British Military Current Events

[daftandbarmy]

Army hands redundancy notices to 4,480 soldiers as it launches campaign for 10,000 new recruits

Ministry of Defence issues redundancy notices to 4,480 troops

Ministers blame Labour for leaving finances in a mess


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2343773/Army-hands-redundancy-notices-4-480-soldiers-launches-campaign-10-000-new-recruits.html#ixzz2WbM3iSU7
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[daftandbarmy]

Army cuts: 'Poor morale and uncertainty' lead soldiers to leave

Poor morale and the prospect of a dwindling Army conducting fewer operations has led to a surge in the number of soldiers seeking redundancy in the latest wave of Armed Forces job cuts.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/10127869/Army-cuts-Poor-morale-and-uncertainty-lead-soldiers-to-leave.html

 

[daftandbarmy]

Dispute Over Falklands Intensifies
   
The protracted dispute between Britain and Argentina over the Falkland Islands appeared to harden further on Thursday, as the British side dismissed any thought of inviting the new Argentine pope to help mediate, and the Argentines rejected a March referendum that showed the islanders want to remain British.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/21/world/americas/dispute-over-falklands-intensifies.html?ref=world

 

[medicineman]

Obviously the time spent in UNPROFOR with the ARGBAT and BRITBAT in the same sector didn't fix things up much.

MM

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Most of this stuff is in the political realm, the Argie President is furiously attempting to distract people from her dismal handling of the economy.

 

[daftandbarmy]

The men of C Company, 2nd Battalion the Mercian Regiment are getting used to life back in barracks and beginning to tell their stories of a tour far tougher than any of them expected. The two platoons that make up C Company are some of the most recent soldiers to have returned from Helmand Province. During the six months they were there, they filmed every moment.

A timetable has been set for an end to British combat operations in Afghanistan, but two young officers, and best friends, led their platoons into an area of Helmand dubbed Death Valley to find a war that is far from over.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S42BrLNTkc

 

[CougarKing]

CTV news link

Prince Harry qualifies as Apache helicopter commander

LONDON -- Britain's defence ministry says Prince Harry has qualified to command an Apache attack helicopter -- the culmination of his training over the last three years.

Harry, known as Capt. Wales in the army, earlier this year completed a 20-week deployment in Afghanistan as a co-pilot gunner on an Apache and since then has flown missions in the U.K.

His commanding officer, Lt. Col. Tom de la Rue, called the qualification a "tremendous achievement," saying in a statement Friday that 28-year-old Harry had passed with "flying colours."

(...)

 

[OldSolduer]

Most of this stuff is in the political realm, the Argie President is furiously attempting to distract people from her dismal handling of the economy.

Much the same tactic Galtieri used in 82.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Terror police investigating nail bomb attack at mosque

A major atrocity was narrowly averted yesterday after a large nail bomb exploded outside a mosque just two hours after the funeral of terror victim Lee Rigby.

The homemade device exploded near the Kanz Ul Iman Masjid mosque in Tipton, West Midlands, shortly after 1pm – when up to 200 worshippers would normally have been in the area for Friday prayers.

However, the prayers had been moved back an hour because of Ramadan and no one was injured in the blast.

The bomb, which was left on a disused railway line behind the mosque, showered the area with nails and other debris.

Police were last night treating the explosion as a terrorist incident and were investigating whether there are any links to a small explosion near a mosque in nearby Walsall last month.

Officers were also examining whether there is any connection to right wing extremists.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/10177063/Terror-police-investigating-nail-bomb-attack-at-mosque.html

 

[daftandbarmy]

There were a few times where I wished I was dead while training there myself:

Two soldiers die in heat while training in Brecon Beacons

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/10178631/Two-soldiers-die-in-heat-while-training-in-Brecon-Beacons.html

Two soldiers died during a training exercise in the Brecon Beacons yesterday on the hottest day of the year, the Ministry of Defence said.

The servicemen were on a routine exercise yesterday on the Brecon Beacons, and the incident is being investigated by Dyfed Powys Police as well as the MoD.

A third man is in a serious condition in hospital.

A spokesman said: "The MoD can confirm that it is working with Dyfed Powys Police to investigate an incident during a training exercise on the Brecon Beacons on Saturday in which two members of military personnel died.

"The two servicemen's next of kin have been informed. More information will be released in due course but it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage. Any further enquiries should be referred to Dyfed Powys Police."

Yesterday was the hottest day of the year for many parts of the country, and temperatures in Usk in nearby Monmouthshire, South Wales, reached 29.2C (84.5F).

A source said: "It is a case of the people succumbing to being affected by the training that they were doing."

The military use the Brecon Beacons for a wide range of exercises for various Army personnel.

The Infantry Battle School (IBS) is based at Brecon and the tough, demanding landscape is used to put regular and special forces soldiers through their paces.

The Army website says the Brecon Beacons are used because they are so demanding and prepare soldiers for the "extraordinary things" they have to do on deployment.

The website says: "Training for high-intensity, light-role war fighting is the way soldiers and officers are prepared for any operational situation they may face - conventional war, counter insurgency, security sector reform, peacekeeping or supporting civil authorities.

"Training at IBS is delivered here by high-quality instructors with a wealth of operational experience, and rated in the top third of the Infantry.

"This ensures that the training is as close to current operations and pre-deployment training as possible, whilst maintaining the ability to train for high intensity war fighting.

