daftandbarmy
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Kirkhill said:
The uncomfortable truth, that is.
British Military Current Events
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The uncomfortable truth, that is.
daftandbarmy
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Britain’s 'finest WWII general' accused of child sex abuse in Australia
Viscount Slim has been accused of molesting multiple children at Fairbridge Farm School in rural New South Wales while representing the Queen in Australia
One of Britain’s greatest military commanders, Viscount Slim, has been accused of molesting children at a school for underprivileged youths while serving as the Queen’s representative in Australia.
Bob Stevens, a claimant in a lawsuit against Fairbridge Farm, a school in Australia for mostly British child migrants, said Viscount Slim would arrive in his Rolls Royce and the “next minute we were sitting on his knee and he's got his hands up our trousers”.
Mr Stevens, who was sent from England when he was eight-years-old, has given private testimony to Australia’s royal commission into child abuse and is preparing a submission to the commissioner seeking to have Viscount Slim, who died in 1970, stripped of his peerage.
Another former student, David Hill, formerly managing director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the nation’s public broadcaster, has written a book about the school and said he was aware of two other boys who claimed they were molested by Viscount Slim in similar circumstances.
Viscount Slim fought in both world wars and became famous after restoring morale to the defeated soldiers of the Fourteenth Army – the so-called “Forgotten Army” – and leading them to victory against the Japanese forces in Burma.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/10696544/Britains-finest-WWII-general-accused-of-child-sex-abuse-in-Australia.html
Viscount Slim has been accused of molesting multiple children at Fairbridge Farm School in rural New South Wales while representing the Queen in Australia
One of Britain’s greatest military commanders, Viscount Slim, has been accused of molesting children at a school for underprivileged youths while serving as the Queen’s representative in Australia.
Bob Stevens, a claimant in a lawsuit against Fairbridge Farm, a school in Australia for mostly British child migrants, said Viscount Slim would arrive in his Rolls Royce and the “next minute we were sitting on his knee and he's got his hands up our trousers”.
Mr Stevens, who was sent from England when he was eight-years-old, has given private testimony to Australia’s royal commission into child abuse and is preparing a submission to the commissioner seeking to have Viscount Slim, who died in 1970, stripped of his peerage.
Another former student, David Hill, formerly managing director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the nation’s public broadcaster, has written a book about the school and said he was aware of two other boys who claimed they were molested by Viscount Slim in similar circumstances.
Viscount Slim fought in both world wars and became famous after restoring morale to the defeated soldiers of the Fourteenth Army – the so-called “Forgotten Army” – and leading them to victory against the Japanese forces in Burma.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/10696544/Britains-finest-WWII-general-accused-of-child-sex-abuse-in-Australia.html
daftandbarmy
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Avast mistake: Royal Navy fire 9ft torpedo from warship into dockyard which houses NUCLEAR submarines
HMS Argyll was taking part in a training drill at Devonport base in Devon
The 45kg projectile flew 200 yards through the air and hit a metal container
The base is used to refuel and repair Britain's nuclear submarines
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2581082/Royal-Navy-fire-9ft-torpedo-warship-nuclear-dockyard.html#ixzz2vykqYbA9
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
HMS Argyll was taking part in a training drill at Devonport base in Devon
The 45kg projectile flew 200 yards through the air and hit a metal container
The base is used to refuel and repair Britain's nuclear submarines
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2581082/Royal-Navy-fire-9ft-torpedo-warship-nuclear-dockyard.html#ixzz2vykqYbA9
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
daftandbarmy
Army.ca Dinosaur
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Land war is the Army’s priority
Military intervention is a question of when, not if, and the Army must prepare for that
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/10699529/Land-war-is-the-Armys-priority.html
The Chief of the General Staff, Sir Peter Wall, said it with some relish in his speech at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) last Wednesday: “Power politics has surfaced again.” For, at a stroke, President Putin has made the case for the Army at a time when war-weariness with Afghanistan is fuelling what the CGS referred to as “moral disarmament”: strong political will underwritten by strong Armed Forces gets results; soft military power has its limits.
The possibility of “force on force” – old-fashioned kinetic conflict – may be only a fraction closer because of events in Ukraine, but it is no longer entirely off the radar. The Army’s “heavy metal” – tanks, artillery, armoured infantry, attack helicopters – are no longer looking like heritage toys for senior officers clinging to Cold War concepts. Nato headquarters in Brussels is in business once again, and even the plans to bring home the remnants of the British Army of the Rhine no longer look so imperative.
Perhaps, now, the House of Commons Defence Committee report on the MoD’s plan for the downsized British Army, Future Army 2020, published on March 6 to a resounding silence, will get the attention it deserves. FA 2020, it concludes, is “unconvincing”.
“It departs significantly from the announcements made in SDSR [Strategic Defence and Security Review] 2010 and there are considerable doubts… whether it will meet the needs of the UK’s national security.” Notwithstanding the war-weariness, the report believes intervention – somewhere – is “a question of when not if”.
