The IVA Update
Non Nobis Sed Omnibus
(Not for one
but for all)
The Newsletter of
the International
Veterans Association
FOR MEMBERS ONLY -- NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION
Updated
around the first weekend of every month. Opinions carried in the Update do not
necessarily reflect the views of the IVA.
|
Volume 8,
Issue 06
|
June 2006
|
Contents
The great
Irish writer, George Bernard Shaw, once wrote that the British soldier can
fight any enemy except the British War Office. This is becoming truer and truer
as every day passes. We all know that the British PM likes to think that being
GW Bush's pal makes Britain
a superpower as well, and that this strange belief leads him to commit more
troops than London
possesses. However, later on you can read some more examples of how London is doing its best
to completely bugger up the British Army. Firstly, and in the name of economy,
they have disbanded the oldest British infantry regiment. Now I have served in
3 regiments in my time and 2 of them no longer exist, so I can well imagine how
sad it is for a veteran to see his military family disappear so that some civil
servants can appear to balance the books. The harm such a move does to morale
and recruitment is something no civilian can truly appreciate -- least of all
the desk warriors of the civil service. Next, we have the story that British
units serving in Iraq
will have to remain there beyond their return home date. Why? Because there
aren't enough planes to fly them home! Didn't anyone think of this when they
sent them out there? And isn't it strange that there's always enough planes to
fly men INTO combat, but not enough to fly them back? I'd like to think that
every military family, and every family who supports them, will show what they
think of this "sod the soldiers" attitude and punish the seat-warmers
responsible. However, who's to say the next government will be any different?
Later on,
you can read about the suggestion that the European Union have its own
coastguard. Now of course, this idea has given the anti-Europeans, especially
in Britain
(the ones who like taking what the EU gives but don't like being called
European), a sudden dose of rabies. I can almost imagine them frothing at the
mouth. Now I think that (a) Europe needs a proper coastguard, preferably
modelled on the US Coastguard, as the rather shambolic coastguard Britain has
was designed for much safer and long departed days, and (b) the chances of the
EU becoming a federal country (so feared by the Eurosceptics) are about the
same as the US and Mexico becoming one country. Nonetheless, with so many
illegal immigrants trying to sneak in through the EU's southern members, whose
budgets often limit the usefulness of their coastal security, plus so much drug
and other traffic being sneaked in through the patchwork quilt that is the EU's
present border enforcement, an EU coastguard is a great idea. I also think
there should be similar centralised body for its land borders, but I know that
will drive the anti-Brussels mob into a fit! Mexico's southern border is clearly
very weak and so the US/Mexican border keeps people in the Border Patrol TOO
busy -- just ask our own DJ! So if one EU member has weak border controls,
every member suffers. That just makes sense to me.
Lastly,
it is very sad to see how the once so hopeful East Timor
has suddenly become a deadly troublespot. It is also very worrying for the
Australians, who played such a leading part in the struggle to make that half-island
into a nation and must now once again risk their lives to prevent anarchy. It
seems clear that, like so many other former colonies, East
Timor just wasn't ready to be a country. When London
forced Rhodesia to become Zimbabwe, they
ruled that there would have to be an interim period when it resumed its former
colonial status, complete with a British governor. Maybe that should have been
the case with East Timor as well. Maybe the
Portuguese should have resumed colonial control of the place, just to help them
prepare for statehood. Unsurprisingly, I am a firm believer in enlightened
imperialism, by which I mean a system similar to the old League
of Nations mandates. When WW1 suddenly removed former colonial
powers like Germany in Namibia and Turkey
in Palestine, then the League
of Nations gave various developed countries the role of guiding
these territories to statehood. Now I know that anything resembling colonialism
is viewed as being equal to evil fascism but when you look at places like East
Timor, Somalia and Haiti,
maybe the League had the right idea. It's working (sort of) in Bosnia, where
the EU is basically running the place, so why not try it elsewhere? And if the
gang of terrorists who are now supposed to be political leaders object, then
hold their own record of 'achievements' up to international view to discourage
them from talking about a subject of which they know nothing -- i.e.,
democracy!
Return
to top
Please let ME know if you change your email
address -- we don't want to lose you!
