Military Resettlement, Business, Training & Recruitment
David Cameron says North Korea’s nuclear possibilities are a ‘real concern’ for the UK, after visiting a British Naval nuclear submarine on Thursday
Readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific concepts Is it possible to join an army as a private and rise to the rank of general? Has this ever happened in the British Army? Rishi Dastidar, London SE11 • Post questions and answers below or email them to nq@guardian.co.uk
Labour frontbencher and former Gordon Brown aide say party would look ‘dangerously weak’ if it supported diluted deterrent As Labour embarks on an intense debate on the future of Trident, a former aide to Gordon Brown has joined forces with a frontbencher to declare that the party would look “dangerously weak” if it diluted Britain’s nuclear deterrent. John Woodcock, who served as the former prime minister’s spokesman, and Angela Smith, the shadow deputy leader of the Commons, issued their warning as senior figures in the party urge Ed Miliband to use a government review of Trident to support a smaller deterrent. But in a Guardian article Woodcock and Smith warn : “While the world has changed greatly since the 1980s, the political reality has not: we will appear dangerously weak as a future party of government if we are prepared to give up that insurance while the world remains so unstable.” The pro-Trident MPs express the hope that Miliband will resist pressure for Labour to change tack.
Soldiers and civilians prepare to depart with qualified confidence that progress will continue under full Afghan control The Royal Marines don’t intend to make a fuss when they leave Afghanistan in the next few days; there will be a low-key ceremony at their headquarters in Helmand, and a lowering of the white ensign that has flown at their camp since last September.
‘We will not let them fail,’ says British commander, before local troops take lead role in fighting Taliban insurgency British commanders have warned that the war against the Taliban is entering its most critical phase as Afghanistan’s security forces prepare to fight the insurgency on their own for the first time without Nato troops alongside them on the frontline. President Hamid Karzai is expected to announce that the Afghan army and police will shortly take the lead in combat operations across the whole of Afghanistan, and senior officers interviewed by the Guardian said the next six months – known as the “fighting season” – would show if the bold strategy had paid off
What is the human cost of the war in Afghanistan for British forces? As British troop deaths reach 441, these are the latest figures – including the most recent wounded and amputation statistics • Get the data • Amputation statistics explainer • Afghanistan civilian casualties • Interactive guide With the latest deaths caused by the war in Afghanistan, the total number of British troop fatalities during the conflict now stands at 441. The number of British deaths in Afghanistan is now much higher than Iraq and even the Falklands conflict .
Minister says Bristow will deliver first-class service but critics air doubts about US company’s takeover from RAF and navy The transfer of the UK’s search and rescue service from the military to a Texas-based helicopter company has been criticised by residents of coastal communities, politicians from all the main parties and rescue experts. From 2016 Bristow Helicopters, part of the global Bristow Group, will take over the helicopter search and rescue (SAR) service from the RAF and navy.
A chopper that was tasked for anti-submarine operations is now deployed ‘for the greater good’ In 1975, the sinking of the cargo ship the Lovat with the loss of 11 lives in rough seas off Penzance raised questions about the effectiveness of Whirlwind helicopters for use in sea rescues. The Guardian leader column below was published in the aftermath of the Lovat tragedy and echoed the growing call for the more powerful Sea King helicopters to be used instead.
David Cameron can do justice to Britain’s black first world war hero Walter Tull by posthumously awarding him a military honour I had been at Tottenham Hotspur for a few seasons and experienced a good deal of success . But when, for the first time, I experienced a long-term injury, requiring weeks of treatment and tortuous rehab, I found myself wandering around the club, often in deep reflection, waiting for the pain of the next physio session. On one such afternoon I came across a photo of a Spurs team from 1910
My father, Brian Hayman, who has died aged 86, was a gentle man for whom the expression “stiff upper lip” might have been invented. His business colleagues say he was disarmingly inscrutable
Ex-detainee gives evidence to Al-Sweady inquiry investigating claims that UK troops murdered unarmed Iraqis in 2004 An Iraqi detained by British troops after a battle with insurgents said at an official inquiry he was blindfolded, beaten, humiliated, interrogated while naked, and feared he would be tortured. “I felt they were out to kill us,” Mahdi Jasim Abdullah al-Behadili told the public inquiry into allegations that British soldiers murdered up to 20 unarmed Iraqis and abused up to nine others following a fierce firefight with insurgents on 14 May 2004. Behadili, who was 17 when he was seized by the soldiers that day, is the first Iraqi detainee to give oral evidence to the inquiry in central London.
The photojournalist’s book about former soldiers – which coincides with the 10th anniversary of the invasion – shows the consequences of laying down your weapons and speaking out “After I made my public testimony about the atrocities I had experienced, my brother publicly disowned me on Facebook for everyone to see.
