British Military Current Events

[jollyjacktar]

Full story/photos at link.  Shared with the usual caveats.

Soldiers declare war on 'healthy' rations and go into battle in Afghanistan on empty stomachs

By Ian Drury

Napoleon famously declared that an Army marches on its stomach.  But soldiers serving in Afghanistan are going into battle hungry because they refuse to eat the ‘disgusting’ food in their revamped ration packs.  Troops are unhappy that ‘good old British’ meals such as sausage and beans and Lancashire hotpot have been replaced by salads, muesli and strawberry porridge.  The contents of the ration packs were changed in 2009, supposedly to make them more palatable for young squaddies.  But one sergeant deployed in Helmand province said his men were so put off by the healthier ‘rat packs’ that they regularly gave half of them away.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2089706/Soldiers-battle-Afghanistan-stomachs.html

 

[daftandbarmy]

Full story/photos at link.  Shared with the usual caveats.

Soldiers declare war on 'healthy' rations and go into battle in Afghanistan on empty stomachs

By Ian Drury

Napoleon famously declared that an Army marches on its stomach.  But soldiers serving in Afghanistan are going into battle hungry because they refuse to eat the ‘disgusting’ food in their revamped ration packs.  Troops are unhappy that ‘good old British’ meals such as sausage and beans and Lancashire hotpot have been replaced by salads, muesli and strawberry porridge.  The contents of the ration packs were changed in 2009, supposedly to make them more palatable for young squaddies.  But one sergeant deployed in Helmand province said his men were so put off by the healthier ‘rat packs’ that they regularly gave half of them away.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2089706/Soldiers-battle-Afghanistan-stomachs.html

Many moons ago I was a victim of some experiments designed to 'improve' the British Army's food. The replacements were as appalling as the old stuff. 20/20 hindsight is that they should buy IMPs!

Ultimately, we recommended that we feed troops fresh rations whenever possible. And in the battalion I made sure that happened with my Coy. To go on for weeks with just hard rations is ridiculous, unneccessary in this day and age, and a failure of leadership and logistics..... even in 'operational' conditions, which is sometimes a poor excuse for bad leaders to NOT get the troops hot food and mail.

 

[jollyjacktar]

I once deployed with the Brigade to Wainwright for a Springtime exercise.  There was a surplus of breakfast IMP which were starting to get near their expire dates.  In order to correct this defect, that is all we were issued for breakfast, lunch and dinner for several weeks.  And this was back in the days of lung in a bag too.    I did read the story in full and agree that some of the new menu items sound like shyte.  But, some not too bad.  Mind you, a soldier needs a hot breakfast option if that is the way they want to go.  Idiotic to take that away from them especially if they seem to be more or less happy with the satus quo.

 

[daftandbarmy]

The incident in the video game happened when I was in Crossmaglen on a recce for our upcoming tour. They shot down a Lynx. No casualties, apart from the egos and underwear of some flashy AAC pilots!

ITV slammed by watchdog for passing off clip from a VIDEO GAME as footage of IRA attack on British helicopter in flagship news show

ITV has been strongly criticised by the TV watchdog and found to be in breach of broadcasting rules for mistakenly claiming that a scene from a video game was footage of an IRA attack.

Viewers complained after the programme, Exposure: Gaddafi And The IRA, described the footage as an IRA film of IRA members attempting to shoot down a British Army helicopter in 1988.

ITV later confirmed that the footage was taken from the internet, and was in fact from the video game Arma


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2090767/ITV-slammed-watchdog-passing-clip-VIDEO-GAME-footage-IRA-attack-British-helicopter-flagship-news-show.html#ixzz1kPDJwDMh

 

[daftandbarmy]

Radio Times apologises after accidentally printing indecent Royal Marines photo

Radio Times' bosses have issued an apology after the current issue accidentally included an indecent photograph.

The 28 January - 3 February issue of the listings magazine, that has just been published, features a photograph of a group of Royal Marines in which one Marine is exposing a part of his anatomy.

The magazine's staff failed to notice the rogue body part, which was in an image promoting a new Channel 5 documentary series.

However, eagle-eyed readers were quick to point out the error with one writing: "I know that British soldiers serving in Afghanistan are well equipped, but seeing the roll call of Royal Marines gives the expression a whole new meaning.”

An apology on radiotimes.com said: "It has come to our attention that an apparently innocent photo of the Royal Marines’ 42 Commando unit – printed by Radio Times in good faith and issued by Channel 5’s publicity department to promote the documentary 'Royal Marines: Mission Afghanistan' – contains the sight of one of the marines playing a prank.

