British Military Current Events

[daftandbarmy]

For all the wars we have fought, Britain still has much to learn
Despite ministers’ best efforts, we still lag far behind America in caring for our war veterans.

Britain needs a dedicated ministry for veterans, similar to America’s Photo: CHRISTOPHER

Walk around Westminster, and there is not the slightest hint that Britain has recently fought four wars, with a fifth still under way. Within half a mile of the Cenotaph there are monuments to Clive of India, the Women of World War II and a new one, just outside the Foreign Office, listing every victim of the 2002 Bali nightclub bomb.

The names of the fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan, however, are engraved 130 miles away at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. True, the latest casualties are read out at the start of Prime Minister’s Questions. But the ongoing campaign in Helmand, with its successes and setbacks, is almost entirely absent from the day-to-day political debate.

Commemorating the dead is, of course, only part of our annual ceremonies. Few who buy a poppy now think of it as a gesture to mark a historical event: Britain is, once again, a war-fighting country, and the bond between people and military has seldom been stronger. The scenes at Wootton Bassett were only the most visible manifestation of a shift in national mood, in which new charities such as Help for Heroes were given truly generous donations by a recession-struck nation. That money is badly needed: modern medicine can save soldiers who might otherwise have died in action, but these survivors need help and support to lead a very different life, and it does not come cheaply.

For the first time in more than a generation, Britain has a sizeable community of young veterans. But it does not yet have the apparatus to support them. There are now more than 190,000 people who served in Iraq or Afghanistan, of whom 50,000 saw active service. While David Cameron has cut military spending, he has been keen to prioritise veterans’ welfare, with his Military Covenant passing a duty of care into law. But he still does not know precisely what support is needed – and how best his unwieldy government machine can provide it. While Americans had the Vietnam conflict, which taught them how to deal with the mass demobilisation of young men, Britain’s understanding of the problem is still in its infancy.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/8881744/For-all-the-wars-we-have-fought-Britain-still-has-much-to-learn.html

 

[ObserverUK]

That is all true.  Although my company sponsored an event to raise awareness in the biker clubs for Help for Heroes in 2007 I was repeatedly asked by bikers why they should raise money for veterans care - they assumed and believed it was something the government should take care of.

My reply was for as long as the system is failing our veterans that the charities must step in.  I wrongly assumed it was a temporary problem and it would be resolved.  It was a disgrace that HfH had to raise money for a rehabilitation pool for veterans.  Albeit HfH has done much more since but it cannot continue to be the responsibility of the charities to bridge this gap in much needed and rightfully deserved veteran care.

I did ask some key people in UK politics and military why they got involved in a war without full consideration of costs, care and essential equipment needs and I have never had an answer that makes any sense other than it was expedient decision making.

Today, whenever possible, I work with defence sector promoting more effective analysis and decision making but this a huge beast to improve.  But I believe we achieve change by improving the skills, attitudes and capabilities of people.

I know my efforts are trivial compared to the size of the problem but I believe if enough people independently try and work towards a solution then a successful solution will eventually be found.

 

[jollyjacktar]

I did ask some key people in UK politics and military why they got involved in a war without full consideration of costs, care and essential equipment needs and I have never had an answer that makes any sense other than it was expedient decision making.

But with everything in life, it comes without a crystal ball to predict the future.  And once you made a decision events will come to pass that you have no control over and with unintended consequence.  Only in hindsight as they say do you see 20/20.  Expedient decision making while not satisfying your query seems a reasonable answer to me.

 

[ObserverUK]

But with everything in life, it comes without a crystal ball to predict the future.  And once you made a decision events will come to pass that you have no control over and with unintended consequence.  Only in hindsight as they say do you see 20/20.  Expedient decision making while not satisfying your query seems a reasonable answer to me.

I understand what you are saying but I believe we need to learn from our decisions and right now we can and need to do better.

And this is not just a government problem...the whole of the defence sector needs to lift it's game.

