Fitaloon at MicroShaft

Always and Forever

The MOD reports that another Royal Marine from 40 Commando has been killed in Sangin, Afghanistan.

The MOD has this:

It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must announce that a Royal Marine from 40 Commando Royal Marines serving as part of Combined Forces Sangin, Helmand was killed in Afghanistan yesterday, Wednesday 26 May 2010.

My thoughts are with his family and friends on this sad day.

Ministry of Defence | Defence News | Military Operations | Royal Marine killed in Helmand.

Always and Forever

Sadly news of the death of a further Soldier in Afghanistan has been announced today by the MOD:

It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must announce that a soldier from 4th Regiment Royal Artillery, serving as part of Combined Force Nahr-e Saraj (South), was killed in Helmand today, Wednesday 26 May 2010.

Ministry of Defence | Defence News | Military Operations | Soldier from 4th Regiment Royal Artillery killed in Afghanistan.

Col Seddon said it takes six years to fully train a specialist operator

This is very disturbing news and shows how desperate we are in Afghanistan for certain skills.  The BBC has this

The Army’s top bomb disposal officer has resigned, the MoD has said.

The BBC understands from army sources that Colonel Bob Seddon, of the Royal Logistic Corps, quit over fears bomb disposal training could be compromised.

There has been pressure on the Army to produce more bomb-disposal experts quickly as a result of the threat of roadside bombs in Afghanistan.

According to the BBC the MOD admits how stretched the resources are. Panorma will have a feature on this at 8:3o tonight,

In a statement to the BBC, the MoD admitted guidelines for rest periods and the length of tours had been broken in Afghanistan.

“Unfortunately at a time of high operational commitment, breaches of harmony guidelines do occur but we are taking steps to address the situation.”

New defence secretary Liam Fox, who visited Afghanistan this weekend, said he would make sure everything possible was done to ensure that British forces had what they needed to deal with the “indiscriminate threat from IEDs”.

Panorama: A Very British Hero, BBC One, Monday 24 May at 2030 BST

via BBC News – Top army bomb squad officer Col Bob Seddon resigns.

Always and Forever

Sadly  a Royal Marine from 40 Commando has been killed in Sangin, Afghanistan. The MOD has this:

It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that a Royal Marine from 40 Commando Royal Marines, serving as part of Combined Force Sangin, was killed in Afghanistan today, Friday 21 May 2010.

The Royal Marine was killed in an explosion that happened near Patrol Base Almas, in Sangin, Helmand province, this morning.

He was conducting a joint foot patrol with the Afghan National Army to reassure and improve the security for the local population in the area when the incident took place.

Spokesman for Task Force Helmand, Lieutenant Colonel James Carr-Smith, said:

“It is my sad duty to inform you that a Marine from 40 Commando Royal Marines was killed by an explosion this morning in Sangin.

“He was conducting reassurance operations with the Afghan National Army when he was struck by an explosion.

“He died a Marine, doing his duty alongside his British and Afghan comrades. His actions will not be forgotten and we will always remember him.”

Next of kin have been informed and have asked for a period of grace before further details are released.

My thoughts are with his family and friends on this sad day.

Ministry of Defence | Defence News | Military Operations | Royal Marine killed in Sangin.

I heard a rumour last night that the Defence Secretary was to be Paddy Ashdown and was surprised but quite pleased as I don’t really rate Liam Fox, the new Defence Secretary.

Sadly the rumour didn’t turn out to be true. I believe it would have been a good move and with his experience in conflicts he could have brought a realism to Defence that has been missing for some time.

It seems that I am not the only one of that opinion as Subrosa has been explaining here. As she says

Out of all the appointments mentioned today this one concerns me most. Liam Fox, as shadow defence secretary, never performed better than average. His media interviews were composed of soundbites and no substance and often he seemed far more concerned that the public knew he had been to visit our troops in various parts of the world rather than address their concerns.

Sadly she is correct he has managed to make Bob Ainsworth almost appear talented. Let us hope that his performance in the real role, where we need someone well above average, is better than his role as shadow.

Hopefully he will be backed up a good team who can help him through what will be a tough time in the next few years. This is a department that cannot fail. There are some very good names out there on all sides of the fence who can lend their experience at all facets of defence.

Anyway here is what he had to say today.

Ministry of Defence | Defence News | Defence Policy and Business | New Secretary of State sends message to Defence staff.