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A soldier from the 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire) has been killed in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has announced. The soldier was serving in the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand Province when he was injured in an attack by insurgents on Monday. In a statement the MoD said he had been flown to hospital for treatment "where, sadly, he succumbed to his wounds".

Hundreds of British troops will be deployed to Mali and West Africa, Number 10 has now confirmed. According to reports, approximately 350 personnel will be deployed. 200 British soldiers are expected to train soldiers in African countries outside of Mali, whilst 40 advisers are to be sent into the country to train troops. The UK would be "contributing to both Malian training and training forces that are involved in providing a regionally-led approach", a Number 10 spokesman was quoted as saying by the BBC. 70 Royal Air Force personnel are also to be used for the operation of Sentinel surveillance...

<p>Argentina’s defense chief expressed shame Wednesday after a Navy destroyer sank at its moorings, putting on display the declining fortunes of a once-proud fleet.</p> <p>The ARA Trinidad led Argentina’s 1982 sea war against Britain, but has long been mothballed and used for spare parts to sustain what’s left of Argentina’s Navy.</p>

The Prince, 28, has made it clear in interviews that he would love to get the chance of a third tour of duty, but his Apache squadron is not due to return before the scheduled pull-out of combat troops at the end of 2014. It is almost inconceivable that the Prince would be allowed to return as a foot soldier, his preferred option, meaning that unless the Nato withdrawal deadline overruns, he will not be going back to Helmand. The Prince is currently enjoying a month-long break from his Army duties following the end of his 20-week posting to Camp...

'Five thousand Irish soldiers who swapped uniforms to fight for the British against Hitler went on to suffer years of persecution. One of them, 92-year-old Phil Farrington, took part in the D-Day landings and helped liberate the German death camp at Bergen-Belsen - but he wears his medals in secret. Even to this day, he has nightmares that he will be arrested by the authorities and imprisoned for his wartime service. "They would come and get me, yes they would," he said in a frail voice at his home in the docks area of Dublin. And his 25-year-old grandson, Patrick,...

The Ministry of Defence is investigating claims that a soldier sliced fingers off dead Taliban fighters to keep as souvenirs.

A war of words has erupted between the U.S. and Britain after the U.K. government claimed Muammar Gaddafi is a legitimate target for assassination. U.K. government officials said killing the Libyan leader would be legal if it prevented civilian deaths as laid out in a U.N. resolution. But U.S. defence secretary Robert Gates hit back at the suggestion, saying it would be 'unwise' to target the Libyan leader and that the bombing campaign should stick to the 'U.N. mandate'. The infighting comes as a heated meeting of NATO ambassadors yesterday failed to resolve whether the 28-nation alliance should run the...

The royal is off to a secret US experimental combat weapons base where he will learn how to hunt the Taliban in his attack helicopter. The 26-year-old has been selected for special training at the American Army's Yuma proving ground in Arizona, where he will be taught how to use the gunship's awesome firepower.

UK Defense Review - Harriers Out, Tornado Survives? Posted by Bill Sweetman at 10/18/2010 1:00 AM CDT UK Prime Minister David Cameron is due to announce the results of the nation's strategic defense and security review on Tuesday afternoon. After performing twists and gyrations that would have put Strictly Come Dancing's Flexible Felicity to shame, much of the media had settled last week on a common narrative. Either it's right or the Ministry of Defence's department of obfuscation will pull down the OBEs and MBEs big-time in the next honours list. If the speculation and leaks are correct, these are...

A fighter falls prey to politics The Coalition is to scrap the Harrier jump jet, while sparing the less effective Tornado. Little wonder the pilots are up in arms, says Con Coughlin. By Con Coughlin They have dedicated their careers to flying one of the world’s most iconic jet fighters. They have flown hundreds of combat missions in Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Iraq and Afghanistan again. But from now on the elite group of pilots that flew the Harrier jump jet find themselves kicking their heels on the tarmac with no planes to fly. Of all the painful decisions announced...

A message in a bottle written by the mother of a British soldier killed in Afghanistan has been found by workers cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Sarah Adams, 43, was on holiday in Barbados when she wrote the loving message about her son Private James Prosser, 21, who was killed by a roadside bomb. She threw it into the sea and after floating 1,300 miles it was fished out of the water by workers cleaning up the oil leak from the BP pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico. The workers were so moved by Mrs Adams' message...

