Battle of Sobraon: Royal Anglian battle honour

In 1845 the unrest which had begun in Afghanistan spread to the Punjab, to the north-west of the Indian empire.

This led to the two Sikh wars of 1845–46 and 1848–49 and the eventual British annexation of the North-West Frontier region.The Battle of Sobraon was fought between the British and the Khalsa, the Sikh army of the Punjab.

The British were victorious and this became the decisive battle of the 1st Sikh War. Battle Honours were subsequently awarded to the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment (10th Foot), now 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment (The Poachers).

Happy Sobraon Day!

The Royal Lincolnshire & Royal Anglian Regimental AssociationBritishBattles.com: Battle of Sobraon

MoD puts a contract out with QinetiQ

The MoD and the British Armed Forces have grown used to the concept of outsourcing.

Since 1983, when the MoD introduced its competitive procurement policy, competitive tendering for equipment and the contracting-out of support services to the private sector have not only become accepted practice but have become the de facto rule. Contracted-out services provided by private companies soon came to include such areas as catering, security guarding, training, IT, property maintenance, engineering, laundry and cleaning.

Things moved up a notch in 1990s when the MoD embaced the Thatcherite Private Finance Initiative (PFI) doctrine which was then being promulgated across Whitehall. When Tony came to power in 1997, PFI was re-launched, in Alastair Campbell Newspeak, as Public Private Partnerships - which had a nice, nulabour sound to it. The idea behind this was that private capital and private sector companies would finance and operate infrastructure that previously had been publicly funded and managed. Private companies would claw back their investment over time on a kind of lease basis. For example, the Matrix consortium were to build, manage and run the new £12billion tri-Service Training Academy at St Athan and would then charge the MoD fees for each student sent there on a course.... simples.

Moving on quickly to 2010 and we find that things have taken a quantum leap forward in the privatization stakes. Qinetiq, one of the MoD's favourite private sector companies - sorry, partners - is now sending its employees out to Afghanistan to operate the British military's UAVs. As Qinetiq puts it: "Unmanned air systems (UAS) including unmanned air vehicles (UAVS) are becoming increasingly important enablers in the fields of surveillance, security and defence. QinetiQ provides a total service for both civil and military UAS operations.... QinetiQ delivers a true end-to-end UAS service".

While the use of mercenaries was not uncommon in the barbaric past, for a civilised country in the 21st century to be employing civilians to fight its wars for it, and to kill its enemies (directly or indirectedly), is unacceptable and must be challenged on ethical grounds.

In its panic to cut costs, the MoD has started to contract-out the waging of its wars to the cheapest bidder with the decision to pull a trigger becoming part of a commercial contract.

The use of contract killers belongs in the murky world of the Mafia and should stay there.

The Times: Outsourced QinetiQ staff operate drones in Afghanistan

Injured soldiers to become border guards?

The government is now considering whether troops who have been injured in Iraq and Afghanistan could make up a "Border Defence Regiment". The BDR is the brainchild of Immigration Minister Phil Woolas; he has yet to publish any details about his proposal.

Whilst anything that would stop the number of illegal immigrants coming into the country would be welcomed, the idea of injured soldiers guarding the Kent and Sussex beaches seems more reminiscent of the dark days of the Second World War than of today's War on Terror.

Woolas and his labour party mates are just beginning to wake up to the disaster that their open door policy on immigration has been to this country and, with the election looming, are starting to come up with all sorts of "initiatives" to repair the damage they have caused.

508 wounded soldiers were treated in field hospitals in Afghanistan in 2009 (more than the combined total for 2007 and 2008). These guys should be treated honourably not just used as some political gimmick.

Remember Phil, Joanna is watching you!

The Mail: Shambolic and unfair: Watchdog's damning verdict on immigration service after 13 years of Labour government

CivvyStreet: helping the transition

Stars of Dragons' Den and The Apprentice have voiced their support to a Royal British Legion website specialising in helping members of the Armed Forces readjust to life on Civvy Street. Dragons' Den Duncan Bannatyne and Lord Sugar's new right hand woman on the Apprentice, Karren Brady, have appeared in a new online video promoting resettlement website civvystreet.org.

Civvy Street is a website for serving and ex-Service personnel and their families. It helps

with a range of issues around resettlement including re-training, employment opportunities and also help around CV building and interview tips. As well as this practical help, in the twelve months from 01 October 2008 Civvy Street had awarded over £600,000 in training and employment grants.

Ken Parkinson, Civvy Street Manager said 'At a time where the resettlement of Service leavers is a key issue, it is great that high profile figures such as Duncan Bannatyne and Karren Brady have helped to highlight the services that Civvy Street can offer.'

