Defence News

Defence News: 31 May 2012

ARRC honours soldiers home from Afghanistan
Navy minehunters sail for Gulf
MOD appoints new Chief Scientific Adviser
Soldier injured in Afghanistan to row in Thames Jubilee Pageant
Irish Guards prepare for contingency role
RAF High Wycombe exercises Freedom of the District

Defence in the Media: 31 May 2012

Summary
The BBC has reported that Corporal Ricky Furgusson, who was wounded in Afghanistan, has taken part in the Olympic Torch Relay in Shropshire. | The Press Association and Yahoo report that a UN report has stated that the number of Afghan civilians killed so far this year has dropped by 36 per cent compared with the same period last year. | Various media report that a special medal for children whose parents have served in Afghanistan has been awarded for the first time. | The Sun reports on the return of Simon Weston to the Falkland Islands with his family to see the spot where he was injured in 1982. | The Sun also reports that Iraq veteran Johnson Beharry has been promoted to the rank of corporal. | The Daily Mail reports that recipients of the Victoria Cross and George Cross attended a service of thanksgiving yesterday and were presented with Diamond Jubilee medals by the Prince of Wales. | Various papers trail the military involvement in the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. | Various papers continue to cover the diplomatic stalemate over the Syrian crisis. | The Sun covers the discovery by UN observers of evidence of another massacre in Syria, after they found the bodies of 13 men with their hands tied behind their backs. | According to the Telegraph, Western diplomatic sources have said that international troops could be forced to intervene in Syria if the collapse of President Assad's regime were to leave stockpiles of his chemical weapons vulnerable to terrorists.

Image of the Day: 31 May 2012

The Royal Navy has key ceremonial duties to perform during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Thames River Pageant in London on Sunday 3 June. Accompanying the Royal Barge containing Her Majesty The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will be the Royal Barge Honour Guard, which will comprise two P2000 patrol boats, two picket boats, two Pacific 24 rigid inflatable boats from HMS Diamond, and four offshore raiding craft from 539 Assault Squadron Royal Marines, who are pictured in these craft on the River Thames with the Tower of London and the Shard in the background. [Picture: PO(Phot) Terry Seward, Crown Copyright/MOD 2012]

Defence Diary: 31 May 2012

Today, Thursday 31 May
Repatriation to RAF Brize Norton of Captain Stephen Healey, from 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh, who was killed in Afghanistan on Saturday 26 May 2012.
Funeral of Corporal Brent McCarthy, from the Royal Air Force, who was killed in Afghanistan on Saturday 12 May 2012.
1st (UK) Armoured Division Headquarters and Signal Regiment medal parade, Herford, Germany.
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors seminar: The Pitt Review, Five Years On.

Tomorrow, Friday 1 June
HMS Diamond media facility - Big Jubilee Lunch on board, Portsmouth.



Queen's Dragoon Guards service of remembrance, Llandaff Cathedral.



2012 Dover Tattoo (and 2 June).
International Institute for Strategic Studies Asia Security Summit - The Shangri-La Dialogue (until 3 June).

Saturday 2 June
Queen's Dragoon Guards freedom parade, Cardiff.



Defence Animal Centre Open Day, Melton Mowbray.

Sunday 3 June



Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, London.

Monday 4 June
Bank Holiday.


Diamond Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace.



Lighting of Diamond Jubilee Beacons at locations across the country.

Tuesday 5 June
Bank Holiday.


Diamond Jubilee: Service of Thanksgiving, St Paul's Cathedral, London, followed by a carriage procession and flypast of RAF aircraft. 


TV programme of interest: 'War Hero in My Family', Channel 5, 2000hrs. Celebrities uncover the heroic stories of their ancestors (Episode 6 of 6).

Wednesday 6 June
D-Day commemorations in Normandy.
Chatham House event: The US Army in Transition.

Thursday 7 June
The Suffolk Show 2012 (and 8 June).
Royal United Services Institute Land Warfare Conference 2012 (and 8 June).
Royal United Services Institute Members' Event: Military History Lecture - 'The Midway Paradox: Carrier Victory - Carrier Defeat'.

Defence News: 30 May 2012

42 Commando celebrate opening of new medical centre
UK and US soldiers strengthen ties with jump onto Salisbury Plain
Behind the scenes at the Household Cavalry Jubilee preparations
Earl of Wessex visits the RTMC

Defence in the Media: 30 May 2012

Summary
The Daily Telegraph reports that the Duke of Cambridge is still deciding whether to continue his career in the Royal Air Force, or leave the military to assume royal duties full-time. | The Press Association reports that a newly-written trumpet fanfare to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee will be performed by RAF musicians at a Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral next Tuesday. | The BBC reports that seven pipe bombs have been made safe in Northern Ireland. An Army bomb team carried out controlled explosions of the devices, discovered after a vehicle was stopped in Dungannon, County Tyrone, yesterday. | The Telegraph and Times report that President Obama personally oversees a top secret 'kill list' of terrorist and Al-Qaeda suspects who should be targeted for drone missile strikes. | The Mirror carries a picture story of a British soldier on patrol in Helmand handing a pen to a delighted Afghan boy. | The Wall Street Journal reports that the US plans to spend $471m to conclude work on the Kajaki Dam in the waning years of the Afghan war. | In the Daily Mail, Andrew Alexander asks why the UK keeps getting involved in doomed American military expeditions. | There is widespread coverage of the decision to expel Syrian diplomats by the US, Britain, France, other EU countries, and Australia and Canada in a 'chorus of global outrage' at the massacre in Houla. The White House ruled out military intervention, with the Daily Mail saying 'it would be madness for Britain to intervene'. | The Telegraph reports on the RAF Falcons Parachute Display Team dropping in on the launch of the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford yesterday.

