Day: 19 December 2012

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Whole Fleet Management Programme Management Office

By Sharon Black

Introduction Whole Fleet Management ( WFM ) allows the Ministry of Defence ( MOD ) to meet defence outputs through more effective equipment capability management and is crucial to supporting and enabling future training in order to meet operational commitments with smaller fleets whilst offering significant benefits. WFM is a continuous improvement change programme, being delivered incrementally, supported by a number of enablers: Joint Asset Management Engineering Solution Joint Asset Management Engineering Solution ( JAMES ) is an Information System that provides global and near real-time visibility of asset and engineering data

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Recognition for veterans of Arctic Convoys and Bomber Command

By Sharon Black

In Parliament today, the Prime Minister, David Cameron, welcomed the conclusion of the second part of Sir John Holmes’ review into the rules and principles governing the award of military campaign medals. As part of his review, which was requested by Mr Cameron, Sir John Holmes has recommended new medals for veterans of the Arctic Convoys and Bomber Command Second World War campaigns. The Prime Minister has agreed that there is a case for the new medals.

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HMS Monmouth reassures shipping with anti-piracy exercise

By Sharon Black

The Plymouth frigate HMS Monmouth joined forces with a United States warship and air power for an exercise involving the military and merchant shipping to show how the two can work together to ensure safe passage on the high seas. HMS Monmouth, known as the Black Duke, was given the task of providing close-in protection to two huge tankers – including the Bahamian-registered Arcturus Voyager (333 metres long and displacing 160,000 tonnes) which travels at only 5 knots/6 miles per hour (9.26 kilometres per hour). The UK warship was supported by US Navy and coast guard patrol ships, a supply vessel and the air-defence destroyer USS Winston S Churchill – with a Royal Navy navigator aboard

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HMS Protector takes to the ice for a charity Santa run

By Sharon Black

The Santas, accompanied by Rudolph, were gathered at 10am for a gentle warm-up led by the Executive Officer, Commander Don Mackinnon, who is currently in command for this Antarctic patrol, before it was ‘on your marks, get set… ho ho ho’. The Santa run was conducted on ice in the waters surrounding Deception Island, a dormant, water-filled caldera volcano; one of only two known in the world. Breaking through a sheet of snow-covered ice before coming to a planned stop, HMS Protector took position and disembarked her personnel to test the ice conditions and drill ice core samples to ensure the ice was safe, before Protector’s eager Father Christmasses followed via the ship’s accommodation ladder

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The United Kingdom’s future nuclear deterrent: 2012 update to Parliament

By Sharon Black

On 18 May 2011, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) announced that the first milestone (known as Initial Gate) for the Successor deterrent submarine programme had been passed and that a five year-long, £3 billion Assessment Phase had been approved. The main purpose of the Assessment Phase is to refine the design of the successor submarine prior to the main investment decision (known as Main Gate), which will be taken in 2016. This is the first of a series of annual reports that will explain the progress the MOD has made on this programme and set out what is expected to be achieved over the coming year