Defence News

Defence News: 25 May 2012

Hague - we won't abandon Afghan people
San Carlos 'landing day' remembered in Falklands
New RAF C-17 aircraft touches down in the UK
Army and RAF step up training for close quarters combat

Defence in the Media: 25 May 2012

Summary  
Various websites report that among the torchbearers who carried the Olympic Flame through Worcester city centre this week was Corporal Tom Neathway, of the Parachute Regiment, who lost both legs and one arm as the result of a bomb-blast in Afghanistan in 2008. | Various media report that Pakistani doctor Shakeel Afridi, found guilty of treason and sentenced to 33 years in prison for helping the CIA to find Osama bin Laden, is in poor health and being held in solitary confinement after death threats from fellow inmates. | The Telegraph and Mirror report that a decorated Army colonel who shot at a suspected elephant poacher in Kenya attempting to steal night-vision goggles has been fined £3,000 and severely reprimanded. | The Times reports that Britain could be forced to reveal whether it gives the United States intelligence for drone attacks on terrorist suspects in a court action that threatens to expose ministers to allegations of war crimes.

Redundancies
It has been reported that the MOD has made civilian and military personnel redundant without a long term plan in place to retain key skills. The claims are made in a critical report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which also inaccurately concludes that the cost of consultants has risen from £6m to £270m.

This is a serious distortion of the facts. Tough action has been taken to reduce the amount we spend on consultants, which has been reduced from £106m to £26m in the last year. It also seems that the PAC has misunderstood what the Framework Agreement for Technical Support (FATS) is all about.

All work commissioned under FATS is vital to the successful delivery of military equipment to our troops. This is often technical assistance for services the MOD cannot legally conduct in-house, such as independent airworthiness certification. Changes to the definition of technical support arrangements in 2007 led to the perceived steep increase in FATS spending.

The MOD has had to make tough decisions to get its finances back into balance and this included a plan to reduce the Civil Service by 32,000 by 2020 to ensure we can deliver more resources to the front line. We are now transforming Defence to create a smaller, more efficient, professional Ministry of Defence that is back in balance.

Earlier this year, the National Audit Office recognised that our redundancy programmes were working well and that reductions represented good value for money for the taxpayer. The MOD is introducing a process to help identify requirements and focus future investment, and we have rejected applications for the civilian release scheme to retain those with critical skills. We will continue to monitor for signs of new and worsening skills gaps.

Image of the Day: 25 May 2012

Members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police perform the Changing of the Guard with members of the Household Cavalry on Horse Guards Parade in London. Fifteen men and horses from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police rode down The Mall for the 11 o'clock Changing of the Queen's Life Guard ceremony with the Household Cavalry on 23 May 2012. Click here to read more. [Picture: Trooper Mark Larner, Crown Copyright/MOD 2012]

Defence Diary: 25 May 2012

Today, Friday 25 May
Lower Block 'LB02' of one of the new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers moves from Portsmouth to Rosyth.
Publication of the Public Accounts Committee Report: 'Managing Change in the Defence Workforce'.
International Institute for Strategic Studies Discussion Meeting: International Cyber Norms and their Role in Cyber Security and Defence.
TV programme of interest: 'The One Show', BBC1, 1900hrs - features HMS Coventry remembrance piece with Falklands veterans filmed on board HMS York.

Tomorrow, Saturday 26 May
20th anniversary of the formation of the Adjutant General's Corps, public open day at Winchester.

Tuesday 29 May
General Sir Nick Parker speaking at the Olympic Safety and Security Conference (until 31 May).
NATO medal parade/retirement ceremony, HM Naval Base Portsmouth.
Royal United Services Institute event: International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers 9th Annual Conference.
6th Annual Counter-IEDs Conference, Chelsea Football Club (until 1 June).
TV programme of interest: 'War Hero in My Family', Channel 5, 2000hrs. Celebrities uncover the heroic stories of their ancestors (Episode 5 of 6).

Wednesday 30 May
House of Lords rises.
Service of remembrance and rededication for holders of the Victoria Cross and George Cross at St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in London.
200 Signal Squadron and 1st Military Working Dog Regiment medal parades, Paderborn and Sennelager, Germany.
HMS Atherstone deploys.
HMS Illustrious' 30th birthday ceremonial parade, HM Naval Base Portsmouth.
Queen's Dragoon Guards homecoming parade, Swansea.
Westminster eForum Keynote Seminar: Implementing the UK Cyber Security Strategy - industry collaboration, eCrime and protecting critical infrastructure, London.
Royal United Services Institute Missile Defence Conference 2012 (until 31 May).

Thursday 31 May
1st (UK) Armoured Division Headquarters and Signal Regiment medal parade, Herford, Germany.
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors seminar: The Pitt Review, Five Years On.

Friday 1 June
HMS Diamond media facility - Big Jubilee Lunch on board, Portsmouth.
Queen's Dragoon Guards service of remembrance, Llandaff Cathedral.
Public Accounts Committee Report published on the Government Procurement Card.

Defence News: 24 May 2012

Canadian Mounties take over Royal duties at Horse Guards
RAF Tucanos support front line operations
Queen thanks Armed Forces for Jubilee Muster
UK and Saudi Arabia agree deal on officer and aircrew training
MOD Kineton receives Freedom of Warwick

Defence in the Media: 24 May 2012

Summary
Various media report that British defence giant BAE Systems has signed a £1.9bn ($3bn) deal with Saudi Arabia to supply Hawk trainer jets. | The Mail reports that Britain is set to send fighter jets to the Middle East and could attack Iranian vessels in the Gulf if Israel launches air strikes. | Various other media report that Downing Street has declined to comment on UK contingency plans in the event of a military confrontation between Israel and Iran. | The Telegraph claims that the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir David Richards, has suggested that Britain may be forced to abandon its 'special relationship' with the US. | The Times reports that after the deaths of two pilots last year, the Red Arrows are flying all but the most special displays this summer with seven, instead of nine, jets.