"IBS delivers competent and confident commanders for the Field Army by running command and leadership training, infantry tactics training, weapons training, and live firing range qualifications. It also provides specialist training teams to assist foreign forces in their development, and allocates some places on courses for overseas students."

 

[UnwiseCritic]

Update on the two soldiers

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23311575

It sounds like human rights activists are going to get involved, in something they have no business in. But the last few sentences of the article might keep them at bay.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Update on the two soldiers

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23311575

It sounds like human rights activists are going to get involved, in something they have no business in. But the last few sentences of the article might keep them at bay.

Soldiers 'marched to death': Tragedy of two Territorial Army men who collapsed in searing heat as they tried out for the SAS
They were training during the hottest day of the year
Third person remains in hospital following the incident

Ministry of Defence working with police to investigate
Source: 'It is a case of the people succumbing to being affected by the training that they were doing'
Soldier also died training at Brecon Beacons earlier this year


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2362942/Soldiers-marched-death-Tragedy-territorial-Army-men-collapsed-searing-heat-tried-SAS.html#ixzz2Z9hwfaZ9

 

[daftandbarmy]

Children in some military families risk falling behind in school, MPs warn

Soldiers and members of the Armed Forces with young families should not be moved during the academic year to ensure that their children do not fall behind in school, a group of MPs has said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/10196030/Children-in-some-military-families-risk-falling-behind-in-school-MPs-warn.html

 

[daftandbarmy]

To the top, climb!


A behind the scenes look at the Royal Marines Training Camp in Lympstone, Devon. This series of photos show 168 Troop in the gymnasium during week 8 of the training course Initial Military Fitness (IMF). IMF is based on a Swedish fitness model and has been used by the Royal Marines for at least 30 years in an essentially unchanged format. It is a mixture of fitness training and drill.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/10208981/Royal-Marines-Training-Camp.html

 

[The Bread Guy]

MPs: Scottish independence 'will force UK to abandon Trident'

Scottish independence will force the remainder of the UK to abandon nuclear weapons for at least two decades, according to report by MPs published today.

The Scottish Affairs select committee has concluded Scottish independence would mean the rest of the UK having to abandon nuclear weapons for at least 20 years

The Commons Scottish Affairs select committee said it would be possible to move Trident submarines and their missiles from their base on the Clyde within two weeks of separation.

However, the construction of replacement facilities south of the Border could take up to 20 years, they said, effectively forcing the UK Government into “unilateral nuclear disarmament” ....

NATO:  Not so fast ....

SENIOR Nato officials have warned Alex Salmond that an independent Scotland would not be allowed to join it if the SNP carried out its plan to remove Trident nuclear submarines from Faslane on the Clyde.

The blow to the First Minister’s hopes came at a secret meeting between Scottish Government officials and Nato officials at their headquarters in Brussels within the last few weeks.

The Holyrood delegation was told that no new member would be allowed to join if it had unresolved military or territorial disputes with other countries.

This response was seen as being a clear warning that the SNP administration’s pledge to remove Trident would be an obstacle to an independent Scotland’s membership.

The SNP had been hostile to membership of Nato for 30 years, but, in a U-turn last year, party members voted in support of the leadership’s plans for an independent Scotland to join if there is a referendum Yes vote.

However, the SNP Government still insists it will remove all nuclear weapons from Scotland as quickly as possible after independence ....

Scottish Express, 16 Aug 13

 

[daftandbarmy]

Northern Ireland police find stash of guns and ammunition in east Belfast

Weapons discovered on National Trust property in loyalist area during final weekend of marching season

A large haul of guns and ammunition has been found buried on a National Trust property on the eastern outskirts of Belfast.

The munitions were found on the Lisnabreeny estate in the Castlereagh area on Saturday morning during a major security operation which began at teatime on Friday in the Manse Road area of Castlereagh.

A Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) spokesman said the 16 handguns and 800 rounds of ammunition had been taken away for forensic examination. Security sources said the haul was one of the biggest they had recovered in years.

The find is close to loyalist east Belfast and it is likely the weaponry belongs to the Ulster Volunteer Force, the terror group which is still active in orchestrating street violence connected to the flag protests and the banning of contentious Orange marches through the summer.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/aug/24/northern-ireland-police-guns-belfast?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487

 

[Kirkhill]

Army infantry units to be slashed

The Army faces fresh cuts with key infantry units reduced to their smallest size in more than 100 years, provoking fears over its ability to go into action.

By Sean Rayment  7:00AM BST 18 Aug 2013
Each of its 31 infantry battalions – the most important fighting unit – will lose up to 70 soldiers, to create equal-sized units of 520 servicemen and women.
Elite units such as the Parachute Regiment and Guards Division will be hit.

link

And in related news the Parachute Regiment is pre-emptively hiring itself out en masse to commercial employers.  Sir Richard Bransom is the first employer with whom the regiment has concluded an arrangement.  The Parachute Regiment will henceforth be known as  The Virgin Regiment.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

That's different. I've never seen a beret (officially) look like Andy Capp's hat. ;D

 

[daftandbarmy]

[quote author=re ;D date=1377440540]
That's different. I've never seen a beret (officially) look like Andy Capp's hat. ;D
[/quote]

That's so the blood from the Craphats you're bashing doesn't splash in your eyes  ;D

 

[George Wallace]

Interesting placement of hatbadges......well above the 1/2 above brim.