·
Not much this month.
Return to top
Please give a warm IVA welcome to:
·
John F. STAMPFLI (M) NDG:
Counterspook
John is part of our largest branch, the United States. He has spent his
military career in such units as the California Army National Guard, the New
Mexico Army National Guard and the Iowa Army Nation Guard, since 1980.
Finishing up as a Colonel, he now works as a Security Consultant in California and is
interested in history.
Return to top
Ø
Fighting Falls To A Minority Of Regiments
(The Telegraph: 08/05/2006) A minority of [British] regiments is conducting the
majority of military operations, according to figure obtained by The Daily
Telegraph, exposing serious flaws in Army operational planning. Almost half of
the 40 infantry battalions and most light cavalry regiments have taken on the
burden of tours to Iraq, Afghanistan and
the Balkans, while others have hardly been abroad. In particular, the five
Guards regiments, which perform ceremonial duties at Buckingham Palace,
have barely fought abroad in the past five years, while other regiments have
been in near constant action. The figures also show that the Ministry of
Defence has severely breached its guidelines on giving battalions enough rest
between operations. Military chiefs are worried that, as some infantry
regiments go into conflict zones at least once a year, experienced troops are
not spending enough time with their families and that some are leaving the Army
as a result. On average, infantry troops have been on operations every 15 months
and some units have had only four months rest between expeditions, all in
breach of the military's "harmony guideline" of 24 months. The SAS,
logistics regiments, Royal Engineers and medics have all been on almost
continuous operations since the September 11 terrorist attacks, leading to
worries of burn-out. By contrast, the Coldstream Guards have made one tour of Iraq. The
Grenadiers made a short tour of Northern Ireland,
followed by three years off then a four-month tour of Bosnia early last year - although some are
deploying to Iraq
this month. A senior Whitehall official admitted that the "point was
recognised" that the "spread of the burden" fell on some
regiments and said the matter would be addressed under the Future Infantry
Structure programme. For example, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, now 5
Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland, served in Northern
Ireland until late 2003, had a four-month rest then went
to Iraq
for six months in 2004. Eight months later they were in Bosnia for a six-month
tour. They are now on standby to deploy to Northern
Ireland if an emergency occurs or could be dispatched to Afghanistan
late in the summer. The Royal Regiment of Wales has barely paused for breath,
serving on seven deployments in as many years. For some cavalry units the
figures are worse, including the Household Cavalry, which Prince Harry will
join this year as a troop commander. Elements of the Armoured Reconnaissance
Regiment have had a total of only six months off between serving in Bosnia in October 2001 and Iraq at the end
of 2004. Last month's annual Army Continuous Attitude Survey, which questions
troops about their views of the military, found that two thirds of soldiers
were dissatisfied with the large amount of time they were having to spend away
from home. "Certainly quite a few battalions are doing more of the
workload than others and we are nowhere near the harmony guidelines," a
senior officer said yesterday. "We are getting to the point now where, if
another medium-scale deployment - say to Darfur, in Sudan - was needed, it is highly
unlikely that we could fulfil it." The Ministry of Defence admitted that
it had broken its own rules. But it said it hoped that, with the
"draw-down" of troops in Northern
Ireland over the next year, possibly followed by a recall
of some soldiers from Iraq
and the Balkans, the pressure would be eased.