The General Staff is perennially dogged by Lord Haldane’s existential question a century ago: “What is the Army for?” That great reforming war secretary, given the task of reducing the Army, took an actuarial as well as a philosophical approach: numbers had to add up against identifiable tasks. The problem was that uncertainty was the defining element of expeditionary operations. To identify tasks required the staff to predict the future – where the threats lay and the kind of warfare that might follow. In 1914, their predictions proved catastrophically wrong.
The Army was forced into some of this same thinking three years ago in the wake of SDSR 2010 and then the further drastic manpower cuts – 20 per cent – imposed on it to fill the black hole in the defence budget inherited from Labour. Under the plans for FA 2020, more than half the Army, the so-called “adaptable force”, is to be earmarked for “defence engagement”. This is a concept implied in the 2010 National Security Strategy, which requires a “full and active engagement in world affairs”. The Army is taking on activities such as post-conflict reconstruction, arms control, peacekeeping and conflict prevention. Partly for the Treasury’s benefit, the military has to itemise everything into identifiable tasks, affiliating brigades in the “adaptable force” to specific regions.
Critics might compare the modern approach with what happened to the RAF in the Twenties: faced with severe retrenchment, the Air Staff invented the spurious concept of “air control” – crude, punitive air strikes – to deal with dissident tribesmen in corners of the empire, arguing that this was cheaper than putting men on the ground. The danger is that, sooner or later, the Treasury, unable to measure the output of defence engagement (how can you quantify the value of an unknown that has been deterred?), will see defence engagement in similar terms; then further cuts will follow.
With the drawing board for SDSR 2015 about to be measured up, we need to start looking at things in the right order. The National Security Strategy starts from the assumption that we have an Army. So the Army must be allowed to answer the question “what is the Army for?” philosophically, not actuarially. The Army exists to prepare for war. That is its substance. What it then does, especially in defence engagement, is incidental. Looked at this way, the difficult question of what is critical mass becomes easier to deal with, as well as how the Army is organised and equipped. The Army should put its energies into preparing for land warfare; and this must take priority over “doing things”.
SDSR 2015 has got to start with that assumption, and be truly strategic. Mr Putin, again pouring oil money into his armed forces, has never wavered from that approach.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/10699529/Land-war-is-the-Armys-priority.html
Military intervention is a question of when, not if, and the Army must prepare for that
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/10699529/Land-war-is-the-Armys-priority.html
The Chief of the General Staff, Sir Peter Wall, said it with some relish in his speech at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) last Wednesday: “Power politics has surfaced again.” For, at a stroke, President Putin has made the case for the Army at a time when war-weariness with Afghanistan is fuelling what the CGS referred to as “moral disarmament”: strong political will underwritten by strong Armed Forces gets results; soft military power has its limits.
The possibility of “force on force” – old-fashioned kinetic conflict – may be only a fraction closer because of events in Ukraine, but it is no longer entirely off the radar. The Army’s “heavy metal” – tanks, artillery, armoured infantry, attack helicopters – are no longer looking like heritage toys for senior officers clinging to Cold War concepts. Nato headquarters in Brussels is in business once again, and even the plans to bring home the remnants of the British Army of the Rhine no longer look so imperative.
Perhaps, now, the House of Commons Defence Committee report on the MoD’s plan for the downsized British Army, Future Army 2020, published on March 6 to a resounding silence, will get the attention it deserves. FA 2020, it concludes, is “unconvincing”.
“It departs significantly from the announcements made in SDSR [Strategic Defence and Security Review] 2010 and there are considerable doubts… whether it will meet the needs of the UK’s national security.” Notwithstanding the war-weariness, the report believes intervention – somewhere – is “a question of when not if”.
The General Staff is perennially dogged by Lord Haldane’s existential question a century ago: “What is the Army for?” That great reforming war secretary, given the task of reducing the Army, took an actuarial as well as a philosophical approach: numbers had to add up against identifiable tasks. The problem was that uncertainty was the defining element of expeditionary operations. To identify tasks required the staff to predict the future – where the threats lay and the kind of warfare that might follow. In 1914, their predictions proved catastrophically wrong.
The Army was forced into some of this same thinking three years ago in the wake of SDSR 2010 and then the further drastic manpower cuts – 20 per cent – imposed on it to fill the black hole in the defence budget inherited from Labour. Under the plans for FA 2020, more than half the Army, the so-called “adaptable force”, is to be earmarked for “defence engagement”. This is a concept implied in the 2010 National Security Strategy, which requires a “full and active engagement in world affairs”. The Army is taking on activities such as post-conflict reconstruction, arms control, peacekeeping and conflict prevention. Partly for the Treasury’s benefit, the military has to itemise everything into identifiable tasks, affiliating brigades in the “adaptable force” to specific regions.
Critics might compare the modern approach with what happened to the RAF in the Twenties: faced with severe retrenchment, the Air Staff invented the spurious concept of “air control” – crude, punitive air strikes – to deal with dissident tribesmen in corners of the empire, arguing that this was cheaper than putting men on the ground. The danger is that, sooner or later, the Treasury, unable to measure the output of defence engagement (how can you quantify the value of an unknown that has been deterred?), will see defence engagement in similar terms; then further cuts will follow.
