Posted on 08/19/2007 5:35:20 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
Experts in trench warfare we don’t need.......
when the brit troops get home to england,
the arabs will look familiar.
Northern Ireland is getting further and further back in the misty past. Time to update the tactics.....
I wonder if this has any parallel with the D-Day planning.
The british second guessing and throwing some historic reference in the face of the americans must be a pattern.
Of course since that whole Iran surrender first thing, I would imagine the British military has suffered some reputation damage.
If they are really just clock watching till they cut and run, perhaps we should just ask them to go and the americans move in.
Then again there is always Sun Tzu[... Loose lips etc.]
“..........I mention the remarks of people who have recently returned from “the sandbox” and “the hilly sandbox”, who were providing the training. They are still a bit rough around the edges and possibly even entitled to an opinion..............”
Being a Brit soldier with 17 years service, that has been to both “the sandbox” and the “hilly sandbox” more than once (along with many other hot spots), I feel more than entitled to an opinion, and generally, in my platoon, only my opinion counts!!!
I found your original post quite insulting. A good friend of mine was blown up not more than 2 months ago in Basra whilst on an ‘offensive’ patrol. I went to school with him, was good friends with his sister and parents, and he has a partner expecting triplets right this moment, whilst he lays in a coma in intensive care, with the back of his head and his rear left deltoid missing, likely to be brain damaged as a result!!!
2004, one of my Corporals was driving supplies on the infamous ‘suicide’ run from Basra to Al-Amarah. A convoy that US troops wouldn’t carry out at the time (and haven’t since!). The road was regularly mined, he was driving point as I heard the explosion and looked up to see his land rover turn over, I then saw his lower left leg was shattered. Being a soldier, you know that in this situation, it isn’t as easy as getting out of your vehicle and stabilising the wounded. He was bleeding profusely but his femural artery wasn’t affected. We had to listen to his screaming for over 2 hrs before we could clear a path to his vehicle and approx. another 4 hrs before we could be sure of a heli casevac without setting off every mine in the area.
Yes, i am also a bit rough around the edges too, and yes,
I have an opinion that i’m most definately entitled to and my opinion is this:
‘People that haven’t been to Iraq or Afghanistan, should shut their fu**ing mouths and stope commenting about something they can only speculate’
Another opinion:
‘People that have been to Iraq should know better than to slag off soldiers from othercountries that have also served there’
And before you say anything, that is a generalised opinion and not aimed at anyone person in particular......
Yea, people not looking at the bigger picture.
I think we’ve got less than 100,000 soldiers now (can’t remember the last I looked).
We’ve barely got enough for home defence.
We’re increasing our operations and personnel in Afghanistan.
Personnel has to come from somewhere and we sure don’t have them to spare in the UK.
Soldiers are coming back from tours in Afghanistan, 2 weeks with the family then off to Iraq for another 6-9 months.
One of my old buddies that is now in the Paras has been to Iraq/Afghanistan no less than 5 times since it all kicked off. Other than US special forces units, you won’t get any other US soldiers/marines spending as much time in the area as he and his muckers have.
Trouble with all these articles are they’re supposedly from a reputable source, but the reports are wrong and I cannot understand why the British media are reporting this crap!
Have you looked to see whats going on in Helmand province lately?????
Same Newspaper...............
“British will be in Afghanistan ‘for 38 years’
By Tom Coghlan
Last Updated: 1:41am BST 08/08/2007
The commander of British forces in Helmand Province has predicted that the British army deployment to Afghanistan will last at least as long as the 38 years that it took British forces to pull out of Northern Ireland.
Brigadier John Lorimer said: “If you look at the insurgency then it could take maybe 10 years. Counter-narcotics, it’s 30 years. If you’re looking at governance and so on, it looks a little longer. If you look at other counter-insurgency operations over the last 100 years then it has taken time.”
Brigadier John Lorime: 38 years
His bleak assessment comes a year into a deployment which, when he announced it to parliament, the then Defence Secretary John Reid hoped would be completed in three years “without a shot being fired.”
Instead British forces have found themselves fighting a bloody and protracted war against determined Taliban insurgents, producing the hardest fighting that British forces have seen in a half a century.
Sixty-six British soldiers have been killed since 2001 in Afghanistan and hundreds injured, the vast majority in Helmand since July of last year. Brigadier Lorimer’s remarks to The Observer follow recent comments by the new British Ambassador to Kabul, Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, who told the BBC in an interview in June that the British public must be prepared for “a marathon not a sprint” in Afghanistan.
Sir Sherard denied reports suggesting that he believed British forces would remain in Afghanistan for thirty years but said: “I’ve said the task of standing up a government of Afghanistan that is sustainable is going to take a very long time. It’s a marathon rather than a sprint. We should be thinking in terms of decades.”
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He added: “We’re not [talking] about a long-term military presence but we are serious about a long-term development presence, because this country does matter to us and to the region in so many ways.”
Afghanistan remains one of the poorest countries on earth. About a third of its $10billion gross domestic product comes from the opium trade.
It was assessed by the World Bank as the fourth most corrupt country on earth in a survey released last month. Afghans have a life expectancy of 47.”
