British Military Current Events

[Humphrey Bogart]

Well done that Padre 

Para Chaplain Earns His Maroon Beret

A military chaplain has passed out from the elite Pegasus Company, for Airborne Forces.

Captain Matt Coles is the padre attached to 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment.

He doesn’t have to complete the same physical challenges as the paratroopers, but he’s chosen to, in order to walk the same miles as the soldiers he ministers.

http://forces.tv/26777918#rluOuujVqAWVyJZM.01

BZ indeed!  Now there is a man the soldiers can feel confident confiding in!

 

[dimsum]

BZ indeed!  Now there is a man the soldiers can feel confident confiding in!

Agreed.  Does the Para course have a shooting or combat portion though (which I assume he'd be exempt from)?

 

[cupper]

Very interesting video. BZ Captain.

I like the fact that he carrier a cross on his back in place of a weapon as the rest of the troops did.

 

[cavalryman]

Agreed.  Does the Para course have a shooting or combat portion though (which I assume he'd be exempt from)?

I figure talking Close God Support with the big guy upstairs more than makes up for the more secular forms of fire support. 

 

[CougarKing]

The "last gasp" and last air campaign of the RAF Tornado jets?

Guardian

RAF Tornados will continue strikes against Islamic State until 2017
Defence secretary extends aircraft deployment, arguing that they are ‘proving their worth’ in campaign


The UK is to extend air strikes by RAF Tornados against Islamic State in Iraq by a year, the defence secretary has said, arguing that the aircraft had “proved their worth” in the air campaign.

Michael Fallon has said a squadron of Tornado GR4 fighter bombers will continue in service until March 2017, despite originally having been due to be disbanded last March and replaced with a squadron of Typhoon air defence fighters.

Following the first UK air strikes against Isis last September, David Cameron announced that they would carry on for an extra 12 months so they could continue in their specialist ground-attack role.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[dimsum]

I figure talking Close God Support with the big guy upstairs more than makes up for the more secular forms of fire support. 

Surely you meant "fire and brimstone" support - both figurative and literal for Brimstone, of course. 

 

[daftandbarmy]

SAS will soften selection tests after Brecon Beacons deaths

Britain's elite military unit the SAS will soften its selection process following the deaths of three prospective candidates on a recruitment march

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/11791451/SAS-will-soften-selection-tests.html

 

[Humphrey Bogart]

SAS will soften selection tests after Brecon Beacons deaths

Britain's elite military unit the SAS will soften its selection process following the deaths of three prospective candidates on a recruitment march

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/11791451/SAS-will-soften-selection-tests.html

Sure they will  ;D

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Sure they will  ;D

That is exactly what I thought ;D

"Oh yes Minister. The course now is much easier and less dangerous than previously noted" (nudge, nudge,  )

 

[daftandbarmy]

That is exactly what I thought ;D

"Oh yes Minister. The course now is much easier and less dangerous than previously noted" (nudge, nudge,  )

I'm pretty sure they will keep the same tests while making sure there is more over watch on the candidates.

They should also go back to hiring Fijians if the hot weather is an issue. They seem to do quite well in the regiment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talaiasi_Labalaba

 

[daftandbarmy]

SAS go into Syria to kill ISIS chief: UK 'boots on the ground' for ferocious joint US gunbattle that killed terror financier Abu Sayaff

British Special Forces took part in mission to kill Syrian-based commander
Troops wore American uniforms to keep the joint mission in May a secret
Dug themselves into desert before launching series of strafing runs by jets
It comes as details of a Syrian-based plot to kill the Queen is exposed


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3190731/SAS-Syria-kill-chief-UK-boots-ground-ferocious-joint-gunbattle-killed-terror-financier-Abu-Sayaff.html#ixzz3iKW8mENo
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

[George Wallace]

On that note:

"Executioner killed: SAS sniper took out Isis thug to save boy and dad"

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/458253/SAS-sniper-kills-Isis-thug-executioner-save-boy-dad

In this article, a "SAS sniper saved the lives of a father and son just seconds before they were about to be executed by a knife-wielding jihadi.  He killed the would-be executioner from a range of 1,000m with a head shot before taking out three other members of Isis in Syria.  The father and his eight-year-old boy were just seconds from death after refusing to denounce their faith.  Both are Shia Muslims who Isis regard as "infidels". But the pair refused and were facing imminent death."

 

[daftandbarmy]

HMS Hood's bell recovered from seabed by Microsoft co-founder

The bell from HMS Hood was recovered from a depth of more than 9,000 feet and will now go on display at the National Museum of the Royal Navy

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11793192/HMS-Hoods-bell-recovered-from-seabed-by-Microsoft-co-founder.html

An American billionaire philanthropist has recovered the missing bell from a British battlecruiser that was sunk with nearly all hands, completing the final wish of one of the ship’s few survivors.


Ted Briggs was one of only three survivors from a crew of 1,418 on board HMS Hood when it was sunk by the Bismark in the North Atlantic more than 74 years ago.


Before he died he had often hoped the mighty ship’s bell could be salvaged from the seabed as a fitting memorial to those killed in the Royal Navy’s worst loss of life from a single ship during the Second World War.


His wish was finally fulfilled last week, seven years after his death, when the bell was recovered by research a team led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.


