four Hellfire missiles also hit their targets.
“We are extremely pleased with Hellfire’s 100 percent mission success in its first live-fire tests with the British Army Air Corps,” said Andy Marshall, program manager of international Air-to-Ground Missile Systems (AGMS). “The Apache AH Mk1 and M299 launcher can carry any combination of anti-tank and blast fragmentation Hellfire II rounds as well as the fire-and-forget Longbow Hellfire.”
The six engagements employed Hellfire in a wide range of modes, including autonomous designation, remote ground designation, and designation by a second aircraft. The high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds used were manufactured by Thales, near Belfast, Northern Ireland, under a UK industrial partnership with Lockheed Martin under contract from INSYS Ltd. as the UK Apache munitions prime contractor.
“The precision-strike semi-active laser seeker of the Hellfire II, plus the all-weather millimeter wave seeker of the Longbow Hellfire, gives the British Army Air Corps operational flexibility in combat,” Marshall said. “The Apache AH Mk1 has unmatched lethality, and the Hellfire missile family gives it the ability to defeat a wide range of targets in all kinds of battlefield conditions.”
The Longbow missile is the product of a Lockheed Martin/Northrop Grumman joint venture.
Baltimore-based Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems is a world leader in the design, development, and manufacture of defense and commercial electronic systems and sensors, including airborne radar, navigation systems, electronic countermeasures, precision weapons, airspace management systems, communication systems, space sensors, marine and naval systems, government systems and logistics services.
Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, Lockheed Martin employs about 130,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services.
bigbolz - August 13, 2004 06:44 AM (GMT)
so the brits are using apaches now, what happened to their old lynx helos?
wingblast - August 13, 2004 08:33 AM (GMT)
you can learn more here
saver111 - June 23, 2005 07:39 AM (GMT)
Royal Air Force Merlin Operations in Iraq
AgustaWestland
Jun 14, 2005, 08:17
On March 19th 2005, No 1419 Flight, 28 (Army Co-operation) Squadron operating four Royal Air Force AgustaWestland EH101 Merlin HC Mk3 helicopters, declared Full Operational Capability (FOC). As part of the UK’s Joint Helicopter Force (Iraq) supporting the UK led Multi National Division (South East), they continue to support the stabilisation and peace process within Iraq.
This deployment of the RAF Merlin HC Mk3 completes the transition of No 28 (AC) Squadron from training and development, to a fully operational squadron, having successfully introduced this new, next generation, state-of-the-art, medium support helicopter into RAF service. They were not only the first helicopter detachment to self deploy from the UK into theatre in Iraq, but were also capable of undertaking in-theatre training and limited operational tasking within a day of arrival - a tribute to both the aircraft’s capabilities and the Squadron’s Engineers.
The successful planning, hard work and pre-training undertaken by the squadron prior to their arrival in Iraq, combined with outstanding serviceability and operational capability of the Merlin resulted in 1419 Flight taking over daily tasking from the RAF Chinook HC2s of 1310 Flight at least a week ahead of schedule.
The Joint helicopter Force (Iraq) is part of the UK’s Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) and is based at Basrah Air Station providing support to Coalition and Iraqi troops in an Area of Operations that covers approximately 20,000 sq miles of Southern Iraq.
The RAF Merlin’s deployment to Iraq has confirmed many of the outstanding capabilities of this new helicopter and has helped to expand its operational potential but none more so than its reputation for reliability and serviceability. Returning 96% serviceability and performing 70% more missions than originally mandated in its first 30 days in Iraq, this facet of Merlin operations was initially established during its thirteen month tour in Bosnia in 2003/4.
This has been reinforced twice since on extended and remote Merlin HC Mk3 deployments to the USA: first, during a US Navy evaluation at NAS Patuxent River from November 2003 to March 2004 and, second, during a coast-to-coast tour in October 2004. Whilst at Patuxent River the two aircraft flew over 200 hours and achieved 99.1% availability and more recently the coast-to-coast tour covered 6000 miles in 10 days during which the single aircraft was serviceable at all times.
Now 1419 Flight provides MND (SE) and JHF (I) with Merlin HC Mk3s available for tasking at thirty minutes and sixty minutes notice for operations by day and by night 24 hours per day 365 days a year. The primary roles for 1419 Flight are assault, fire support, troop moves, airborne command post, reconnaissance and surveillance, convoy protection and Casevac.
Its new generation Rolls-Royce RTM322 engines and aerodynamically efficient rotor blades provide an exceptionally low fuel burn rate, which not only gives the aircraft a very long range (greater than 450 miles) or endurance (over 5 hours) without internal tanks, but allows the Merlin to cruise almost quietly at low level and high levels at 150kts. This unique capability has opened up the AOR and allowed the ground troops to access areas previously closed due to unacceptable helicopter evacuation times.
Of enormous benefit to troops, is the active vibration control unit. This smoothes out rotor generated vibration and allows passengers to get off the aircraft after a long transit ready for business. The Merlin also has a comprehensive radio suite and one of its roles is to provide an Airborne Command Post. A recent operation in support of Iraqi Security Forces saw a Battle Group Commander and his Staff using one of the Merlins as an Airborne, Battle Group Command Post running an operation involving several hundred troops, over 40 vehicles, two assault Merlins and other surveillance aircraft.
In this harsh operational environment the Merlin has also proved to be reliable. Squadron Engineers have benefited enormously from their previous experience over recent years in maintaining the aircraft’s high availability rates. Modern technology, including a Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) and built-in test equipment has facilitated ease of maintenance and resulted in much reduced maintenance hours per flying hours.
AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is one of the largest helicopter companies in the world. The company offers an unrivaled range of helicopters to satisfy the requirements of civil and military customers. AgustaWestland has its primary operations in Italy, United Kingdom and the United States of America.
AgustaWestland
Jun 14, 2005, 08:17
On March 19th 2005, No 1419 Flight, 28 (Army Co-operation) Squadron operating four Royal Air Force AgustaWestland EH101 Merlin HC Mk3 helicopters, declared Full Operational Capability (FOC). As part of the UK’s Joint Helicopter Force (Iraq) supporting the UK led Multi National Division (South East), they continue to support the stabilisation and peace process within Iraq.
This deployment of the RAF Merlin HC Mk3 completes the transition of No 28 (AC) Squadron from training and development, to a fully operational squadron, having successfully introduced this new, next generation, state-of-the-art, medium support helicopter into RAF service. They were not only the first helicopter detachment to self deploy from the UK into theatre in Iraq, but were also capable of undertaking in-theatre training and limited operational tasking within a day of arrival - a tribute to both the aircraft’s capabilities and the Squadron’s Engineers.
The successful planning, hard work and pre-training undertaken by the squadron prior to their arrival in Iraq, combined with outstanding serviceability and operational capability of the Merlin resulted in 1419 Flight taking over daily tasking from the RAF Chinook HC2s of 1310 Flight at least a week ahead of schedule.
The Joint helicopter Force (Iraq) is part of the UK’s Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) and is based at Basrah Air Station providing support to Coalition and Iraqi troops in an Area of Operations that covers approximately 20,000 sq miles of Southern Iraq.
The RAF Merlin’s deployment to Iraq has confirmed many of the outstanding capabilities of this new helicopter and has helped to expand its operational potential but none more so than its reputation for reliability and serviceability. Returning 96% serviceability and performing 70% more missions than originally mandated in its first 30 days in Iraq, this facet of Merlin operations was initially established during its thirteen month tour in Bosnia in 2003/4.
This has been reinforced twice since on extended and remote Merlin HC Mk3 deployments to the USA: first, during a US Navy evaluation at NAS Patuxent River from November 2003 to March 2004 and, second, during a coast-to-coast tour in October 2004. Whilst at Patuxent River the two aircraft flew over 200 hours and achieved 99.1% availability and more recently the coast-to-coast tour covered 6000 miles in 10 days during which the single aircraft was serviceable at all times.
Now 1419 Flight provides MND (SE) and JHF (I) with Merlin HC Mk3s available for tasking at thirty minutes and sixty minutes notice for operations by day and by night 24 hours per day 365 days a year. The primary roles for 1419 Flight are assault, fire support, troop moves, airborne command post, reconnaissance and surveillance, convoy protection and Casevac.
Its new generation Rolls-Royce RTM322 engines and aerodynamically efficient rotor blades provide an exceptionally low fuel burn rate, which not only gives the aircraft a very long range (greater than 450 miles) or endurance (over 5 hours) without internal tanks, but allows the Merlin to cruise almost quietly at low level and high levels at 150kts. This unique capability has opened up the AOR and allowed the ground troops to access areas previously closed due to unacceptable helicopter evacuation times.
Of enormous benefit to troops, is the active vibration control unit. This smoothes out rotor generated vibration and allows passengers to get off the aircraft after a long transit ready for business. The Merlin also has a comprehensive radio suite and one of its roles is to provide an Airborne Command Post. A recent operation in support of Iraqi Security Forces saw a Battle Group Commander and his Staff using one of the Merlins as an Airborne, Battle Group Command Post running an operation involving several hundred troops, over 40 vehicles, two assault Merlins and other surveillance aircraft.
In this harsh operational environment the Merlin has also proved to be reliable. Squadron Engineers have benefited enormously from their previous experience over recent years in maintaining the aircraft’s high availability rates. Modern technology, including a Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) and built-in test equipment has facilitated ease of maintenance and resulted in much reduced maintenance hours per flying hours.
AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is one of the largest helicopter companies in the world. The company offers an unrivaled range of helicopters to satisfy the requirements of civil and military customers. AgustaWestland has its primary operations in Italy, United Kingdom and the United States of America.
saver111 - July 20, 2005 09:37 AM (GMT)
UK soldiers face war crimes trial
Baha Mousa died in custody after being arrested in Basra
Three British soldiers are facing war crimes charges as well as criminal charges in connection with the death of a detainee in Iraq in September 2003.
