British Military Current Events

[geo]

Ok.... Uncle!

 

[daftandbarmy]

The latest on the NI Legacy report. 1) Yes, it was a war - still is IMHO 2) Amnesty for terrorists? Not a chance - hopefully they'll get life instead.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7176271.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7198678.stm

 

[cameron]

... and don't forget the premature demise of the Robertson's 'Golly'!

Actually the Robertson's golliwog was offensive.  The British golliwog first came into being as a caricature of black people.  Now cutting the dick off some poor lion, that's just wrong.

 

[daftandbarmy]

This is what a craeer in the Royal Marines can do for you... stay in school kids!

Naked rambler completes his trek


Mr Gough has had a long journey to the far north

The man dubbed the naked rambler has finally completed his marathon trek from Land's End to John O'Groats.
Stephen Gough, 44, from Hampshire, finished his walk after seven months, much of which was spent in jail.

Mr Gough celebrated with a bottle of champagne and said he was looking forward to a good meal and a soft bed before heading home to Hampshire.

The former Royal Marine made the 900-mile journey to question society's attitude towards the human body.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3420685.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7196711.stm

 

[Mike Baker]

British soldier killed, five injured in Afghanistan

British soldier killed, five injured in Afghanistan
Updated Mon. Jan. 21 2008 7:58 AM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

One British soldier was killed and five others were injured in a roadside blast outside a former Taliban town in southern Afghanistan, officials said Monday.

The British Ministry of Defence said the five soldiers were airlifted to NATO bases for medical treatment and are expected to survive.

The incident occurred on Sunday in an area northeast of Musa Qala, a town located in northern Helmand province, when the soldiers were travelling in a NATO patrol vehicle.

Musa Qala had been a Taliban stronghold for 10 months until coalition forces recaptured it last month.

On Saturday, five civilians were killed and three others wounded when the taxi they were riding in struck a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan.

The explosion occurred in the Panjwaii district of Kandahar province, where NATO troops and Taliban fighters have engaged in a number of several battles over the last 18 months.

Panjwaii district chief Shah Baran said such improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are often aimed at Afghan and NATO forces, "but this time it exploded on civilians."

Canada has about 2,500 troops operating in Kandahar province, one of the most violent regions in the country.

Seventy-seven of them have died since 2002, along with a Canadian diplomat.

Most of the deaths have been the result of IED attacks.

Trooper Richard Renaud was killed last Tuesday, when a roadside bomb struck his light-armoured vehicle while he was on reconnaissance north of Kandahar.

Since October 2001, a total of 87 British forces personnel have been killed in Afghanistan.

RIP Soldier

 

[daftandbarmy]

Ahh cr*p. Poor lad...

Meanwhile, back at the red tape library: MoD Admits Inquiry into 69 lost laptops

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,,2244740,00.html

 

[daftandbarmy]

Bader's leg up for grabs

War hero Douglas Bader's prosthetic leg is to be sold at auction.

It is one of 43 items belonging to the Second World War hero who continued to fly for the RAF despite losing both legs in a plane crash.

Phillip Knapper, from the auction house, said he expected Bader's memorabilia, including Red Cross parcels sent to him in Colditz Castle as well as his mess bill, to exceed £100,000.

His Alvis car from the 1960s is expected to fetch another £60,000.

Mr Knapper said: "Douglas Bader is one of those people who formed an important part of our history.

"A lot of people have been inspired to rebuild their lives through his example because nothing ever stopped him. He learnt to drive, he flew, he played golf, even though he didn't have any legs.

"We want to keep the Bader collection together if possible although the car can be sold as a separate lot because it doesn't form part of the Second World War collection."

Mr Knapper said he had already had interest from Singapore and Hong Kong for the items.

He described the vendor as a man in his 80s from Lincolnshire. He bought the items from the daughter of Bader's mess sergeant at RAF Duxford.

Mr Knapper said museums had also expressed interest in the collection but said it would be sold through a privately negotiated treaty.


http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_2694838.html

 

[daftandbarmy]

Faulty fridge sends warship back to base:

Couldn't be because they needed to keep their beer warm...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080123/od_afp/britainmilitarynavyillustrious_080123171326

 

[daftandbarmy]

Was it a cop or soldier who pulled the trigger?