Last week the British Embassy announced that British, French and American troops would march with Russian soldiers on Red Square to mark the 65th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. The Brits said in a statement that the parade may mark the first time British troops have marched in Red Square. The AP helpfully explains that Victory Day is Russia's most important secular holiday. It adds that the Kremlin plans a larger parade than usual this year, with good reason. The Kremlin will be celebrating the addition of the British, French and American troops.

It was an experience his youngest son has already been through. But yesterday the Prince of Wales was able to witness for himself the badlands of Afghanistan. Pictures of Charles donning full combat gear while inspecting a machine gun at a British camp bore a striking resemblance to those taken of Prince Harry in similar poses two years earlier. The key difference was that for Harry it was all for real. Charles was paying an unprecedented and surprise fact-finding visit to the UK's frontline troops. It is a trip the prince, the Commander in Chief of ten regiments, had wanted...

<p>The Sun reports that Flight Lieutenant Ian Fortune, 28, had flown in to pick up casualties as a firefight raged between American and Afghan forces and heavily-armed rebels near Garmsir in Helmand Province.</p> <p>Flt-Lt Fortune - who had TV presenter Mike Brewer on the aircraft filming a documentary - was advised to hold off on approach to the battle as it was "too hot" on the ground. He circled until troops reported incoming fire had calmed down.</p>

British troops will remain in Afghanistan for the next five years, according to the head of the Army. General Sir David Richard expects combat in the country to “trail off in 2011” but said the military would stay to provide training and support for Afghan troops. His comments come as Operation Moshtarak, a major joint offensive against Taliban strongholds, appears to be drawing to an end.

See video at link.

The head of the UK's armed forces, Sir Jock Stirrup, has said the killing of 12 civilians during Operation Moshtarak in Afghanistan was a "serious setback".No British troops were involved when two rockets fired by coalition forces missed its target in Marjah. Sir Jock said the British had to focus on regaining the trust of the Afghan population but accidents were "inevitable". Up to 15,000 Nato troops are searching for the Taliban in Marjah and Nad Ali.

'The secret role of the SAS in Iraq is revealed for the first time today by the Daily Mail. As the first part of our adaptation of an explosive new book by BBC reporter Mark Urban shows, the SAS - sent to find non-existent WMDs - instead took inspiration from U.S. secret forces and set about tracking down Al Qaeda. Their secret war sparked a furious row between Whitehall and the SAS's commander - but their extraordinary bravery and daring resulted in the capture or death of almost 4,000 terrorists.'

MARJAH, Afghanistan -- U.S., Afghan and British troops were in the early stages of securing the town of Marjah Saturday, with thousands of infantrymen moving in on foot after helicopter-born soldiers seized two central shopping bazaars. The airborne troops landed before dawn, opening the first major military push in the latest surge of U.S. and allied forces into Afghanistan. So far, the troops have encountered only hit-and-run resistance from Taliban fighters, who have been taking potshots from compounds before moving out as the allied troops returned fire. Afghan officials said five Taliban had been killed; there was no word on...

Offensive Against Taliban Starts Assault ... helicopters fly troops in to start the offensive against the Taliban Andy Bush  A FORCE of more than 15,000 Allied troops stormed into Taliban strongholds early today as commanders heralded "the beginning of the end for the insurgency". Under cover of darkness, an awesome array of troops dropped into the badlands of the Helmand valley.A first wave of 1,200 British troops - out of a total of 4,000 in the operation - were involved as the mission started.Our Boys took off from Camp Bastion in a fleet of helicopters as Operation Moshtarak got underway...

It is among the U.S. Air Force’s most finite resources, but the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber is still growing in capabilities, and it’s an aircraft America is happy to allow an ally to use. A long-standing exchange program that has seen USAF personnel trade places with those from the Royal Air Force was extended to the B-2 in 2004. The offer to open up the secretive B-2 mission to a key ally was made by then-President George W. Bush in an e-mail to then-Prime Minister Tony Blair. Among the achievements of the first British pilot, Sqn. Ldr. David Arthurton, was...

Royal Air Force officer on Tuesday became the first active-duty service pilot from the United Kingdom to take to the skies in a Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). RAF Squadron Leader Steve Long piloted BF-2, the second short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B, over Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., logging the aircraft's 18th mission.  Long departed at 9:55 a.m. EST and flew the aircraft to 20,000 feet, before landing 1.3 hours later. Both the RAF and the Royal Navy plan to operate the F-35B. "Flying the F-35 was exactly like the...

