08.27.10
Posted in army at 7:54 pm by Les
Les says :This story beggars belief
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Army hero who lost a leg in Afghanistan denied a disabled parking permit by council bosses ‘because he might get better’By Daily Mail Reporter
A hero soldier who lost a leg in Afghanistan has been denied a disabled parking badge three times by council bosses.
Lance Corporal Johno Lee has clocked up £800 in fines for parking in disabled bays in his home town of Newark, Nottinghamshire, on days when he uses a wheelchair or feels unable to walk very far.
When he first applied to Nottinghamshire County Council for a blue badge, he was advised he was young and ‘may get better’.
Wounded veteran Johno Lee has racked up over £800 in parking fines because council officials refuse to grant him a disabled persons parking permit
His right leg was amputated below the knee after he was caught up in an explosion in Helmand Province in 2008 and was catapulted into a minefield.
He said yesterday: ‘I replied that they possibly did not quite understand the situation and that I thought it unlikely my leg would grow back.
Johno in Afghanistan before his injury. ‘I think everybody in the next few years will know someone who has been injured. We are in a war at the end of the day.’
‘Sometimes the leg swells so badly I can’t even get the prosthetic leg on. I then have to park in disabled bays otherwise I can’t get into town, but then I get a ticket.
‘If I live for another 60 years, am I expected to continue to have to struggle for all of that time?’
More…Taliban have spies everywhere, warns army expert after Cameron was almost shot down by insurgent rocket
The Afghan war from behind enemy lines:: Documentary-maker follows Taliban
Lance Corporal Lee’s applications are being supported by the British Limbless Ex-Servicemen’s’ Association.
In a statement, the Council’s Service Director Mr Paul McKay said: ‘We are looking into the matter and have arranged for a member of staff to meet Mr Lee to review the situation. We will urgently assess whether he meets the criteria for a disabled parking badge as laid down by the Department of Transport.’
Mr Lee, a charity worker for the Armed Forces, added: ‘A lot of people are coming home from Afghanistan severely wounded and are deserving of recognition rather than to be disrespected by the bureaucrats.’
When he was blown up, his heart stopped twice, once on the helicopter taking him to Camp Bastion and once on the operating table, but he was revived each time.
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08.09.10
Posted in army at 10:07 am by Les
Les says :
what a bluddy travesty — He has just come back from serving in Afghanistan and ‘Cant get a bluddy beer because he is in uniform’ ?
A soldier who arrived home after months of fighting the Taliban was refused booze at a supermarket because he was in uniform.
Hero Sapper Anthony Walls had popped into the store to buy beer after a gruelling 34-hour trip from Kandahar.
But the 27-year-old was left fuming when the cashier said she couldn’t serve him alcohol while in combat gear.
The shop manager was called who told him bluntly: “There’s nothing I can do.”
Anthony, who was on his way to his three-year-old nephew Jack’s birthday party, left his beer at the check-out and left the Co-op shop in disgust.
The 27-year-old said last night: “I was deeply hurt.
“All I was thinking about was getting home to Jack in time to wish him a happy birthday. It was great to be home after a difficult journey and I just thought I’d grab a couple of beers, a luxury I hadn’t had in a while.
“But when I came to pay the cashier refused to serve me and rang her bell. A supervisor came along and the cashier explained she was refusing to serve me because I was in uniform. He looked at me and said ‘I can’t do anything about it’.
“I put the beer down and walked out. I was shocked
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08.03.10
Posted in army at 2:11 pm by Les
Hi
Difficult job in Afghanistan
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A Royal Marine from 40 Commando has been praised by his Commanding Officer for personally overseeing the safe medical evacuation of his injured colleagues despite being hit three times himself.
Lieutenant Jack Anrude, from 40 Commando Royal Marines, is currently serving in Helmand province in Afghanistan. He is a Multiple Commander and has been living and working in the notorious Sangin district for the last three months.
On Sunday 20 June 2010, his multiple was patrolling with the Afghan National Army (ANA) in a village when a lone insurgent opened fire, injuring three members of the patrol, including Lt Anrude, who was shot in the arm, head and took shrapnel wounds to his legs.
Lt Anrude said:
“As we approached the local mosque in the village, the usual pattern of life was missing and there was already a sense that something suspicious was happening from within the compound walls.
“We were trying to speak to one of the village elders, and an insurgent suddenly appeared behind a gate and fired about 30 rounds at us with an AK47 assault rifle.
“Five rounds hit the ANA soldier in the leg and one of my IED searchers was hit in the right ankle.
“I was shot in the right arm and received fragmentation injuries to my legs, as well as being hit in the head – thankfully my helmet saved me.”