Joint Strike Fighter jets
The Daily Mirror has reported that there is a risk that the new Joint Strike Fighter jets set to fly from the Royal Navy's new aircraft carriers may melt the ships' decks when they land. It claims the MOD is seeking help from the Americans to develop a new 'super-tough, heat-resistant deck-coating'. The paper also suggests that this issue is a further setback for the programme following the decision not to go ahead with fitting the carriers with catapults and arrestor gear ('cats and traps') technology.

The MOD will save £2bn by not fitting 'cats and traps' and this will greatly offset the relatively small cost of deck paint. Deck-coating was always part of the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant ship specification. Work to identify a suitable deck-coating is ongoing with our American partners in this project, so exact costs are not yet available.

Image of the Day: 24 May 2012

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond paid a visit to the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show yesterday where the Defence Military Rehabilitation Centre Headley Court's therapeutic gardening project won a Royal Horticultural Society Diamond Jubilee Bronze Medal for their Courtyard Garden. Pictured (left to right) are Major Peter Le Feuvre, Private Liam King, Guardsman Lamin Manneh, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond and Corporal Matthew Webb in the award-winning garden. [Picture: Susie Coulthard, Crown Copyright/MOD 2012]

Defence Diary: 24 May 2012

Today, Thursday 24 May
Funeral in Bradford of Private Christopher Kershaw, from 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, who was killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday 6 March 2012.
House of Commons rises.
Royal Navy ceremonial Jubilee media facility, HMS Collingwood.
Queen's Royal Hussars medal parade, Sennelager, Germany.
4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland Colour Party attending an event marking the 78th anniversary of the Battle of Monte Cassino in Warsaw.
Isle of Anglesey County Council Armed Forces Community Covenant signing at RAF Valley.
Royal United Services Institute Members' Lecture - Japan-UK Security Co-operation: Exploring Our Common Strategic Interests.
The Cutty Sark reopens to the public in Greenwich.

Tomorrow, Friday 25 May
Lower Block 'LB02' of one of the new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers moves from Portsmouth to Rosyth (until 30 May).
Unveiling of Chinook Gate Guardian at RAF Odiham, Hampshire.
Publication of the Public Accounts Committee Report: 'Managing Change in the Defence Workforce'.
International Institute for Strategic Studies Discussion Meeting: International Cyber Norms and their Role in Cyber Security and Defence.
TV programme of interest: 'The One Show', BBC1, 1900hrs - features HMS Coventry remembrance piece with Falklands veterans filmed on board HMS York.

Saturday 26 May
20th anniversary of the formation of the Adjutant General's Corps, public open day at Winchester.

Tuesday 29 May
General Sir Nick Parker speaking at the Olympic Safety and Security Conference (until 31 May).
NATO medal parade/retirement ceremony, HM Naval Base Portsmouth.
Royal United Services Institute event: International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers 9th Annual Conference.
6th Annual Counter-IEDs Conference, Chelsea Football Club (until 1 June).
TV programme of interest: 'War Hero in My Family', Channel 5, 2000hrs. Celebrities uncover the heroic stories of their ancestors (Episode 5 of 6).

Wednesday 30 May
House of Lords rises.
Service of remembrance and rededication for holders of the Victoria Cross and George Cross at St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in London.
200 Signal Squadron and 1st Military Working Dog Regiment medal parades, Paderborn and Sennelager, Germany.
HMS Atherstone deploys.
HMS Illustrious' 30th birthday ceremonial parade, HM Naval Base Portsmouth.
Queen's Dragoon Guards homecoming parade, Swansea.
Westminster eForum Keynote Seminar: Implementing the UK Cyber Security Strategy - industry collaboration, eCrime and protecting critical infrastructure, London.
Royal United Services Institute Missile Defence Conference 2012 (until 31 May).

Thursday 31 May
1st (UK) Armoured Division Headquarters and Signal Regiment medal parade, Herford, Germany.
Queen's Dragoon Guards memorial service, Llandaff Cathedral.
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors seminar: The Pitt Review, Five Years On.

Defence News: 23 May 2012

1 RTR soldiers return home from Afghanistan
RAF personnel remember Dambusters leader
Dstl hosts international Chemical Weapons Demilitarisation conference

Defence in the Media: 23 May 2012

Summary
Various media have reported that a coroner has ruled that Lance Corporal Michael Pritchard was accidentally shot by a comrade while on active service in Afghanistan. | The majority of news outlets have reported on the first female commander of a major Royal Navy warship who is taking up post on board HMS Portland in Rosyth, Fife. | The Times claims that the Government Pipeline and Storage System, the country's aviation fuel network, is to be sold off by the MOD. | There have been several stories reporting that six world powers are holding new talks focusing on Iran's controversial nuclear programme. | The Daily Mail continues its campaign against proposals to allow a greater number of legal cases to be held behind closed doors, plans it has dubbed 'secret justice'. | The Times carries a feature on a woman who alleges that her parents were victims of rendition to Libya under its former regime and blames the British Government for what happened. | The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Star both report that the Government has awarded contracts worth £350m to UK firms to design the next generation of nuclear submarines. | The Press Association reports that a new record for the longest line of fanfare trumpeters has been set to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.