daftandbarmy
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Defense News
http://www.blogs.mod.uk/defence_news/2008/week6/index.html#entry-45205364
http://www.blogs.mod.uk/defence_news/2008/week6/index.html#entry-45205364
British Military Current Events
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daftandbarmy
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Briton Adrian Hayes in 'Three Poles' record
A British explorer has broken the record for reaching the world's "Three Poles" - the North Pole, South Pole and Mount Everest - in the fastest time.Adrian Hayes, 45, took five months off the record when he reached the South Pole Friday night, having completed all three expeditions in just over 19 months.The polar explorer and climber, who lives in Dubai, trained for the last of his feats by pulling tyres along the beach in 45-degree heat. The "Three Poles" is the term used by explorers to denote the three latitudinal and altitudinal extremes of the planet. The task of reaching all three was first achieved by Young-Ho Heo, a South Korean, in 1994 and Hayes is now only the 15th member of this exclusive club. When he completed his mission, it was 19 months and three days since he stood on the 29,029ft summit of Mt Everest on May 25, 2006.It was also a mere eight months and three days since he stood at the planet's polar opposite - the North Pole - on April 25. The record had been held by a Swedish couple, Thomas and Tina Sjogren, who completed the odyssey in 24 months. Speaking on a satellite phone just before he reached the pole, Hayes told The Daily Telegraph he was looking forward to becoming a member of "one of the world's most exclusive clubs".Describing what he called "a nice day in Antarctica - not that windy, sunny and only -26C", he said: "The three poles are the three extremes of the earth - the top, the bottom and the roof of the world."I've wanted to do this for a long time. I wasn't trying to do it in record time. It's all rather informal and I only realised I could set a record when somebody told me in September."Hayes, a former Airbus sales executive who is now a motivational life coach, said that when he set out success was far from certain."Everest has got about a 33 per cent success rate, the North Pole about a 25 per cent success rate and the South Pole is slightly higher.""Combined", he said, "the failure rate is high."Apart from the complexity of the logistics, one reason why so few people have reached the three poles is that polar exploration and mountain climbing are different disciplines: mountain climbers tend to stick to big climbs and explorers to long, cold hikes. Hayes, whose "normal" life in the desert appears far removed from both, said his discipline was mountain climbing. But he added: "I'm super-fit and that really helps." The former Gurkha officer and Special Forces soldier said the sense of achievement was incredible - he is also raising money for charity - but it had been arduous. "We are doing this unsupported, so no re-supplies, nothing," he said. "We are carrying everything for what we estimated to be a 50-day journey. It's damn hard, pulling your sled into wind 10 hours a day."So far the team - four men and a woman - have experienced just three calm days. The rest of the time they have been scoured by Antarctic wind storms.Mr Hayes, who is married with two children, said what he had most missed at Christmas was seeing his wife Dawn and children Alexander, nine, and Charlotte, six.But aside from packing some crackers and party hats, he said the team had not really bothered to prepare for Christmas Day.What had they eaten as a special treat? "Sorbet," he replied. Christmas pudding will have to wait.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/29/whayes129.xml
A British explorer has broken the record for reaching the world's "Three Poles" - the North Pole, South Pole and Mount Everest - in the fastest time.Adrian Hayes, 45, took five months off the record when he reached the South Pole Friday night, having completed all three expeditions in just over 19 months.The polar explorer and climber, who lives in Dubai, trained for the last of his feats by pulling tyres along the beach in 45-degree heat. The "Three Poles" is the term used by explorers to denote the three latitudinal and altitudinal extremes of the planet. The task of reaching all three was first achieved by Young-Ho Heo, a South Korean, in 1994 and Hayes is now only the 15th member of this exclusive club. When he completed his mission, it was 19 months and three days since he stood on the 29,029ft summit of Mt Everest on May 25, 2006.It was also a mere eight months and three days since he stood at the planet's polar opposite - the North Pole - on April 25. The record had been held by a Swedish couple, Thomas and Tina Sjogren, who completed the odyssey in 24 months. Speaking on a satellite phone just before he reached the pole, Hayes told The Daily Telegraph he was looking forward to becoming a member of "one of the world's most exclusive clubs".Describing what he called "a nice day in Antarctica - not that windy, sunny and only -26C", he said: "The three poles are the three extremes of the earth - the top, the bottom and the roof of the world."I've wanted to do this for a long time. I wasn't trying to do it in record time. It's all rather informal and I only realised I could set a record when somebody told me in September."Hayes, a former Airbus sales executive who is now a motivational life coach, said that when he set out success was far from certain."Everest has got about a 33 per cent success rate, the North Pole about a 25 per cent success rate and the South Pole is slightly higher.""Combined", he said, "the failure rate is high."Apart from the complexity of the logistics, one reason why so few people have reached the three poles is that polar exploration and mountain climbing are different disciplines: mountain climbers tend to stick to big climbs and explorers to long, cold hikes. Hayes, whose "normal" life in the desert appears far removed from both, said his discipline was mountain climbing. But he added: "I'm super-fit and that really helps." The former Gurkha officer and Special Forces soldier said the sense of achievement was incredible - he is also raising money for charity - but it had been arduous. "We are doing this unsupported, so no re-supplies, nothing," he said. "We are carrying everything for what we estimated to be a 50-day journey. It's damn hard, pulling your sled into wind 10 hours a day."So far the team - four men and a woman - have experienced just three calm days. The rest of the time they have been scoured by Antarctic wind storms.Mr Hayes, who is married with two children, said what he had most missed at Christmas was seeing his wife Dawn and children Alexander, nine, and Charlotte, six.But aside from packing some crackers and party hats, he said the team had not really bothered to prepare for Christmas Day.What had they eaten as a special treat? "Sorbet," he replied. Christmas pudding will have to wait.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/29/whayes129.xml
daftandbarmy
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Nimrod widows sue for £1m compo
By Robert Kellaway
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/0502_nimrod.shtml
WIDOWS and families of 14 servicemen killed in the Nimrod spyplane disaster are fighting for compensation of £1MILLON each.