Over four-and-a-half hours in a very dangerous situation Lt Anrude successfully managed to extract his multiple back to safety, personally treating and then evacuating his injured Afghan comrade to the helicopter landing site.
Lt Anrude said:
“Initially, when the adrenaline was pumping, it was quite exhilarating. It was only after I calmed down that my arm started hurting.
“I was too busy concentrating on the incident and getting my lads out alive to give my injury much thought. It was only afterwards, on reflection, that I realised how dangerous the situation was and that I was actually quite scared.
“Without trying to sound too clichéd I didn’t feel scared at the time, I didn’t have time for that, as things were happening so quickly – the training just kicked in.
“I did realise the danger we were in and the need to get out of there and to get medical attention to the ANA soldier. It was with help from a fellow Royal Marine, Lieutenant O’Toole, that our extraction from the area went smoothly.
“Lieutenant O’Toole and his team provided fire support, covering our movement to safe ground. They also cleared a suitable helicopter landing area and made sure it was safe and secure.
“The speed that we were medically treated, from on ground to Camp Bastion, was second-to-none and I know for a fact that if I’d not been wearing my personal protective equipment I would certainly not be alive today.”
Praising the actions of Lt Anrude, Lieutenant Colonel Paul James, the Commanding Officer of 40 Commando, said:
“Jack Anrude was hit in the arm, in the head and legs, yet he still carried on commanding his troops.
“He personally evacuated the Afghan soldier by carrying him up a hill. It was an extraordinary act of courage and he did all that while he was wounded.
“What the guys are going through here, it’s quite humbling to see how the young lads are taking it on.
“It’s very frustrating at times but the guys are excelling and it’s testing their soldiering to the extreme.”
Lt Anrude and his multiple have been working closely with the ANA, partnering them on patrols and interacting with the local population to bring security and development to the area.
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07.15.10
Posted in army at 9:11 am by Les
Les: -
I agree with the Malaysians we should NOT be in Afghanistasn
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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is sending military personnel to Afghanistan for the first time to provide medical and humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged country, officials said Thursday.
Twelve personnel were scheduled to leave for Afghanistan later Thursday and 28 others will join them by September, said Lt. Col. Salawati Yahaya, a Malaysian defense ministry representative.
The troops, who include doctors and paramedics, are expected to be deployed for between six to nine months in Bamiyan province northeast of the capital, Kabul, to work with New Zealand’s 140-strong provincial reconstruction team there.
Salawati said Afghanistan requested medical assistance. “They need Muslim doctors from Malaysia,” she said.
Muslim-majority Malaysia strongly opposed the U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Defense Ministry stressed in a statement that the Malaysian personnel would not have any combat roles, but would focus on health services, dental care and other community work.
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07.10.10
Posted in army at 10:25 am by Les
The Ministry of Defence has moved to distance itself from reports that SAS soldiers have assisted with the search for suspected gunman Raoul Moat.
In an interview with MoDOracle.com a spokesman for the department categorically denied that special forces had been involved in the police operation in Northumbria.
The rebuttal follows reports in some quarters of the national media, which suggested that the elite soldiers had been summoned to assist with the search.
However he said that the military had been available to give help where needed and confirmed that the Royal Air Force had provided assistance.
A Tornado GR4 ground attack aircraft was scrambled from Northern Ireland on the evening of Thursday, July 8 to carry out a surveillance operation.
The spokesman added that the fast jet had made several passes over the area, scanning the Northumberland countryside with monitoring kit before returning to base.
The law enforcement firearms teams on the ground have been armed with kit including the NATO standard G36 rifle – which fires the same 5.56mm round as the SA80 – as well as 7.62mm sniper weapons.
Moat is wanted in connection with a shooting incident in which his former partner was injured and her boyfriend killed and a separate attack on a police officer.
As this story went live, a man fitting the description of Moat had been negotiating with police officers. It had been reported that a shot had been fired and a man had been taken to hospital. No police officers had been injured.
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07.09.10
Posted in army at 5:57 pm by Les
Les :
It’s NOT a winnable war, lets get the lad’s out now
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British troops could end their combat role in Afghanistan even sooner than the five years the government has suggested, the UK’s top diplomat in the country has said.
Political developments could accelerate the process, leading to a reduction in fighting and to Nato forces ending their combat in a “three- to five-year timescale”, said Sir William Patey, Britain’s ambassador to Kabul. Talks leading to a political settlement should get off the ground sooner rather than later, he added, referring to contacts with Taliban elements.
He was speaking at a meeting in London organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, at which a Foreign Office minister, Alistair Burt, emphasised the government’s commitment to ending the combat role of British troops in Helmand at the latest by 2015, the date Britain’s next general election is due.