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article550024.ece

 

[Dog Walker]

Who cons wins: Six SAS soldiers face court martial over fraud allegations
By MATTHEW HICKLEY –
Last updated at 17:54pm on 25th January 2008

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=510449&in_page_id=1770&ito=1490

Six soldiers from the elite SAS are facing a court martial on charges of embezzling up to £250,000 from the unit's training budget.
The men are alleged to have secretly siphoned off the money over a period of years from funds used to pay for specialist jungle training exercises in Brunei and Borneo.
It is the first time any members of the unit have faced such serious charges.
The case has sent shockwaves through members of UK Special Forces, and particularly the Hereford garrison where the 22 Special Air Service Regiment is based.
The men will appear at a preliminary legal hearing at the Army's court martial centre at Bulford in Wiltshire early next month, when a date will be set for their trial on charges of conspiracy to defraud, the Ministry of Defence confirmed.
Reporting restrictions mean they can only be referred to as Soldiers A, B, C, D, E and F, and no photographs can be published.
The MOD hides the identities of all Special Forces personnel to prevent them from revenge attacks by terrorists or extremists.
Royal Military Police investigators are understood to have spent more than a year probing the alleged fraud after discrepancies were found in the regiment's accounts.
Two of the accused are believed to be "badged" members of the regiment's fighting squadrons, while the other four are thought to be in administrative and support roles.
If they are convicted, they will suffer the stigma and indignity of being returned "RTU"d - sent back to their original units - and are then likely to be thrown out of the Army.
The charges carry a maximum sentence of five years in jail.
SAS troopers and officers routinely train in jungle warfare skills using bases in the Far East, spending months learning to survive and fight in some of the harshest conditions on earth.
The unit, along with the Royal Marines' SBS, has been at the forefront of Britain's role in the war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Some competition for Winnie the Pooh from the Poles...

Honour sought for 'Soldier Bear' 
 
A campaign has been launched to build a permanent memorial to a bear which spent much of its life in Scotland - after fighting in World War II.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/south_of_scotland/7208505.stm

 

[daftandbarmy]

Wow. This is a big deal. We never wore uniforms in public when off duty or driving to/from work. I suppose that the Al Queda threat isn't as bad as the IRA threat that prompted the 'no uniforms in public' order in the 70s - or they're just desperately trying to boost the military's image, at any cost.

Off-duty troops may be in uniform 
 
British soldiers may be encouraged to wear their uniforms while off-duty in an attempt to boost their popularity with the general public. The possible move is part of an ongoing review into how best to improve the public's perception of the military.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7211979.stm

 

[geo]

D&B
It's a perverse thing that. 
Over here, some people appear to feel safer by seeing us in public.

I remember the dark days when we carried our uniforms in bags - to & from "work"... certainly didn't do much for our own morale at the time.  Since the directive was rescinded, I have only been given grief once..... VS the hundreds of friendly nods, winks, thumbs up, word of encouragement, etc.... and it's even increased since I banged up my knee & I travel with leg brace & cane.

Ohhh.... guess we are a distinct society after all ( Canada I mean )  

 

[daftandbarmy]

OK, so this has been an issue for decades. Nothing new for good old HM Forces IMHO


Pressures 'driving UK troops out' 
 
The pressures faced by the armed forces are driving away experienced personnel and damaging morale, MPs have warned.
The strain of operating at full capacity in Afghanistan and Iraq has left the services "deteriorating", a defence select committee report says.

Personnel do not get enough rest time, and budgets are spiralling out of control, its annual MoD report adds.

Defence minister Bob Ainsworth said the forces were achieving "our highest priority - success on operations".



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7211901.stm

 

[Nfld Sapper]

D&B
It's a perverse thing that. 
Over here, some people appear to feel safer by seeing us in public.

I remember the dark days when we carried our uniforms in bags - to & from "work"... certainly didn't do much for our own morale at the time.  Since the directive was rescinded, I have only been given grief once..... VS the hundreds of friendly nods, winks, thumbs up, word of encouragement, etc.... and it's even increased since I banged up my knee & I travel with leg brace & cane.

Ohhh.... guess we are a distinct society after all ( Canada I mean )  

Remember shortly after 9/11 they told us not to wear uniform to/from work. At least someone got the head out of their a$$ as resinded that order.

Maybe they think its from being over the sandpile.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Good Lord, what a load of nonesense. I hope they've got their sh*t together by now.

 

[geo]

Careful D&B
Methinks you assume too much

Ass (out of) u (you &) me

 

[daftandbarmy]

Perhaps this article is a good explanation of that particular phenomena!

Unskilled and Unaware of It: How difficulties in recognizing one's own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments.

Of course this doesn't apply to me because I'm perfect.

http://www.apa.org/journals/features/psp7761121.pdf

 

[geo]

You're perfect?
I thought you were "daft&barmy"  ???

 

[daftandbarmy]

Egads! I am undone!