British Military Current Events

[The Bread Guy]

It is unacceptable that UK Forces were deployed in Helmand for three years from 2006 without the necessary personnel, equipment or intelligence to succeed in their mission, says the Defence Committee in its report on Operations in Afghanistan. The Committee cite mistakes were made as a result of a failure in military and political coordination.

This is the first report into Afghanistan operations for the Defence Committee of this Parliament. It looks at operations since 2006 and makes further recommendations for the anticipated draw-down of forces.

The Report says that, given the demanding nature of the situation in Iraq, the decision to move UK Armed Forces into the South of Afghanistan in early 2006 was not fully thought through. The Committee is concerned that the MoD did not anticipate that the presence of the Armed Forces in Helmand might stir up a hornets’ nest, especially as much of the intelligence was contradictory. Senior military advisers should have drawn attention to the need for force levels to be sufficiently robust to cope with an unpredictable conflict. Any concerns as were raised by them were inadequate at best, and were not brought to the attention of the very highest levels of Government ....

Source:  Report: Operations in Afghanitstan (sic.), UK Defence Committee, 17 Jul 11

 

[daftandbarmy]

Building up reserves
If numbers in the regular Army are to be cut, the TA needs a recruitment drive.

There was much to be welcomed in Liam Fox’s announcement yesterday expanding Britain’s force of reservists and reallocating the bases used by the Armed Forces. But it is clear that our country’s defence requirements are being determined not by strategy but by money.

Dr Fox conceded as much in the Commons, when he denounced Labour MPs for opposing his latest upheaval without appreciating the pressure on the MoD’s budget caused by the previous government’s profligacy.

Yet the money is there: in cash terms, public spending continues to rise. It is just that the Government does not choose to spend as much of it on defence as it once did. As a result, the dispositions of the Armed Forces have to change.

We have already seen reductions in our air and naval capabilities. Now there is to be a cut of 17,000 in our regular Army, taking its complement to around 84,000 by 2020, the smallest it has been for 100 years. This will mean the disbandment of many famous regiments.

To balance this, a build-up in reservists is essential. They make up less than 20 per cent of our Army, compared to 50 per cent of America’s. There is clearly scope for expansion, and an extra £1.5 billion is to be spent on doing so.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/telegraph-view/8645637/Building-up-reserves.html

 

[daftandbarmy]

Historic battalions could be lost in cuts, warns general

Up to a fifth of Britain’s infantry battalions, including some of Army’s most historic names, will be abolished under Government defence cuts, commanders fear.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/8714720/Historic-battalions-could-be-lost-in-cuts-warns-general.html

 

[Infanteer]

Amazing how these arguments over a cap badge are used to keep 200-300 man battalions alive when all these poorly manned units could be merged to make full strength ones.  In either case, I'm sure the Army will carry on and be okay as it has with the last 5-6 times this has occurred since the end of the Second World War.

I'd venture that this points to a weakness of Britain's regional recruiting scheme for its Regiments.  Our national system is somewhat better able to adjust for variances in regional recruiting rates.

 

[Old Sweat]

Amazing how these arguments over a cap badge are used to keep 200-300 man battalions alive when all these poorly manned units could be merged to make full strength ones.  In either case, I'm sure the Army will carry on and be okay as it has with the last 5-6 times this has occurred since the end of the Second World War.

I'd venture that this points to a weakness of Britain's regional recruiting scheme for its Regiments.  Our national system is somewhat better able to adjust for variances in regional recruiting rates.

I think you have a point re regional recruiting. I believe the Black Watch recruited in Perthshire, which is not densely populated. Given a combination of the welfare state (perhaps) and depopulation, the recruiting pool may be very shallow.

 

[Edward Campbell]

I think you have a point re regional recruiting. I believe the Black Watch recruited in Perthshire, which is not densely populated. Given a combination of the welfare state (perhaps) and depopulation, the recruiting pool may be very shallow.

Recruiting five infantry battalions and a 'slice' of everything else from a place with the population of about AB, SK and MB is tough. Maybe that's why there are so many Fijians in the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Britain 'woefully unprepared' for Arctic warfare

Britain's armed forces, already stretched by operations in Libya and Afghanistan, are "woefully unprepared" for operations on a new front - the Arctic circle.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/8692295/Britain-woefully-unprepared-for-Arctic-warfare.html

 

[daftandbarmy]

This amuses me and I shall wind up several people I know with it... like tops:

Health and safety defeats Marines who tackled Somali pirates

Marines who have defeated Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean were sent for "training" by health and safety officials before being allowed to re-enact their encounters at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

Members of HMS Montrose's counter-piracy team board hijacked ships using a technique called "fast roping" in which they slide down ropes without harnesses and with their hands protected by asbestos gloves. The men planned to display the technique at the event and were astonished to be told they would have to undertake training with an industrial rope-access firm.