Burt was speaking as the Ministry of Defence announced the death of another member of Britain’s armed forces in Sangin, which is regarded as the most dangerous place for foreign forces in Afghanistan.
The soldier, from 5th Regiment Royal Artillery, died after an explosion while he was on a foot patrol, the MoD said.
Nearly a third of the 313 British deaths in Afghanistan since 2001 occurred in Sangin, where 1,000 Royal Marines of 40 Commando and supporting units are based.
The Defence Secretary, Liam Fox, told MPs on Wednesday that British troops would pull out of Sangin in the autumn and be replaced by US marines. The handover will leave the British military effort concentrated in a smaller area of central Helmand.
At today’s meeting, which was attended by Homayoun Tandar, the Afghan ambassador to Britain, both Burt and Patey stressed that though British soldiers would no longer be fighting in Afghanistan in five years’ time at most, that would not mean the end of the UK’s role in the country.
“David Cameron has made it clear he did not expect to have combat troops [in Afghanistan] after 2015 … We made a judgment,” Burt said. However, he added: “The withdrawal of combat troops did not mean the withdrawal of the UK from Afghanistan.”
Patey spoke of a “long-term strategic partnership” between Britain and Afghanistan. He said Afghanistan had been neglected and it was only in the last year that resources “that can deliver” had been put in the country.
Both Burt and Patey emphasised the significance of the international conference due to he held in Kabul on 20 July, the need for a political settlement and the importance of reconciliation. Burt pointed to Cameron’s visit to Delhi at the end of the month. It was important to “make very clear to India and Pakistan their engagement is absolutely crucial”, he said.
However, preparing public opinion for more British deaths in Afghanistan, he said: “A very tough year is coming up. It will be difficult over the next few years.”
Patey said drugs – opium poppy and heroin production in Afghanistan – were the “one issue” which could be the catalyst leading to the engagement of regional powers, including Russia and Iran, in a future political settlement in Afghanistan. Russia was also concerned about Islamic extremism, he added.
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07.07.10
Posted in army at 11:05 am by Les
British troops are to be pulled out of the Sangin area of Afghanistan – where nearly a third of UK deaths have occurred.
It is understood the Government has decided the notoriously volatile district in northern Helmand province will be handed over to US forces, possibly later this year.
The move – set to be announced later by Defence Secretary Liam Fox – comes after Britain handed over command in Helmand to an American general last month.
Mr Fox is expected to say that Britain will concentrate on Helmand’s populous central belt, leaving the north and south of the province to the US.
Sangin, currently home to 40 Commando Royal Marines, is particularly dangerous because it contains a patchwork of rival tribes.
It is also a major centre of Afghanistan’s opium-growing industry.
It has been the scene of some of the fiercest fighting the British military has endured since the Second World War.
Of the 312 UK deaths in Afghanistan since 2001, 99 occurred in Sangin.
There is likely to be a mixed response to news of the handover – relief that such a deadly burden has been passed on but also sadness at the high price paid in troops killed and injured.
Britain’s 8,000 forces in Helmand are now greatly outnumbered by the 20,000 US Marines sent there under President Obama’s surge strategy.
Sangin is the latest part of the district to be handed over from British to American control.
The town of Musa Qaleh was transferred in March and US marines took charge of the strategically important Kajaki dam last month.
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07.01.10
Posted in army at 8:27 pm by Les
Two British soldiers were killed in Afghanistan as they searched a would-be suicide bomber on a motorcycle close to a busy market, an inquest heard yesterday.
After the death of Lance Corporal David Kirkness, 24, and Rifleman James Brown, 18, fellow troops said they had sacrificed their lives to prevent a devastating attack on the market.
The men, of 3rd Battalion the Rifles (3 Rifles), were killed while manning a vehicle checkpoint east of Sangin in Helmand province in December last year.
Opening the inquest in Trowbridge, the Wiltshire and Swindon coroner David Ridley said the device was detonated when the bomber approached the checkpoint shortly after 12.30pm.
The only eyewitness account was given in a statement from an Afghan interpreter, known simply as witness A. He said: “I would describe him [the bomber] as an Afghan male, about 28. He wore a short beard and was wearing white clothes.
“He wore traditional Afghan trousers, and a shirt in the style worn in Pakistan. On his head he was wearing a hat, it was silver-grey and in the style of a skull cap. He was alone.
Witness A said the soldiers finished searching a car and waved the motorcycle towards them. He reached the checkpoint and got off his machine.
He said: “The two British soldiers moved towards him. As they touched him with their hands there was an explosion. There was a loud bang and smoke rising into the sky.”
The medical emergency response team came under small arms fire as they attempted to extract the men, the inquest heard.