Leigh Groombridge, who served with his TA regiment in Afghanistan, is just one of the many who has benefitted from Civvy Street's help. He commented 'After returning from Afghanistan I was having real problems finding work, I came across Civvy Street online and with their help I've retrained as an IT engineer and am doing a job love'.

CivvyStreet.org also works in close collaboration with Poppyscotland, providing resettlement support and training grants for ex-Servicemen and women throughout Scotland


Civvy Street

Armed Forces Community Welfare Pathway

The Armed Forces Community Welfare Pathway is the latest MoD initiative aimed at helping serving personnel, their families and veterans receive the advice and support they need to meet a whole range of health, social and economic issues and to ensure they have consistent, easy and direct access to the services to which they are entitled.

The Welfare Pathway provides a 'one-stop-shop' that brings together the local council, community organisations, Citizen Advice Bureaux, the NHS, Service charities, etc to deliver a complete advice service that is tailored to the needs of the military community - for example:

• advice about access to NHS services;
• information about help for veterans with mental health problems;
• help and advice about education, skills and careers;
• help with affordable and social housing;
• help with transport, including Blue Badges and concessionary transport;
• advice about, and access to, affordable childcare.

The Pathway is a step along the road outlined by Bod Ainsworth in his proposal to introduce an Armed Forces Community Charter. This charter would set out the individual and specific rights of the Armed Forces community and the duty placed on public bodies to fulfil them. It has been suggested that such a charter could actually be made legally binding on public bodies. It al;so fits in with the commitments set out in the Service Personnel Command Paper, 'The Nation's Commitment: Cross-Government Support to our Armed Forces, their Families and Veterans'.

The project was launched last November in Kent and has since been rolled out in Hampshire and today in Wigan and it is expected that local "Gateways" will soon be opening up across the country. A dedicated national helpline (08000 22 33 66) has also been set up.

Despite the tired nulabour jargon which surrounds it, this scheme certainly has the promise of being able to cut through otherwise daunting bureaucracy and bring speedy solutions to the people who really deserve it.

NDS: Armed Forces Community Welfare Pathway for Wigan launches today
MoD: Armed Forces Welfare Pathway launched in Hampshire

MoD: Armed Forces Welfare Pathway launched

All the 4s: Fundraising target exceeded!

Last year's walk through five English counties - 150 miles in 10 days - had aimed to raise £35,000 for The Royal Anglian Regiment Benevolent Charity.

As it's turned out the hikers have at the latest count raised over £44,000! This is an amazing achievement for chief organiser Christine Bonner and her team.

It's fitting that 44 thousand pounds has been raised for they called their walk "All the 4s: 4 the boys, 4 the families, 4 the fallen, 4 ever"

Christine said: "People were so kind and it showed us that they really do care about the boys in their County Infantry Regiment - The Royal Anglian Regiment. We all thank you from the bottom of our hearts."

The country's four square behind you, Christine! Well done!

Tickets For Troops: from front line to front row

A new Armed Forces charity was launched last November. Its purpose is to provide free tickets for sporting and entertainment venues to serving members of the Armed Forces and those discharged for injury since 2001.

So far, nearly 40,000 serving and former members of the Armed Services have registered and over 50,000 free tickets have been donated.

Joanna Lumley, one star in the cahrity's galaxy of patrons, said: "This is a win-win arrangement: brave and deserving troops get to see shows, concerts, fights and games: and we in the world of entertainment and sport get a chance to show them that we think they are the best of the best, and support them with all our hearts. Fabulous!!"

Absolutely!

Tickets For Troops

Battle Back: Exploiting Adventurous Training to speed recovery

Battle Back is a UK military initiative which uses Adventurous Training (AT) and sport in the aftercare of seriously injured Service personnel in order to aid their rehabilitation and return to an active life post rehab.and not a charity.
Launched on 28th July 2008, it is now well into its second year. The project is based on the work of Sir Ludwig Guttmann who back in 1948 created the first Stoke Mandeville Games specifically for WW II veterans with spinal cord injuries. Guttmann believed that sport was a vital part of therapy, a radical concept at the time, that helped individuals develop physical strength and self-respect.

The name "Battle Back" was coined in 2007 by a team looking at whether the British military could once more utilise existing sport programmes as an aid to rehabilitating the wounded. By incorporating the principles of Adventurous Training - the use of challenging outdoor activities and controlled exposure to risk to improve courage, leadership, fitness and team spirit - Battle Back provides a holistic view of rehabilitation through re-integration into a wider range of militarily relevant activities. It is a programme for all injured Service personnel, irrespective of how they were wounded, and complements the work done by the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) at Headley Court, Regional Rehab Units (RRUs) and Units with Platoon- or Company-level Recovery Teams.