Defence Secretary Des Browne has admitted maintenance blunders caused the 37-year-old military jet to explode above Afghanistan.
And now a settlement between the Ministry of Defence and victims' relatives is said to be near completion. One family friend said: "Some have made it clear they expect not less than £1million.
"They believe this is needed to compensate for loss of earnings and also to reflect the shocking negligence that led to the disaster."
Graham Knight's 25-year-old son Ben (pictured above with fiancee Tania Staunton) , an RAF sergeant, died in the jet fireball in September 2006.
Mr Knight blasted the MoD for "selling out" the victims.
He said: "Though the MoD has admitted liability, it still doesn't want to show how badly it let the lads down.
"The Nimrod's failings on safety were ignored for years. People say my son died in an accident. I say he was killed by those who ignored every warning."
Mr Knight, from Somerset, added: "No amount of damages will bring Ben back. But guys like him put their lives on the line — then they got sold out."
The MoD say: "The Defence Secretary has apologised to the families and our officials will meet theirlegal representatives shortly."
By Robert Kellaway
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/0502_nimrod.shtml
WIDOWS and families of 14 servicemen killed in the Nimrod spyplane disaster are fighting for compensation of £1MILLON each.
Defence Secretary Des Browne has admitted maintenance blunders caused the 37-year-old military jet to explode above Afghanistan.
And now a settlement between the Ministry of Defence and victims' relatives is said to be near completion. One family friend said: "Some have made it clear they expect not less than £1million.
"They believe this is needed to compensate for loss of earnings and also to reflect the shocking negligence that led to the disaster."
Graham Knight's 25-year-old son Ben (pictured above with fiancee Tania Staunton) , an RAF sergeant, died in the jet fireball in September 2006.
Mr Knight blasted the MoD for "selling out" the victims.
He said: "Though the MoD has admitted liability, it still doesn't want to show how badly it let the lads down.
"The Nimrod's failings on safety were ignored for years. People say my son died in an accident. I say he was killed by those who ignored every warning."
Mr Knight, from Somerset, added: "No amount of damages will bring Ben back. But guys like him put their lives on the line — then they got sold out."
The MoD say: "The Defence Secretary has apologised to the families and our officials will meet theirlegal representatives shortly."
daftandbarmy
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Make me a supersonic man..
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article782356.ece
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article782356.ece
daftandbarmy
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RAF surveillance planes hear Taliban fighters talking in Brummie and Yorkshire accents
The Taliban are thought to be recruiting an increasing number of fighters from Britain after RAF experts overheard secret transmissions from the Afghan frontline spoken in broad Midlands and Yorkshire accents.
Specialists in top secret surveillance planes listened in on radio traffic broadcast by the Taliban in Helmand province and heard fighters talking in thick regional accents.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=513598&in_page_id=1
The Taliban are thought to be recruiting an increasing number of fighters from Britain after RAF experts overheard secret transmissions from the Afghan frontline spoken in broad Midlands and Yorkshire accents.
Specialists in top secret surveillance planes listened in on radio traffic broadcast by the Taliban in Helmand province and heard fighters talking in thick regional accents.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=513598&in_page_id=1
daftandbarmy
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Married to a mercenary: How do I tell the children Daddy may never come home?
Amanda Mann - the wife of Britain's most famous soldier of fortune - has grown used, over the past four years, to the gnawing anguish in her heart, the uncertainty and fear.
She has not been able to see or speak to her husband Simon in all this time and has become accustomed to the feeling of dread that there could be bad news at any time.