British soldiers are to be given a powerful new U.S.-made rifle to take on Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. The Ministry of Defence has spent £1.5million on 440 Sharpshooter semi-automatic rifles, which use 7.62mm ammunition that can kill at up to 900yards. The order follows concern that the Army's standard issue SA80 A2 assault rifle, which fires smaller 5.56mm bullets, is less effective because its 'kill' range is limited to around 300yards.

KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Jan. 14, 2010 – Army Spc. Robert Sumner looks like any other American soldier. But when he speaks, his thick British accent separates him from the crowd. Army Spc. Robert Sumner, a native of Birmingham, England, and a British army veteran, now serves with the U.S. Army at Forward Operation Base Joyce in eastern Afghanistan’s Kunar province. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Teddy Wade, 55th Signal Company   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Serving here with the 10th Mountain Division’s 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, Sumner realizes his road from the British Isles to the mountains...

Four American soldiers and one British soldier have been killed in two separate explosions in southern Afghanistan. The dead soldiers, who were serving under NATO's International Security Assistance Force, were killed on Sunday, NATO said in a statement Monday. The US soldiers died following an improvised explosive device strike, the statement said without giving more details. Meanwhile, a British soldier was killed in another roadside bomb blast in southern Afghanistan, according to British forces. The British soldier, from 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, died after the blast hit a foot patrol in Helmand province. Regarding US casualties in Afghanistan,...

A Taliban bomb claimed both his legs, but it couldn’t take away Sapper Gregg Stevenson’s courage. The 24-year-old stunned doctors by learning to walk on artificial limbs within two weeks. In February the 6ft 4in former rugby player will return to duty, ten months after the attack. And yesterday he insisted that his next goal is to go back to Afghanistan when his comrades from the 24 Commando Engineer Regiment return later in the year. His inspiring story emerged as it was confirmed that a sixth Army bomb disposal expert has been killed while trying to defuse IEDs (improvised explosive...

GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — British and American soldiers soon could be hard to tell apart if the U.S. Army adopts a camouflage pattern similar to one that the British have already picked out to conceal their troops in Afghanistan. U.S. soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment in eastern Afghanistan are wearing new uniforms featuring the "MultiCam" camouflage pattern as part of a trial conducted by the Army to determine the best way to help troops blend in with their environment. Last week the British Ministry of Defence announced that its troops would soon start wearing a new uniform with a...

The family of a British soldier has learned 65 years after his death in World War II that he sacrificed himself to save 20 French children. The town of Annezin, France, plans to name a road after Robert Key, the Coventry Telegraph reported. While a British investigation ruled Key died showing off with a grenade, relatives now know he had always been regarded as a hero in Annezin.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4, 2009 – More than 1,000 International Security Assistance Force troops are partnering with Afghan forces to begin a large-scale operation in northern Helmand province. About 900 U.S. Marines and sailors and British forces began partnering today with 150 Afghan soldiers and police to start Operation Khareh Cobra, or Cobra’s Anger, to clear insurgent forces in the Now Zad valley. Marines from 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 7 and 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion are partnered with Afghan army and police. The forces began helicopter and ground operations in the Now Zad valley early this morning. Now...

British Army officer, Lieutenant Paddy Rice, has been described as "the luckiest soldier in Afghanistan" after surviving being shot by a Taliban sniper. video at link

UK troops could be withdrawn from Germany if the Tories win power, the shadow defence secretary has said. Liam Fox said maintaining the current presence of more than 20,000 was "no longer necessary". Other Nato member states should take up the UK's responsibilities in Germany, allowing British troops to deploy elsewhere, he told the Daily Telegraph. The Ministry of Defence says the number of forces personnel in Germany has fallen and is under constant review. "Following the Cold War, we've drawn down our troops in Germany to reflect the changed strategic context. The UK always looks to share responsibility proportionally...

The Queen today lead the annual ceremony for Britain's war dead in the first Remembrance Sunday not attended by any veterans of World War I. As Big Ben chimed 11am, the queen joined thousands of troops, veterans and civilians in the traditional two-minute silence. The silence was broken by a single artillery blast and the sound of the Royal Marine buglers playing the 'Last Post'. Each year, thousands of poppies are placed in the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey to remember all those killed by the war. This year the field also has plots dedicated to those killed in...