One soldier faces manslaughter charges and two others abuse charges after an operation in which the Iraqi died. Four more soldiers face other charges.
All seven will be tried by British courts martial, not at The Hague.
In a separate case, four soldiers face criminal charges over claims an Iraqi drowned in a canal after being beaten.
One of the 11 men charged is a colonel, the most senior officer to be charged with an offence during the military action in Iraq.
CHARGES OVER MOUSA DEATH
Cpl Donald Payne - manslaughter, inhuman treatment of persons
L/Cpl Wayne Crowcroft - inhuman treatment of persons
Private Darren Fallon - inhuman treatment of persons
Sgt Kelvin Stacey - actual bodily harm, alternatively assault
Warrant Officer Mark Davies - neglecting to perform a duty
Maj Michael Peebles - negligently performing a duty
Col Jorge Mendonca - negligently performing a duty
The charges faced by three of the men - of "inhuman treatment of persons" - were brought under the International Criminal Court Act 2001 and will be tried as war crimes.
The soldiers involved are from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment.
Brigadier Geoffrey Sheldon, the colonel of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, said the death of Baha Mousa, the victim in the first case, was an "isolated, tragic incident which should never have happened and which I and every member of the regiment bitterly regrets".
He added: "It is... particularly difficult for us to learn that Col Mendonca [who initiated the formal inquiry into the death] must himself now answer charges as a result."
But Phil Shiner, lawyer for the Mousa family, said a charge of murder would be more suitable and said it was inappropriate for the British military to try their own.
The charges were announced by the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, in the House of Lords on Tuesday evening.
In the first case, the soldiers are alleged to have committed a number of offences against a group of detainees arrested following a planned operation.
One of the detainees, Mr Mousa, a Basra hotel receptionist, was allegedly killed by one of those charged, Corporal Donald Payne, 34, of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment.
Corp Payne is also alleged to have mistreated others and faces charges of manslaughter, inhuman treatment of persons and perverting the course of justice.
Two other members of the regiment, Lance Corporal Wayne Crowcroft, 21, and Private Darren Fallon, 22, also face charges of inhuman treatment of persons.
A fourth serviceman, Sergeant Kelvin Stacey, 28, also of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, is alleged to have assaulted a detainee and faces a charge of assault causing actual bodily harm, or alternatively common assault.
Warrant Officer Mark Davies, 36, of the Intelligence Corps, is charged with neglecting to perform a duty.
Two more senior officers - Major Michael Peebles, 34, of the Intelligence Corps, and Colonel Jorge Mendonca, 41, lately of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment - are charged with negligently performing their duties, contrary to the Army Act 1955.
Public perception
Col Tim Collins, famous for his speech on the eve of the war, said the case had taken too long already.
"One of the embarrassing things here for the British Army is this investigation has taken two years. That's far too long."
CHARGES OVER KAREEM DEATH
Sgt Carle Selman - manslaughter
Gdsm Martin McGing - manslaughter
Gdsm Joseph McCleary - manslaughter
Unnamed lance corporal - manslaughter
BBC diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams said the war crimes label was "something of a technicality".
The second case relates to the death of Iraqi civilian Ahmed Jabber Kareem Ali, who was detained in Basra as part of a group of four suspected looters on 8 May 2003.
The men were allegedly punched and kicked before being forced into a canal, where Mr Ali drowned.
Four British soldiers are facing courts martial accused of his manslaughter.
They are: Sgt Carle Selman, 38, then of the Coldstream Guards, now serving with the Scots Guards; Guardsman Martin McGing, 21, of the Irish Guards, Guardsman Joseph McCleary, 23, of the Irish Guards; and a 21-year-old lance corporal, also of the Irish Guards, who has not yet been named.
Defence Secretary John Reid said in a statement that allegations against British servicemen should be investigated but that the men were innocent until proven guilty.
Baha Mousa died in custody after being arrested in Basra
Three British soldiers are facing war crimes charges as well as criminal charges in connection with the death of a detainee in Iraq in September 2003.
One soldier faces manslaughter charges and two others abuse charges after an operation in which the Iraqi died. Four more soldiers face other charges.
All seven will be tried by British courts martial, not at The Hague.
In a separate case, four soldiers face criminal charges over claims an Iraqi drowned in a canal after being beaten.
One of the 11 men charged is a colonel, the most senior officer to be charged with an offence during the military action in Iraq.
CHARGES OVER MOUSA DEATH
Cpl Donald Payne - manslaughter, inhuman treatment of persons
L/Cpl Wayne Crowcroft - inhuman treatment of persons
Private Darren Fallon - inhuman treatment of persons
Sgt Kelvin Stacey - actual bodily harm, alternatively assault
Warrant Officer Mark Davies - neglecting to perform a duty
Maj Michael Peebles - negligently performing a duty
Col Jorge Mendonca - negligently performing a duty
The charges faced by three of the men - of "inhuman treatment of persons" - were brought under the International Criminal Court Act 2001 and will be tried as war crimes.
The soldiers involved are from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment.
Brigadier Geoffrey Sheldon, the colonel of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, said the death of Baha Mousa, the victim in the first case, was an "isolated, tragic incident which should never have happened and which I and every member of the regiment bitterly regrets".
He added: "It is... particularly difficult for us to learn that Col Mendonca [who initiated the formal inquiry into the death] must himself now answer charges as a result."
But Phil Shiner, lawyer for the Mousa family, said a charge of murder would be more suitable and said it was inappropriate for the British military to try their own.
The charges were announced by the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, in the House of Lords on Tuesday evening.
In the first case, the soldiers are alleged to have committed a number of offences against a group of detainees arrested following a planned operation.
One of the detainees, Mr Mousa, a Basra hotel receptionist, was allegedly killed by one of those charged, Corporal Donald Payne, 34, of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment.
Corp Payne is also alleged to have mistreated others and faces charges of manslaughter, inhuman treatment of persons and perverting the course of justice.
Two other members of the regiment, Lance Corporal Wayne Crowcroft, 21, and Private Darren Fallon, 22, also face charges of inhuman treatment of persons.
A fourth serviceman, Sergeant Kelvin Stacey, 28, also of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, is alleged to have assaulted a detainee and faces a charge of assault causing actual bodily harm, or alternatively common assault.
Warrant Officer Mark Davies, 36, of the Intelligence Corps, is charged with neglecting to perform a duty.
Two more senior officers - Major Michael Peebles, 34, of the Intelligence Corps, and Colonel Jorge Mendonca, 41, lately of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment - are charged with negligently performing their duties, contrary to the Army Act 1955.
Public perception
Col Tim Collins, famous for his speech on the eve of the war, said the case had taken too long already.
"One of the embarrassing things here for the British Army is this investigation has taken two years. That's far too long."
CHARGES OVER KAREEM DEATH
Sgt Carle Selman - manslaughter
Gdsm Martin McGing - manslaughter
Gdsm Joseph McCleary - manslaughter
Unnamed lance corporal - manslaughter
BBC diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams said the war crimes label was "something of a technicality".
The second case relates to the death of Iraqi civilian Ahmed Jabber Kareem Ali, who was detained in Basra as part of a group of four suspected looters on 8 May 2003.
The men were allegedly punched and kicked before being forced into a canal, where Mr Ali drowned.
Four British soldiers are facing courts martial accused of his manslaughter.
They are: Sgt Carle Selman, 38, then of the Coldstream Guards, now serving with the Scots Guards; Guardsman Martin McGing, 21, of the Irish Guards, Guardsman Joseph McCleary, 23, of the Irish Guards; and a 21-year-old lance corporal, also of the Irish Guards, who has not yet been named.
Defence Secretary John Reid said in a statement that allegations against British servicemen should be investigated but that the men were innocent until proven guilty.
MSantor - February 26, 2008 04:58 AM (GMT)
It's good to see that more and more citizens of other Commonwealth nations are rising to the occasion and joining. :salute:
(Spider, if you are reading this, perhaps a Singaporean like you should seriously consider Britain's Royal Army Medical Corps, since they need medics like you with casualties and the OPTEMPO rising in Afghanistan.)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml...18/narmy218.xml
(Spider, if you are reading this, perhaps a Singaporean like you should seriously consider Britain's Royal Army Medical Corps, since they need medics like you with casualties and the OPTEMPO rising in Afghanistan.)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml...18/narmy218.xml
| QUOTE |
UK Armed Forces employ 7,000 foreigners By James Kirkup and Rosa Prince Last Updated: 11:42pm GMT 17/02/2008 The extent of the Armed Forces staffing crisis has been disclosed in figures showing that there are more than 7,000 foreign citizens serving in the British military. Falklands hero wants fair payout for soldier disfigured by Taliban attack Britain's growing "foreign legion" - equal to almost a dozen Army regiments - has led to renewed warnings that the Forces are struggling to retain and recruit British citizens to their ranks. The figures emerged as the House of Commons defence committee launched an inquiry into recruitment and retention in the Armed Forces and they follow growing criticism of the Government's alleged under-resourcing of the military. Official defence data show that there are 7,240 Commonwealth personnel in the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Some 2,030 are from the small nation of Fiji. There are 880 South Africans, 790 Ghanaians and 600 Zimbabweans. The MoD figures exclude the 3,700 Nepalese Ghurkhas serving in the Army. More than 6,000 of the Commonwealth personnel are soldiers in the Army, which is already 3,800 short of its desired manning levels because of soldiers leaving. Earlier this month, The Daily Telegraph disclosed that one in 14 soldiers is unfit to fight as a result of being sick or injured - almost 7,000 infantrymen. The three Services have a total of around 196,000 personnel, with numbers falling since the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2000, there were only 820 Commonwealth soldiers in the Army, meaning levels have risen tenfold since the start of operations in Afghanistan. The Conservative MP Patrick Mercer, a former infantry commanding officer, said: "Sadly there is no doubt at all that recruiting and retention policies amongst British citizens for the British Armed Forces have been disastrous. Commonwealth citizens make fine soldiers and we are very grateful to them, but unless something radical is done in MoD thinking, we will shortly end up with a very large percentage of our servicemen and women coming from aboard. "I have nothing at all against overseas troops, but it is hardly an ideal situation." A spokesman for the MoD said: "Foreign and Commonwealth soldiers make a valued contribution to the overall strength of our Armed Forces, which are stretched but can cope. There continue to be challenges in maintaining manning levels in certain areas such as infantry and medical specialists, and as a result, these areas are busier than intended. "But we are taking action to address the effects of this by improving recruiting and retention, and restructuring our forces to focus effort in those areas in most demand." |
Here's a list of Commonwealth nations:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_membe...alth_of_Nations
Thus any of you other Fil-Canadians or Fil-Australians on this forum should also consider crossing the pond and joining as well, since the Crown needs you!