"What we took to be the marine’s finger proved, on closer inspection, to be another part of his anatomy."

http://uk.tv.yahoo.com/radio-times-apologises-after-accidentally-printing-indecent-royal-marines-photo.html

 

[PMedMoe]

The picture at the link should be larger.  :nod:

 

[daftandbarmy]

The picture at the link should be larger.  :nod:

More like the 'subject' of the picture should be larger....

I'm suprised that no ladies lingerie is in sight.

 

[PMedMoe]

More like the 'subject' of the picture should be larger....

Nope.  I'm more interested in the pecs and abs. 

 

[daftandbarmy]

General David Richards: Afghan campaign was woeful

Britain's most senior military officer has said the military move into southern Afghanistan was “amateurish” and “verging on the complacent” and accused ministers of failing to learn lessons from Iraq.

Gen Sir David Richards, the Chief of the Defence Staff, is also highly critical of Nato’s command structure in Afghanistan, describing it in a new book as “disorganised and unhelpful”.

His remarks highlight the infighting and political turmoil that surrounded Britain’s military deployment to Afghanistan in the summer of 2006. Whitehall was caught off guard by the seriousness of the situation in Helmand province, where British troops were deployed in Nato’s reconstruction programme.

Most Labour ministers supported the view of John Reid, the defence secretary at the time, that “we would be perfectly happy to leave in three years’ time without firing one shot because our mission is to protect the reconstruction”.

Intelligence assessments conducted in southern Afghanistan concluded that they would receive a hostile reception.

“It was the equivalent of moving another gang into the East End of London,” one officer reported to London. “They [the Taliban] weren’t going to like it.” A detailed account of the military and political infighting during the deployment is in a new book by Sandy Gall, the ITN presenter who also runs a charity to provide Afghan victims of roadside bombs with artificial limbs.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9045079/General-David-Richards-Afghan-campaign-was-woeful.html

 

[daftandbarmy]

Mess with the Bull, you get the Horn:


'Bloody Sunday was poison. Finally our city is moving on'
On the 40th anniversary, the shootings still divide Londonderry. David McKittrick meets those looking forward – and back

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/bloody-sunday-was-poison-finally-our-city-is-moving-on-6296574.html

 

[daftandbarmy]

Army to cut 20,000 jobs two years earlier than expected

General Sir Peter Wall says the army will speed up its redundancy programme by cutting the posts by 2018

The army is to speed up its redundancy programme by axing 20,000 posts by 2018, two years earlier than expected, it has emerged.

The admission from General Sir Peter Wall, chief of the general staff, raises the prospect that more troops will face compulsory redundancy because the army will have less time to rely on "natural wastage".

In a speech in which he set out the challenges faced by the army, Wall conceded he could not guarantee the job cuts had come to an end, though he made clear the changes already demanded of the military were "challenging enough".

He admitted recent conflicts had raised "awkward legal, ethical, human rights issues and equipment issues" and that these had encouraged "an expectation … that the sort of zero-risk culture that is understandably sought in other walks of society ought to be achievable in the battlefield".

But he added: "It will be interesting to see how this plays out in a fast-moving crisis."

Wall is overseeing the fundamental restructuring of the army as it shrinks to a full-time force of 82,000 and gradually winds down its involvement in Afghanistan to re-equip itself for contingency operations.

The army is accelerating the redundancy programme because it does not want to prolong the pain of downsizing, but Wall said it was up to ministers to decide whether more cuts were necessary.

"We are marching to the orders we have been given," he told an audience at the International Institute for Strategic Studies thinktank.

"We are not just designing an army that will come down to 82,000 regulars and 30,000 reservists, we are designing to a cost. I cannot predict the situation. The government may or may not ask us to make more manpower savings.

"But frankly what we have to do between now and 2018 is challenging enough for us and it is going to take us some time to get there. As far as I can tell that is where the government wants us to be."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jan/31/army-cut-jobs-earlier-expected

 

[daftandbarmy]

British Infantry Reject New Combat Uniforms As Too American

January 3, 2012: Britain recently introduced new combat uniforms for their troops in Afghanistan. The new uniforms were not popular. There were many complaints, most of them having to do with the new uniforms being too baggy and making the troops look like children's action figures. More to the point, the uniforms looked too much like American ones. Even more to the point, the blouse (shirt) is worn outside the pants, while British troops like a belt or, as some have suggested, at least a drawstring around the waist. The troops also did not like the use of Velcro in the new uniforms. The Ministry of Defense backs the new uniforms because they are a better match for the new body armor that was introduced three years ago.