Ø
900 terrorist suspects in Britain
leave MI5 and police unable to cope
(Scotsman 11 May 2006) There are now so many terror suspects in Britain that
the police and security services are unable to monitor them all,
counter-terrorist officials have warned. The Scotsman has learned that
anti-terrorism police and the Security Service (often wrongly referred to as
MI5) have identified as many as 900 people in Britain whom they suspect could be
linked to potential terrorist plots. The figure has more than trebled in the
past 5 years, and represents a dramatic increase on a previously reported
estimate which put the number of suspected extremists at 400. The terrorist
threat facing the country is now said by Whitehall
officials to be at least as high as at the time of last July's London's bombings. The sobering assessment of
Britain's
security has been revealed as the government prepares to publish 2 official
accounts of last year's attacks. The exact number of suspected extremists - who
include people thought to be inspiring, financing and physically planning
attacks - could be revealed publicly for the first time today when John Reid,
the new Home Secretary, presents the government's official
"narrative" of the 7/7 bombings. In a separate report, parliament's
intelligence and security committee, which has access to confidential
intelligence material, will issue its annual report, including its verdict on
the July attacks. Although the committee report is expected to reject
suggestions that there was an "intelligence failure" that led to the
July attacks, the intelligence agencies are still braced for political
criticism following today's reports. In a rare public speech last autumn, Dame
Eliza Manningham-Buller, the head of the Security Service, said she and her
service were "bitterly disappointed" that the bombers were not
stopped. At least one of the 7/7 bombers, Mohammed Siddique Khan, was known to
the Security Service before the attacks, but was not kept under surveillance
because other counter-terror operations were given priority. The parliamentary
investigation is likely to conclude that a lack of resources was a crucial
factor in the failure to intercept the July bombers. And even though the
Security Service's budget and staffing levels are rising sharply - the service
will have 3,500 staff by 2008 - security sources say that it is still not
possible to constantly track all the people who cause concern. "Yes, the Security
Service is expanding, but the nature of the threat means that you'd need an
organisation with a staff the size of a small town to monitor everyone all the
time," said one Whitehall official. Monitoring a suspected terrorist is a
labour-intensive task. At the upper extreme, a 24-hour physical surveillance
operation can require up to 40 operatives working in shifts to plan and execute
successfully. Even monitoring telephone and electronic communications can soak
up relatively scarce resources such as translators and intelligence analysts.
The Security Service prides itself on its counter-terrorism record, having
foiled at least 3 planned attacks since last June and "many" more
beforehand. But government officials with access to the Security Service intelligence
reports say the security service is resigned to being unable to track every
suspect or prevent every attack. "The fact is that successful
counter-terrorism in this country now means stopping most of the plots, not all
of them," said the Whitehall
official. Meanwhile, Mr Reid could announce details of extra compensation for
the survivors of the July bombings as soon as today.
Ø
Blasts Hit
Pakistan Police
School
(BBC 2006/05/11) At least six policemen have been killed in a series of
explosions at a police training academy in Quetta,
the capital of Pakistan's
Balochistan province. The blasts were caused by five bombs planted in the
firing range at the academy, police say. Some officials have blamed the shadowy
Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) which is fighting for autonomy there.
Correspondents say Thursday's attack is one of the most daring since the
present unrest began two years ago. Reports from the scene say many of the dead
had lost limbs. The wounded were rushed to nearby hospitals. Doctors say that
11 of the injured are in critical condition. Some have been blinded or suffered
hearing loss. "As we were busy firing, suddenly there were huge blasts
nearby and I heard people crying in pain amid clouds of smoke and dust,"
one injured policeman, Shams-ud Din, told the AFP news agency. He said some
police were firing at targets and others were near the range when he heard the
succession of explosions. "It is clear that BLA militants are behind
this," Balochistan's police chief Chaudhry Mohammad Yaqoob told Reuters
news agency. Earlier this year the government banned the BLA, branding it a
terrorist organisation. The BLA has not yet commented in the explosions.
Taliban from Afghanistan
battling the government and foreign troops there have also been moving into Quetta recently in search
of support or shelter. Gas-rich Balochistan has suffered continuous violence as
tribal groups push for greater political and economic rights. The BLA wants an
end to military cantonments in Balochistan. Baloch nationalists are also
opposed to huge development projects arguing that they feel may marginalise the
local Baloch population. Government forces launched military operations in two
districts of Balochistan in December after rockets were fired near President
Pervez Musharraf when he visited the province. According to local tribal
leaders, a large number of civilians have died in the military operation since
then, but this has not been confirmed by officials.