The requirements for joining the British Army are at this link:
http://www.armyjobs.mod.uk/How+do+I+Join/C...equirements.htm
And the requirements for joining the Royal Marines are at this other link:
http://www.royalmarines.mod.uk/careers/ent...equirements.php
Note that both links clearly state that Commonwealth citizens can join. Good luck to any who choose to do so.
Chowking - March 21, 2008 03:14 PM (GMT)
there is a a lot of Bangladeshi in the MOD and also in the Defence Sector
even the British Ambassador to Bangladesh
he is a Bangladeshi and he was the Deputy Director (somehting like that )
in MOD of Britain
even the British Ambassador to Bangladesh
he is a Bangladeshi and he was the Deputy Director (somehting like that )
in MOD of Britain
MSantor - June 8, 2008 07:42 AM (GMT)
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| Paratroopers launch biggest battle in Afghanistan for two years By Thomas Harding in Qarat-e-Hazrat Last Updated: 3:48AM BST 07/06/2008 In one of the biggest air assaults in their history, troops from the Parachute Regiment have spent the last four days deep in Taliban territory. Breaking one of the last insurgent strongholds in southern Afghanistan, the "Battle of Qarat-e-Hazrat" in Zabul Province ended in an enemy rout. The Daily Telegraph's Defence Correspondent Thomas Harding watched as British firepower finally turned the tide in the Taliban's own "back yard". Witnessing the firefight, he reports on a fight which destroyed the idea of Afghanistan's "mythical warriors". Paratroopers fought their biggest battle in Afghanistan for two years as the Taliban attempted to push them out of their "backyard". But the inability of the insurgents to make an impact on the British force during its fourth day deep in enemy territory was demonstrated by a brutal rebuff which resulted in an enemy rout... |
MSantor - September 3, 2008 06:15 AM (GMT)
Good on the Tommies for living up to their reputation!
| QUOTE |
| British soldiers kill 200 Taliban in Afghan dam operation A major secret British operation to boost the economy in Afghanistan's Helmand province has been completed after a force of 5,000 troops fought for a week to drive a huge dam turbine through Taliban lines. By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent Last Updated: 10:08PM BST 02 Sep 2008 British commanders estimate that more than 200 Taliban were killed as they tried to prevent the convoy of 100 vehicles from getting the machinery to Kajaki hydroelectric dam where it will provide a significant increase in energy for up to two million Afghans. The operation has been described as the biggest of its kind since the Second World War. For the last five days the force has fought through the heart of Taliban territory to push through the 220 tonne turbine and other equipment that included a 90 tonne crane to lift it into place. With a third turbine fixed at Kajaki it will mean that the extra electricity could double the irrigation output allowing farmers to plant two crops of wheat a year. With a dramatic rise in world wheat prices this could crucially mean that it becomes more profitable than producing opium which would deprive the Taliban of a major source of revenue. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics...-operation.html |
seWer Rat - September 3, 2008 12:00 PM (GMT)
good job brits :ssalute: the completion of the Kajaki dam is a major success in winning the hearts and minds of the people in that province
panzerkampfwagen - September 4, 2008 01:59 AM (GMT)
Congratulations Tommies for destroying those blimeys. :armycheers:
A good example of bravery that is worth to be followed by others.
A good example of bravery that is worth to be followed by others.
page mcney - September 8, 2008 03:00 PM (GMT)
we salute you! :salute:
bloody good job!
MSantor - September 19, 2008 08:24 PM (GMT)
There goes the old Tommy helmets.
Revealed: British soldiers return to wearing the Tommy helmet as Army unveils new equipment for infantrymen
Revealed: British soldiers return to wearing the Tommy helmet as Army unveils new equipment for infantrymen
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By Matthew Hickley Daily Mail Last updated at 2:29 AM on 19th September 2008 He's deadlier, lighter, more streamlined and better protected - and he's wearing the latest stylish four-colour camouflage pattern with matching two-tone Union Jack insignia and coral sunglasses. The British Army has unveiled its latest state-of-the-art equipment for combat infantrymen, which will enter service with troops fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq within months. Out goes the familiar and distinctive 'pudding bowl' shaped helmet worn by Britain's soldiers for 20 years, and in comes a new shape more akin to today's U.S. Army helmet, or the Second World War German design - offering improved neck movement and more space to fit a rifle sight to the eye. The new colour scheme has nothing to do with fashion and everything to do with new high-tech fabric dyes which maintain camouflage properties when viewed through infra-red night sights, and combine traditional desert colours with pale green shades - suited to the semi-desert environments where many of today's battles are fought. Five years after the Daily Mail first exposed the Army's notorious melting desert boots and shortages of basic equipment on the eve of the 2003 Iraq invasion, senior military commanders insist the situation has been transformed for the better. The Treasury has spent £1billion a year on the 'Urgent Operational Requirement' programme - rushing new kit into service in Iraq and Afghanistan when existing equipment proves to be dangerously inadequate - delivering a range of new armoured vehicles, weapons and clothing. While shortages remain, and commanders remain frustrated by the need for more protected vehicles and helicopters, frontline troops acknowledge the improvements in personal equipment. The new infantryman's kit is known as project PECOC - Personal Equipment Common Operating Clothing - and is in the final stages of assessment before being issued to troops deploying on combat operations. Designers are struggling to save weight across the board, because of recent feedback from commanders in Afghanistan warning that today's infanteer is being expected to carry too much weight, often approaching 150lb of weaponry, armour, ammunition, food and a host of gadgets - 'like going to work carrying your wife on your back' as one soldier described it. In soaring summer temperatures of 50 degrees centigrade, foot patrols are having to be equipped with more quad bikes and trailers to take some of the burden, and to help evacuate wounded troops. Major Richard Coomber of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, requirements manager for the PECOC programme, said: 'We have scoured the world for the best materials. There is no magic secret to saving weight. We have to get the integration of all the different items right, starting with body armour plates which are thinner but tougher, and better designed to fit with webbing, packs, and weapons. 'We spent a lot of time talking to troops who are using the existing equipment on operations. 'The result is a system designed to fit together, and to be as flexible as possible, so the soldier can adapt it to the job he's doing.' The new clothing features removable padding inserts at the knees and elbows, and new 'coral-coloured' ballistic eye protectors, which give better colour perception than existing sunglasses. The distinctive black-and-green Union Flag insignia offers better camouflage in daylight, but is also clearly identifiable through night-vision goggles, helping troops recognise each other during night battles. Weaponry is constantly being upgraded, and the SA-80A2 assault rifle - which appears finally to have shaken off its unreliable reputation - is now fitted with an underslung grenade launcher and improved sights. At a facility to show off the new kit on Salisbury Plain today Major General Bill Moore, Director General Logistic Support and Equipment for Land Forces, told the Mail that speed was the key to the Urgent Operational Requirement system. He said: 'In peacetime you can afford to spend five or ten years getting the reliability of your new tank just right, but in wartime we take a bit more risk with getting new equipment into service fast. 'I think the next big thing for us is reducing weight for infantrymen, to make them more agile. 'If we can make electrical batteries smaller and lighter, we will make progress. 'We want to give the guys more options as to how much heavy protection they wear, depending on the threat and the task.'  Equipment of the future: The British Army has unveiled the new kit which will go into service in months  British Army gear through the ages: (Lto R) SA80 weapon and kit prior to 2003, the current attire and a soldier wearing a trial outfit |
MSantor - September 24, 2008 11:07 PM (GMT)
Good job to both the SBS (the Royal Navy's Special Boat Service) and the British Army's Army Air Corps for killing yet another oxygen thief.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/...icle1726840.ece
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/...icle1726840.ece
| QUOTE |
| Warlord No4 killed by Apache AN Apache gunship blew up a key Taliban warlord after he was tracked down by the SBS, The Sun can reveal. The British helicopter slammed a Hellfire missile into his Jeep — making him the FOURTH terror boss to die at the hands of the SBS in 18 months. The precision strike also killed his bodyguard and left a second henchman badly injured as they drove across the southern Helmand desert. The warlord — whose name is being kept secret — is believed to be a new field commander sent in to coordinate bomb and gun attacks on Our Boys across the Afghan badlands. But the SBS, the Navy’s special forces, spotted him crossing the border from Pakistan and then trailed him with unmanned “drone” spy planes. Ninety minutes later he was dead... |
panzerkampfwagen - September 25, 2008 12:08 AM (GMT)
Wow, lads. Bloody well done! :thumb: :snipemo:
MSantor - October 10, 2008 02:47 AM (GMT)
Good job lads!!!!!!!