The grieving mother of a heroic Sergeant-Major gunned down by a rogue Afghan policeman has accused Labour of treating British troops like 'peasants'. Heartbroken Elizabeth Chant, whose son Darren was killed last week, is calling on the Government to invest in better accommodation. Warrant Officer Class 1 'Daz' Chant, 40, of 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, was one of five off-duty British soldiers shot dead last Tuesday by a man dressed in an Afghan police uniform who opened fire with an AK-47 assault rifle at a police station in southern Afghanistan. Mrs Chant, 59, said: 'Every day now we are hearing...

Soldier Becomes New Miss England [Pic in URL] Lance Corporal Katrina Hodge has become the new Miss England after Rachel Christie stepped down following her arrest over an alleged nightclub brawl. 06 Nov 2009 Katrina Hodge, centre, is now Miss England after Rachel Christie, right, lost her crown after being involved in a brawl with Miss Manchester Sara Beverley Jones, left, in a nightclub. A statement from Miss England organisers said Miss Christie, 21, had stepped down as she wanted to concentrate on clearing her name. It was later announced that L/Cpl Hodge, who was first runner-up in the 2009...

Three Grenadier Guards and two Royal Military Police were attacked as they rested inside a compound. The soldiers, who had removed their body armour and helmets, were shot by an Afghan national policeman who then fled. It is not known whether he was a member of the Taliban or being coerced by the insurgents. The gunman is thought to go by the name Gulbuddin and is believed to have had an accomplice. There are also suggestions that he had animosity towards his superiors after being repeatedly moved around the country as part of his duties. He is now being hunted...

Five soldiers have been shot dead by a "rogue" Afghan policeman in an attack at a police checkpoint. Three Grenadier Guards and two Royal Military Police were attacked as they rested inside a compound. The soldiers, who had removed their body armour and helmets, were shot by an Afghan national policeman who then fled. It is not known whether he was a member of the Taliban or being coerced by the insurgents.

The youngest soldier to win the George Cross has criticised Gordon Brown for ‘betraying’ the Armed Forces and revealed he now works in a call centre, selling insurance. ‘My medal says I am a hero of the Iraqi conflict, a man of extraordinary valour and strength of character,’ says Chris Finney. ‘But now I work in a call centre. My life has gone from one extreme to the other.’ At 18, he won Britain’s highest civil accolade for rescuing a wounded comrade from a burning Scimitar armoured vehicle. If his courage had been in response to an attack by the...

The most senior British soldier to die in Afghanistan foreshadowed his own death by warning that a shortage of helicopters was endangering troops. Less than a month before he was killed by a roadside bomb, Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe told his superiors that soldiers would die because they were being forced to take more trips by road. The officer, who was commander of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, said in a memo to the Ministry of Defence, classified "Nato secret", that the system for managing helicopter movements in Afghanistan was "very clearly not fit for purpose" and there were not...

British Harrier pilot diverted bomb mid-flight to save civilians A British Harrier pilot managed to abort a bomb attack in mid-flight, steering a smart bomb away from its intended Taleban target after a group of civilians strayed into the target area, footage released by the Ministry of Defence showed today. The footage, which was shot from the camera on the jet last year but has been only now declassified, shows that the bomb had already been launched when its target, a Taleban commander in a vehicle, stopped next to a group of civilians. The RAF pilot then made the snap...

United States To Send 'Up To 45,000 More Troops To Afghanistan' The US is expected to announce a significant surge of up to 45,000 extra troops for Afghanistan after Gordon Brown said that 500 more British troops would be sent to the country. By James Kirkup and Andrew Hough 14 Oct 2009 Newsnight reported he would announce a surge in troop numbers. President Barack Obama's administration is understood to have told the British government that it could announce, as early as next week, the substantial increase to its 65,000 troops already serving there. The decision from Mr Obama comes after...

'The British serviceman who first fired on Japanese forces during World War Two has died at the age of 90. Jim Mariner was on board the gunboat HMS Peterel when he secured his place in history at about 4am on December 7, 1941. The vessel was in China's Shanghai Harbour and the crew had been issued with cutlasses and told they should be prepared to die defending the ship. It was the last commissioned Royal Navy craft on the Yangtze River and had been stripped of most of her weapons. She had a skeleton crew and was clearly in no...