Image of the Day: 30 May 2012

Troops from No 1 Company of the Irish Guards have been conducting public order training at Longmoor Camp in Hampshire to prepare for their new role within the UK Ops Battalion starting in September 2012. The company of 120 soldiers will form part of a highly adaptable battalion designed to deploy at short notice to deal with fast-unfolding crises in remote parts of the world. They have therefore been required to conduct training that develops the necessary skills to deal with a variety of scenarios. [Picture: Corporal Steve Blake RLC, Crown Copyright/MOD 2012]

Defence Diary: 30 May 2012

Today, Wednesday 30 May
House of Lords rises.


Service of remembrance and rededication for holders of the Victoria Cross and George Cross at St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in London.


200 Signal Squadron and 1st Military Working Dog Regiment medal parades, Paderborn and Sennelager, Germany.


HMS Atherstone deploys.


HMS Illustrious' 30th birthday ceremonial parade, HM Naval Base Portsmouth.


Queen's Dragoon Guards homecoming parade, Swansea.


Westminster eForum Keynote Seminar: Implementing the UK Cyber Security Strategy - industry collaboration, eCrime and protecting critical infrastructure, London.


Royal United Services Institute Missile Defence Conference 2012 (until 31 May).
TV programme of interest: 'Afghanistan: The Great Game - A Personal View by Rory Stewart', BBC2, 2100hrs - tells the story of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 20th century (Episode 2 of 2).

Tomorrow, Thursday 31 May
Repatriation to RAF Brize Norton of Captain Stephen Healey, from 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh, who was killed in Afghanistan on Saturday 26 May 2012.

1st (UK) Armoured Division Headquarters and Signal Regiment medal parade, Herford, Germany.
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors seminar: The Pitt Review, Five Years On.

Friday 1 June
HMS Diamond media facility - Big Jubilee Lunch on board, Portsmouth.


Queen's Dragoon Guards service of remembrance, Llandaff Cathedral.


2012 Dover Tattoo (and 2 June).

International Institute for Strategic Studies Asia Security Summit - The Shangri-La Dialogue (until 3 June).

Saturday 2 June
Queen's Dragoon Guards freedom parade, Cardiff.


Defence Animal Centre Open Day, Melton Mowbray.

Sunday 3 June


Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, London.

Monday 4 June
Bank Holiday.

Diamond Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace.


Lighting of Diamond Jubilee Beacons at locations across the country.

Tuesday 5 June
Bank Holiday.

Diamond Jubilee: Service of Thanksgiving, St Paul's Cathedral, London.

TV programme of interest: 'War Hero in My Family', Channel 5, 2000hrs. Celebrities uncover the heroic stories of their ancestors (Episode 6 of 6).

Defence News: 29 May 2012

Afghan and British troops discover huge drugs and explosives cache
Armed Forces rowers win gold at World Cup
Personnel on deployment receive Jubilee tins
Anglesey signs Armed Forces Community Covenant
RAF helicopter makes emergency transfer of child to Great Ormond Street Hospital

Defence in the Media: 29 May 2012

Summary
The BBC has reported that fewer than a third of the most senior jobs in the UK are held by women, according to new figures, and the Armed Forces and judiciary have the fewest women in top posts - 1.3 per cent and 13.2 per cent, respectively. | Various media report that NATO forces have killed Al-Qaeda's second-highest-ranking leader in Afghanistan in an air strike in eastern Kunar province. 
| BBC online asks, following the recent arrival of part of the hull of one of the new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers in Rosyth, in an age of precision missiles, drones and submarines, whether aircraft carriers are still required. | The Daily Star reports that the latest British Service person killed in Afghanistan, Captain Stephen Healey, joined up after ditching his dreams of becoming a Premier League footballer. | The Wall Street Journal reports that the US is struggling to raise funds to shore up Afghan security forces and fund critical development and reconstruction projects in the country. | The Guardian and Daily Mail report that ministers have been forced to back down on plans to hold inquests in secret following criticism from civil rights campaigners, MPs and lawyers. | The Daily Telegraph has published a letter from Defence Secretary Philip Hammond in response to an article published on 25 May entitled 'MOD pays millions to rehire sacked civilians'. Mr Hammond says that measures to reduce the civilian headcount and tackle the £38bn black hole in the Defence Budget are well-conceived and far from a 'blunt exercise'. | Various papers have widespread coverage of the ongoing bloodshed in Syria as Kofi Annan arrives in Damascus for talks with President Assad. | The Guardian and Sun report on warnings by General Martin Dempsey, the head of the US military, that Syria could face military intervention as international outrage grows over the massacre of women and children by tanks and artillery in Houla. | The Mail reports on the Foreign Secretary's warning that Syria is on the brink of 'all-out civil war'.