From the UK MoD website:
From the UK MoD website:
| QUOTE |
| Covert gunners recall tough Helmand tour Heidi Mines, UK MoD news article, 9 Oct 08 Article link At the same time as Prince Harry's presence in Afghanistan earlier this year was gaining all the media attention a group of gunners were mounting the British Army's longest recorded desert patrol since the Second World War. In the lead up to the assault on Musa Qaleh in December 2007, members of 4/73 (Sphinx) Special Observation Post Battery provided vital intelligence for the upcoming operation and even liaised with the young Prince to call in supply drops. The specialist unit lost two men during the deployment to Afghanistan - half the casualties it has suffered in its entire history - but its troops were ready .... The Sphinx convoy of vehicles park up during a break in patrol in Afghanistan [Picture: Courtesy of 4/73 (Sphinx) Battery]  Staff Sergeant Tim Godfrey checks the battery's comms [Picture: Courtesy of 4/73 (Sphinx) Battery]  Bombardier Dave Seymour checks for enemy activity near Now Zad [Picture: Courtesy of 4/73 (Sphinx) Battery]  |
markniraq - October 10, 2008 06:24 PM (GMT)
Brits were always good at going One Step Beyond. Hats off to them and "Jolly Good Hunting Lads"...."Too Easy"... "No Worries"...
The Aussies were similiar in nature and should be given some recognition also.
The Aussies were similiar in nature and should be given some recognition also.
MSantor - October 13, 2008 09:40 PM (GMT)
Go get them lads!!!!!
| QUOTE |
| http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/world/We39re-still-in-control-Royal.4583996.jp Published Date: 13 October 2008 By Jerome Starkey in Kabul ROYAL Marines were patrolling Helmand yesterday in an attempt to reassure locals the city is still under government control, following an attack from insurgents who tried to overrun the British headquarters in the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah. More than 100 Taleban were killed in fierce clashes in Helmand over the weekend, with at least 60 bodies ending up in Lashkar Gah's main hospital. The city has been rocked by suicide blasts in the past, and the Taleban have launched deadly ambushes on British patrols in the outlying countryside, but this was the first time they have ever tried to take the city. The British headquarters is full of senior army officers, development staff and diplomats, but there is only one company of Royal Marines from 42 Commando to protect it. There are also a small number of SAS in Lashkar Gah, training the Afghan police. Until recently the area was thought of as safe. British officials said it was impossible to guess the insurgents' objective because they didn't get close enough, but residents were left in no doubt the insurgents were trying to overrun the town centre, and they were warned to expect yet more fighting last night. There were further reports in Lashkar Gah the insurgents planned to hit the police station and the prison, to free fellow insurgents, which echoes a similar attack in Kandahar city, in June. Brigadier General Richard Blanchette, a spokesman for the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force, said: "If the insurgents planned a spectacular attack prior to the winter, this was a spectacular failure." Afghan troops fought through the night on Saturday after Lashkar Gah was surrounded by almost 200 heavily armed Taleban fighters. They were backed by Apache helicopter gunships, unmanned predator drones and RAF fighter jets. The Apaches launched a series of air strikes to push the Taleban back. At least 60 insurgents were killed and another 25 were wounded in eight hours of bitter fighting, on four sides of the provincial capital. Another 40 insurgents were killed during a three-day operation to retake Nad Ali, a district eight miles west of Lashkar Gah, which fell into Taleban hands in August. Royal Marines and SAS troopers were on constant standby during the battle, as fighting raged just a few miles from their camp. Lieutenant Colonel Woody Page, a British forces spokesman, said: "We could hear small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades in the distance until 3am." News of the attack came as General David McKiernan, the US commander of almost all the international troops in Afghanistan, insisted: "We are not losing," at a press conference in Kabul yesterday. However, he admitted there were not enough troops to secure the country. The attack came on the same day that western officials launched an initiative in Lashkar Gah to give poppy farmers wheat seeds, in a bid to undermine the Taleban's income from opium. The Taleban have made numerous attempts to attack Western military bases or district centres, but have usually suffered catastrophic losses. An attempt to threaten Kandahar City in 2005 saw Nato forces kill up to 1,200 Taleban. An attempt in June to again threaten Kandahar was defeated by the Afghan army with ease. However, an attempt to overrun a small US base in the eastern province of Nuristan in July came close to succeeding. How allied airstrikes thwarted fierce attack by insurgent force THE fighting started at around 7:30pm on Saturday, when an Apache helicopter opened fire on a group of 90 insurgents, who had massed close to the Bolan Bridge, a few miles west of Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand. British troops had been watching the insurgents for more than two hours as they raced to the bridge in Toyota pick-ups, armed with AK47 assault rifles and rocket propelled grenades. Lieutenant Colonel Woody Page, a British forces spokesman, said: "We think that in the first airstrike 25 people were killed and a similar number were wounded." The road bridge is where UK reconstruction staff have been trying to dredge a canal and improve a weir to help irrigate farms. Predator drones then tracked the fighters as they split into four groups, to launch a multi-pronged attack on the city. Some of the fighters stayed to the west. A second group formed a "block" to the east, while the rest launched attacks from the south and north-east. Witnesses said the Taleban also launched a series of rocket attacks into the city, aimed at the governor's compound. The Apaches launched a second wave of strikes at 11pm. At midnight the air filled with Kalashnikov fire, as the insurgents exchanged fire with Afghan forces. |
MSantor - October 25, 2008 10:02 PM (GMT)
I suppose it was going to happen sooner or later.
From the TELEGRAPH:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics...rries-Army.html
From the TELEGRAPH:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics...rries-Army.html
| QUOTE |
| By Chris Irvine, Telegraph, Last Updated: 8:05AM BST 24 Oct 2008 A drive to recruit female soldiers to the Gurkhas has lead to fears that the traditional strengths of the regiments could be undermined. Junior defence minister Derek Twigg last year announced the Army would recruit female Gurkhas from 2009, but gave no details. The Government is imposing the changes over fears they may be sued by Nepalese women, it has been claimed. But the Army now fears standards will slip as they reduce the level of combat training for male Gurkha recruits simply to accommodate female members... Half of the Army's 3,400 Gurkhas are infantry soldiers in the Royal Gurkha Rifles... ...Female Gurkha recruits would only be able to serve in the non-infantry units, in line with Army policy, but it is illegal to recruit and train men and women differently to do the same job... |
markniraq - October 25, 2008 10:04 PM (GMT)
I'd Love to See This. Would be interesting
MSantor - November 6, 2008 03:57 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE |
| First Gurkha dies in Afghanistan A British Army soldier killed by enemy fire in Afghanistan has been named by the Ministry of Defence as Rifleman Yubraj Rai. The 28-year-old, from Khotang district in eastern Nepal, was the first Nepalese Gurkha to die in the conflict. His death on Tuesday brought the number of UK troops killed on operations in Afghanistan since 2001 to 122. Rifleman Rai, from the 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, was killed in the Musa Qala area of Helmand province. The MoD said Rifleman Rai was taking part in a joint International Security Assistance Force and Afghan National Security Forces operation when his patrol came under attack. He received medical treatment at the scene, but died a short time later from his wounds. 'Extraordinary character' In October 2007 Major Alexis Roberts of The Royal Gurkha Rifles died when a device hidden in a road exploded while he was travelling to Kandahar Airfield. The 32-year-old, from Kent, was Prince William's platoon commander at Sandhurst. Rifleman Rai joined the Army in January 1999, following in the footsteps of his uncle who was also a Gurkha. He had been employed as his company's storeman, but had recently volunteered to deploy with 5 Platoon to replace another rifleman who had fallen ill. He epitomised all that makes the Gurkhas great - the best Lieutenant Colonel Chris Darby His commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Chris Darby said: "Yubraj Rai was an extraordinary character and a hard professional soldier with a proven operational record. "Big, strong and highly experienced, Rfn Yubraj was one of the cornerstones of his Company and he was known throughout the battalion for his presence, drive and his ability as a soldier. "He died doing what he did best, amongst his greatest friends and admirers and for a cause he had taken the time to understand. "He epitomised all that makes the Gurkhas great - the best." Defence Secretary John Hutton offered his condolences to the Gurkha's family, friends and comrades. "I was very saddened to hear of the death of Rifleman Yubraj Rai," he said. "I am told he stood out as a selfless, tough and dependable soldier. These qualities marked him out very early in his career as an ideal candidate for service with D (Gurkha Reinforcement) Company." Hill town Rifleman Rai had served in Iraq, Sierra Leone and Bosnia, and on a previous tour in Afghanistan. He was described as "an avid sportsman who enjoyed all competition", but his number one passion was football and in particular, Manchester United. "Better to die than be a coward" is the motto of the world-famous Nepalese Gurkha soldiers who are an integral part of the British Army. The name "Gurkha" comes from the hill town of Gorkha from which the Nepalese kingdom had expanded. Soldiers are still selected from young men living in the hills of Nepal - with about 28,000 youths tackling the selection procedure for just over 200 places each year. That process has been described as one of the toughest in the world and is fiercely contested. |
MSantor - December 1, 2008 09:46 PM (GMT)
While the United States has the UAVs, the U2s and the Aurora spy plane, the Crown has its own asset for the same purpose.