An Iraq war veteran died after receiving cancerous lungs from a heavy smoker in a transplant. Matthew Millington, 31, a corporal in the Queen’s Royal Lancers, had the operation to save him from an incurable respiratory condition. But the organs were from a donor who was believed to have smoked 30 to 50 roll-up cigarettes a day. A tumour was found after the transplant, and its growth was accelerated by the drugs that Mr Millington took to prevent his body rejecting the organs. Because he was a cancer patient, he was not allowed to receive a further pair of lungs,...

Picture of Evil: Bloodthirsty German Al Qaeda Fanatic Poses With 2Ft-Long Knife For Beheading British Soldiers In Afghanistan [Pic in URL] By MAIL FOREIGN SERVICE 09th October 2009 Warning: Abu Askar records a video while holding the knife An Al Qaeda fanatic who trains fellow Europeans to fight in Afghanistan has given a stark warning to our troops - by posing with a 2ft-long beheading knife. The bearded terrorist, identified as ‘Abu Askar the German’, belongs to one of Osama Bin Laden’s ‘foreign legions’ fighting alongside the Taliban. In a new terror video posted online he vows to 'achieve a...

Hundreds of soldiers from the Black Watch have destroyed a Taleban stronghold after uncovering a network of tunnels that concealed bomb factories, the Ministry of Defence said. About 500 soldiers, including members of the Afghan National Army and Canadian experts, swooped into Howz-e-Maded in the Zhari district of Kandahar province in three waves of six Chinook helicopters.

I have just returned from giving a talk on the benefits of Army education to new recruits at the Army Training Centre at Pirbright, Surrey. A red-brick facility with its own parade ground, it delivers the 14-week training course undertaken by all adult recruits when they first join the Army. On completion of the Common Military Syllabus, these Soldiers Under Training (SUTs) go on to learn their chosen trade, which covers a host of military professions ranging from anti-aircraft radar operator and artillery gunner to Army musician. Pirbright trains more than 4,000 men and women a year, and as such...

An army general who is reported to have criticised aspects of the war in Afghanistan has resigned. Reports said Maj Gen Andrew Mackay, General Officer Commanding Scotland, Northern Ireland and Northern England, was unhappy about strategy. Prince Harry spent 10 weeks from December 2007 in Afghanistan under the command of Maj Gen Mackay. The Ministry of Defence has insisted that the general's departure was a "personal matter". Maj Gen Mackay's operational tour to Afghanistan was notable for the re-capture of Musa Qaleh, a strategic town, from the Taliban. He was subsequently awarded a CBE for his role in the mission....

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2009 – The British army’s 1st Battalion Scots Guards Pipes and Drums played in the Pentagon courtyard during lunchtime today in a show of solidarity with U.S. armed forces. The British army’s 1st Battalion Scots Guards Pipes and Drums Band performs for employees, servicemembers and families at the Pentagon, Sept. 25, 2009. The band, which consists of infantry soldiers who will soon prepare to deploy to Afghanistan, performed to express admiration for its closest allies. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Stan Parker  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The unit’s performance is “an expression of...

What should one make of the tale of Stephen Farrell--the seemingly reckless New York Times reporter who was rescued by British soldiers on Sept. 9 after spending four days as a captive of the Taliban? A soldier died in the course of his rescue, leading sections of British public opinion to go ballistic, accusing Farrell not merely of selfishness, but of moral responsibility for the soldier's death. Is this reaction fair and justified? Stephen Farrell was a British citizen reporting from Afghanistan. He'd received very strong advice from British troops to stay out of a Taliban-controlled sector into which he...

A British army officer who, after running out of ammunition, used his bayonet to charge a Taliban fighter has been awarded the Military Cross. Lt James Adamson, who is 24 and serves with the Royal Regiment of Scotland, was given the medal for his "supreme physical courage". His actions while on tour in Afghanistan saved the lives of soldiers in his platoon. He said he ran out of ammunition after killing one man, so charged the second. Lt Adamson, who is from the Isle of Man, and part of the 5th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, said: "To be honest...

An impression of how a controversial future giant aircraft carrier would look in its home base has been unveiled today by the Royal Navy.The computer-generated image has been created to give an impression of the scale of the next generation of warships which are due to enter service in 2015.It shows one of the carriers alongside at Portsmouth Naval Base, Hampshire, where it would take up three jetties.     Ministry of Defence computer generated image of how a controversial future giant aircraft carrier would look in its home base was unveiled today by the Royal Navy. It shows one...