Ø
4 Marines Killed In Tank Accident In Iraq
(AP May 12, 2006)
- Four Marines drowned when their tank rolleed off a bridge and plunged into a
canal, the military said Friday, adding that while the accident occurred in a
Sunni insurgent stronghold, it was not the result of an enemy action. The
deaths brought to at least 12 the number of US service members who have died in
Iraq
this week, according to an Associated Press count. The accident occurred
Thursday when the four Marines with Regimental Combat Team 5 were travelling in
a US M1A1 Main Battle Tank near Karmah, 50 miles west of Baghdad in Anbar province. US-led coalition
forces have seen heavy fighting in the area, known as the Sunni Triangle
because it is rife with Sunni insurgents. The accident was under investigation,
and the military said no other information was immediately available, including
what kind of operation the Marines were taking part in and whether fighting
with insurgents was under way in the area at that time. Elsewhere, three US
Army soldiers were killed Thursday when roadside bombs hit two US convoys southwest of Baghdad, the military said. The US command also
announced that an American soldier died Tuesday from wounds not suffered in
combat. Their deaths raised to at least 2,434 the number of members of the US military who have died since the beginning of
the Iraq
war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
Ø
Iraq Hero Beat Up Recruit
(Sky News May 12,
2006) One of Britain's most highly-decorated soldiers is to be
sentenced today for mistreating and assaulting army recruits. Colour Sergeant
Christopher Broome, 37, admitted eight counts of ill treating a soldier and one
count of battery. Broome, of the 1st Battalion the Princess of Wales's Royal
Regiment, won the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for his role in a bayonet charge
on Iraqi insurgents at Al Majar Al Kabir in 2004. The award is second only to
the Victoria Cross. After the tour of duty in Iraq,
Broome, originally from Dover, was posted to the
army training regiment at Winchester,
Hants. It was there the offences against recruits taking part in basic training
were committed last July. Broome admitted hitting Private Simon Eikins on the
head with a pace stick - the battery charge. The recruit required hospital
treatment. He also admitted ordering eight other trainees to variously eat dust
or string, grass and a piece of plastic and to lick wax or boot polish off his
pace stick. The admissions were made at a hearing in Aldershot
on Monday. Broome is presently with his unit at Paderborn
in Germany.
Ø
Harry's Road To The Front Line Starts Here
(Telegraph: 12/05/2006) Britain’s
Prince Harry will begin the training this month that will prepare him for
immediate deployment in Iraq,
senior officers said yesterday. For the next five months the newly-commissioned
officer will take the troop commander's course in Dorset
and get "up to his elbows in engine grease" while sharing a cramped
and sometimes noxious tank with two others. Extra security measures have been
taken at the Armour Centre in Bovington where the prince will learn to lead a
troop of four Scimitar armoured reconnaissance vehicles. The training, which
starts on May 22, will make Prince Harry qualified to lead his men into battle
by October when he joins the Household Cavalry Regiment in Windsor. Discussions are under way at a
senior level to consider the security implications on sending the prince into Iraq where 109
British troops have been killed. The Royal Armoured Corps has been on almost
continuous operations for the past 10 years serving everywhere apart from Sierra Leone. A
squadron of Household Cavalry will deploy to Afghanistan next month and early
next year another will be sent to Iraq for six months as part of 1 Armoured
Brigade. The decision how to use the prince, who has expressed a strong desire
to fight alongside his men on operations, will be made by his commanding
officer at Windsor, Lt Col Ed Smyth-Osbourne. "He is third in line to the
throne and that brings with it certain implications. But Prince Harry is a
troop commander and he has a job to do," said Col Jamie Martin, the chief
of staff at the Armour Centre. "Here he will be treated like any other
officer and he will be addressed by me by his christian name and by others as
Cornet Wales." Cornet is a rank unique to the Blues and Royals and is used
to address a second lieutenant. "It will be a physically and mentally
challenging course but one that will prepare him well for the future," the
officer added. Prince Harry will learn "the skills of a poacher"
using his armoured reconnaissance vehicle and its surveillance equipment to be
the eyes and ears of his commanders. The eight-ton Scimitar, with a 30mm cannon
and powered by a 4.2 litre Jaguar engine has been used extensively in Iraq for long-range patrols and will provide
mobile armour for the lightly-armed troops in Helmand province in Afghanistan. On
the course the prince will learn driving and maintenance, signalling, gunnery
and armoured tactics. When he goes to Windsor
he will command a troop of 11 men including a "hugely experienced and
wise" sergeant, two corporals and eight other soldiers. Col Martin ended
his briefing at Bovington by quoting a Second World War tank commander just
after an engagement with the enemy. The anonymous officer said: "The 75mm
is firing but the 37mm is firing traverse round the wrong way. The Browning has
jammed. I am saying 'driver advance' on the radio set and the driver, who
cannot hear me, is reversing and as I look out of the top of the turret and see
12 enemy tanks 50 yards away someone hands me a cheese sandwich." Prince
Harry should be prepared for things to be as chaotic, Col Martin added.
