Military Resettlement, Business, Training & Recruitment
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).
Former chief of defence staff Lord Guthrie criticises Bush administration but says Blair government must also share blame The way Britain was led into war with Iraq 10 years ago was “wholly irresponsible” and the lack of intelligence on the country a national disgrace, senior military figures have told the Guardian. Though they direct their fire principally at the Bush administration, they make clear the Blair government must share a lot of the blame. “It was absolutely irresponsible to go in without thinking of the consequences”, said Lord Guthrie, former chief of defence staff and head of the army.
The author of a report into links between young British ex-servicemen and violent crime discusses the study’s findings
Authors say finding raises questions over how men who have served in armed forces are supported back in UK Young British men who have served in the armed forces are three times more likely to have been convicted of violent offences than their civilian peers, according to a study published on Friday.
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.
Lawyer for Sergeant Danny Nightingale says he was put under ‘undue pressure’ to plead guilty at military court An SAS sniper jailed for illegally possessing a pistol and ammunition has tried to persuade the court of appeal to overturn his convictions. Sergeant Danny Nightingale, of Crewe, Cheshire, was sentenced to 18 months’ military detention by a judge sitting in a military court in early November after admitting illegally possessing a Glock 9mm pistol and more than 300 rounds of ammunition. The court of appeal concluded in late November that the sentence was too harsh.
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
Troops take part in Exercise Hairspring 2013, which focuses on cold weather survival and warfare training
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.
Defence secretary to announce accelerated pullout, which will require £1bn spend on new UK housing for troops More than 11,000 troops currently based in Germany will return to Britain within three years as part of a major restructuring of the army that will require ministers to spend £1bn on new military homes. The announcement on Tuesday marks a sharp acceleration of the withdrawal of British forces in Germany, which have been stationed there since the end of the second world war.
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.
Al-Sweady inquiry into accusations against British troops opens with evidence of alleged signs of torture on prisoners A public inquiry into allegations that British troops murdered up to 20 unarmed prisoners and tortured five others following a fierce battle with Iraqi insurgents has opened in London with evidence that some of their death certificates recorded what were described as signs of severe mutilation. Several of the deceased were said to bear signs of torture after their corpses were handed back to their families by British personnel at Camp Abu Naji, while the Iraqi death certificates recorded that one man’s penis had been removed and two bodies were missing eyes, the inquiry was told on Monday. But there is a “stark dispute” between the relatives of the dead men and the Ministry of Defence over the way in which the deaths occurred, said Jonathan Acton Davis QC, counsel to the inquiry.
Predicted reductions in MoD budget could lead to drastic measures such as axing another 15,000 jobs, report says The armed forces may need to find up to £17bn of savings over the next decade unless ministers ring-fence the defence budget from further cuts – a target that would require drastic measures such as axing another 15,000 frontline jobs, according to a report published on Wednesday.
Defence select committee review urges appointment of Armed Forces Ombudsman to oversee cases of victimisation Military personnel have been deterred from making complaints about bullying and victimisation within the armed forces because of fears they will be put in the frontline for redundancy, a report warns today. The problem is another reason why the system for investigating harassment and other abuses should be overhauled and scrutinised by a new Armed Forces Ombudsman working outside the military chain of command, say MPs on the defence select committee.
Sergeant Luke Taylor and Lance Corporal Michael Foley killed by Afghan National Army soldier with a personal grievance Two British servicemen were shot dead by a rogue Afghan soldier with a personal grievance, their inquest has heard. Sergeant Luke Taylor, 33, of the Royal Marines, and Lance Corporal Michael Foley, 25, of the Adjutant General’s Corps, were killed at their forward operating base in Lashkar Gah on 26 March last year. Their inquest in Oxford heard the Afghan was waiting outside the base with other men to collect a VIP.
As a historian, I initially wondered whether your report was a Guardian April fool ( Poignant kickabout that captured futility of conflict to be replayed for WW1 centenary , 9 February). Only a specially selected bunch of conservative academics and generals would think of celebrating the military genius that organised the Somme, Passchendaele and Dardanelles campaigns
The prototype of the drones now used in Afghanistan was actually conceived in 1916, even if it was a monoplane made of wood and tin The drones now snooping over Afghanistan have a longer history than you might think. In 1916, a military scientist conceived of an “aerial torpedo” designed to be loaded with explosives and steered into the deadly Zeppelins on their bombing raids over southern England. In a lecture to the Royal Aeronautical Society on Monday evening Michael Draper, author of Sitting Ducks & Peeping Toms , will lift the wraps off the secret century of unmanned air vehicles, starting with the prototype referred to by the innocuous initials “AT”