With the drawing board for SDSR 2015 about to be measured up, we need to start looking at things in the right order. The National Security Strategy starts from the assumption that we have an Army. So the Army must be allowed to answer the question “what is the Army for?” philosophically, not actuarially. The Army exists to prepare for war. That is its substance. What it then does, especially in defence engagement, is incidental. Looked at this way, the difficult question of what is critical mass becomes easier to deal with, as well as how the Army is organised and equipped. The Army should put its energies into preparing for land warfare; and this must take priority over “doing things”.
SDSR 2015 has got to start with that assumption, and be truly strategic. Mr Putin, again pouring oil money into his armed forces, has never wavered from that approach.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/10699529/Land-war-is-the-Armys-priority.html
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daftandbarmy
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S.M.A. said:
Apparently the RAF declined due to the lack of suitable 5 Star facilities available in the proposed theatre of operations. ;D
daftandbarmy
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Things that make you want to use a flamethrower on some punks:
Cocaine addict burglar jailed for life for killing defenceless War veteran in his bed
Second World War veteran Frank Worsley had lived in the same house since 1949 until he was murdered by cocaine addict burglar Daniel Crompton
A burglar who attacked an 87-year-old World War Two veteran in his bed has been jailed for a minimum of 18-years after being found guilty of murder.
Widower Frank Worsley, who served with the Royal Navy in the Far East, was "repeatedly beaten" about the face by cocaine user Daniel Crompton, 24.
The pensioner, who lived alone following the death of his devoted wife, Mary, was rushed to hospital but died 17 days later from a major stroke after having suffered bleeding on his brain.
A jury at Manchester Crown Court found Crompton, who had 47 previous convictions, guilty of murder by a majority of 10 to 2.
The court heard how Mr Worsley was attacked last August at his home in the Daubhill area of Bolton, Greater Manchester, where he had lived since 1949.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/10706048/Cocaine-addict-burglar-jailed-for-life-for-killing-defenceless-War-veteran-in-his-bed.html
Cocaine addict burglar jailed for life for killing defenceless War veteran in his bed
Second World War veteran Frank Worsley had lived in the same house since 1949 until he was murdered by cocaine addict burglar Daniel Crompton
A burglar who attacked an 87-year-old World War Two veteran in his bed has been jailed for a minimum of 18-years after being found guilty of murder.
Widower Frank Worsley, who served with the Royal Navy in the Far East, was "repeatedly beaten" about the face by cocaine user Daniel Crompton, 24.
The pensioner, who lived alone following the death of his devoted wife, Mary, was rushed to hospital but died 17 days later from a major stroke after having suffered bleeding on his brain.
A jury at Manchester Crown Court found Crompton, who had 47 previous convictions, guilty of murder by a majority of 10 to 2.
The court heard how Mr Worsley was attacked last August at his home in the Daubhill area of Bolton, Greater Manchester, where he had lived since 1949.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/10706048/Cocaine-addict-burglar-jailed-for-life-for-killing-defenceless-War-veteran-in-his-bed.html
daftandbarmy
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Soldier Keeps Fighting After Being Shot In The Throat By Tracer Round
“It winded me like I’ve never been winded. I was thinking, I’ve been shot in the neck, it’s game over.”
With blood pouring from his throat down onto his machine gun, Moloney figured he only had a few minutes to live.
As their dawn raid on a Taliban position commenced, Mononey and another machine gunner were positioned on a rooftoop overwatch position to provide support. Suddenly 30 Taliban fighters engaged the patrol from all directions in horseshoe ambush.
Moments into the fight Lance Corporal Moloney was struck in the throat by a tracer round which passed clean through. “It winded me like I’ve never been winded. I was thinking “I’ve been shot in the neck, it’s game over. I figured I had minutes left.”
The bullet passed just behind his windpipe, missing arteries by millimeters.
“When after a couple of minutes I was not dead and I could still talk I started to get a better feeling,” he said. “We had to crack on. They were pushing quite hard so it was either maybe die or definitely die because they would have over-run us.”
http://www.funker530.com/soldier-keeps-fighting-after-being-shot-in-the-throat-by-tracer-round/
“It winded me like I’ve never been winded. I was thinking, I’ve been shot in the neck, it’s game over.”
With blood pouring from his throat down onto his machine gun, Moloney figured he only had a few minutes to live.
As their dawn raid on a Taliban position commenced, Mononey and another machine gunner were positioned on a rooftoop overwatch position to provide support. Suddenly 30 Taliban fighters engaged the patrol from all directions in horseshoe ambush.
Moments into the fight Lance Corporal Moloney was struck in the throat by a tracer round which passed clean through. “It winded me like I’ve never been winded. I was thinking “I’ve been shot in the neck, it’s game over. I figured I had minutes left.”
The bullet passed just behind his windpipe, missing arteries by millimeters.
“When after a couple of minutes I was not dead and I could still talk I started to get a better feeling,” he said. “We had to crack on. They were pushing quite hard so it was either maybe die or definitely die because they would have over-run us.”
http://www.funker530.com/soldier-keeps-fighting-after-being-shot-in-the-throat-by-tracer-round/
daftandbarmy
Army.ca Dinosaur
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10 things no one tells you before you join the Royal Marines
From Jackspeak and silly rig to Spoof and skiing accidents - former Royal Marine Commando Mark Time explains what life in the Corps is really like
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/10695951/10-things-no-one-tells-you-before-you-join-the-Royal-Marines.html
This year marks the 350th anniversary of the Royal Marines, which traces its origins back to 1664 and the Second Ango-Dutch War. During those three and a half centuries its brave members have seen action in the two world wars, in Afghanistan, the Falklands, Crimea and the Napoleonic Wars. Today it numbers less than 9,000 servicemen, yet it continues to make a huge contribution to Britain's military credibility.
