British Military Current Events

[daftandbarmy]

Utrinque Paratus...

British paratrooper killed in Ukraine named​

A member of the UK armed forces who died in Ukraine has been named as Lance Corporal George Hooley of the Parachute Regiment.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the 28-year-old was killed in a "tragic accident" while observing Ukrainian forces test "a new defensive capability, away from the front lines".

Paying tribute to the paratrooper in the Commons on Wednesday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: "His life was full of courage and determination.

"He served our country with honour and distinction around the world in the cause of freedom and democracy, including as part of the small number of British personnel in Ukraine."

Sir Keir said he had placed L/Cpl Hooley's name on record in the Commons "to express our gratitude and respect, and to affirm that his service will never be forgotten".

L/Cpl Hooley had an "incredibly bright" future, his Commanding Officer said in a tribute on Wednesday.

"I have no doubt that he would have continued to perform at the very front of his peer group over the coming years," the commanding officer said, adding that "all members of the Parachute Regiment mourn his loss".

Lance Corporal George Hooley named as British paratrooper killed in Ukraine

Sir Keir Starmer pays tribute to Lance Corporal George Hooley, who the Ministry of Defence says died in a "tragic accident" away from the front lines.

www.bbc.com

 

[daftandbarmy]

Let the backstabbing commence...

Minister 'disgusted' after soldiers injured in Ajax exercise​

Defence minister Luke Pollard has said he was "disgusted" when he heard that soldiers were injured while using Ajax armoured vehicles, which he had previously been assured were safe.

Last month, the Army paused its use of the vehicles after 30 soldiers became ill from noise and vibration during a military exercise.

The £6.3bn Ajax project had been due to deliver 589 armoured vehicles with the first entering service in 2017 however, the programme has been beset by problems and repeatedly delayed.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Pollard said three investigations were under way and promised to take "whatever decisions are required to end the saga one way or another".
He later added that the Ajax vehicle had completed "42,000 km of testing without such injuries" and that "not all the vehicles on that exercise caused injuries".

Shadow Conservative defence secretary James Cartlidge said the incidents with noise and vibration "sound strikingly similar to the problems that I was assured, as minister for defence procurement, had been resolved".

"I imagine the minister is as furious as I am at having been repeatedly given what now turn out to be false assurances by those responsible for the Ajax programme," he said, adding: "Surely he is left with a binary choice - fix it or fail it."

Cartlidge also raised "a disgraceful incident" where an employee of General Dynamics, the company making Ajax, had "belittled the injured soldiers" in social media posts according to reports.

Defence minister 'disgusted' after soldiers injured in Ajax exercise

Luke Pollard says three investigations are under way after further problems emerged with the beleaguered armoured vehicle programme.

www.bbc.com