They were also not allowed to simulate shooting pirates, who would instead have to give themselves up as part of a re-enactment of last year's successful Ocean Shield operation. The Marines were sent to a council facility in Edinburgh before health and safety officials at the local authority and the Historic Scotland agency approved the display.

They were shown how to abseil to the standards expected in an industrial environment and have not been allowed to "fast rope" in the show, which is performed every evening in August.

A senior military source said: "Historic Scotland thought everything looked far too dangerous and the Marines were told to tone everything down. That included abseiling down the walls of the castle and the re-enactment of the fast roping on to the 'captured' ship.

"The Marines were also not permitted to shoot the pirates. Instead all the bad guys surrender. It is all a bit sad really."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/8716900/Health-and-safety-defeats-Marines-who-tackled-Somali-pirates.html

 

[Kirkhill]

A senior military source said: "Historic Scotland thought everything looked far too dangerous and the Marines were told to tone everything down. That included abseiling down the walls of the castle and the re-enactment of the fast roping on to the 'captured' ship.

"The Marines were also not permitted to shoot the pirates. Instead all the bad guys surrender. It is all a bit sad really."

Recruiting five infantry battalions and a 'slice' of everything else from a place with the population of about AB, SK and MB is tough. Maybe that's why there are so many Fijians in the Royal Regiment of Scotland

The shallow pool is only part of the problem.  The rest of it can be found in D&B's post.  Adam Ferguson's fears have been realized and Scotland has become as effete, foppish and useless as any courtier of Louis XIV ever was.  Instead of soldiers and traders Scotland now produces politicians and junkies......

 

[daftandbarmy]

The shallow pool is only part of the problem.  The rest of it can be found in D&B's post.  Adam Ferguson's fears have been realized and Scotland has become as effete, foppish and useless as any courtier of Louis XIV ever was.  Instead of soldiers and traders Scotland now produces politicians and junkies......

45 Commando is based in Scotland. They should march the lot of them over to the commando memorial at Achnacarry and force them to grovel.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Just heard that John McAleese (SAS) is dead. The man on the balcony.

Aw crap.....

See you up there John, unless your part of the cloud needs me to pass some kind of selection, of course. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHQ_BqQE7DE&feature=related

 

[daftandbarmy]

Just heard that John McAleese (SAS) is dead. The man on the balcony.

Aw crap.....

See you up there John, unless your part of the cloud needs me to pass some kind of selection, of course. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHQ_BqQE7DE&feature=related

It's official....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2030947/SAS-hero-John-McAleese-Iranian-embassy-siege-dies-suspected-heart-attack.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

 

[daftandbarmy]

Defence cuts: Gurkhas and RAF take brunt

Air force personnel serving in Libya to be told they will lose their jobs as three services aim to cut 17,000 posts by 2015

Almost 500 RAF personnel will be told on Thursday that they are to be forced out of their jobs when the Ministry of Defence sets out the first details of its controversial redundancy programme aimed at reshaping Britain's armed forces.

The Gurkhas have also been hit hard, with infantrymen from the historic Nepalese brigade making up most of those in the army who will be told that they have been selected for compulsory redundancy.
The announcement is likely to reopen bitter arguments about cuts to the defence budget that are being pushed through even though the UK is committed to fighting the insurgency in Afghanistan and has been asked to play a lead role in Libya.

It will also spur on those who have demanded the government reconsiders the main conclusions of last year's strategic defence and security review (SDSR) – calls that the defence secretary, Liam Fox, has dismissed outright.

All three armed services announced redundancy programmes earlier this year after they were set an initial target of 17,000 job losses by 2015. Now the army and the RAF will set out the first round of redundancies, with the Royal Navy following later this month.

The Guardian understands that 930 RAF staff will be told they have been selected for redundancy in the first wave. Of those, more than half – 490 – are compulsory redundancies. The other 440 redundancies will be voluntary.

Although no fully trained pilots face the axe, the RAF admits that it will lose trainee pilots, weapons systems operators and some officers up to the rank of air commodore.

Some of those who will be approached are thought to be support staff currently working at Gioia del Colle, the Italian base from where the RAF's Panavia Tornado and Eurofighter Typhoon jets have been flying sorties over Libya since military intervention began in March.

