Summary
The BBC has reported that a UK-built Zephyr unmanned aerial vehicle has landed after a record-breaking two weeks of non-stop flight. | Various media outlets have reported that two US troops are missing in eastern Afghanistan. | There has been widespread coverage of the case of Private Aron Shelton, who lost his leg in an explosion whilst serving in Afghanistan and has been told by the Department for Work and Pensions that he will no longer be given a disability allowance. | The Daily Telegraph reports that the new US commander of ISAF forces in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, has decided not to continue with his predecessor’s plan to secure Kandahar. | Jeremy Clarkson has written an opinion piece for The Sun claiming that the public should be told about the numbers of enemy dead in Afghanistan to bring some context to the weekly figures revealing the number of British troops killed. | Various media outlets have reported on a meeting held by Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox to discuss the future of the Armed Forces. | BBC News reports that ISAF is to investigate claims that Afghan civilians were killed in an air strike on Friday. | The Sunday Times claims that the Navy has offered to put the Royal Marines under the control of the Army in an attempt to stave off cuts to its destroyers and frigates. | The Sunday Mirror reports that WWII veterans have expressed their disappointment with regards to Prime Minister David Cameron's comments that Britain was a junior partner to the US in 1940. | The News of the World features an article about Army medic Corporal Sarah Marriott who has been awarded a medal for braving rocket fire to save an injured Afghan soldier. | The Sunday Express claims that senior defence sources fear that Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorists will profit from the growth in cigarette smuggling into the UK if a ban on tobacco advertising is implemented. | The Star on Sunday reports that British armoured vehicles are to get an aeroplane-style 'black box' which can report Taliban attacks to base and even call for reinforcements. | The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Star report that former cricketer Imran Khan claims the streets of Britain are less safe because of the war in Afghanistan. | There has been widespread media coverage that more than 90,000 secret US military records have been leaked to the media, releasing classified details of the war in Afghanistan. | The Times claims that the RAF and the Royal Navy are locked in talks to save their fast jets in the Strategic Defence and Security Review.
No manning crisis within the Army
The Sunday Mirror reports that the Armed Forces are in a manning 'crisis' as thousands of personnel have quit the Army. This is not true. The MOD's statistics service Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA) produce a manpower report every month. It shows that in the year to 1 June 2010, 1,230 more people joined the Armed Forces than left. In that same year, 12,320 joined the Army versus 11,980 personnel who left. Full manning statistics are available at www.dasa.mod.uk
Paras in Helmand
The News of the World claims that 'crack SAS troops are being sent to America for parachute training - because there aren't enough RAF planes in the UK' and that 'more than 60 paras are now in Helmand with no jump experience'. It is factually incorrect to suggest 60 paratroopers are now in Helmand with no jump experience. 16 Air Assault Brigade do not deploy to Afghanistan until later in the year and it is also important to note that the vital training that has been conducted with our close allies in the US and Oman has increased the number of trained parachutists in the British Army.
Warthog vehicles to deploy to Afghanistan later this year
An article in the Star on Sunday has speculated that the MOD's new Warthog armoured vehicle may never arrive in Afghanistan and that it failed up to nine mine-blast tests. As part of the normal design process, Warthog underwent a series of blast tests to prove it provides protection from buried Improvised Explosive Devices – which it has now successfully completed. Warthog is planned for deployment later this year, and is currently undergoing rigorous testing to ensure that it is ready to deal with the demanding Afghan terrain and changing threats from insurgents. Until then our commanders will continue to select from the range of armoured vehicles already in Afghanistan, which include Mastiff, Warrior, Ridgback, Viking and Jackal.
Weight reductions of troops' personal kit
The Sunday Express has wrongly reported that British soldiers are suffering from an unprecedented number of ankle and spinal injuries because the equipment they are carrying is too heavy. While there is no evidence of an increase in ankle or spinal injuries among British troops, the MOD is committed to reducing the weight of our soldiers' kit as this is essential to ensuring their ability to manoeuvre in Afghanistan.
A new project team has been created to look at ways of reducing the load carried by troops. So far they have reduced the weight of kit by 4.5 kg, with a further reduction of 8 kg expected by October.
Measures implemented so far include: trials of new lightweight patrol rations for troops in the field, that weigh less than 1 kg, compared with a 24-hour ration pack that weighs around 3 kg; new longer-life batteries to power radios and other equipment; and a new battery recharging system which reduces the number of spare batteries required.