The bell was brought up from the shattered wreck lying in the Denmark Strait between Iceland and Greenland at a depth of more than 9,000 feet. The bell will now spend a year undergoing restoration before being placed in the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Michael Fallon warns Ukraine war remains 'red hot' as he pledges more British military help

Defence Secretary says Ukraine’s eastern border still at risk from Vladimir Putin and promises UK will offer support for as long as it is needed


The Ukraine conflict is a “red hot” war that shows no sign of ending soon, the Defence Secretary warned as he announced Britain will step up training to Ukrainian forces fighting Russian-backed separatists.


Michael Fallon said the 18-month long crisis had not settled into a frozen war and Ukraine’s eastern border was still at risk from Vladimir Putin.


He also opened the door to sending further military trainers to the country if the Kiev government asked for them and said the UK would offer support for as long as it was needed.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/11795563/Michael-Fallon-warns-Ukraine-war-remains-red-hot-as-he-pledges-more-British-military-help.html

 

[daftandbarmy]

Women get the OK to try out for the elite Parachute Regiment

WOMEN soldiers have had the green light to try out for the elite Parachute Regiment.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/368841/Women-get-the-OK-to-try-out-for-the-elite-Parachute-Regiment

It follows claims potential Paras are being “fobbed off” with excuses about their sex and shape, rather than ability.

Now a senior officer in the regiment has said any female soldier who wants to join will get the same “support and assessment” as a man.

Colonel Andrew Jackson, deputy commander of 16 Air Assault Brigade, insisted there is no bar to women joining his unit.

The tough Parachute Regiment remains one of the last all-male bastions of the British Army.

While women can serve in other infantry regiments in a variety of roles, no woman has passed the tough “P Company” selection drill allowing them to wear the red beret and wings badge.

The debate over women Paras erupted after one fed-up female wrote to the Army’s in-house magazine, Soldier.

Corporal Beth Boyden, a medic serving with the Brigade, has claimed that women who want to undertake Para selection are constantly fobbed off with excuses as to why they would not pass.

She told the mag: “I have served for a number of years in 16 Air Assault Brigade and it really bothers me that there are no female soldiers wearing parachute wings.

“I’ve been given plenty of excuses as to why girls cannot seem to pass the P Company test, from ‘they are not designed for parachuting’ down to, allegedly, instructors simply refusing to let female candidates succeed.

“I am a lot fitter than the majority of my male colleagues and feel that if the instructors are insecure about letting a woman through they should be moved on.”

But Colonel Jackson responded: “There is no bar to females attempting P Company. They are welcome to apply and will be given the same support and assessment as male candidates.

“Similarly there is no block on those within 16 Air Assault Brigade undertaking the basic Para course.
“Female soldiers cannot be employed in all roles within the brigade and this is not an Army issue but a tri-service policy that excludes women from ground close combat roles.”

All soldiers who want to undergo training as a Para must first pass one of the British Army’s most demanding selection tests, the feared P Company. Only those who pass are allowed to undertake the basic parachuting course at RAF Brize Norton.

Those who successfully pass both courses will be awarded their red beret and the famous blue wings.

One Parachute Regiment source warned last night: “There are plenty of old Paras who would turn in their graves if a female soldier was allowed to wear a red beret and wings.

“The Parachute Regiment is an unashamedly male unit and that pretty much goes for the rest of the brigade.

“Female soldiers do serve in the brigade but it is really a case of them being tolerated rather than being accepted.

“P Company is the toughest course in the Army outside of SAS selection and it will be many years before a woman passes.

“It’s not just about being fit. You also have to show a great deal of controlled aggression.”

Female service personnel have served with elite units such as the Special Reconnaissance Regiment and the Joint Communications Unit.

Several women have also passed the Royal Marines selection test.

 

[dimsum]

Surely there won't be any media (official or social) hoopla over this when it happens, like how the US Army and Marines are easily integrating women into their Combat Arms and SOF units  :

In case my sarcasm was skipped, IMO if a woman can fulfill the same requirements, she can wear the maroon/tan/green/tie-dye beret.  The world isn't going to end.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Surely there won't be any media (official or social) hoopla over this when it happens, like how the US Army and Marines are easily integrating women into their Combat Arms and SOF units  :

In case my sarcasm was skipped, IMO if a woman can fulfill the same requirements, she can wear the maroon/tan/green/tie-dye beret.  The world isn't going to end.

But there's still a lot of gloating to be had over the fact that the Egg and Beans have had women pass the Commando Course and no women have passed P Company yet  ;D

 

[Kirkhill]

The candidate list for the next P Company serial.

http://www.mmarising.com/rankings/unified-womens-mixed-martial-arts-rankings/

I wonder if they are aggressive enough for the old soldier above?

 

[daftandbarmy]

The candidate list for the next P Company serial.

http://www.mmarising.com/rankings/unified-womens-mixed-martial-arts-rankings/

I wonder if they are aggressive enough for the old soldier above?

We used to see the occasional 'pugilist' arrive at Depot Para thinking that they could make the grade.

They did, but the grade was always 'F'.

 

[The Bread Guy]

The candidate list for the next P Company serial.

http://www.mmarising.com/rankings/unified-womens-mixed-martial-arts-rankings/

I wonder if they are aggressive enough for the old soldier above?

I have nothing against women who meet the same standard getting to wear the same beret/whatever.  I'm wondering, though, how well this short list would do working in a team.  These sorts of sports strike me (and, as usual, I stand to be educated) as hugely competitive, but not so team-building.