 

[jollyjacktar]

Well there's no easy answer there.  Blair and Brown both have seemed to bankrupt the country by the end of their collective rein.  The MoD is in trouble budget wise and they will be in for some pretty unpleasant times for the near future.  But I do agree, it would be best if better decisions could be made on the way forward from here.

 

[ObserverUK]

Yeah well the Blair/Brown clown show seemed to be a combination of clueless ambition and no grasp of basic maths much less fiscal and global economics.

As for the MoD...I meet many people who want to improve the situation but genuinely don't know how to.  They perceive barriers where there aren't any, fear losing a job they don't even like and are ready to blame rather than constructively challenge.  That said I do understand it's a complex change problem and it requires top down and bottom up comprehension and agreement to correct current issues and no I don't know how that could be achieved either.

I advise people to concentrate on doing their job well and eventually the issues that block success will slowly change but would I wish there was a faster way as the need is now and not just for the future.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Of course the government should do a better job for veterans. But the other thing to remember is that being a soldier means that you have to put up with alot of shyte, some from the enemy but mostly from your own side. Things haven't changed much since before Shakespeare's time:

For I am a soldier
And unapt to weep
Or to exclaim upon fortune's fickleness

- Henry VI -

 

[ObserverUK]

Of course the government should do a better job for veterans. But the other thing to remember is that being a soldier means that you have to put up with alot of shyte, some from the enemy but mostly from your own side. Things haven't changed much since before Shakespeare's time:

For I am a soldier
And unapt to weep
Or to exclaim upon fortune's fickleness

- Henry VI -

I get that you're a tolerant bunch and you shrug and say 'it is what it is' but that's no excuse for the rest of us to become complacent! 

 

[Old Sweat]

This disturbing story from the Daily Telegraph's online edition is reproduced under the Fair Comment provsions of the Copyright Act. The statements in the "leaked memo" seem to be at odds with what the Brigadier quoted in the third last paragraph says.

Wounded soldiers face sack under new Army redundancy plans

Wounded soldiers are to be dismissed from the Army under plans to double the number of personnel being made redundant, a leaked memo discloses.

By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent

11 Nov 2011

A classified document, seen by The Daily Telegraph, says 2,500 wounded soldiers, including 350 who have lost limbs, will not be exempt from the extensive cuts.


The internal memo, sent to senior commanders in Afghanistan, also discloses that 16,500 personnel will be made redundant by April 2015 – more than double the number originally proposed. Any decision to sack wounded soldiers is likely to prove highly controversial.


The efficiency drive has been ordered because the Army has so many wounded soldiers that able-bodied recruits are being turned away and its fighting strength is being diminished.


Details of the full scale of the redundancy programme came as millions of people paused to pay a silent tribute to the nation’s war dead yesterday.


The ceremony was particularly poignant at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan, where soldiers marked the death of the 385th British serviceman to be killed since 2001.

The memo states that wounded soldiers who have been “temporarily downgraded will not be exempt”. They could be dismissed in the next round of cuts, likely to start after Christmas.

It also says that those who are too injured or sick for redeployment will be “looked at in more detail”.

The memo has been seen by soldiers serving on the front line in Afghanistan, who are outraged that they could be made redundant if they are wounded.

In the past month, six British soldiers have suffered double amputations or worse as a result of Taliban bombs. An officer serving with a unit in which a soldier suffered a triple amputation earlier this month said the memo had badly damaged morale.

“We now know that not only will we be left with a life-changing injury serving our country over here but we will more than likely be kicked out of the Army,” he said.

A soldier serving on the front line said his colleagues were stunned to learn of the memo.

“We cannot believe that if we get injured we are at risk,” he said.

“But at the end of the day we are fighting for our mates so we just crack on.”

The policy has angered some wounded soldiers and their families. Lance Bombardier Ben Parkinson, 26, lost both legs and suffered brain damage after a Taliban bomb blast in 2006.

Diane Dernie, his mother, said: “This proves that the Military Covenant is just a collection of words convenient for politicians.