Ø
First-ever Canadian woman soldier killed in Afghanistan
(Canadian Press May 17, 2006) Canada
suffered its first-ever death of female combat soldier during a lengthy
firefight with Taliban insurgents Wednesday evening. Captain Nichola Goddard,
of 1st Royal Canadian Horse Artillery based in Shilo,
Man., was killed in action at 6:55 p.m. local
time, 24 kilometres west of Kandahar city, said
Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, commander of the multinational brigade based in Kandahar. Goddard's age
and hometown were not immediately available. She was married, with no children.
Although Canadian women lost their lives in action in both the First and Second
World Wars, Goddard was the first to do so in a combat role. "I believe
it's safe to say she was the first woman in a combat-arms military occupation
(such as artillery, infantry, or armoured) killed in front-line combat,"
said Lieut. Morgan Bailey, a media liaison officer in Ottawa. Goddard was serving as a forward
artillery observer, helping to target the artillery guns by observing where the
shells fell. Combat roles were first opened to Canadian women in 1990. Canadian
forces were acting in support of the Afghan National Police and the Afghan
National Army, who had received information a large number of Taliban fighters
were massing in the Panjwai district, about 24 kilometres west of Kandahar, an area that
has seen off-on fighting for weeks, said Fraser. Soldiers from the 1st Battalion,
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, to which Goddard had been
attached, were supporting the Afghans by forming a ring around the battle area,
Fraser said. "We were there to back them up and support them, providing
outer cordons. All the inner work was being done by the Afghan security
forces." Coalition air support was also involved. Details were still
sketchy around Goddard's death, said Fraser. "There was a firefight out
there and sometime during the firefight she was killed." Fighting had
stopped Wednesday night but Fraser said the operation was expected to continue
Thursday. As debate about Canada's
mission raged on Parliament Hill, Fraser said the commitment of Goddard and all
Canadian soldiers has never wavered. "This is an important mission,"
he said. "This is a mission that the soldiers believe in. This is a
mission that the soldiers continue to go out every day and prosecute with
passion." "Nichola was doing a job that she loved. Everyone around me
said that she loved what she was doing." "She's indicative of all the
men and women serving over here in Afghanistan and Canadians should be
proud of the work that their soldiers are doing in a very difficult
environment." "But the Afghan people deserve no less than our
continued support to see through this fight to its end." Five women were
killed in action in the Second World War. The First World War saw 29 female
combat deaths. Goddard has become the 17th Canadian killed in Afghanistan since 2002: one diplomat and 16
soldiers, including four who died in the friendly-fire bombing by a US plane. Her
death came on a day when Canadian troops tried to relax and enjoy themselves.
Earlier that afternoon, the military had relaxed its strict no-alcohol policy
allowing soldiers two bottles of beer apiece to sip in the hot Afghan sun and
the evening saw a four-hour musical performance by Canadian stars such as
singer Michelle Wright. Canada
has about 2,300 troops in Afghanistan,
most of them in Kandahar, as part of an
international effort to help the Kabul
government assert its authority and fight Taliban insurgents, who have been
engaging the US-led coalition and NATO forces in hostilities in many parts of
the country. Kandahar,
in the south, is regarded as a hotbed of insurgent attacks and the spiritual
home of the extremist Taliban movement. The Taliban were ousted from power by
US-led forces after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
The Taliban regime was blamed for harbouring Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda
terrorist organization while it was in power. © The Canadian Press
Ø
Rule Change Will Let Gurkhas Settle In Britain
(The Telegraph: 18/05/2006) Hundreds of retired Gurkhas are preparing to
emigrate from Nepal to Britain
following a change in rules for issuing visas to the old soldiers. Twenty-nine
applications were lodged with the British embassy in Kathmandu
yesterday, after the change became apparent. Major Tikendra Dewan, of the
British Gurkha Welfare Society, will file a similar number of applications
every day for a week. Purna Gurung, 53, who hopes to work as a security guard
or a driver, said: "Because of the crisis in Nepal
everyone would like to go to the UK -it's civilised. Here it's
dangerous to go out." The visa change addresses an anomaly that had
infuriated veterans' groups. Official policy said only Gurkhas who retired
after 1997 were allowed to settle in Britain while older veterans were
excluded. But the Home Office routinely granted older Gurkhas leave to remain
while the Kathmandu embassy refused to let them even travel to the UK in case they
stayed. Visa officers abroad are now told to use the same
"discretion" as the Home Office.