Battle Back is important:

• because it provides seriously injured Servicemen the same Adventurous Training and Sport opportunities as their able-bodied colleagues;
• because the Armed Forces have a moral obligation to ensure that the aftercare of their wounded is of the highest possible standard; and
• because when first coming to terms with a life-changing injury, it is essential to understand what can be achieved - by focussing on ability rather than disability - which is vitally important for physical, psychological and social rehabilitation.

MoD: Battle Back

Josh's Climb For Heroes

An intrepid former Royal Anglian, Josh Butcher, will be setting off next month to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds for Help for Heroes.

Josh served in Op Telic 8 and knows full well the terrible injuries some of his comrades suffered in Iraq and how the work of Help for Heroes has helped their recovery.

As he says: "Having served in the Army in operational environments, I am in a privileged position that I have come back safe and well. Some are not so lucky, including some of my friends. They have suffered horrific injuries and that ultimately affected their futures. Help for Heroes is a charity that aims to help and support our wounded troops and their families. They believe, as I do "that anyone who volunteers to serve in time of war, knowing that they may risk all, is a hero".

Help Josh reach his target of £4,000 by making a donation at: www.justgiving.com/josh-butcher1

All the best, Josh!

Help for Heroes Kilimanjaro Trek - 5th - 14th March 2010
Josh's Blog

Scunthorpe Telegraph: Epic trek to boost Heroes appeal

RIP Aaron James McClure - Fallen Soldier

Victory at Stalingrad - 12:00 February 2nd 1943

"The sudden silence was overwhelming and some of our soldiers, habituated to the constant din of fighting, couldn't stand it. The only time there was silence was just before an enemy attack. Men were shooting rifles, letting off grenades, just to relieve the tension." (Lieutenant A. Mereshko, 62nd Army).
"Then all our soldiers began to sing. We sang the Russian songs which helped to sustain us when all seemed hopeless." (Mark Slavin, 45th Division)

The German surrender at Stalingrad in February 1943 was the strategic turning point of WW2. After Stalingrad, the Germans had no hope of winning on the eastern front and that meant inevitable defeat in the wider conflict for WW2 was primarily a Soviet-German war.

When Germany launched Operation Barbarossa on June 22nd 1941 and invaded the Soviet Union, they launched a war of annihilation, a war to destroy ’judeobolshevism’ by the mass murder of Soviet citizens. Over the next four years more than 26 million Soviet citizens were killed, almost 11 million from the Armed Forces - at Stalingrad alone a million Russian people lost their lives.


In remembering the battle of Stalingrad we pay homage to the immense heroism of the soldiers of the Red Army. Despite Antony Beevor's attempt to denigrate, contemporary evidence is overwhelming: it was the sheer valour and guts of the soldiers of the 62nd Army, particularly the 13th Guards, which turned what was a militarily hopeless position into final victory.

"For us, it was life and death which met on the Volga. And it was life which won the fight." (Marshal K. Rokossovsky)

Italians pay 'protection' to Taliban: You say pizzo and I say pizza

Back in the 5th century the Romans regularly bought off their enemies by making hefty tribute payments in exchange for an agreement not to attack the Empire - a kind of early protection racket. In 447 alone they forked out 6,000lbs in gold to pay off the Huns and agreed to make annual instalments of 2,000lbs from then on. When the Romans missed the 451 payment, Attila lead his army across the border and devastated the cities of northern Gaul.

If a report in today's Times is correct, then it would seem that the Italians have been taking a lesson from their history books and have again been paying tribute to their adversaries - this time to the Taliban.

A local Taliban commander confirmed that a deal was struck last year so that Italian forces in the Sarobi area, east of Kabul, would not be attacked by local insurgents if the Italians paid over a load of cash.

Unfortunately when the Italians handed the area over to the French they omitted to tell them about the local protection racket - that or when the Italians said "pizzo" the French thought they had said "pizza".

Because the district had been so quiet prior to their arrival, the French had assumed that they had picked a nice peaceful area to look after. It was not until 10 of their soldiers were tragically killed last August that they realised all was not as it seemed.

Nato spokesman General Eric Tremblay said he was "not aware" of Italy having paid off Taliban militants. "If it does go on, it's the Afghan government (that does it) rather than international forces."


The Times: Italians bribed the Taleban all over Afghanistan, say officials

Philip Laing urinates on war memorial

Philip Laing, a Sheffield college student, thought it would be funny to urinate on the city's war memorial and on the poppy wreaths placed there in honour of the servicemen and women who had given their lives in the service of their country.

This wonderful example of today's 'intelligentsia' and his friends no doubt thought it a great laugh to desecrate a war memorial and to piss on those who had died for our freedoms. They probably even congratulated themselves on the publicity that resulted from this disgusting behaviour. His parents more than likely think it all a laugh as well.

