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EUROPE
15 Aug 13. Afghanistan: OP HERRICK. From 1 Jan 06 to 31 Jul 13, 2,146 personnel were Wounded in Action and 6,883 were aeromedically
evacuated. (DASA, 15 Aug 13.) In July 2013 seven were Wounded in Action and 41 aeromedically evacuated.
Comment: The Sunday Times (11 Aug 13) published an article claiming that over 600 British troops had “suffered brain injuries caused by exploding bombs and blows to the head in Afghanistan.” A MoD rebuttal
(12 Aug 13) drew attention to “the world class Mild Brain Injury Programme and Neurological Rehabilitation Programme” while claiming that “most cases are very mild”. The figure of 600 was not disputed. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 13/33, 19 Aug 13)
18 Jul 13. Overseas Business: Foreign Office Support. The Foreign Secretary made (18 Jul 13) a Written Statement to Parliament on Safeguarding British Businesses Overseas, stating that the Foreign Office (FCO) “has made supporting British business abroad one of its core activities”. This priority complements the FCO’s work safeguarding the UK.s national security and supporting British nationals around the world. The FCO has created a Commercial and Economic Diplomacy Department to help businesses manage risks. Among the initiatives ordered by the Foreign Secretary are: The inclusion of more information about terrorism threats in the FCO.s travel advice.
. To advise those liable to be at risk.
. An inclusion of businesses and organisations in FCO crisis exercises.
The attack in January 2013 on a gas production facility in the Algerian desert underlined the threat which British
businesses and nationals can face overseas.
Comment: The Foreign Secretary.s Statement is recorded in Hansard for 18 Jul 13. The Algerian incident, in which UK nationals were killed, was the subject of an oral Statement by the Prime Minister on 18 Jan 13
(Hansard, Column 1163). The Prime Minister updated his Statement on 21 Jan 13 (Hansard, Column 25). (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 13/33, 19 Aug 13)
13 Aug 13. Cyber Security: Incident Response Scheme Launched. A Cyber Incident Response scheme was officially launched (13 Aug 13) by CESG (the Information Security arm of GCHQ) and the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure. The scheme allows companies to access a list of certified providers of response and clean up services in the event of a cyber attack.
Comment: It was also announced that the Council of Registered Ethical Security Testers is to lead a project for establishing appropriate incident response standards; aligned to the requirements of Industry, the Public Sector and academic institutions. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 13/33, 19 Aug 13)
15 Aug 13. Turkey has cancelled a contract to build warships worth around USD2bn after the prime minister’s inspection office concluded it was not in the public interest.
“The tender was not carried out in a competitive manner by not allowing other eligible companies to bid in the project,” a source from the prime minister’s office told IHS Jane’s . “If more companies competed in the tender it could have made possible a reduction in price. Hence, the inspectors’ report concluded that the tender violated the rules of competition.”
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the inspectors’ report – completed at the beginning of August following an investigation into the tender proceedings – which suggested cancellation of the tender to open a new one.(Source: Jane’s)
13 Aug 13. The Argentine Defense Ministry is in talks with the Spanish government to transfer Mirage F-1M aircraft, the defence minister confirmed during his visit to the First Armoured Brigade and the Sixth Brigade Tandil Ai