| QUOTE |
A TOP secret RAF spy plane that can spot a man on the ground through cloud from seven miles up has joined the fight against the Taliban. The Sentinel R1 — crammed with sophisticated radar — is the most advanced surveillance aircraft in the world. High-definition images are beamed to troops’ monitors on the ground, meaning they can see over the far side of hills, compounds and towns to check for enemy fighters. The pictures they receive are moving and in real time. The capability will also prove a vital new weapon in the hunt for al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders. The planes’ high altitude and long range mean their sensors can look into deep valleys where insurgents often go undetected... http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/...icle1989052.ece |
MSantor - December 9, 2008 12:33 AM (GMT)
The service rivalry comes into play again.
| QUOTE |
| From The Sunday Times December 7, 2008 Head of Royal Navy threatens resignation over push to scrap Harriers Michael Smith THE RAF is trying to use a major cash crisis within the Ministry of Defence to get rid of the Fleet Air Arm, defence sources said last week. Its campaign, which is being fought under the slogan "one nation, one air force", has led to the head of the Royal Navy, First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Jonathon Band threatening to resign. Air Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, chief of air staff, is attempting to push through proposals to scrap the 75 Harrier jump jets currently shared between the navy and the air force. Torpy believes that the lack of a carrier-borne attack aircraft until the first of the new aircraft carriers comes into service, now 2015 at the earliest, will not be a problem. He argues that with the main focus of UK military operations for the next decade likely to be land-locked Afghanistan, there is no current need for carrier-borne aircraft. When the new carriers come into service the RAF can fly the Joint Strike Fighters that are currently due to fly off them. Scrapping the Harriers five years early in 2013 is seen as a relatively painless way of saving £1bn, the cost of keeping the aircraft flying. The £1bn is what the National Audit Office says will be the cost of two Harrier support contracts, one with BAE Systems and the other with engine supplier Rolls Royce. It is the only aircraft support contract that has yet to be signed so the MoD could decide not to go ahead with it without incurring penalty clauses. Getting rid of the Harriers will also lead to the closure of the Joint Harrier Force base at RAF Cottesmore in Rutland, adding to the cost savings. Torpy is thought to have the support of Air Marshal Jock Stirrup, the chief of defence staff, for the measure which is set to lead to a major clash between the RAF and the navy. But senior naval sources said last week that Band will resign if the RAF proposals are pushed through. "He's had enough," one said. "The navy has been cut and cut and cut again to get the carriers." The conflict comes amid what the sources said was the worst inter-service fighting since Labour's notorious "east of Suez" defence cuts of the mid-1960s. Band is furious that the navy is taking the brunt of the cutbacks caused by a £2bn black hole in the defence budget, the sources said. John Hutton, defence secretary, will announce this week that the navy's cherished two aircraft carriers will be delayed by up to two years. The navy agreed to a string of cuts to its ship numbers to keep the carriers and is now facing not only the loss of all its fixed-wing aircraft but also major cuts to its submarine force. One of a number of options designed to save money involves the accelerated retirement of the navy's current Trafalgar-class attack submarines and delays to the Astute replacements. This would leave the navy with only four attack submarines for the five years between 2020 and 2025, compared to the current eight. It has also been told its new frigates, known as the future surface combatants, have been indefinitely postponed and plans to get rid of aging Type-22 frigates have been scrapped. Hutton has told the defence chiefs that they must come up with a final plan to save the £2bn shortfall by a meeting of the defence board on Friday December 19. The Ministry of Defence declined to comment on the issue ahead of Hutton's anticipated announcement this week. |
saver111 - December 11, 2008 02:08 PM (GMT)
Gov't delays new aircraft carriers
LONDON (AFP) – Two new aircraft carriers ordered by the Royal Navy will come into service two years later than originally scheduled, Defence Secretary John Hutton said Thursday.
In a statement to parliament, Hutton said that after a review, the Ministry of Defence had decided to time the introduction of the pair to coincide more closely with that of the Joint Combat Aircraft which they will carry.
"This is likely to mean delaying the in service date of the new carriers by one to two years," he said in the written statement.
Construction of the pair -- the HMS Queen Elizabeth and the HMS Prince of Wales -- was announced in July 2007, with contracts worth three billion pounds signed this past July.
They were due to enter service in 2014 and 2016 respectively.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081211/wl_uk...pbp.gNj5HJvaA8F
LONDON (AFP) – Two new aircraft carriers ordered by the Royal Navy will come into service two years later than originally scheduled, Defence Secretary John Hutton said Thursday.
In a statement to parliament, Hutton said that after a review, the Ministry of Defence had decided to time the introduction of the pair to coincide more closely with that of the Joint Combat Aircraft which they will carry.
"This is likely to mean delaying the in service date of the new carriers by one to two years," he said in the written statement.
Construction of the pair -- the HMS Queen Elizabeth and the HMS Prince of Wales -- was announced in July 2007, with contracts worth three billion pounds signed this past July.
They were due to enter service in 2014 and 2016 respectively.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081211/wl_uk...pbp.gNj5HJvaA8F
MSantor - December 13, 2008 05:39 PM (GMT)
Rest in Peace, Marines.
From the MoD website:
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceN...Afghanistan.htm
From the MoD website:
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceN...Afghanistan.htm
| QUOTE |
| Four Royal Marines killed in Afghanistan UK MoD Military Operations news article, 12 Dec 08 It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that four Royal Marines were killed in two separate incidents in the Sangin area of Helmand province this morning, 12 December 2008. In one incident, one Royal Marine from 45 Commando was killed as a result of an explosion in the Sangin area this morning. He was taking part in a routine patrol. Unfortunately he died of his wounds while being taken to the military hospital at Camp Bastion. In a separate incident, three Royal Marines, two from 45 Commando and one from Commando Logistics Regiment, were killed as a result of an explosion south of Sangin. They were taking part in a routine operation against enemy forces in the area. Sadly one Royal Marine died instantly, a second died of his wounds before he could be evacuated and the third died of his wounds in the hospital at Camp Bastion... ...Next of kin have been informed and there will be a period of grace before further details are released. |
MSantor - December 17, 2008 01:34 AM (GMT)
Darn it. Seems like the RAC (Royal Armoured Corps) might have to emulate the RCAC (Royal Canadian Armoured Corps) and the RAAC (Royal Australian Armoured Corps) by getting Leopard tanks as well.
| QUOTE |
| U.K. May Lose Tank-Making Capability on Order Delay (Update1) By Sabine Pirone Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Britain, where the tank was invented during World War I, may be unable to build armored vehicles after BAE Systems Plc said it can’t rule out closing factories in response to government spending cuts. BAE, Europe’s biggest defense contractor, will review the future of its Land Systems unit, the U.K.’s only tank manufacturer, after the decision to freeze a 16 billion-pound ($24 billion) truck order, Mike Sweeney, a spokesman for the London-based company, said today by telephone. “If the government wants an indigenous armored-vehicle capability in the U.K. they need to buy something soon from BAE,” said Nick Cunningham, a defense and aerospace analyst at Evolution Securities in London. “Otherwise BAE will have to restructure and scale back its manufacturing business, which could even include selling it or closing it down.” The U.K. defense ministry scrapped an order for as many as 2,000 armored utility vehicles on Dec. 11 as it diverted spending to the war in Afghanistan. BAE had been counting on being awarded the contract to sustain manufacturing at the Land Systems unit. Britain introduced the world’s first tank at the Battle of the Somme in 1916, and its most recent, the Challenger 2, was built by BAE until 2002 and is in service in Iraq. “We will clearly have to consider what this means for the size and shape of the Land Systems business in the near future,” BAE’s Sweeney said. The company said it can’t rule out U.K. plant closures and job cuts. Skills to ‘Bash Metal’ “We will retain the skills base to bash metal into tanks, but the question is, what key capabilities will be retained,” said Bernard Jenkin, a Conservative party lawmaker who sits on Parliament’s defense committee. “I would think the next- generation battle tank will be a multinational endeavor.” The Ministry of Defence didn’t immediately respond to voice- mail messages by Bloomberg seeking comment. Land Systems UK, which employs 2,000 people at 10 main plants, was a frontrunner to win a contract to build a version of General Dynamics Corp.’s Piranha V, which had been selected to fulfill the utility-vehicle role in the Ministry of Defence’s Future Rapid Effects System program. Following last week’s decision to withdraw the Piranha from its provisional preferred bidder status, the defense ministry also postponed the purchase of two aircraft carriers and scaled back a helicopter order. The ministry said it will refocus the FRES program on Scout tracked vehicles. While BAE is bidding to build the Scout, the equipment won’t enter service until 2013 at the earliest. 200 Job Cuts Land Systems said last month it would cut as many as 200 jobs as earlier delays to Britain’s purchase of fighting vehicles left the unit reliant on a handful of models. Production work has dwindled to a handful of soon-to-be- completed models, including the Pinzgauer all-terrain truck and Terrier general support engineer vehicle, plus an unspecified project for a Middle Eastern client. In the absence of new orders, that will leave only upgrade and integration work on models such as the AS90 self-propelled howitzer, FV430 armored personnel carrier, Titan bridge-laying vehicle and Panther command-and-liaison vehicle, plus a possible new turret for the Warrior tracked vehicle. BAE spokesman Sweeney said that with the Piranha order canceled and the bulk of value in modern military vehicles coming from mission systems and subsystems such as electronics, weapons and armor, the company will inevitably shift focus away from new production if orders aren’t forthcoming. Systems Integration “We are already seeing an increased emphasis on systems integration as military vehicles become more complex and this is likely to continue,” he said. “It is of course important that the Ministry of Defence now moves swiftly to outline the future and the next steps in a timely manner, so that industry can manage and retain its skills and the soldiers can get the best vehicle when they need it,” General Dynamics spokesman Tom Griffin said in an e-mailed statement today. General Dynamics will have an opportunity to compete in any future Utility Vehicle upgrade, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement last week. The company employs about 1,700 people in the U.K. and is the Bowman prime contractor for integrating the current British Army fleet with the tactical communications systems. To contact the reporter on this story: Sabine Pirone in London at spirone@bloomberg.net Last Updated: December 15, 2008 13:19 EST - http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...id=a4bF6lmrrzDk |
MSantor - January 25, 2009 06:44 PM (GMT)
I really hope it doesn't really come to this.