More.......
“Honours for scourge of the Taliban
By Michael Fleet
Last Updated: 2:59am BST 19/07/2007
Frontline: In-depth coverage on our forces in Afghanistan and Iraq
A Royal Marine involved in 30 separate firefights with the Taliban, returned home from Afghanistan with just one injury; a perforated eardrum caused by the relentless firing of his machine guns.
Cpl Thompson was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross
Cpl John Thompson led numerous exercises during his six months as lead patrolman in convoys of military vehicles and repeatedly came under fire.
Yesterday he was told he had been awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for his displays of “exceptional bravery and leadership, particularly under fire”.
His award, second only to the Victoria Cross for military bravery, was one of 62 to Service personnel engaged in operations in the Helmand province of Afghanistan between October last year and April this year.
Cpl Thompson, 29, sustained his ear injury in January when his troop was ambushed by 40 or 50 Taliban fighters.
“I had just turned to my driver and said I felt we were going to be ambushed,” he said. “Sixty seconds later two rocket grenades landed 50 metres away and within seconds another 30 or 40 were fired at us followed by machinegun fire.”
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Over the next four hours Cpl Thompson, who is married and from Plymouth, fired off 4,500 rounds from his mounted machinegun, two Javelin missiles and 5,000 other machinegun rounds during a prolonged and intense battle.
He was repeatedly re-armed whenever his ammunition fell to 10 per cent of his usual total.
“The reason I’m here today and why we all came through that alive was the training and the teamwork,” he said. “Everyone played their part.”
He was described by colleagues as “the sort of bloke you want on your side” and had been selected for the lead position on the regular patrols for his mix of experience, courage and intelligence.
But despite the plaudits, he had found it difficult to take in the award. “I opened the letter and all I saw was my name and the words Conspicuous Gallantry Cross. I was shocked and honoured. Everyone does their best in the Marines and I had done my best,” he said.
The awards, spread across the Services, mark the courage and character of those involved in the fighting in Afghanistan, which has been described as the most sustained and ferocious combat for British troops since the Korean War.
Brig David Capewell, the commander of 3 Commando Royal Marines, said acts of “supreme bravery and personal courage” were daily events in the country. “I confess to personal astonishment at some of the stories of selfless dedication to duty,” he added.
Marine Matthew Bispham was awarded the Military Cross
Among these was the Military Cross awarded to a Marine who was sent to Afghanistan just three weeks after completing his training and who then became involved in fierce close combat with two Taliban fighters.
Marine Matthew Bispham, 22, was part of an incursion to clear a Taliban stronghold when he and a colleague came under fire from two fighters entrenched in a compound.
The men took enemy fire as they first crossed open land and then came face to face with the two heavily armed insurgents. “We literally bumped into them but they had known we were coming. At a time like that, your training just takes over,” he said.
His colleague was killed in the action but Marine Bispham was able to carry on the fight. All he would say was: “The two Taliban ended up dead.”
Capt Graeme McIntosh and Capt Timothy Rushmere, both of the Royal Artillery Regiment, tried to save the life of a colleague after his armoured vehicle was blown up by a mine.
The man was beneath the four-tonne machine and the men eventually tried to free him by attempting an amputation of his trapped lower leg using just a penknife. “This was the last resort. It was to no avail and he died there before us,” said Capt McIntosh.
The Service personnel are in England awaiting their next deployment. Marine Bispham said: “I wouldn’t say I want to go back but when my turn comes I will go.”
Died whilst on patrol OUTSIDE of barracks!
Served in my regiment.....
“Soldier sees his twin die in Iraq
By Duncan Gardham
Last Updated: 2:05am BST 27/06/2007
Frontline: Reports from Iraq and Afghanistan
A soldier killed in Iraq died with his twin brother at his hospital bedside on their 24th birthday, it emerged yesterday.
Cpl John Rigby’s vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb
Cpl John Rigby and his twin, Will, held the same rank and served with the same battalion of the Rifles, who are based in Basra.
The soldier’s family, including his two older sisters, from Rye, East Sussex, were said to be inconsolable.
His brother felt as though he had lost “his lifetime companion and his soul mate”, said Lt-Col Patrick Sanders, their commanding officer.
Cpl Rigby, whose vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb on Friday, died in Basra military hospital.
He is the third corporal and the fourth soldier from the battalion to be killed in the past month and is the 153rd British soldier to die since the invasion.
His brother will accompany the coffin back to Britain.
“John was a cherished and devoted son and brother,” his family said in a statement, “a talented hard-working and successful soldier, popular with his peers and across all ranks alike.
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“He had a very bright future ahead of him which included plans to undertake higher education.
“We are devastated at his loss and ask to be left alone to grieve in peace.”
Lt-Col Sanders yesterday described Cpl John Rigby as “the most talented corporal of his generation”.
“The death of any soldier is a tragedy and in death all are equal, but there are some whose loss is particularly hard to bear - the force of their personality, their personal and professional qualities and the love, respect and popularity they inspire set them apart. Cpl John Rigby was such a man,” said Lt-Col Sanders, commanding officer of the 4th Battalion the Rifles.