Mark Time, author of ‘Going Commando’ and himself a former Royal Marines Commando, shares ten entertaining facts about life in this most elite of institutions.
‘Basic training’ is not basic
32 weeks basic training may seem a long time. When you are undertaking it, it feels even longer. However, it is necessary to turn a civilian into a Royal Marines Commando. Many people ask how hard it actually is. The simplest analogy is "think of the hardest thing you could ever do - then double it".
Being camouflaged isn’t sexy
While the stereotypical film shot sees the hero blend seamlessly into the background, it doesn’t show the discomfort of sweating like a cheap beef salad while lying awkwardly in spiky gorse bushes, with twigs, leaves and broken branches scraping and scoring your skin, leaving you feeling like you have been mistreated by a sexually frustrated Laburnum.
You become bilingual
Royal Marines talk "Jackspeak" - a Naval lingo where toilets are "heads", and steak-and-kidney puddings "babies heads". Conversely, actual heads become "grids", "nappers" or "fat ones". Confounded family members wonder why you are suddenly unable to speak "normally". Even today, I still struggle to construct a sentence without using the word "hoofing", "chad", or "essence".
Wanderlust is in your job description
You will visit places you have not yet heard of, but this is no holiday. You will not be deceived by tourism’s mendacious attractions but instead will have your senses sledgehammered by brutal, unfiltered surroundings. You will see such poverty and suffering that you will return home to feel exasperated by the complaints of those who live within the slothful ignorance of their cosseted existence.
Like sleep? You'll learn to love it
When on operations, discard the concept of time. You are either working or not. When you work, your body is put through such stress and trauma that once you have down time, once administration is complete, sleep becomes your best friend. Take it while you can. You never know when you will next get the chance.
Like food? Read my last
Speed eating becomes a survival instinct; indigestion indicates fulfilling this most important of tasks. When the fatigued body requires refuelling, noxious foodstuffs become epicurean delights. Leaving food is as taboo as having a dirty weapon. Don’t do it.
You will become an aficionado of fancy dress
A Royal Marine’s locker is the chipboard gateway to his soul. It smells of aftershave, shaving foam and toothpaste. As sure it will contain a green beret, it will also be home to Lycra dresses, tutus, togas, superhero capes, and in my case a pantomime camel costume. "Silly rig" - fancy dress - is as much engrained into corps culture as the 28th October anniversary date.
You WILL lose at Spoof
Spoof is the unofficial, yet mandatory drinking game of the Royal Marines. To succeed, you need the numeracy of Einstein combined with a champion winning poker face. A composite of chance, bluff, and bravado, to lose will mean a forfeit that ranges from a round of drinks to receiving a "chad" tattoo.
An expert on the piste? Norway will bring you down to earth - literally
Forget the pressed, manicured slopes of ski resorts. Skiing in Norway, where natural unevenness caused by -40°C winds ensures that when carrying 60kg on your back you fall as if been shot. Weight drives your head further into the snow, frustrated abuse muffled by frozen grass. Baby ostrich legs attempt to stand while skis are eager to continue without you. Tentatively, you set off again, knowing that the experience will be repeated as soon as you hit anything that could be dismissed as "a bump".
You will wear more heads than Wurzel Gummidge
Depending on government expectation, in one instance you and your brothers in arms become bastions of decency, regaled in dress uniforms to the glee of London tourists; the next you will be carrying out man’s most violent acts before metamorphosing into social workers with a handkerchief and weapon while on humanitarian missions. Learn to embrace diversity.
From Jackspeak and silly rig to Spoof and skiing accidents - former Royal Marine Commando Mark Time explains what life in the Corps is really like
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/10695951/10-things-no-one-tells-you-before-you-join-the-Royal-Marines.html
This year marks the 350th anniversary of the Royal Marines, which traces its origins back to 1664 and the Second Ango-Dutch War. During those three and a half centuries its brave members have seen action in the two world wars, in Afghanistan, the Falklands, Crimea and the Napoleonic Wars. Today it numbers less than 9,000 servicemen, yet it continues to make a huge contribution to Britain's military credibility.
Mark Time, author of ‘Going Commando’ and himself a former Royal Marines Commando, shares ten entertaining facts about life in this most elite of institutions.
‘Basic training’ is not basic
32 weeks basic training may seem a long time. When you are undertaking it, it feels even longer. However, it is necessary to turn a civilian into a Royal Marines Commando. Many people ask how hard it actually is. The simplest analogy is "think of the hardest thing you could ever do - then double it".
Being camouflaged isn’t sexy
While the stereotypical film shot sees the hero blend seamlessly into the background, it doesn’t show the discomfort of sweating like a cheap beef salad while lying awkwardly in spiky gorse bushes, with twigs, leaves and broken branches scraping and scoring your skin, leaving you feeling like you have been mistreated by a sexually frustrated Laburnum.