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/80026/...disband-Gurkhas
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/80026/...disband-Gurkhas
| QUOTE |
| SECRET PLAN TO DISBAND GURKHAS Medals belonging to Gurkha soldier Ratna Tharpa Thursday January 15,2009 By Martyn Brown and John Ingham Have your say(46) THE Army wants to scrap the 200-year-old Gurkha regiment over claims it will cost too much to treat its veterans properly, it emerged yesterday. Military top brass have warned that the historic brigade could be disbanded if the Government allows thousands more former Gurkhas to settle in Britain. They say that the introduction of full residency and pension rights for the veterans and their dependants could leave the Ministry of Defence and British taxpayers facing a bill of up to £3billion. Campaigners last night blasted the plans, which could see the end of the British Army’s most loyal and heroic regiments. The loss of the Gurkhas would be a body blow for the Armed Forces Shadow Defence Secretary Liam Fox Joanna Lumley, 62, whose father fought alongside Gurkhas in the Second World War, accused the MoD of “scaremongering”. “Even in the unlikely event that the MoD’s figure is correct,” she added, “all these retired Gurkhas have earned the right to settle here by serving and fighting in our Army.” Ms Lumley last year joined forces with the Daily Express crusade seeking better rights for Gurkhas and delivering a 250,000-signature petition to Gordon Brown demanding justice for the selfless warriors. She said: “The idea that they will be a drain on the NHS is offensive – these people were prepared to fight and die for the NHS. Many of them actually had money deducted from their pay to help pay for it. They have as much right as any British citizen to use it.” Under new rules due to be announced by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith in the next few weeks, the rights of ex-Gurkhas are expected to be widened significantly. All veterans will be allowed to settle in Britain and receive a full Army pension. The existing system denies entry to Gurkhas who retired before 1997 and awards them only a third of the pension given to British ex-servicemen. But one high-ranking defence official said: “This could make the Gurkhas too expensive for the Army.” It is estimated up to 50,000 Gurkha veterans and dependants could apply to come to the UK from Nepal and other parts of Asia. Tory MP and former infantry officer Patrick Mercer said: “The great advantage of the Gurkhas always used to be that they were plentiful and they were cheap. But with the new agreements that they are getting they are rapidly becoming more and more expensive.” He said the Gurkhas were being saved at the moment because of a recruitment shortfall in the Army. “But if recruiting in Britain increases, the justification for the Gurkhas will become more untenable,” he added. Former Army major Charles Heyman, who served with Gurkhas in Hong Kong, said: “The MoD has been talking about the cost of the Gurkhas for at least 15 years. But even when they have got new rights in common with other British soldiers, I believe that the extra cost of a Gurkha would not be more than five per cent.” Axing the Gurkhas would mean the loss of about 3,500 highly-trained soldiers at a time when the Army is seriously overstretched. Shadow Defence Secretary Liam Fox said: “The people of Britain should be enormously grateful to the Gurkhas for their courage and commitment in defence of this country. The loss of the Gurkhas would be a body blow for the Armed Forces.” Tory MP and Daily Express columnist Ann Widdecombe said: “This is vindictive. The numbers of Gurkhas coming here are a drop in the ocean compared to the number of illegal immigrants settling here year after year and it is time we got our priorities right.” Laxmi Sharma, of the United British Gurkha Ex-Servicemen’s Association, said: “They are looking for some stupid excuse to avoid giving Gurkha veterans their deserving rights. They want us to defend their country for free.” An MoD spokesperson refused to confirm or deny any plans to axe the Gurhkas but said: “The MoD fully supports the Home Office and we are working closely with them as they develop revised immigration rules for Gurkhas.” |
MSantor - January 29, 2009 07:24 PM (GMT)
Is anyone surprised by the telling absence of an RN Type 42 destroyer in this mix of ships, especially with such large ships such as the assault carrier HMS OCEAN in this fleet? To think that the RN has had to rely on the USN to provide that AEGIS destroyer listed to provide better air defence.
http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/news/Royal...l#StartComments
http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/news/Royal...l#StartComments
| QUOTE |
| Royal Navy in largest deployment of recent years Tuesday, January 27, 2009, 11:03 Click here to read their views. THE Royal Navy is preparing to set sail for one of its largest deployments of recent years with the biggest RN Task Force to deploy to the Far East in more than a decade - headed by Plymouth's HMS Bulwark. Taurus 09 aims to maintain the Royal Navy’s fighting capability as well as develop the UK’s 'capacity to operate with key partners and allies'. The Task Force will conduct a wide range of activities including maritime security operations and exercising amphibious and anti-submarine warfare. The Task Force comprises 12 ships, including a US Navy destroyer and a French Navy frigate, two nuclear powered submarines, Royal Marines from 40 Commando in Taunton, the Fleet Diving Unit, Assault Squadron Royal Marines from Plymouth, elements of 820 and 857 Naval Air Squadrons (NAS) from RNAS Culdrose, 847 NAS and Commando Helicopter Force (CHF) Sea Kings based in Yeovil and Support Helicopter Force Chinooks from 18 Squadron, RAF Odiham. It will be joined by ships, troops and aircraft from other nations and at its height, 3,300 personnel will take part in the 20,400 mile round-trip deployment, interacting, training and building relations with 17 nations. Minister of State for the Armed Forces Bob Ainsworth MP said: "In addition to the Royal Navy’s contribution to current operations, exercising its open ocean and amphibious capability is vital to demonstrating its global reach and maintaining its capacity to deliver maritime security. "This deployment illustrates the Navy’s versatility. It is a world class service and deploying this task group will hone its warfighting skills." Phase One will involve amphibious training with nations in the Mediterranean, culminating in a series of amphibious landings in Turkey. Phase Two will see part of the Task Group deploy through the Suez Canal, culminating in a multi-national training package in the jungles of Brunei. River training will also be conducted with the Bangladeshi Navy, the first such interaction in more than a decade. Spearheading the deployment from his Command Ship, Devonport's, HMS Bulwark, is Royal Navy Commodore Peter Hudson CBE ADC, Commander UK Amphibious Task Group. He said: "Taurus is a great opportunity for the Royal Navy to demonstrate and practice a wide range of skills, specifically anti-submarine and amphibious warfare. "Everybody involved is looking forward to this deployment, which has real opportunities for all. "Deploying a maritime force across the globe for prolonged periods defines a premier Navy’s capability. It is what we do and we do it well. It is important for UK defence that we can take such a commitment in our stride." The Task Force is expected to return in August. Ships involved in TAURUS 09 are: Landing Platform Dock (LPD) HMS BULWARK* Landing Platform Helicopter (LPH) HMS OCEAN* Type 23 Frigate HMS ARGYLL Type 23 Frigate HMS SOMERSET* United States Navy Guided Missile Destroyer USS MITSCHER* French Navy Georges Leygues-class Frigate FS DUPLEIX RFA MOUNTS BAY RFA LYME BAY RFA WAVE RULER* RFA FORT AUSTIN 2 x Trafalgar Class submarines Exercises will be conducted with countries including Malta, Gibraltar, Spain, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Brunei. |
saver111 - January 30, 2009 07:20 AM (GMT)
Military chief admits complacency in Afghan fight
58 mins ago
LONDON (AFP) – The head of Britain's military has admitted his troops in Afghanistan were initially "smug" and "complacent," resting too much on the laurels of their record in Northern Ireland.
Air Chief Vice Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup told the Economist magazine that Britain had updated its counter-insurgency doctrine, but said the military had been "too slow" to change its ways.
In a podcast posted on the magazine's website, he also said there was "some capacity" to send more troops to Afghanistan but this would be "limited".
New US President Barack Obama wants to send a surge of troops to Afghanistan -- which Thursday delayed its elections until August because of worsening violence -- in a bid to subdue insurgents and establish stability.
Stirrup acknowledged there had been tensions between US and British commanders in Afghanistan and that the United States had sometimes been "critical" of the British modus operandi.
He said there was "always room for tolerable variation in the way things are done" but admitted complacency among British troops when they first deployed to Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.
"I think that we were a bit too complacent about our experiences in Northern Ireland and certainly, on occasion, we were a bit too smug about those experiences," he said, referring to the three decades of civil unrest in the British-ruled province.
"You are only as good as your next success, not your last one. You can never rest on your laurels and I think we may have done that."
He added: "That's not the case at the moment -- we are in the throes of a fundamental reappraisal of our doctrine and training and our structures for counter-insurgency.
"But I would accept the charge that for a while there we were perhaps too slow in doing that."
Britain has around 8,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission, the second-largest contributor after the US.
Obama is expected to press for more NATO troops to be sent to Afghanistan, but Stirrup said Britain was contributing its fair share.
The British military was "not structured or resourced" to fight as it had in the past few years -- in Afghanistan and Iraq -- and at some point "we have to get down to a more sustainable operational tempo", he said.
This should be achieved by a drawdown of troops from Iraq later this year, Stirrup said, adding: "We will have some capacity if required to provide more forces to Afghanistan... but it will be a limited capacity."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090130/wl_uk...1.IvU.6gJNvaA8F
58 mins ago
LONDON (AFP) – The head of Britain's military has admitted his troops in Afghanistan were initially "smug" and "complacent," resting too much on the laurels of their record in Northern Ireland.
Air Chief Vice Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup told the Economist magazine that Britain had updated its counter-insurgency doctrine, but said the military had been "too slow" to change its ways.
