St Crispin is way behind the power curve as usual.  I’ve just seen this on Daily Referendum (a good site written by an ex-sailor).

Portsmouth Naval Base is under threat of closure. There has been a dockyard in Portsmouth since June 1495 when the first dry dock was created. Portsmouth naval base is not only an integral part of the history and economy of this region but also plays a vital role in the defence of the country. 

There is a petition here, and I urge you to sign it if you feel we need to keep a strong ( and possibly larger) navy.  Without Portsmouth, the only direction in the navy’s size will be downward!!!!

THE WORCESTERSHIRE AND SHERWOOD

 FORESTERS REGIMENT (29th/45th FOOT)

The above battalion has at last started it’s Op Herric (Afghanistan) pre-deployment training.  Get stuck in guys, and listen to all that the training teams have to tell you.  But wait! St Crispin has found out that they have missed two months training.  All the other units in 12 Brigade’s deployment are well into the training cycle when they were told they would be joining them.  Why you may well ask?  Well apparently when Tony Blair said that anything that a commander in Afghanistan or Iraq asked for, he would get… he wasn’t telling the whole truth (how does he think these things will stay quiet?!).  Commander 12 brigade had originally asked for additional infantry, and was told by the government (via the MoD) NO!  Result, the commander had to plan to  do the job without enough people.  Finally the MoD acquiesced, but only after 1 WFR had missed out on 2 months preparation.

Lets’ hope they do’nt miss anything important!

pusillanimous \pyoo-suh-LAN-uh-muhs\, adjective:
Lacking in courage and resolution; contemptibly fearful; cowardly.

RoE are Rules of Engagement.  They state where & when a soldier, sailor or airman may fire a weapon.  Self defence is always a legitimate reason.

In 2004 the Iranians found out that if they don’t fire on us (just threaten it) then we are unable to fire first.  In addition, the witch hunts that this government is subjecting every single soldier who fires his weapon to are making soldiers unwilling to fire first (as sometimes they are allowed to).

This pacifist thinking has now lost us 15 sailors & marines from HMS Cornwall ( a ship I’ve been on many times).  We need to significantly change our RoE vis-a-vis the Iranians.  It should now read something like “Come within 2 nautical miles of any of our ships / craft, and you will get a lynx fired sea skua down your throat!”

How can a country as dependent on naval superiority (look at a map we are surrounded by sea!!) let itself get into this position? 

Just what is the government doing?  Beckett has made pointless comments to the Iranians.  Listen love, they are Persians, they count power & might over democracy, they certainly don’t think a woman has anything valid to say, and look down on any nation that puts women up front.  I’ve dealt with these sorts before, and the first thing you do is ensure all your commanders & interpreters are male or they won’t take you seriously!  Appeasement will simply not work with this sort of dictatorship.

Our nation is starting to look weak in front of the world.  We’ll be the targets for any tin-pot state soon, as they know we don’t have the stones to use our (limited) arsenal.  We’ve still got a bit of firepower, now is the time to use it.

Check out what Joseph Elliott has to say on it here.  I really like his blog!

Please see here for full story from Elliott Joseph

He’s got a lot of good things to say.  More importantly he’s read into the budget speech regarding defence spending & points out that the £400m “extra” Gordon announced for defence would in fact only bring them back to their previous year’s budget (previous year 40.8billion this year 40.4 billion!), so when inflation is factored in, they end up down to the tune of £800m!

Who in thier right mind cuts the areas of government expenditure where the work load is on the increase?!? Only idiots, and by these actions they are condeming soldiers sailors & airmen to death through lack of efficient kit, and through lack of numbers in areas that require more not less.

BBC NEWS | UK | UK sailors captured at gunpoint

Thank god we’ve kept our nuclear deterent.  Let’s see if the Iranians will swap 20,000 lives of thier people for 15 of ours!! Actually 15 brits are worth way more than 20,000 persian, but hey ho!

Let’s hope that our politicians have the rocks to do the right thing.

On Saturday there was an attack in Iraq that involved a truck full of chlorine gas.  This is the 4th attack in Iraq to utilise chlorine, and although there are more than the average number of injuries compared to a conventional attack, the terror factor must be taken into account.

St Crispin has some good J2 info that there are more chlorine trucks at large, and that this is not going to be the last of these attacks.  It does point to the fact that insurgents are becoming wise to the potential of this sort of attack and the terror it produces.

The attack on Saturday (17th March) in the Anbar region of Iraq (heavily Sunni) was a coordinated attack of three trucks containing the gas detonated 2 hours  and 1.5 hours apart.  This is the fifth time chlorine has been used in attacks since the 28th January.  This coordination also shows a sophistication of attack in that it is designed to overload the coalition forces commanders & medical services.  The technique for detonation was not the best as it oxidises or burns up a considerable amount of the chlorine.  We can consider this to be a part of a series of experiments “in the field”. We know that the insurgents are capable of learning from thier past experience, and improving on it.

We should be worried.

 Eagle Speak has a good article here.

“I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts,” Gen Pace told the Chicago Tribune.

So what?  As Marine General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, he backs the pentagon’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.  The “I believe” bit should be a hint, it’s his personal opinion.  Surely opinions cannot be legislated against?  At the very worst, this falls into the “Patrick Mercer, not seeing the whole picture” list of failings.

