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EUROPE
18 Sep 10. Afghanistan: OP HERRICK. A Sergeant from the Corps of Royal Engineers and a Trooper from The Queen’s Royal Lancers were killed in action during a vehicle patrol in the Bolan District on 18 Sep 10. UK deaths since the start of Operations on 7 Oct 01 thus rose to 337, of whom 297 were killed as a result of hostile action. (MoD, 18 Sep 10.)
British Forces in Southern Afghanistan handed responsibility for security in Sangin to US Forces on 20 Sep 10. British Forces, with their Danish and Estonian allies, now focus their efforts in the critical Central Helmand area. The transfer of security responsibility for Sangin from the UK to the US is the final stage of the current round of restructuring of ISAF Forces in Southern Afghanistan. (MoD, 20 Sep 10.)
An extra Reaper remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) has arrived in Afghanistan. (MoD, 20 Sep 10.) The additional Reaper was delivered to Kandahar Airfield on board a C-17 transport aircraft. (RAF News, 24 Sep 10.)
Comment: A Ministerial Answer on 10 Jun 10 stated that there were three Reaper RPA in RAF service, a fourth having been accidentally lost in April 2008. A further two Reaper were said to be on order (one of which is now presumed to have arrived in Afghanistan). (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 09/37, 27 Sep 10)
24 Sep 10. UK armed forces in Afghanistan honoured for bravery. Sgt Maj Ley accepted an “incredibly high” level of personal risk A teenager who seized a Taliban leader and a man who neutralised 42 bombs in 72 hours are among scores of UK service personnel to be honoured for gallantry.
A total of 131 members of the armed forces are to be awarded medals in the latest Operational Awards List. Most medals, to be presented by senior royals at a later date, will go to soldiers from 11 Light Brigade – the UK’s lead formation in Afghanistan.Defence Secretary Liam Fox said the awards reflected incredible bravery. Among those on the Ministry of Defence list of those being honoured is Rifleman Reece Terry, of the 4th Battalion The Rifles, who will receive the Queen’s Gallantry Medal for Bravery. The 19-year-old, from Taunton in Somerset, led a night raid in southern Afghanistan in October to capture a Taliban leader who hadkilled many British soldiers. Flight Lieutenant Ian Fortune: “A round hit my helmet” In an area concentrated with bombs, he led a 100-strength force over seven irrigation ditches, through two belts of disused compounds and across fields. He was armed with only a metal detector and night vision goggles. Sgt Maj Karl Ley, of the Royal Logistic Corps, is to be presented with the George Medal for “awesome bravery” in tackling bombs.
The 29-year-old cleared 139 bombs during his six-month tour of Helmand province – twice as many as any other bomb disposal expert and more than anyone else in history. (Source: BBC)
28 Sep 10. As the Prime Minister prepares to chair a National Security Council meeting later today to discuss the options around the Strategic Defence and Security Review Ian Godden, Chairman of A|D|S, the UK’s aerospace, defence and security trade organisation, said:“The Government needs