As a British lieutenant during the war in Iraq, James Jeffrey went there with a sense of optimism. Ten years on, he explains why he feels ashamed about how we failed the people there All the commentary surrounding the Iraq invasion 10 years on encourages retrospection but I think most veterans, like me, would agree that talk of anniversaries makes scant difference
Ed Miliband’s calls for Trident to be scaled back bring Labour into line with the Lib Dems – and public opinion, at last It’s almost three years since Nick Clegg made Trident a general election issue. He used the much-trumpeted televised leadership debates to outline a distinctive policy: no like-for-like replacement of the Trident nuclear weapons system.
Pakistan the main customer as Beijing exceeds Britain’s share of weapons market while remaining far behind US and Russia China has become the world’s fifth-largest arms exporter, according to a Swedish-based thinktank. It is China’s highest ranking since the cold war, with Pakistan the main recipient. China’s volume of weapons exports between 2008 and 2012 rose 162% compared with the previous five-year period, with its share of the global arms trade rising from 2% to 5%, said the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri).
The author of a report into links between young British ex-servicemen and violent crime discusses the study’s findings
Philip Hammond rubbishes proposals for Scottish defence force, saying officers would miss opportunities of British military Alex Salmond’s government has been accused of offering “woefully thin” and “juvenile” proposals for an independent Scottish military by the defence secretary, Philip Hammond.
It’s ten years since Iraq was invaded. What kind of country has been left behind – how many people died and what was the effect on the US and UK military
Court of appeal orders retrial after sergeant’s lawyers argue he was put under pressure to plead guilty An SAS sniper has had his convictions for illegally possessing a pistol and ammunition quashed by the court of appeal. Danny Nightingale, 38, of Crewe, Cheshire, had been sentenced to 18 months’ military detention by a judge sitting in a military court in November 2012 after admitting he should not have stored a Glock 9mm pistol and more than 300 rounds of ammunition at his army lodgings.
Military charities call on Ministry of Defence to provide more support for ‘weekend warriors’ Ministers must find more money to support thousands of army reservists as evidence grows that part-timers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan are more likely to suffer from serious mental health illnesses than regular soldiers who served alongside them, two leading military charities are warning. Amid concerns there will be a sharp increase in the overall number of veterans needing expert help over the next five years, the Royal British Legion and Combat Stress say the government must focus on the so-called “weekend warriors” who have become a mainstay of British military operations and will be used to cover deep cuts to the full-time army
With army reservists set to fill gaps left by military cuts, it is time to seriously address their mental health needs The government plans to reduce the number of regulars in the British army to 82,000 by 2018 and increase the role played by reservists, bringing their numbers up to 30,000.
Authorities focus on alleged safety breaches after ranger was shot while resting in “secure area” in west Wales live-fire range A British soldier who died when he was hit by a machine-gun bullet at a live-firing range in west Wales was unlawfully killed, an inquest jury has ruled. Ranger Michael Maguire, 20, was shot in the head as he relaxed after removing his armour and helmet at the range in Pembrokeshire
Allegations of unlawful killing and mistreatment of prisoners by British soldiers denied by officers and troops involved Allegations that British soldiers tortured and unlawfully killed Iraqi prisoners after a firefight in 2004 are “utterly groundless” and were exploited in support of a propaganda campaign against the occupation of the country, a public inquiry heard on Monday. The killing and mistreatment claims are denied by each of the officers and men involved in that engagement, and by those involved in the capture and interrogation of Iraqis in its aftermath, Neil Garnham QC, counsel for the troops, told the inquiry. “They are denied on the basis that they are wholly untrue,” he said
Northern Ireland secretary rules out deployment of troops to back up police despite upsurge in violence The Northern Ireland secretary, Theresa Villiers, says the British army will not be returning to the Northern Ireland’s streets. The secretary of state ruled out deploying any soldiers to back up the Police Service of Northern Ireland to counter the continued threat from dissident republicans as well as the recent upsurge in loyalist street disorder linked to the union flag protests. Asked if troops might be needed to support the PSNI, Villiers told the BBC Politics Show on Sunday that there was “no prospect” of a military presence on the streets
Al-Sweady inquiry into allegations against British troops hears captured Iraqis were played recordings of screams to scare them Iraqis captured by British troops were told they had been taken to the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, used by Saddam Hussein and after the invasion by US forces, and said recordings of screams as though someone was being tortured were played to scare them, a public inquiry into allegations of murder and abuse of unarmed prisoners by UK forces heard on Wednesday. The prisoners alleged they were abused and humiliated after they were taken from a camp north of Basra to a British detention centre at Shaibah further south, Jonathan Acton Davis QC, counsel to the al-Sweady inquiry, said.
British troops alleged to have murdered up to 20 prisoners after a fierce battle in May 2004, and tortured five other captives Photographs of dead Iraqis taken by a British army officer after a battle in the south-east of the country may be the key to establishing whether they were killed during that encounter or murdered after being taken prisoner, a public inquiry heard on Tuesday.
Defending the bill that would allow for secret courts, Ken Clarke favoured bracing pub rhetoric over fusspotty legal precedent The Commons has debated the justice and security bill.