NEWS IN BRIEF
EUROPE
19 Sep 07. Iraq: OP TELIC. From 1 Jan 06 to 31 Aug 07, 278 personnel were categorised as Wounded in Action and 1,155 were aeromedically evacuated. (MoD, 19 Sep 07.) From 16 to 31 Aug 07, the figures were one and 28.
There are no plans for withdrawing British front line troops to a new base in Kuwait [despite newspaper reports to the contrary]. (MoD, 17 Sep 07.)
Eight Iraqi Officer Cadets have attended/are attending, training at RMA Sandhurst since 2003. (MA, 17 Sep 07.)
“There is evidence that armaments, in particular improvised explosive devices, that originate in Iran are being deployed against our troops in Southern Iraq and in Afghanistan”. (Defence Secretary, 17 Sep 07.)
The (US) Commander of the Multinational Force called on the Prime Minister and on the Defence Secretary on 18 Sep 07. (MoD, 18/19 Sep 07.)
During OP CERTAIN SHIELD, soldiers from the King’s Royal Hussars Battle Group destroyed several caches of weapons believed to have originated in the Iran-Iraq war. (MoD, 21 Sep 07.)
Comment: During his presentation to the IISS [Item 3], the CGS said that “our role in the [Iraq] Campaign is going in the right direction” and that “the British Army has not been defeated”. But then he would say that, wouldn’t he?
17 Sep 07. Afghanistan: OP HERRICK. A Lance Corporal from 36 Engineer Regiment was killed when his vehicle was hit by an explosion in Helmand Province on 17 Sep 07. A Colour Sergeant from 4th Bn The Mercian Regiment and a Private from 2nd Bn
The Mercian Regiment were killed when their vehicle overturned North of Gereshk on 20 Sep 07. UK deaths since the start of Operations in November 2001 thus rose to 81, of whom 53 have been classified as Killed in Action and three as Died of Wounds sustained in action. (MoD, 18 & 20 Sep 07.)
From 1 Jan 06 to 31 Aug 07, 245 personnel were categorised as Wounded in Action and 647 were aeromedically evacuated. (MoD, 19 Sep 07.) From 16 to 31 Aug 07, the figures were 10 and 33.
Weapon-Mount Installation Kit (WMIK) equipped Land Rovers were first deployed to Afghanistan in Summer 2006. 19 of these vehicles have been lost and five personnel have been killed in them. (MA, 17 Sep 07.)
The Junior Defence Minister flew into Camp Bastion for a three-day visit. (MoD, 18 Sep 07.)
2,000 of the 2,500 personnel taking part in OP PALK WAHEL are British. The Operation, which started on
19 Sep 07, is intended to deny the Taliban key areas in the Upper Gereshk Valley. (MoD, 20/21 Sep 07.) During an interview, the Commanding Officer of 2 MERCIAN praised the Czech, Danish and Estonian troops under his command. (Radio 4, 19 Sep 07.)
Comment: ‘DE&S News’ (September 2007) noted that the UK is acting as the principal co-ordinating nation at Kandahar Airfield (KAF), with over 40 RAF personnel running the facility on behalf of NATO. The French have indicated that they may relocate some of their aircraft to KAF.
According to the CGS [Item 3], success in Afghanistan “is crucial to the national interest of the UK”. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 0737, 24 Sep 07)
21 Sep 07. Chief of the General Staff (CGS): Presentation. CGS’s presentation at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (21 Sep 07), during which he drew attention to the “growing gulf between the Army and the Nation”, has attracted considerable media attention.
Comment: CGS is justly concerned about public indifference towards of the role of the military. He is, however, firing his shots at the wrong target; the ‘unpopularity’ of current campaigns is a policy issue that should be put to the politicians. A copy of GCS’ presentation can be found at the MoD website (www.mod.uk). (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 0737, 24 Sep 07)
Sep 07. Strategic Airlift: Under Scrutiny. The Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Logistics Operations) has described strategic lift, in particular strategic airlift, as “a subject to which we’re paying close attention”. The MoD’s aeromedical evacu