In a podcast posted on the magazine's website, he also said there was "some capacity" to send more troops to Afghanistan but this would be "limited".
New US President Barack Obama wants to send a surge of troops to Afghanistan -- which Thursday delayed its elections until August because of worsening violence -- in a bid to subdue insurgents and establish stability.
Stirrup acknowledged there had been tensions between US and British commanders in Afghanistan and that the United States had sometimes been "critical" of the British modus operandi.
He said there was "always room for tolerable variation in the way things are done" but admitted complacency among British troops when they first deployed to Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.
"I think that we were a bit too complacent about our experiences in Northern Ireland and certainly, on occasion, we were a bit too smug about those experiences," he said, referring to the three decades of civil unrest in the British-ruled province.
"You are only as good as your next success, not your last one. You can never rest on your laurels and I think we may have done that."
He added: "That's not the case at the moment -- we are in the throes of a fundamental reappraisal of our doctrine and training and our structures for counter-insurgency.
"But I would accept the charge that for a while there we were perhaps too slow in doing that."
Britain has around 8,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission, the second-largest contributor after the US.
Obama is expected to press for more NATO troops to be sent to Afghanistan, but Stirrup said Britain was contributing its fair share.
The British military was "not structured or resourced" to fight as it had in the past few years -- in Afghanistan and Iraq -- and at some point "we have to get down to a more sustainable operational tempo", he said.
This should be achieved by a drawdown of troops from Iraq later this year, Stirrup said, adding: "We will have some capacity if required to provide more forces to Afghanistan... but it will be a limited capacity."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090130/wl_uk...1.IvU.6gJNvaA8F
markniraq - February 1, 2009 12:49 PM (GMT)
Such sad and erroneous statements to be made about the Brits by one of their own. Its the operational tempo, bad intelligence (rather no reliable intelligence) and the will to fight that is dragging everyone into the FOBs and the comforts of the warzones. The real deal is that the fighters have all gone into civilian careers which pay 3-4 times what they made saluting ash butts and cow towing and those that remain are the yes men. Thats my humble opinion
saver111 - March 5, 2009 03:34 PM (GMT)
MoD Blasted Over Costly Helicopter Delays
9:14am UK, Thursday March 05, 2009
Geoff Meade, Defence correspondent
An eight-year delay putting new helicopters into service has cost millions of pounds and may have put lives at risk, a report has concluded.
A Chinook Mk3 at Boscombe
The Ministry of Defencehas been heavily criticised for failing to bring eight new SAS helicopters into service.
The twin-rotor Chinook transporters have only now taken to the air after being grounded since 2001 over safety worries.
The Public Accounts Committee of backbench MPs describes the case as "a catalogue of errors from the start" and warns that UK forces have been put at risk.
"The absence of these helicopters has meant that British troops in Afghanistan have had to make do with fewer helicopters and make an increased number of dangerous journeys by road," says their report.
"These delays have potentially put the lives of British service personnel at greater risk."
Cpl Sarah Bryant, the first British servicewoman to die in Helmand was reported to be acting as an interpreter for special forces travelling in a lightly-armoured Snatch Land Rover when she was killed with three other soldiers last summer.
The aircraft were bought in 2001 with the intention to fly secret operations.
But improvements needed to night vision, navigation and range, failed to meet airworthiness standards.
Restricted to flying only in daylight and good weather, the Chinooks were grounded during a long wrangle over who should pay to rectify the faults.
During the stand-off the cost rose by 70%. They have now been reverted to the standard flying specification, with a bill to the taxpayer of at least £422m - more than doubling the price of the aircraft.
"The programme was hamstrung from the start," says committee chairman Edward Leigh.
180 uk troops Merlin helicopters northumberland
More Merlins promised
"The appalling decision to buy the aircraft without securing access to their software source code meant the MoD could not show that the helicopters were safe to fly.
"It was bad decision making to the point of irresponsibility."
Quentin Davies, Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, said: "The contract was signed in 1997 - before the introduction of Smart Procurement. Since then we have fundamentally changed our methods of doing business, but this episode will remain a salutary example to us all."
He added that Lynx Mark 9 helicopters were being upgraded to improve their performance in the hot and high conditions of Afghanistan.
Upgraded Sea King helicopters have now been deployed to the country and Merlin helicopters will be switched to Afghanistan once they have completed their mission in Iraq.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/C...stry_Of_Defence
9:14am UK, Thursday March 05, 2009
Geoff Meade, Defence correspondent
An eight-year delay putting new helicopters into service has cost millions of pounds and may have put lives at risk, a report has concluded.
A Chinook Mk3 at Boscombe
The Ministry of Defencehas been heavily criticised for failing to bring eight new SAS helicopters into service.
The twin-rotor Chinook transporters have only now taken to the air after being grounded since 2001 over safety worries.
The Public Accounts Committee of backbench MPs describes the case as "a catalogue of errors from the start" and warns that UK forces have been put at risk.
"The absence of these helicopters has meant that British troops in Afghanistan have had to make do with fewer helicopters and make an increased number of dangerous journeys by road," says their report.
"These delays have potentially put the lives of British service personnel at greater risk."
Cpl Sarah Bryant, the first British servicewoman to die in Helmand was reported to be acting as an interpreter for special forces travelling in a lightly-armoured Snatch Land Rover when she was killed with three other soldiers last summer.
The aircraft were bought in 2001 with the intention to fly secret operations.
But improvements needed to night vision, navigation and range, failed to meet airworthiness standards.
Restricted to flying only in daylight and good weather, the Chinooks were grounded during a long wrangle over who should pay to rectify the faults.
During the stand-off the cost rose by 70%. They have now been reverted to the standard flying specification, with a bill to the taxpayer of at least £422m - more than doubling the price of the aircraft.
"The programme was hamstrung from the start," says committee chairman Edward Leigh.
180 uk troops Merlin helicopters northumberland
More Merlins promised
"The appalling decision to buy the aircraft without securing access to their software source code meant the MoD could not show that the helicopters were safe to fly.
"It was bad decision making to the point of irresponsibility."
Quentin Davies, Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, said: "The contract was signed in 1997 - before the introduction of Smart Procurement. Since then we have fundamentally changed our methods of doing business, but this episode will remain a salutary example to us all."
He added that Lynx Mark 9 helicopters were being upgraded to improve their performance in the hot and high conditions of Afghanistan.
Upgraded Sea King helicopters have now been deployed to the country and Merlin helicopters will be switched to Afghanistan once they have completed their mission in Iraq.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/C...stry_Of_Defence
MSantor - March 8, 2009 05:42 PM (GMT)
Another unfortunate loss. I certainly hope the fragile peace that many have worked hard for there is not permanently shattered.
| QUOTE |
Ambush in N. Ireland kills two British soldiers Updated Sun. Mar. 8 2009 9:04 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff Two British soldiers have died after being gunned down in a surprise attack by suspected IRA dissidents at a military barracks west of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The soldiers were attacked while they and two other soldiers were paying a pair of Domino's Pizza employees who had just delivered food to the Massereene army barracks in Antrim, Northern Ireland on Saturday night. While the soldiers were interacting with the delivery men, they came under attack from a car carrying two men armed with assault rifles. At least one of the gunmen got out of the car and shot the victims again at close range as they lay wounded on the ground. The four men, including the two delivery men, who survived the attack, remain in hospital with serious wounds. Police Chief Derek Williamson said the callous attack killed two young army engineers who were due to ship out to Afghanistan. "It's clear from what we know at this stage that the terrorists not only wanted to kill soldiers who were there last night but also tried to kill those two pizza delivery men. That indicates to me the ruthlessness of this attack," Williamson said. Police said they found a car abandoned in nearby Randalstown that they believe was used by the attackers. But they reported no arrests. The dead were the first British soldiers killed in Northern Ireland since February 1997. The attack followed recent warnings that dissidents would target civilians who did business with the army, following in the footsteps of the defunct IRA which, for decades, reserved the right to kill anyone who worked or directly supplied the police or the army. While it appeared designed to inflame tensions in the region, British Protestant and Irish Catholic politicians said the attack would not undermine a 22-month-old coalition between the two sides and they blamed IRA dissidents for the violence. "We will not be diverted from the direction which Northern Ireland has taken," said First Minister Peter Robinson, Protestant leader of the coalition, who cancelled a planned 10-day trip to the United States after learning of the attacks. He called the attack "a futile act by those who command no public support and have no prospect of success in their campaign." British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said "the whole country is shocked and outraged at the evil cowardly attack." "I assure you that we will bring these murderers to justice," he said. "No murderer will be able to derail a peace process that has the support of the people of Northern Ireland. We will step up our efforts to make the peace process one that lasts and endures." Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen said "we had all hoped that senseless violence was a thing of the past." "Violence has been utterly rejected by the people of this island, both north and south. A tiny group of evil people cannot, and will not, undermine the will of the people of Ireland to live in peace together." IRA dissidents have opposed the long-term peace efforts in Northern Ireland and the 1997 ceasefire that came five months after the last killing of a British soldier in the country. From 1970 to 1997, the IRA killed nearly 1,800 people in efforts to force Northern Ireland out of the United Kingdom and into the Republic of Ireland. With files from The Associated Press http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...?hub=TopStories |
MSantor - March 19, 2009 11:59 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (MSantor @ Jan 30 2009, 03:24 AM) | ||
| Is anyone surprised by the telling absence of an RN Type 42 destroyer in this mix of ships, especially with such large ships such as the assault carrier HMS OCEAN in this fleet? To think that the RN has had to rely on the USN to provide that AEGIS destroyer listed to provide better air defence. http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/news/Royal...l#StartComments