“We are utterly heartbroken. But we are also unbowed, tough and determined: John would have it no other way.”
He added: “He was a warrior - tough and fierce, swift and bold. And like all the best soldiers he inspired love, devotion and fierce loyalty in his men. They idolised him and would follow him anywhere.
“John was also a remarkable man. He had a dignity, modesty and maturity that went way beyond his years. He was calm, highly intelligent, thoughtful, had a smile that lit up a room and a wicked sense of humour.
Cpl John Rigby with his twin brother Will
“I admired him immensely and liked him from the first time I met him several years ago - he had a nobility of spirit and an almost serene aura about him that drew one to him.”
Friends in Britain had set up a joke page on the internet, suggesting that if 400 people signed up Cpl Rigby would propose to his girlfriend, Jess Varney, on her 21st birthday in May.
Describing them as “love birds” the message said: “Jessica met John back in April 2006. It has been a love affair that has swept us all.”
Elsewhere on the page Miss Varney had left a message for Cpl Rigby’s birthday, saying: “Love you lots, hope you have a nice day. Xxxxxxxxxxx.”
Nicknamed “Goldenballs” because he was viewed as the “David Beckham of squaddies,” Cpl Rigby was told two weeks ago he was to be promoted to sergeant.
He had chosen to take the risky position of “top cover sentry”, keeping look-out from the hatch in an armoured vehicle, when it was hit by a roadside bomb near Basra Palace on Friday.
Describing the corporal as “iconic”, his commanding officer said he had recently achieved the highest score on the promotion board across all five battalions of the regiment, despite competing with other corporals five years older.
• The British soldier killed in Afghanistan yesterday has been named as Drummer Thomas Wright, from 1st Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment.
He was killed when his armoured “Snatch” Land Rover was caught in an explosion roughly 6km outside of Lashkar Gah in Helmand province.
The 26-year-old, from Ripley, Derbyshire, and four other soldiers who were injured in the explosion, were airlifted to hospital where Drummer Wright was pronounced dead.
The other four are still receiving medical treatment at the ISAF hospital at Camp Bastion, the Ministry of Defence said.
Lieutenant Colonel Richard Westley, Commanding Officer of 1st Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters, paid tribute to Drummer Wright’s character, skill and ability.
He said: “He will be best known for his razor sharp wit, numerous tattoos, quirky dress sense and practical jokes.
“Never shy in coming forward, always in the thick of the action, either in the boxing ring or in the field, on parades or in the block, he was a true regimental character who can never be replaced.”
Thanks for posting these articles. The efforts of UK forces in Iraq and Afghanistan have been supreme.
As you entered the banquet hall this evening, you may have noticed a small table in a place of honor. It is set for one. Let me explain. The military caste is filled with symbolism. This table is our way of symbolizing the fact that members of our profession of arms are missing from our midst. They are our fallen comrades. We call them "Brothers." They are unable to be with us this evening and so we remember them because of their dedication to their country.
This table set for one is small -- Symbolizing the frailty of one Soldier alone against his enemies.
ALL: Remember!
The Tablecloth is white -- Symbolizing the purity of their intentions to respond to their country's call to arms.
ALL: Remember!
The single Red Rose displayed in a vase reminds us of the families and loved ones of our comrades-in-arms who keep their memories alive lest we forget.
ALL: Remember!
The Red Ribbon tied so prominently on the vase is a reminder of the blood shed to protect the liberty so loved by our country.
ALL: Remember!
A Slice of Lemon is on the bread plate to remind us of their bitter fate.
ALL: Remember!
There is Salt upon the bread plate -- Symbolic of the families tears.
ALL: Remember!
The Glass is inverted -- They cannot toast with us this night.
ALL: Remember!
The Chair -- The chair is empty. They are not here.
ALL: Remember!
Remember! -- All of you who served with them and called them comrades, who depended upon their might and aid, and relied upon them, for surely, they have not forsaken you.
“Something from our battalion “dining in”, a tradition we borrowed from the British”
‘Borrowed’ would suggest that your battalion would be giving it back. Lets hope the tradition keeps on going in your battalion for as long as we have to keep on fighting for freedom.
Take care
D
“I think we’ve got less than 100,000 soldiers now (can’t remember the last I looked).”
Somebody brought up this point on ARRES: comparisons are made with NI but: we had anything up to 20,000+ troops there with a similar size population to Basra, similar culture to our own, but only 5-10,000 troops in Basra with a very different culture. Maybe our expectations were too high?
“Soldiers are coming back from tours in Afghanistan, 2 weeks with the family then off to Iraq for another 6-9 months.”
Thats a hell of a statistic. What about national service again. They could man the non-conflict bases, to allow a greater pool of pro and semi-pro soldiers to rotate around in times of action?
An idea off the top of me head anyways.
I’m amazed at the steadfast attitude of our troops in all deployments around the globe. The reason we have such a proud heritage is because of you guys always doing us proud, and trying to get the job done.
What exactly are you referring to vis a vis D-Day?.
I think batco’s posts single handedly destroy the rubbish we have been reading here...
I think batco’s posts single handedly destroy the rubbish we have been reading here...
Are you a platoon daddy, as we might say here?
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