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htmoral/articles/20120103.aspx

 

[daftandbarmy]

Let him die in jail: Real IRA terrorist who gunned down soldier in cold blood jailed for 25 years despite terminal illness

Judge says Brian Shivers' cystic fibrosis should not influence the sentence
Shivers was part of a gang that killed two soldiers outside army barracks in Northern Ireland
Judge: Attackers wanted to kill 'determined to kill as many soldiers as they could'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2099363/Brian-Shivers-jailed-25-years-army-barracks-killings.html#ixzz1m5XL7qBI

 

[daftandbarmy]

:facepalm:

Sean Penn accuses Britain of 'colonialism' over Falklands

Sean Penn has accused Britain of colonialism and urged the government to open negotiations with Argentina over the Falkland Islands.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/falklandislands/9080473/Sean-Penn-accuses-Britain-of-colonialism-over-Falklands.html

 

[armyvern]

:facepalm:

Sean Penn accuses Britain of 'colonialism' over Falklands
...

I consider him the original Chris Brown ... and ignore.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Blimps to re-supply ships, act as SF anti-piracy platforms?

Modern-day Zeppelins will take to the sky for the first time since the First World War when the US Army begins using airships in Afghanistan.

But Navy chiefs are now giving serious consideration to purchasing an airship from the Bedfordshire-based Hybrid Air Vehicles to provide surveillance and re-supply runs to aircraft carriers, The Daily Telegraph can discose.

Scientists from the defence company Northrop Grumman have given briefings to the Navy on the latest airship that is about to enter military service.

The Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle is set to revolutionise air transport by being able to carry very heavy loads or intelligence kit long distances with the ability to land anywhere, including on the water.

The Navy is looking to buy an LEMV to base above the fleet with sophisticated surveillance cameras to spot threats and spy on enemy movements. With a 50 ton payload it can also be used to carry urgent equipment parts such as engines for Joint Strike Fighters out to ships.

Commanders are also considering using it as a counter piracy vessel as the LEMV can lower up to 150 commandos along with their fast inflatable boats.

Travelling at over 80 knots the airship is almost three times faster than ships and the Navy’s version can travel for several days without refuelling its four gas turbine engines.

With a mixture of 60 per cent helium and 40 per cent air it is far less vulnerable to enemy fire than the hydrogen filled Zeppelins that fell prey to the Fleet Air Arm’s incendiary bullets during the Great War ....

The Telegraph, 13 Feb 12

 

[daftandbarmy]

MoD close to eliminating 'black hole' in budget

The Ministry of Defence is close to eliminating the £38 billion “black hole” found in its books following the 2010 election and achieving a “sustainable and balanced budget”, it was revealed today.

An MoD spokesman said Defence Secretary Philip Hammond was increasingly confident that the ministry was "turning a corner" and will be able to invest in new equipment projects.

He was unable to confirm reports that £2.1 billion has been earmarked for several major new spending projects.
According to the Daily Telegraph, these could include converting 22 RAF Merlin helicopters for movements over sea; a new fleet of advanced Type 26 frigates for the Royal Navy; an upgrade for Puma helicopters; and the extension of the array of armaments available to the Typhoon fighter jet.

But Labour warned against "triumphalism" from the MoD, which has cut aircraft carriers, Harrier jets, Nimrod surveillance planes and 30,000 personnel as part of its drive to slash spending.

The MoD spokesman said: "Tough decisions were essential to tackle the £38 billion black hole that the Government inherited.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mod-close-to-eliminating-black-hole-in-budget-7066522.html

 

[jeffb]

From the article...
"The MoD is now close to achieving a sustainable and balanced budget for the first time in decades."

What exactly is the revenue stream that the MoD generates that allows it to have a balanced budget? Do they mean balanced within the budgetary allowance from the UK equivalent of the Treasury Board?

 

[AJFitzpatrick]

Obviously it's the sponsorship opportunities.

"The Irish Guards ... brought to you by Guinness"

 

[OldSolduer]

:facepalm:

Sean Penn accuses Britain of 'colonialism' over Falklands

Sean Penn has accused Britain of colonialism and urged the government to open negotiations with Argentina over the Falkland Islands.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/falklandislands/9080473/Sean-Penn-accuses-Britain-of-colonialism-over-Falklands.html

Another example of a large mouthed self absorbed a$$hat. He was "Spicoli" in some awful movie from the 80s.
When I want advice on foreign policy I'll ask Colin Powell. Sean Penn? Please.....another arrogant a$$.