General Pace has worked almost all his life in a VERY macho environment where weakness of any kind is beaten down hard in order that the whole (in this case the US Marine Corps) is kept strong.  That homosexuality is seen as a weakness is not his fault.  He may also have a religious issue with it as I know many US marines who are extremely religious.  It’s his opinion, he’s allowed one, just like all those he and his Corp protects are allowed.

Many of us in the military have worked with gays, they are good, bad & average soldiers in roughly the proportions that the rest of us are.  They don’t need legislating against or for.  It’s better to have them in, than go through the pain that the US has had of costing $200m to kick them out.

What is wrong, however is the US pentagon’s definition of homosexuality as a mental health problem along with personality disorders and mental retardation!

One other thing.  How much outcry from the press was there when other US Generals “Gave thier opinion” on how bad Bush was in his handling of the war?  Double standards I think!

Wow what an honour!  James Cleverly has very kindly mentioned this site on the web TV programme 18 Doughty Street.

I am very grateful to James for this mention.  See the clip here. He says some kind things. The clip is about 20 minutes into the piece.  Warning, the labour guy is a real bore.

So Newsnight with Jeremy Paxman here I come!

The Hitch has postulated that the great lady should be immortalised in more than just bronze.

He is suggesting (as is Guido Fawkes) that one of the type 45 destoyers should be named after her.  She was, after all, one of the few PM’s with the rocks to actually use the RN for what it was designed for.

In case you forgot the carnage of 1982, here is a list of the naval casualties.  Thanks to naval-history.net for this.

Saturday 1st May

HMS Alacrity - slightly damaged by bomb near misses

HMS Arrow - slightly damaged by cannon fire

HMS Glamorgan - slightly damaged by bomb near misses, all off Stanley by Daggers of FAA Grupo 6.

Tuesday 4th May

HMS SHEFFIELD - mortally damaged south east of Falklands by Exocet missile fired by Super Etendard of CANA 2 Esc. Burnt out and sank in tow on Monday 10th May.

Wednesday 12th May

HMS Glasgow - moderately damaged off Stanley by unexploded bomb (1) dropped by A-4B Skyhawks of FAA Grupo 5. Bomb passed through hull but damage took some days to repair and she shortly returned to UK.

Friday 21st May

HMS Antrim - seriously damaged in Falkland Sound outside San Carlos Water by unexploded bomb (2) dropped by Daggers of FAA Grupo 6. UXB removed but damage took some days to repair.

HMS Broadsword - slightly damaged outside San Carlos Water by cannon fire from Daggers of Grupo 6.

HMS Argonaut - slightly damaged outside San Carlos Water by rockets and cannon fire from Aermacchi MB.339A of CANA 1 Esc, and then seriously damaged by two unexploded bombs (3/4) dropped by A-4B Skyhawks of FAA Grupo 5. Removing the UXB’s and carrying out repairs took a number of days and although declared operational, she soon sailed for the UK.

HMS Brilliant - slightly damaged outside San Carlos Water by cannon fire from Daggers of Grupo 6. (Different attack from “Broadsword”)

HMS ARDENT - badly damaged in Grantham Sound by bombs - hits, UXB’s (5+) and near misses - dropped by Daggers of Grupo 6, then mortally damaged by bombs from A-4Q Skyhawks of CANA 3 Esc off North West Island. Sank the following evening.

Sunday 23rd May

HMS ANTELOPE - damaged in San Carlos Water by two unexploded bombs (6/7) dropped by A-4B Skyhawks of Grupo 5. One of the bombs exploded that evening while being defused and she caught fire and sank next day.

Monday 24th May

RFA Sir Galahad - damaged by unexploded bomb (8) and out of action for some days,

RFA Sir Lancelot - damaged by unexploded bomb (9) and not fully operational for almost three weeks,

RFA Sir Bedivere - slightly damaged by glancing bomb, all in San Carlos Water probably by A-4C Skyhawks of FAA Grupo 4.  

Tuesday 25th May

HMS Broadsword - damaged north of Pebble Island by bomb from A-4B Skyhawk of Grupo 5 bouncing up through her stern and out again to land in the sea.

HMS COVENTRY - sunk north of Pebble Island in same attack by three bombs.

ATLANTIC CONVEYOR - mortally damaged north east of Falklands by Exocet missile fired by Super Etendard of CANA 2 Esc. Burnt out and later sank in tow.

Saturday 29th May

British Wye - hit north of South Georgia by bomb dropped by C-130 Hercules of FAA Grupo 1 which bounced into the sea without exploding

Tuesday 8th June

HMS Plymouth - damaged in Falkland Sound off San Carlos Water by four unexploded bombs (10-13) from Daggers of FAA Grupo 6.

RFA SIR GALAHAD - mortally damaged off Fitzroy by bombs from A-4B Skyhawks of Grupo 5 and burnt out. Later in June towed out to sea and sunk as a war grave.

RFA Sir Tristram - badly damaged off Fitzroy in same attack and abandoned, but later returned to UK and repaired.

LCU F4, HMS Fearless - sunk in Choiseul Sound by bomb from A-4B Skyhawk of Grupo 5.

Saturday 12th June

HMS Glamorgan - damaged off Stanley by land-based Exocet missile.

Now that is a proper war!!