But when the call did come, the shock was lessened in no way by the anticipation of it.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=513752&in_page_id=1879
Amanda Mann - the wife of Britain's most famous soldier of fortune - has grown used, over the past four years, to the gnawing anguish in her heart, the uncertainty and fear.
She has not been able to see or speak to her husband Simon in all this time and has become accustomed to the feeling of dread that there could be bad news at any time.
But when the call did come, the shock was lessened in no way by the anticipation of it.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=513752&in_page_id=1879
daftandbarmy
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3 platoon, 600, axis, classroom slightly right of axis....
Lord Guthrie : Soldiers should go into classrooms
TROOPS should be sent into schools to tame classroom rowdies, claims Britain’s former top soldier.
Lord Guthrie believes Armed Forces personnel would be great role models and help to raise standards.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article805489.ece
Lord Guthrie : Soldiers should go into classrooms
TROOPS should be sent into schools to tame classroom rowdies, claims Britain’s former top soldier.
Lord Guthrie believes Armed Forces personnel would be great role models and help to raise standards.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article805489.ece
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Ayup... they,ll be able to whip those dissorganized ruffians and layabouts in no time flat.
The schools will hereafter be populated by the most well organized gang of drunken thieves & thugs you have ever seen...
Beware what you wish for......
The schools will hereafter be populated by the most well organized gang of drunken thieves & thugs you have ever seen...
Beware what you wish for......
daftandbarmy
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MoD slammed over Brit's death
A CORONER accused the Ministry of Defence today of breaching British soldiers’ trust by sending them to Afghanistan without basic equipment.
Andrew Walker spoke out at the end of an inquest into the death of Captain James Philippson, 29, of 7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, in a firefight with Taliban troops on June 11 2006 in which British forces were “totally out-gunned”.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article807495.ece
A CORONER accused the Ministry of Defence today of breaching British soldiers’ trust by sending them to Afghanistan without basic equipment.
Andrew Walker spoke out at the end of an inquest into the death of Captain James Philippson, 29, of 7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, in a firefight with Taliban troops on June 11 2006 in which British forces were “totally out-gunned”.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article807495.ece
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From UK's "Combat Camera": A member of Delta Company, 40 Commando Royal Marines, at Gibraltar Forward Operating Base in the heart of the 'Green Zone' in the Upper Gereshk Valley, Northern Helmand, uses the open air ablutions. [Picture: LA (Phot) AJ MaCleod]
daftandbarmy
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Wot? No fishnet stockings?
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I guess it wasn't Marine Monty Python in the loo....
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Heh... will ya look at the pile of kit that's stacked at his side 
Lucky he didn't have a bad case of the "runs" - else it woulda formed a trail of kit as he prepared to get the job done >
Wonder what it is he's reading... the menu being offered for tonight's dinner?
Lucky he didn't have a bad case of the "runs" - else it woulda formed a trail of kit as he prepared to get the job done >
Wonder what it is he's reading... the menu being offered for tonight's dinner?
daftandbarmy
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Nothing like having a confident family at home. I sincerely hope that they take it out of the original container before freezing!
Partners freeze sperm of troops on active duty
Growing numbers of wives of British soldiers are requesting to have their husbands' sperm frozen before they are deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq so they can still have children if their loved ones are killed in action.
A British fertility clinic has revealed it is dealing with a 'significant' number of queries. In the US, at least four children have been conceived after their fathers died in Iraq.
Tim Mott, a spokesman for the Bridge Centre fertility clinic in London, said: 'We had expected interest to stem from soldiers rather than their partners, but what has been most surprising is that most inquiries have come from wives and girlfriends who want to have children should anything happen.'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/feb/17/military.iraq2
Partners freeze sperm of troops on active duty
Growing numbers of wives of British soldiers are requesting to have their husbands' sperm frozen before they are deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq so they can still have children if their loved ones are killed in action.
A British fertility clinic has revealed it is dealing with a 'significant' number of queries. In the US, at least four children have been conceived after their fathers died in Iraq.
Tim Mott, a spokesman for the Bridge Centre fertility clinic in London, said: 'We had expected interest to stem from soldiers rather than their partners, but what has been most surprising is that most inquiries have come from wives and girlfriends who want to have children should anything happen.'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/feb/17/military.iraq2
daftandbarmy
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The Scots are neglecting 'Our Boys'.
I guess 'Our Girls are being looked after well, then? Good old Sun...
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article815000.ece
I guess 'Our Girls are being looked after well, then? Good old Sun...
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article815000.ece
daftandbarmy
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This is nothing new. There were lots of commonwealth citizens in the forces when I was there too. I always tried to point out to them that the British were willing to fight to the last Canadian... it was a fairly good wind up
Armed Forces employ 7,000 foreigners
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.
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.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/18/narmy218.xml
Armed Forces employ 7,000 foreigners
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.
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.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/18/narmy218.xml
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