Of course the college authorities won't have the guts to do anything about it; the department of education won't kick him off his course; nor naturally will the police be bothered to do anything either - like giving him a criminal record.

No, this little prick will look forward to three years on his "sports technology" (no surprise there then) course as a celebrity amongst his fellow students.

The Mail: Shame of drunken student caught urinating on war memorial during 'Carnage' mass pub crawl

MoD wins its compensation appeal: 'a victory for bureaucracy over bravery'

Defence Secretary Ainsworth and senior civil servants at the MoD must be feeling very smug and self-satisfied today because the Court of Appeal has upheld their claim against the awards made by the compensation tribunal to two injured British soldiers.

When the tribunal increased the basic compensation awarded to Corporal Anthony Duncan and Royal Marine Matthew McWilliams because both men had suffered further health problems as a result of their injuries, the MoD took the case to the High Court to get the increases revoked.

The High Court upheld the awards amde to the soldeirs but the MoD was determined to claw back the compensation and doggedly pursued the case to the Court of Appeal.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ministers and MPs continue to rip off the taxpayers by cynically manipulating their expenses (particularly those relating to 'second homes').

Civil servants at the MoD continue to get massive annual bonuses or receive hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation for a strained thumb or 'work-related stress'.

Meanwhile two soldiers may have to repay compensation awarded to them for their injuries.

The Mail: Injured servicemen face having compensation slashed after MoD wins court battle
BBC: Smith apology for expenses claims

Al Qaeda goes nuclear just as MoD cuts 900 guards

Two articles appeared in today's newspapers which, when read together, make for uncomfortable reading.

In the article 'Big Bang scientist admits plotting Al Qaeda atrocity', the Daily Mail reports that French police have uncovered a terror plot by an eminent Algerian nuclear physicist currently working on the CERN nuclear research euro-project. The scientist

is alledged to have been planning to use his expertise to set off a nuclear explosion - possibly in the UK. A British security source said: "It appears that Al Qaeda are now deliberately recruiting extremely intelligent people who have both the knowledge and the resources to potentially create a nuclear bomb or identify nuclear targets".

Under the headline 'Skint MoD will axe 900 nuke base cops', today's Sun reports that the MoD is considering a "suicide" mission: slashing the military police force which guards the UK's nuclear installations. A defence source is reported to have said: ""These guys guard nuke depots and weapons silos round the clock as well as intelligence units, docks and training facilities - every sensitive military building in Britain. They also watch over barracks housing the loved ones of troops fighting on the front-line"

So there you have it: just as Al Qaeda is planning to use weapons of mass destruction, the MoD is planning to leave the doors to the UK's nuclear installations unlocked for them.

We can all sleep safely with labour!

The Mail: Big Bang scientist 'admits plotting Al Qaeda atrocity'
The Sun: Skint MoD will axe 900 nuke base cops

General Dannatt to advise Cameron's War Cabinet

That General Dannatt will be the military advisor to the next government is welcome news. Having a former Chief of the General Staff working on their team will mean that the government will be able to call directly on a vast amount of experience.

David Cameron has already promised that, with Britain at war, one of the first things he'll do will be to set up a War Cabinet "from minute one, hour one, day one that I walk through the door of Downing Street".

The appointment of The General will mean that someone who speaks for the soldiers on the ground will be part of that War Cabinet and in a position to influence policy. It may also mean that resources will be redirected away from grandiose projects to where they are most needed: on the frontline in Afghanistan.

For months labour ministers and MoD mandarins have been conspiring to undermine General Dannatt. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that senior labour figures should now be threatening to impose a £40,000 fine on General Dannatt in revenge for his accepting a post with the Tories.

5,000 motorcyclists Ride To The Wall

For the second year motorcyclists from across the UK converged on the National Arboretum yesterday to pay their respects to the servicemen and women who have been killed in the service of their country.

5,000 bikers made the Ride To The Wall 2 this year not only to honour the dead but also to raise funds for the maintenance of the memorial - organisers hope to exceed last year's total of £10,300.

Dozens of veterans with military medals pinned on to their riding leathers and a major general in uniform were among those at a service of remembrance.

The UK event is similar to the annual 'Rolling Thunder Ride For Freedom' motorcycle rally which takes place over the US Memorial Day weekend in Washington DC. This year as many as half a million veterans and bikers rolled down Pennsylvania Avenue in tribute to US war heroes.

In only its second year the number of bikers who took part in the UK event this year far exceeded the expectations of the organisers.

Well done, Bikers of Britain!

BBC: Bikers pay respects to the fallen
Ride To The Wall