You become bilingual
Royal Marines talk "Jackspeak" - a Naval lingo where toilets are "heads", and steak-and-kidney puddings "babies heads". Conversely, actual heads become "grids", "nappers" or "fat ones". Confounded family members wonder why you are suddenly unable to speak "normally". Even today, I still struggle to construct a sentence without using the word "hoofing", "chad", or "essence".
Wanderlust is in your job description
You will visit places you have not yet heard of, but this is no holiday. You will not be deceived by tourism’s mendacious attractions but instead will have your senses sledgehammered by brutal, unfiltered surroundings. You will see such poverty and suffering that you will return home to feel exasperated by the complaints of those who live within the slothful ignorance of their cosseted existence.
Like sleep? You'll learn to love it
When on operations, discard the concept of time. You are either working or not. When you work, your body is put through such stress and trauma that once you have down time, once administration is complete, sleep becomes your best friend. Take it while you can. You never know when you will next get the chance.
Like food? Read my last
Speed eating becomes a survival instinct; indigestion indicates fulfilling this most important of tasks. When the fatigued body requires refuelling, noxious foodstuffs become epicurean delights. Leaving food is as taboo as having a dirty weapon. Don’t do it.
You will become an aficionado of fancy dress
A Royal Marine’s locker is the chipboard gateway to his soul. It smells of aftershave, shaving foam and toothpaste. As sure it will contain a green beret, it will also be home to Lycra dresses, tutus, togas, superhero capes, and in my case a pantomime camel costume. "Silly rig" - fancy dress - is as much engrained into corps culture as the 28th October anniversary date.
You WILL lose at Spoof
Spoof is the unofficial, yet mandatory drinking game of the Royal Marines. To succeed, you need the numeracy of Einstein combined with a champion winning poker face. A composite of chance, bluff, and bravado, to lose will mean a forfeit that ranges from a round of drinks to receiving a "chad" tattoo.
An expert on the piste? Norway will bring you down to earth - literally
Forget the pressed, manicured slopes of ski resorts. Skiing in Norway, where natural unevenness caused by -40°C winds ensures that when carrying 60kg on your back you fall as if been shot. Weight drives your head further into the snow, frustrated abuse muffled by frozen grass. Baby ostrich legs attempt to stand while skis are eager to continue without you. Tentatively, you set off again, knowing that the experience will be repeated as soon as you hit anything that could be dismissed as "a bump".
You will wear more heads than Wurzel Gummidge
Depending on government expectation, in one instance you and your brothers in arms become bastions of decency, regaled in dress uniforms to the glee of London tourists; the next you will be carrying out man’s most violent acts before metamorphosing into social workers with a handkerchief and weapon while on humanitarian missions. Learn to embrace diversity.
daftandbarmy
Army.ca Dinosaur
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Of course, no Orangeman would have used a US supplied weapon on Catholics during the Troubles :
American IRA supporters sent weapons used for Orangemen murders
Weapons used in the majority of IRA murders of members of the Orange Order came from American sympathisers of the terror group.
The Order yesterday demanded an explanation from the US authorities after information was passed to the institution by the PSNI's Historical Enquiries Team.
Obtained by the Order's Grand Secretary Drew Nelson, files showed the majority of weapons used to murder its members originated in the United States.
During the Troubles, 332 members of the Orange Order were killed – the vast majority at the hands of the IRA.
The information released by the HET points to the supply of American-sourced weapons in one of the highest-profile attacks on the Order, the massacre of members at Tullyvallen Orange Hall in Co Armagh in 1975.
Gunmen sprayed the meeting with automatic fire, killing four men immediately. A fifth man died later from his injuries.
Guns from America may also have been used in the Kingsmills Massacre of 10 Protestant workmen the following year.
The statistics show that a total of 266 weapons have been identified as having originated in a variety of countries, including the Eastern Bloc, Germany and England. The bulk, however, were of American origin.
The figures show that 149 (56%) of the weapons can be identified as coming from the USA.
In the case of a further 98 weapons, the country of origin could not be identified.
The first American weapon believed to have been used in the murder of a member of the loyal orders relates to the death of Francis William Veitch in September 1971.
The HET was replying to requests from the Order about the murder of their members during the Troubles.
Mr Nelson is seeking a meeting with the American Consul in Northern Ireland to discuss the "alarming revelations".
It is believed at least some of the weapons may have come from thefts at military installations.
An Orange spokesman said: "This is a very serious matter and the United States owes it to the families of those murdered to investigate how a majority of the weapons used in the commission of murder of our members appear to have been from the USA.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/tablet/news/american-ira-supporters-sent-weapons-used-for-orangemen-murders-30149057.html
American IRA supporters sent weapons used for Orangemen murders
Weapons used in the majority of IRA murders of members of the Orange Order came from American sympathisers of the terror group.
The Order yesterday demanded an explanation from the US authorities after information was passed to the institution by the PSNI's Historical Enquiries Team.
Obtained by the Order's Grand Secretary Drew Nelson, files showed the majority of weapons used to murder its members originated in the United States.