|
Two breathtaking pics from the exercise:
MSantor - March 24, 2009 04:34 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE |
| Despite the all-American hero imagery of the film starring Tom Cruise, the US Navy's expertise was in large part due to their instruction by aviators from the Fleet Air Arm. When British pilots arrived at Miramar airbase in California in the early 1960s the Americans were losing a large number of dogfights in their multi-million Phantom fighters to the enemy's relatively "cheap" MiG 21s. The tuition from the British pilots, all graduates of the intense Air Warfare Instructors school in Lossiemouth, Scotland, led to the Americans dominating the skies, the military historian Rowland White has revealed in Phoenix Squadron. It was then that the their Naval Warfare Academy became known as Top Gun. "Through the instructors on exchange at Miramar the AWIs methods made their way into perhaps the most well-known programme in the history of naval aviation: Topgun," he said. Foremost among the Royal Navy pilots was Lt Commander Dick Lord's whose work on the tactics group was the founding on which the "original eight Topgun instructors built their course". The British pilot, originally from South Africa, introduced simple things such as writing notes on the knee pad of his flying suit during air combat exercises The Americans trusted Lord enough to give him access to a secret document that played a key part in his writing the Air Combat Manoeuvring manual for the US pilots. As shown in the film Top Gun the pilots at Miramar were given a structure on air-to-air combat that finished with a final sortie of two pilot instructors against two students. In the film this was when Tom Cruise lost his observer following a difficult manoeuvre which occasionally happened as pilots flew their aircraft to the limit. Lord's expertise was so well regarded that he was asked to give lectures to US fighter pilots all along the West Coast. While the former Royal Navy officer, who married his British wife at Miramar, said he enjoyed the film he did not recognise the characters until his wife told him that the big-talking naval fighter pilots were most accurately depicted. Although the British did their best to fit in their humour prevailed. Rather than call signs of Viper and Maverick they came up with Dogbreath, Alien and Cholmondley White's book is the first to reveal the British role in Top Gun. "It is remarkable that any history book on Top Gun studiously avoids any British involvement," Lord, 72, told The Daily Telegraph. "One finds this quite a bit on American history and certainly here they have not given us due justice." Lt Cdr Paul Waterhouse, 72, another Fleet Air Arm officer at Miramar with Lord, said the British contribution of a dozen instructors was a substantial help to the Americans struggling for aerial success over Vietnam although it went unnoticed by Downing Street. "We were helping these guys in the Vietnam war because they were going straight from Miramar to fight the enemy who were flying pretty useful Mig 21s. "If Harold Wilson knew he would not have been happy." He added: "The Americans did not have the experience to use the Phantom properly and you cannot train experience "I felt a swell of pride when I first saw the Top Gun film because I knew that we were behind it." Another British instructor, Cdr Doug Macdonald , 67, said the Americans "were delighted to have experienced people teach them". He added: "I think the movie Top Gun is great but it's thanks to us Brits that they could make the film." Soon after the Top Gun course began a Phantom flown by one of the first students shot down a MiG-21, the first time a US Navy had succeeded in aerial combat in two years. |
MSantor - March 25, 2009 12:06 AM (GMT)
Just another update:
| QUOTE |
| From the RN site: "Last month Her Majesty the Queen gave her formal approval for the new class of aircraft carrier to be known as the 'Queen Elizabeth Class'. The giant hull sections that will make up the ships have been in construction since December of last year." http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.15652  "In summary, and to add some context, the first CVF will be sailing within 6 years, with the first members of the Ship's Company complementing HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH within 4 years from now." http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk//upload/pdf/CA...90123112213.pdf |
MSantor - April 1, 2009 04:34 PM (GMT)
Originally the RN intended its last two Invincible class carriers for different roles, with HMS Illustrious carrying the Harriers of the Naval Strike Wing (the RN contribution to Joint Force Harrier) and with HMS Ark Royal as the other carrier that would specialize more in amphibious assault support. The latter occurred since it's apparent that HMS Ocean would be overloaded with work since it is the only dedicated assault carrier. However, the article below shows that Ark Royal has gone back into refit to allow her to go back into the conventional strike carrier role.
http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and...rt-period-(csp)
http://tinyurl.com/dkpj7d
http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and...rt-period-(csp)
http://tinyurl.com/dkpj7d
| QUOTE |
| Ark Royal Enters Contractor's Support Period (CSP)Purpose • To convert ARKR back to the Carrier Strike role, including re-coating the flight deck. • To ensure ARKR is as operationally capable as possible. • To ensure the Ship is in its optimum material state. What The Period Entails The start date for the project is 6 Feb 09. CSP is made up of 2 parts, a Fleet Time Support Period (FTSP) and the CSP itself and is expected to last approximately 6 months. The FTSP is programmed to run for the first 5 weeks of the period and then the CSP proper will begin. The majority of the work to be undertaken has already been agreed between ARKR, Fleet and Defence Engineering and Support (DE&S). HMS Ark Royal is now in Dry Dock in order to examine the hull. ACCOMMODATION The Ship’s Company will remain onboard throughout the CSP, including during any dry dock periods. The reason being to offer guidance and assistance to the contractors and act as on-site Quality Assurance of the work carried out. HMS ILLUSTRIOUS In order to keep up to date with skills, a number of team – especially from the AIR Department – have been ‘loaned’ to HMS Illustrious. |
saver111 - April 9, 2009 11:34 AM (GMT)
UK's top anti-terror policeman resigns
AP
By NANCY ZUCKERBROD, Associated Press Writer Nancy Zuckerbrod, Associated Press Writer – 52 mins ago
LONDON – Britain's top counterterrorism officer resigned from London's Metropolitan Police on Thursday — one day after his major security blunder forced police to move up a major operation in northern England.
Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick, who was the senior police counterterrorism officer in Britain was photographed Wednesday clutching confidential documents that could clearly be seen as he arrived for a meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing St. The documents showed details of a major anti-terror operation in northern England.
In anti-terror raids later on Wednesday, police arrested a dozen men.
"I have today offered my resignation in the knowledge that my action could have compromised a major counterterrorism operation," Quick said in a statement released by the department.
"I deeply regret the disruption caused to colleagues undertaking the operation and remain grateful for the way in which they adapted quickly and professionally to a revised time scale."
Commissioner Paul Stephenson, who heads the Metropolitan Police, said Quick "accepted that he made a serious error and that has led to his resignation this morning."
Assistant Commissioner John Yates will replace Quick as head of counterterrorism, London Mayor Boris Johnson said.
Opposition lawmaker Chris Grayling said Quick did the right thing by resigning.
"It is unacceptable for Britain's most senior anti-terrorist officer to have had such an extraordinary lapse in judgment. To put the security of his police officers and the operation at risk has rendered his position untenable," Grayling said.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, whose department is in charge of policing, said Quick felt his position was untenable although she said the anti-terror sweep was successful.
Hundreds of officers across northwest England were involved in the anti-terror raids Wednesday evening.
Greater Manchester Police said the suspects were detained under anti-terrorism laws at addresses in the cities of Manchester and Liverpool and the surrounding area, about 200 miles (300 kilometers) northwest of London.
Police did not provide details about why they conducted the raids except to say they "acted on intelligence received." They said the suspects ranged in age from a youth in his mid-teens to a 41-year-old man.
The British government currently assesses the country's terror threat level as "severe," the second-highest of five possible ratings.
It has been at that level or higher since suicide bombers killed 52 commuters on London's bus and subway system on July 7, 2005.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090409/ap_on_...ti_terror_chief
Talk about security, something our own people should be doing with this current hostage taking.
AP
By NANCY ZUCKERBROD, Associated Press Writer Nancy Zuckerbrod, Associated Press Writer – 52 mins ago
LONDON – Britain's top counterterrorism officer resigned from London's Metropolitan Police on Thursday — one day after his major security blunder forced police to move up a major operation in northern England.
Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick, who was the senior police counterterrorism officer in Britain was photographed Wednesday clutching confidential documents that could clearly be seen as he arrived for a meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing St. The documents showed details of a major anti-terror operation in northern England.
In anti-terror raids later on Wednesday, police arrested a dozen men.
"I have today offered my resignation in the knowledge that my action could have compromised a major counterterrorism operation," Quick said in a statement released by the department.
"I deeply regret the disruption caused to colleagues undertaking the operation and remain grateful for the way in which they adapted quickly and professionally to a revised time scale."
Commissioner Paul Stephenson, who heads the Metropolitan Police, said Quick "accepted that he made a serious error and that has led to his resignation this morning."
Assistant Commissioner John Yates will replace Quick as head of counterterrorism, London Mayor Boris Johnson said.
Opposition lawmaker Chris Grayling said Quick did the right thing by resigning.
"It is unacceptable for Britain's most senior anti-terrorist officer to have had such an extraordinary lapse in judgment. To put the security of his police officers and the operation at risk has rendered his position untenable," Grayling said.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, whose department is in charge of policing, said Quick felt his position was untenable although she said the anti-terror sweep was successful.
Hundreds of officers across northwest England were involved in the anti-terror raids Wednesday evening.
Greater Manchester Police said the suspects were detained under anti-terrorism laws at addresses in the cities of Manchester and Liverpool and the surrounding area, about 200 miles (300 kilometers) northwest of London.
Police did not provide details about why they conducted the raids except to say they "acted on intelligence received." They said the suspects ranged in age from a youth in his mid-teens to a 41-year-old man.
The British government currently assesses the country's terror threat level as "severe," the second-highest of five possible ratings.
It has been at that level or higher since suicide bombers killed 52 commuters on London's bus and subway system on July 7, 2005.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090409/ap_on_...ti_terror_chief
Talk about security, something our own people should be doing with this current hostage taking.