“Ben was promised five years ago he would never have to leave the Army but that promise cannot be held to now because there have been so many wounded. An organisation as big as the Armed Forces should be able to find jobs for those who want to stay.”

The document also makes clear that the Army intends to slash more personnel than has been publicly announced.

In last year’s Strategic Defence and Security Review, the Army was to be reduced by 7,000 soldiers from 102,000 by 2015. This was quietly increased by a further 5,000 earlier this year.

But the memo shows that without any debate the Ministry of Defence has decided that by April 2015 a total of 16,500 soldiers will be axed.

Under the first round of redundancies earlier this year, 2,000 soldiers were sacked, including 150 of the 3,500-strong Gurkha brigade.

The document discloses that on Jan 10 next year a total of 12,000 soldiers will be told that their jobs are at risk, with 2,300 of them to be made redundant.

Soldiers fighting in Afghanistan will be told if their positions are at risk and offered the opportunity to take voluntary redundancy.

However, troops not in Afghanistan will be vulnerable to compulsory redundancy. They include personnel in the “rear operations group” who are fully-trained and ready to fill in for dead or wounded.

The document states: “ROG [rear operations group] personnel are not exempt from T2 [the second wave of redundancies]. However, key posts will be taken into account”

The third and fourth waves of redundancies will see a further 13,000 soldiers made redundant by April 2015.

The document states: “The total number of personnel selected for redundancy in T1-4 will be approximately 15.5k-16.5k. All redundancy tranches are scheduled to be complete by April 15.”

Bryn Parry, the founder of the Help For Heroes charity, called on the Government to install a respected figure to act as a “champion of the wounded” to deal with the long-term needs of the injured.

Brig Richard Nugee, the head of Army manning, declined to comment on whether wounded soldiers would be among those at risk of redundancy but said no final decision had been made.

He said: "The Army is still considering the criteria including size and shape for Tranche 2 and any subsequent redundancy. Nothing has yet been agreed."

He added that wounded, injured and sick soldiers would be assessed "individually" and that soldiers would only leave the army if it's the "right decision".

 

[Edward Campbell]

I'll just repeat what I said a week ago: the UK has "hit the wall;" it is where we were 15 to 20 years ago. The Cameron government is doing the right thing, cutting, slashing, burning and, sometimes, actually hurting people who, probably undoubtedly, deserve better.

Even though the UK's debt to GDP ratio (at about 75%) is better than Canada's (about 80% gross) and the USA's (approaching 100%) it is unsustainable because the external debt, denominated in dollars and Euros, is huge.

 

[Old Sweat]

I agree that the UK needs to get its house in order and I also have believed for decades that the British forces have an immense amount of systemic "fat" that could be trimmed hacked off in the pursuit of economy. The challenge is that with its usual apparent lack of compassion, the bean counters seem to be taking aim at some of the most vulnerable. It is quite possible that this is a "straw man" designed to slow down the rate of cuts, and the target of the leaked memo is not the wounded squaddies, but rather the little grey men in pinstripes who crunch the numbers.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Historic Army regiments may be sacrificed in budget cuts

UP TO a quarter of Britain’s infantry battalions and almost half of its cavalry regiments, including some of the Army’s most historic names, are facing disbandment.

As many as 10 of the existing 36 infantry battalions and five of the 11 Royal Armoured Corps regiments could be lost as the Army cuts up to 16,500 posts in the next three years.

While David Cameron has asked for no “cap badges” – the unique identifying symbols of regiments — to be lost, the military insists that historic names such as the Black Watch and Green Howards could be at risk.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/8887880/Historic-Army-regiments-may-be-sacrificed-in-budget-cuts.html

 

[daftandbarmy]

Have you ever been 'Winchestered' before?

Navy frigate sent to Libya with four missiles
A Royal Navy frigate was sent to the Libyan war zone armed with as few as four missiles, it has been disclosed.

Royal Navy officers said HMS Westminster was “dangerously under-defended” when it was called on to patrol close to the Libyan port city of Benghazi in March.

The warship can carry 32 Seawolf and eight Harpoon missiles but it is understood that military cutbacks left the Westminster and its crew of 190 with only a fraction of that capability.