The army will notify 920 people that they are being made redundant. It is believed that 660 people applied to leave, and 260 are compulsory job cuts. Gurkha soldiers account for 140 of the enforced losses. No Gurkhas put in for voluntary redundancy, so the losses may prove to be especially provocative.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/sep/01/defence-cuts-gurkhas-raf

 

[daftandbarmy]

The Territorial Army still has much to offer

Far from being 'weekend warriors', the soliders of the TA can bring real value to post-conflict situations, writes Simon Barry.

The reality behind the great new future for the TA is not quite what the MoD spin team would like everyone to believe. It is in fact a rather sad story of regular officers' arrogance and ignorance, poorly played hands by the TA grandees, and missed opportunity.

The TA had been viewed for too long as “weekend warriors” by many senior officers, particularly in the Infantry, who should have known better. The self-appointed military intelligentsia did not help the debate by producing polemical articles on the end of the need for lots of TA infantry to “bayonet Russians on the White Cliffs”. The result of this was a perception of the TA soldier that was myopic and outdated. It was looking at the future for the organisation through the prism of past structures and perceptions, instead of taking a “what could be in it for us (ie UK plc)?” approach.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/8677098/The-Territorial-Army-still-has-much-to-offer.html

 

[OldSolduer]

The Territorial Army still has much to offer

Far from being 'weekend warriors', the soliders of the TA can bring real value to post-conflict situations, writes Simon Barry.

The reality behind the great new future for the TA is not quite what the MoD spin team would like everyone to believe. It is in fact a rather sad story of regular officers' arrogance and ignorance, poorly played hands by the TA grandees, and missed opportunity.

The TA had been viewed for too long as “weekend warriors” by many senior officers, particularly in the Infantry, who should have known better. The self-appointed military intelligentsia did not help the debate by producing polemical articles on the end of the need for lots of TA infantry to “bayonet Russians on the White Cliffs”. The result of this was a perception of the TA soldier that was myopic and outdated. It was looking at the future for the organisation through the prism of past structures and perceptions, instead of taking a “what could be in it for us (ie UK plc)?” approach.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/8677098/The-Territorial-Army-still-has-much-to-offer.html

Sounds like this article could have been written in Ottawa about Canadian Army Reservists and the attitudes here.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Sounds like this article could have been written in Ottawa about Canadian Army Reservists and the attitudes here.

I know the author well, as he was my Adjt at one point and gave me many extras  ;D Good egg nonetheless, and earned an MiD scrapping with the IRA in South Armagh during the Bad Old Days. Knows what he's talking about.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Himalaya Fall 2011: A New Season Begins

With the summer season in the Karakoram now behind us, climbers are heading back to the High Himalaya in Nepal and Tibet for the fall season. While this is a much quieter time of year, when compared to the hustle and bustle of spring, there are still plenty of teams looking to bag summits in the weeks ahead.

Some of the climbers have already come and gone through Kathmandu and are now acclimatizing on their mountain of choice. For example, the Himex team is on Manaslu (8156 meters/26,759 ft) this fall, and have already gone as high as Camp 1, located at 5547 meters  (18,200 ft), where they spent three nights last week. While most expeditions to the Himalaya are special in their own right, this one is even more so. The team has nine soldiers from the U.K. who have suffered wounds while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, each of which are hoping to summit the mountain. Those soldiers are working with the charity Walking With The Wounded to raise funds and awareness of their cause.

http://theadventureblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/himalaya-fall-2011.html

 

[OldSolduer]

I know the author well, as he was my Adjt at one point and gave me many extras  ;D Good egg nonetheless, and earned an MiD scrapping with the IRA in South Armagh during the Bad Old Days. Knows what he's talking about.

The IRA....nasty lot from what I've heard.

 

[daftandbarmy]

The IRA....nasty lot from what I've heard.

Not really... looks like they've softened up a bit since the days when we used to find people (from teenagers to old men) lying screaming in the street after they received a 'six pack' from the brave soldiers of the IRA i.e.,  held down by a mob of them and then shot in both ankles, knees and elbows, usually with a .357 magnum. They switched to hand held B&D drills with 3/4 inch bits after they discovered that the hoiles never healed, unlike the gunshot wounds which could be piced back together by the RVH doctors.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/victims-of-punishment-beatings-only-14-years-old-503665.html

If you really had to fill a mass grave... those folks would be first on my list.

 

[xena]

If you really had to fill a mass grave... those folks would be first on my list.

Them...  and hipsters surely!  >