Kirkness and Brown suffered “severe” blast injuries and died later at Camp Bastion field hospital. Two Afghan national army soldiers were also killed and the interpreter was injured.
Major James Richardson, officer commanding B-company, 3 Rifles, said suicide bombers were a known threat, but there was no specific intelligence received to suggest there would be an attack on that day.
He said: “The difficulty we face is, if we treat everybody as a suicide bomber, it doesn’t allow us to bond with the community.”
The coroner recorded a verdict of unlawful killing on both men.
Following their deaths, senior officers said the men sacrificed their lives to protect Afghans in nearby Sangin bazaar, though this was not touched upon in evidence given to the inquest.
Lieutenant Colonel Nick Kitson, commanding officer of 3 Rifles battle group, said at the time that comrades took comfort and pride from the fact that they averted a “much larger tragedy”.
Kirkness, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, joined 3 Rifles in March 2004, and had completed a demanding sniper course and studied the local language of Pashtu before deploying to Afghanistan in October 2009. He leaves a three-year-old daughter, Brooke.
Brown, from Farnborough, Kent, only joined the Army earlier in 2009, and had arrived with B company of 3 Rifles less than a fortnight before his death.
Paying tribute in a statement after his death, his family said: “You were a true hero and will be dearly missed. We all love you so much.
“You died a hero living your dream and your actions will always speak louder than words ever could.”
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05.31.10
Posted in army at 9:50 am by Les
Corrie stars party with military heroes outside the Rovers Return – to kick-off Armed Forces Day.
The cast enjoyed butties, buns and beer then saluted the RAF, Army and Navy.
And they urged us all to do the same on June 26 – the second Armed Forces Day.
Beverley Callard, 53 – Rovers Return landlady Liz McDonald – did a conga with soldiers.
She said: “Communities need to celebrate our boys and girls. Landlords and landladies can get parties running. I know Liz would.”
Page 3 Girls Sam, 23, and Chloe, 22, served drinks while Staci, 21, enjoyed a lift from Navy heroes.
Meanwhile Ken Barlow star Bill Roache, 78, who served in the Army after National Service, had a hug with RAF Senior Aircraftwoman Mandy Mortley, 34.
He said: “Soldiers are dying for their country. They need our support. I’m glad to do my bit.”
Weatherfield’s Kym Marsh (Michelle), Samia Smith (Maria), Jennie McAlpine (Fiz), Andrew Whyment (Kirk), Sue Cleaver (Eileen) and Debbie Rush (Anna) toasted the forces visitors and showed them the Manchester set.
Helen Worth, the Street’s Gail, said: “It’s a chance to show our appreciation.”
Mikey North, who plays squaddie Gary, said: “I’ve learnt from speaking to soldiers they’re like brothers and sisters.
“They’re willing to die for you and that’s the biggest gift of all.”
Moved RAF Sergeant Andy Dipple, 43, said: “It’s great to know celebrities care so passionately.”
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04.16.10
Posted in army at 7:21 pm by Les
Soldiers in Afghanistan stand to lose several days out of their R&R after the cloud of volcanic ash hanging over Europe closed the air bridge between the UK and Kandahar.
Troops heading back for their two-week package became stuck in theatre after the eruption in Iceland rendered the UK a no-fly zone yesterday (April 15).
As the airspace was closed, a Royal Air Force TriStar transport aircraft bringing soldiers from 11 Light Brigade back from Afghanistan was forced to turn back to Cyprus.
A spokeswoman for the MoD confirmed that R&R had been cut short for some soldiers although she was unable to say how many were affected. But with the Relief in Place – and 11 Light Brigade currently being replaced by 4 Mechanized Brigade – there were fewer personnel heading back for mid-tour rest period.
Those affected would not be able to reclaim the days they had lost, she added.
The spokeswoman told MoDOracle.com: “The volcanic ash cloud will certainly be impacting on R&R. Unfortunately flights are suspended and people are being delayed.
“As we currently have the Relief going on, it is those who have finished their tours and who are coming home for good that have been the most affected.”
“If it had been any other time, there would have been more of an issue with R&R.”
A spokeswoman for RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire – where the Force’s TriStar fleet is based – said the station had been closed to air traffic since 1200 on April 15.
She added: “We are keeping our fingers crossed that restrictions could be lifted tomorrow. We currently have passengers stuck at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.
“Fortunately the outbound Afghanistan flight took off before the restrictions came into place so nobody is waiting at Brize. But Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood is looking out how to manage the passenger situation.”
Meanwhile the Iceland volcanic eruption also played havoc with Exercise Joint Warrior being held in Scotland, disrupting the air support elements of the NATO manoeuvres
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