During the Troubles, 332 members of the Orange Order were killed – the vast majority at the hands of the IRA.
The information released by the HET points to the supply of American-sourced weapons in one of the highest-profile attacks on the Order, the massacre of members at Tullyvallen Orange Hall in Co Armagh in 1975.
Gunmen sprayed the meeting with automatic fire, killing four men immediately. A fifth man died later from his injuries.
Guns from America may also have been used in the Kingsmills Massacre of 10 Protestant workmen the following year.
The statistics show that a total of 266 weapons have been identified as having originated in a variety of countries, including the Eastern Bloc, Germany and England. The bulk, however, were of American origin.
The figures show that 149 (56%) of the weapons can be identified as coming from the USA.
In the case of a further 98 weapons, the country of origin could not be identified.
The first American weapon believed to have been used in the murder of a member of the loyal orders relates to the death of Francis William Veitch in September 1971.
The HET was replying to requests from the Order about the murder of their members during the Troubles.
Mr Nelson is seeking a meeting with the American Consul in Northern Ireland to discuss the "alarming revelations".
It is believed at least some of the weapons may have come from thefts at military installations.
An Orange spokesman said: "This is a very serious matter and the United States owes it to the families of those murdered to investigate how a majority of the weapons used in the commission of murder of our members appear to have been from the USA.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/tablet/news/american-ira-supporters-sent-weapons-used-for-orangemen-murders-30149057.html
daftandbarmy
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Hurray to that
Republican charged over Omagh bombing
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/10758911/Republican-charged-over-Omagh-bombing.html
Along with the 29 counts of murder, Daly also faces two charges linked to the explosion in Omagh and two counts linked to an attempted explosion in Lisburn in April 1998
Along with the 29 counts of murder, Daly also faces two charges linked to the explosion in Omagh and two counts linked to an attempted explosion in Lisburn in April 1998
A high profile Republican has been charged with murdering 29 people in the Omagh bombing a year after a civil court ruled he was liable.
Seamus Daly, 43, was charged for the 1998 Real IRA atrocity.
The victims included a woman pregnant with twins who all died when the dissident republican car bomb detonated in Omagh town centre on a busy Saturday afternoon.
It was the single bloodiest terrorist attack in the history of the Northern Ireland Troubles and came only months after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement peace deal.
No one has ever been successfully convicted in the criminal courts for the outrage and one Northern Ireland police chief once apologised to the families of the victims for the lack of justice.
In 2009, the families were forced to take their own action in the civil courts and won a landmark ruling at Belfast High Court when a senior judge found four men, including Daly, liable for the bombing.
It was the first time that alleged members of a terrorist organisation had been sued.
Daly, along with Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell and Colm Murphy, were held responsible by Mr Justice Morgan and ordered to pay £1.6 million to the families in compensation.
Republican charged over Omagh bombing
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/10758911/Republican-charged-over-Omagh-bombing.html
Along with the 29 counts of murder, Daly also faces two charges linked to the explosion in Omagh and two counts linked to an attempted explosion in Lisburn in April 1998
Along with the 29 counts of murder, Daly also faces two charges linked to the explosion in Omagh and two counts linked to an attempted explosion in Lisburn in April 1998
A high profile Republican has been charged with murdering 29 people in the Omagh bombing a year after a civil court ruled he was liable.
Seamus Daly, 43, was charged for the 1998 Real IRA atrocity.
The victims included a woman pregnant with twins who all died when the dissident republican car bomb detonated in Omagh town centre on a busy Saturday afternoon.
It was the single bloodiest terrorist attack in the history of the Northern Ireland Troubles and came only months after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement peace deal.
No one has ever been successfully convicted in the criminal courts for the outrage and one Northern Ireland police chief once apologised to the families of the victims for the lack of justice.
In 2009, the families were forced to take their own action in the civil courts and won a landmark ruling at Belfast High Court when a senior judge found four men, including Daly, liable for the bombing.
It was the first time that alleged members of a terrorist organisation had been sued.
Daly, along with Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell and Colm Murphy, were held responsible by Mr Justice Morgan and ordered to pay £1.6 million to the families in compensation.
daftandbarmy
Army.ca Dinosaur
- Reaction score
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- Points
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Scotland is the bedrock of Britain’s defences
The SNP's proposals for its future armed forces are risible and would undermine the UK’s safety
When it comes to the defence of the realm, it is hard to underestimate the pivotal role Scotland plays in protecting the nation against our enemies. From early in the 20th century, when the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet assembled at Scapa Flow to defend our shores against the Kaiser, to more recent efforts to intercept rogue Russian warplanes and naval ships challenging British-controlled territory, Scotland has been our first line of defence.
Even today, when British politicians of all persuasions are keen to avoid military confrontation at all costs, it is no coincidence that many of our front-line defence capabilities are based in Scotland. The Faslane naval base on the Clyde is home to the Royal Navy’s fleet of Vanguard-class submarines, which maintain Britain’s round-the-clock Trident nuclear deterrent, while three of the RAF’s five Typhoon combat squadrons will soon be based at RAF Lossiemouth, one of the country’s main fast jet operating bases.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scottish-independence/10767952/Scotland-is-the-bedrock-of-Britains-defences.html
The SNP's proposals for its future armed forces are risible and would undermine the UK’s safety
When it comes to the defence of the realm, it is hard to underestimate the pivotal role Scotland plays in protecting the nation against our enemies. From early in the 20th century, when the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet assembled at Scapa Flow to defend our shores against the Kaiser, to more recent efforts to intercept rogue Russian warplanes and naval ships challenging British-controlled territory, Scotland has been our first line of defence.
