MANAGEMENT ON THE MOVE
LOCATIONS
LAND
03 Jun 09. The U.S. government accidentally made public a secret report detailing its nuclear sites, programs and even exact locations of nuclear stockpiles, The New York Times reported June 3. “The federal government mistakenly made public (the) 266-page report”, The Times reported noting that the blunder was revealed June 1 in an online newsletter about federal secrecy. “That set off a debate among nuclear experts about what dangers, if any, the disclosures posed. It also prompted a flurry of investigations in Washington into why the document had been made public,” the Times noted, saying that by late Tuesday “after inquiries from The New York Times, the document was withdrawn from a Government Printing Office Web site.” Several analysts said the security breach was not devastating “given that the general outlines of the most sensitive information were already known publicly,” the report said. “These screw-ups happen,” the Times quoted John Deutch, a former director of central intelligence now a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as saying. “It’s going further than I would have gone but doesn’t look like a serious breach.” (Source: Defense News)
03 Jun 09. RAF ends 19-year mission in Iraq. The Royal Air Force will mark the end of nearly 19 years of operations in Iraq when seven aircraft fly personnel back to the UK. Their families will be waiting at RAF Marham in Norfolk to welcome them home. Six Tornado jets and a VC10 transport aircraft will fly personnel from Iraq following the end of combat operations. The RAF has been operating in and over Iraq since 1990 after Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait led to the first Gulf War. One of the RAF’s jobs then was to hunt down and destroy the dictator’s notorious Scud missiles. After the end of the conflict the RAF patrolled the northern and southern no-fly zones. The RAF played a key role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the subsequent six-year British military mission. Operating from four bases in the Gulf, it has provided support to ground forces and performed an important logistical role. The RAF said its time in Iraq had helped to stabilise the country. In particular, it said its work to make Basra International Airport “a genuinely international, civilian-run airport” would be “a lasting legacy”. Basra airfield was officially handed over to Iraqi control in January as part of moves to wind down the UK’s commitments in the country. The British military mission in Iraq officially came to a close at the end of April. In May the RAF ensign was lowered at Basra airport. (Source: BBC)
03 June 09. There can be few RAF units with a finer operational record than No 101 Squadron. In service from the Somme to Suez, Berlin to Baghdad, in Malaya, the Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan, 101 Squadron has endured tragedy and sacrifice while carving more than its fair share of glory. Originally a night bomber squadron, formed on the 12 July 1917 at South Farnborough, the Squadron it was reformed on 1 May 1984 as an Air to Air Refuelling (AAR) Squadron at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, flying the VC10 K2 AAR tanker aircraft. In August 1990 Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait saw 101 Squadron VC10 tankers rapidly deploy in support of RAF combat aircraft to the Gulf. By January 1991 all nine 101 Squadron VC10 tankers were based in Saudi Arabia. Op DESERT STORM commenced at 16 Jan 1991 and five VC10s launched from King Khalid Airport (Riyadh) in Saudi Arabia that night in support of RAF Tornado GR Mk1s.
The Allied Air Offensive against Iraqi targets commenced at around midnight with substantial RAF participation. It continued throughout the day with Tornado GR1 and Jaguar aircraft flying attack missions against Iraqi targets. Tornado F3 aircraft mounted a continuous combat air patrol close to the Saudi/Iraqi/Kuwait borders. Victor and VC10 aircraft provided air to air refuelling facilities. Nimrod aircraft flew sorties i