As Seawolf missiles — which are used to intercept incoming missiles — are fired in pairs, sources said the Westminster had just two rounds to defend against missile attacks from Col Muammar Gaddafi’s forces.

In another recent admission, the Royal Navy said it was unable to spare a warship to guard British waters for the whole of October after last year’s defence cuts.

Rear Admiral Chris Parry, a retired officer, said it was unbelievable that the Westminster had so few missiles on board and said ships in the Falklands and the Gulf wars were equipped to full capacity. He added: “This is yet another example of the incoherence of last year’s Strategic Defence and Security Review. What if the Government’s bluff had been called? What would the Ministry of Defence be saying if the Westminster had been hit by something? They took a big risk.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8905432/Navy-frigate-sent-to-Libya-with-four-missiles.html

 

[Edward Campbell]

There is, I think pretty well, documented history that, early in World War II (late 1940, so a year plus into it), Canadian warships (specifically Windflower and Trillium) sailed to England with fake wooden guns. I presume (hope) they were going to England to be armed.

 

[Kirkhill]

Does that imply that there were only 4 Sea Wolf missiles available in the whole of the UK at the time the Westminster deployed?

Or does it suggest that perhaps the RN failed to properly top up the magazines of the Westminster from its own stocks prior to deployment?

I find it hard to believe (but not impossible) that the UK/RN has so run down its warstocks that it only had/has 4 Sea Wolfs on hand. 

 

[Old Sweat]

In either case, in my opinion it verges on negligent to send a ship into what became a theatre of war without full magazines. Maybe there is more to the story than we are being told.

 

[Kirkhill]

In either case, in my opinion it verges on negligent to send a ship into what became a theatre of war without full magazines. Maybe there is more to the story than we are being told.

Agreed.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Army's Warrior Vehicles To Get £1bn Upgrade

The Government has announced a £1bn upgrade to the Army's Warrior armoured vehicles to make them fit for use through to 2040 and beyond.

Prime Minister David Cameron and Defence Secretary Philip Hammond revealed the news during a visit to Lockheed Martin UK in Bedford.
Mr Hammond said: "As a key step towards meeting our requirements for Future Force 2020, the upgraded Warriors will give commanders and their soldiers greater flexibility and firepower.

"Not only is this fantastic news for the Army, it also represents a great boost to British industry - sustaining jobs, skills and capability within the UK's armoured vehicle sector."

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) plans to award the contract to Lockheed Martin UK for the demonstration and manufacture of the upgraded vehicles.

http://news.sky.com/home/uk-news/article/16095823

 

[daftandbarmy]

Britain will be without any fully-working aircraft carriers until 2030, MPs warn

Britain will be left without a fully-functional aircraft carrier until 2030, a hard-hitting report by MPs has found.
It also warned that the controversial decision to approve two new carriers has had ‘damaging consequences’ for both military capability and value for money.

The Public Accounts Committee has found that Britain was due to have two carriers available from 2016 and 2018 at a cost of £3.65billion. 


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2067260/Aircraft-carrier-expected-operational-2030.html#ixzz1f4FSog7U

 

[daftandbarmy]

'My girlfriend has stabbed me': Woman killed soldier boyfriend after he came home drunk and held a knife to her son

A woman killed her soldier boyfriend in self-defence as she feared for her and her son's life after he came home drunk, an inquest has heard.
Witnesses told the hearing in Bury St Edmunds that Lance Corporal Leslie Metcalfe, 23, had staggered out of his partner's house bleeding from the chest saying ‘my girlfriend has stabbed me’ in the early hours of March 16.

They saw his partner Nichola Herschell standing in the doorway of her home in Honington, Suffolk, holding a blood-covered knife and repeating ‘it was self-defence’.

Miss Herschell, who was 22 at the time, was arrested on suspicion of murder but later released without charge.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2067654/Woman-killed-soldier-boyfriend-came-home-drunk-held-knife-son.html#ixzz1fARpvAsR