Even today, when British politicians of all persuasions are keen to avoid military confrontation at all costs, it is no coincidence that many of our front-line defence capabilities are based in Scotland. The Faslane naval base on the Clyde is home to the Royal Navy’s fleet of Vanguard-class submarines, which maintain Britain’s round-the-clock Trident nuclear deterrent, while three of the RAF’s five Typhoon combat squadrons will soon be based at RAF Lossiemouth, one of the country’s main fast jet operating bases.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scottish-independence/10767952/Scotland-is-the-bedrock-of-Britains-defences.html
daftandbarmy
Army.ca Dinosaur
- Reaction score
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Queen's horse whisperer uses his gift to help heal broken heroes of the Afghan war
Monty Roberts has been working for Her Majesty since 1989
Held a clinic to help 30 military personnel at Wiltshire home for Help for Heroes
Shared his system of ‘Join-Up’ – communication with a horse through movement
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2608674/Queens-horse-whisperer-uses-gift-help-heal-broken-heroes-Afghan-war.html#ixzz2zOrmUKW2
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Monty Roberts has been working for Her Majesty since 1989
Held a clinic to help 30 military personnel at Wiltshire home for Help for Heroes
Shared his system of ‘Join-Up’ – communication with a horse through movement
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2608674/Queens-horse-whisperer-uses-gift-help-heal-broken-heroes-Afghan-war.html#ixzz2zOrmUKW2
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
daftandbarmy
Army.ca Dinosaur
- Reaction score
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- Points
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Afghanistan: Britain got almost everything wrong and should admit its failure
The flawed nature of this weekend's Afghanistan election shows how few of the West's goals have been met
This weekend's elections in Afghanistan exemplify the weakness of the Western intervention. The Taliban has driven out election monitors, many polling stations are unable to operate, and there will be widespread corruption and electoral fraud.
The losing candidates will protest over the result, but there will be no point in running the elections again, because they would be no better second time round.
President Obama’s objectives for the “surge” in Afghanistan were to “defeat the Taliban” and “create a credible, effective and legitimate Afghan state”.
The elections demonstrate that we did not achieve those targets; more bluntly, we failed.
It is time that the British government, the military and Parliament draw the correct lessons from this failure, and change the way we operate. The decision to “surge” troop numbers was doomed to fail because we had the wrong people, and the wrong objectives for our Afghan strategy.
And we lacked the structures, oversight, and culture to put this right, over more than a decade. This was true across all parts of government.
Our mission of “state-building” while fighting was impossible. We were hypnotised by jargon about creating “governance, civil society and the rule of law” that worked in press conferences, but not on the ground. We did not recognise this, because we had not invested in understanding Afghan culture and society. (In 2008, for example, none of our diplomats in Kabul could speak Pushtu - the language of Helmand.)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/10745977/Afghanistan-Britain-got-almost-everything-wrong-and-should-admit-its-failure.html
The flawed nature of this weekend's Afghanistan election shows how few of the West's goals have been met
This weekend's elections in Afghanistan exemplify the weakness of the Western intervention. The Taliban has driven out election monitors, many polling stations are unable to operate, and there will be widespread corruption and electoral fraud.
The losing candidates will protest over the result, but there will be no point in running the elections again, because they would be no better second time round.
President Obama’s objectives for the “surge” in Afghanistan were to “defeat the Taliban” and “create a credible, effective and legitimate Afghan state”.
The elections demonstrate that we did not achieve those targets; more bluntly, we failed.
It is time that the British government, the military and Parliament draw the correct lessons from this failure, and change the way we operate. The decision to “surge” troop numbers was doomed to fail because we had the wrong people, and the wrong objectives for our Afghan strategy.
And we lacked the structures, oversight, and culture to put this right, over more than a decade. This was true across all parts of government.
Our mission of “state-building” while fighting was impossible. We were hypnotised by jargon about creating “governance, civil society and the rule of law” that worked in press conferences, but not on the ground. We did not recognise this, because we had not invested in understanding Afghan culture and society. (In 2008, for example, none of our diplomats in Kabul could speak Pushtu - the language of Helmand.)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/10745977/Afghanistan-Britain-got-almost-everything-wrong-and-should-admit-its-failure.html
daftandbarmy
Army.ca Dinosaur
- Reaction score
- 32,237
- Points
- 1,160
Ahem... that would be a 'troop' of Royal Marines Mr. Correspondent...
And I am amazed that Mills is flogging these. He must be desperate.
Falklands War medals expected to fetch up to £180,000
Medals won in the defence of South Georgia, when a heavily outnumbered platoon of Royal Marines held out against Argentine invaders, are to go on sale
Medals won in one of the most extraordinary incidents of the Falklands War, when a small band of Royal Marines held out for hours against Argentine invaders, are expected to fetch up to £180,000 at auction
Medals won in one of the most extraordinary incidents of the Falklands War, when a small band of Royal Marines held out for hours against Argentine invaders, are expected to fetch up to £180,000 at auction on Thursday.
