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EUROPE
21 Jul 10. Afghanistan: OP HERRICK. A Staff Sergeant from 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps, was killed in an explosion in the Nahr-e Saraj District on 17 Jul 10. A Corporal from the Royal Dragoon Guards and a Lance Corporal from 1st Bn Scots Guards were killed by small arms fire North of Lashkar Gah on 21 Jul 10 . UK deaths since the start of Operations on 7 Oct 01 thus rose to 324, of whom 285 were killed as a result of hostile action. (MoD, 21 Jul 10.)
500 Afghan troops, trained by the British, led an Operation (OP OMID DO) East of Gereshk to reinstate Government authority. (MoD, 19 Jul 10.)
The funding announced on 7 Jul 10 includes up to £19m for dismounted close combat equipment and up to £158m for base protection equipment. (Ministerial Answer (MA), 20 Jul 10.)
The seriousness of the threat from improvised explosive devices (IED) has been discussed with the US authorities on a number of occasions. (MA, 20 Jul 10.)
The provision of security around Gereshk is led by a Danish Battle Group, with attached Afghan and British elements. (MoD, 20 Jul 10.)
“….we have been clear that we will not have soldiers in a combat role in Afghanistan in 2015.” (Deputy Prime Minister, 21 Jul 10.)
A combination of search teams and bomb disposal experts from across the Services form Counter-IED (C-IED) teams. (MoD, 21 Jul 10.)
“We would expect UK personnel to move increasingly to a supporting role as the Afghan Security Forces gradually assume more responsibility for the security of their Country.” (Defence Secretary, 22 Jul 10.)
Comment: Following the Kabul Conference, the Foreign and International Development Secretaries made Statements (21 Jul 10) to the House of Commons. The Defence Secretary explained (22 Jul 10) revised arrangements for Service ‘rest and recuperation’ from Operations in a further Statement. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 09/29, 26 Jul 09)
28 Jul 10. Scaling back Britain’s Trident nuclear deterrent force could pose a serious threat to the nation’s defence capability, according to the UK National Defence Association (UKNDA).
Responding to the proposal in a report by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) that Britain should cut back from four Trident submarines (SSBNs) to three, the UKNDA’s Chief Executive, Cdr John Muxworthy RN, said: “To be effective any deterrent must be certain and constant, not intermittent and therefore unreliable. Repeated studies and long experience have led the Royal Navy and successive governments to conclude that, in order to ensure absolute certainty of availability, at least four SSBNs are required. “Last year one of our four Trident submarines was put out of action by a ‘freak’ accident when a French SSBN accidentally bumped into it, while both were operating underwater on their separate patrols. For the next year this accident reduced our available force to three, barely able (and not for long) to maintain the essential constant presence. “To rely on just three submarines would be to court uncertainty because, as last year’s incident illustrates, accidents can and do happen – and a constant pres