The platoon of 22 Marines led by a young lieutenant braved an air and sea assault by a far larger force, as the sole defenders of the isolated island of South Georgia.
By the time they were forced to surrender against overwhelming numbers, the marines had shot down a helicopter, badly damaged an Argentine warship and killed or wounded many attackers.
Lt Keith Mills, later Captain Mills, won a Distinguished Service Cross for “conducting a valiant defence in the face of overwhelming odds” and went on to serve in Bosnia and Croatia. He is now selling his medals at auction in London, with auctioneers estimating they will go for between £140,000 and £180,000.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/10783551/Falklands-War-medals-expected-to-fetch-up-to-180000.html
And I am amazed that Mills is flogging these. He must be desperate.
Falklands War medals expected to fetch up to £180,000
Medals won in the defence of South Georgia, when a heavily outnumbered platoon of Royal Marines held out against Argentine invaders, are to go on sale
Medals won in one of the most extraordinary incidents of the Falklands War, when a small band of Royal Marines held out for hours against Argentine invaders, are expected to fetch up to £180,000 at auction
Medals won in one of the most extraordinary incidents of the Falklands War, when a small band of Royal Marines held out for hours against Argentine invaders, are expected to fetch up to £180,000 at auction on Thursday.
The platoon of 22 Marines led by a young lieutenant braved an air and sea assault by a far larger force, as the sole defenders of the isolated island of South Georgia.
By the time they were forced to surrender against overwhelming numbers, the marines had shot down a helicopter, badly damaged an Argentine warship and killed or wounded many attackers.
Lt Keith Mills, later Captain Mills, won a Distinguished Service Cross for “conducting a valiant defence in the face of overwhelming odds” and went on to serve in Bosnia and Croatia. He is now selling his medals at auction in London, with auctioneers estimating they will go for between £140,000 and £180,000.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/10783551/Falklands-War-medals-expected-to-fetch-up-to-180000.html
daftandbarmy
Army.ca Dinosaur
- Reaction score
- 32,237
- Points
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Bat... poop .... crazy....
Thousands take part in Larne UVF gun-running commemorationAdvertisement
Vintage cars were driven by men in period costume
In 1914 loyalists imported guns and ammunition from Germany into the County Antrim port to prepare to resist Home Rule for Ireland.
Many of those marching in the parade were in period costume, and several vehicles from the era were on show.
Paraders and bands came from all over Northern Ireland to take part.
One of the parade's organisers, Billy Adamson, said: "Rightly or wrongly, what we think about the politics of it, it shaped the province's future.
"It marked an event in Northern Ireland's history and it has been significant down through the years.
"The loyalist population have certainly been keen to remember their history and to commemorate it in this fashion."
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-27170261
Thousands take part in Larne UVF gun-running commemorationAdvertisement
Vintage cars were driven by men in period costume
In 1914 loyalists imported guns and ammunition from Germany into the County Antrim port to prepare to resist Home Rule for Ireland.
Many of those marching in the parade were in period costume, and several vehicles from the era were on show.
Paraders and bands came from all over Northern Ireland to take part.
One of the parade's organisers, Billy Adamson, said: "Rightly or wrongly, what we think about the politics of it, it shaped the province's future.
"It marked an event in Northern Ireland's history and it has been significant down through the years.
"The loyalist population have certainly been keen to remember their history and to commemorate it in this fashion."
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-27170261
- Reaction score
- 8,298
- Points
- 1,160
In 1914 Carson's Loyalists mutiny at the Curragh and import weapons from Germany.
In 1916 Casement's Republicans rise in Dublin with weapons imported from Germany.
In 1917 Germans send a Communist exile back to Russia to foment rebelliion.
In 1940 Russia, ally of Germany, invaded Finland and got its butt handed to it on a platter.
Plucky Finland celebrated in Britain
In 1941 Russia reneged on its deal with Germany
Churchill allies with Russia leaving Finland isolated
Finland allies with Germany against Russia
In 1941 Ukrainians ally with Germany to remove Russia.
I challenge anyone to find any ideology there other than the ancient one articulated by Churchill "The enemy of my enemy is my friend".
Even the Scots, the English and the French have occasionally stopped killing each other long enough to find common cause.
In 1916 Casement's Republicans rise in Dublin with weapons imported from Germany.
In 1917 Germans send a Communist exile back to Russia to foment rebelliion.
In 1940 Russia, ally of Germany, invaded Finland and got its butt handed to it on a platter.
Plucky Finland celebrated in Britain
In 1941 Russia reneged on its deal with Germany
Churchill allies with Russia leaving Finland isolated
Finland allies with Germany against Russia
In 1941 Ukrainians ally with Germany to remove Russia.
I challenge anyone to find any ideology there other than the ancient one articulated by Churchill "The enemy of my enemy is my friend".
Even the Scots, the English and the French have occasionally stopped killing each other long enough to find common cause.
- Reaction score
- 5,973
- Points
- 1,260
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