Ø
US Terror Inmates 'Ambush Guards'
(BBC 2006/05/19) Inmates at the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba
have attacked guards after luring them with a staged suicide attempt, the US
military said. The detainees used weapons crafted from fans and light fixtures
and the disturbance was quelled with minimum force, a US military
spokesman said. Six inmates were reportedly hurt in the clash. Earlier two
inmates tried to kill themselves with prescribed drugs. Thursday's incident
coincides with a UN call on the US
to close down the camp. The UN Committee against Torture said the US should
release detainees or give them access to a judicial process. The US military has described Thursday's attack as
the most violent and best organised in the history of the Guantanamo Bay
prison camp. The BBC's Adam Brookes in Washington
says this is the first time that details have emerged of such an incident involving
more than one inmate, although individuals regularly resist guards. The US military
said guards responded to an apparent attempt at suicide in Camp 4, a less
restrictive part of the facility where detainees are allowed move more freely
as a reward for good behaviour. The facility's commanding officer, Rear Admiral
Harry Harris said the attempt was "a ruse to get the guards to enter the
compound". He said 10 detainees then attacked the guards as they entered
the area, whose floor had been "slickened" with excrement, urine and
soap. Weapons such as broken light fittings and fan blades were used and at one
point, another military spokesman said, the guards "were losing the
fight". The violence spread, as other inmates began destroying fittings in
their parts of the prison. The military said it took a team of 23 guards an
hour to quell the unrest, using pepper spray and non-lethal shotgun rounds. A
spokesman said six detainees were treated for minor injuries and no soldiers
were hurt. None of the detainees involved has been named. All those involved in
the clash were removed to higher-security parts of the centre. Earlier, two
detainees are said to have attempted to commit suicide by overdosing on
prescription drugs they had been hoarding. Both were reportedly unconscious but
in a stable condition. The military says there have been 39 suicide attempts in
the camp since 2002, and hunger strikes have been common as detainees protest
against their continued detention without trial. About 460 detainees are held
at Guantanamo, which opened after the US-led
invasion of Afghanistan
in 2001.
Ø
Most Feared Taliban Commander Reported To Be Captured
(Scotsman 20 May 2006) A Senior Taliban military commander, Mullah Dadullah,
has been captured in Afghanistan,
it was reported yesterday. Mullah Dadullah was said to have been captured by
international troops in the southern province
of Kandahar. However one
Taliban spokesman, Mohammad Hanif, denied Dadullah had been captured, adding
that he had spoken to him by radio yesterday. Other Taliban figures were
checking the report, saying they were unable to confirm or deny it. The
one-legged Dadullah has been blamed for much of the recent violence in the
southern province
of Helmand, where
thousands of British troops are being deployed. General Rehmatullah Raufi, the
head of the Afghan military's southern region, said coalition troops captured a
one-legged militant during a battle in the Panjwayi district of Kandahar
province, fighting that led to the deaths of 18 militants and a female Canadian
soldier. About 35 militants were detained in that fight. General Raufi said the
militant was seriously wounded and unconscious in a military hospital. He said
there was a "good chance" the militant was Dadullah, but that he did not
know for certain. A spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai said three
high-ranking Taliban had been captured this week but he could not confirm that
Mullah Dadullah was one of them. Dadullah is a veteran of the mujahideen war
against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s and later
became one of the Taliban’s most feared field commanders. He is on the
Taliban’s ten-man leadership council and is regarded as close to fugitive
Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.
Ø
Police Brutality in Brazil
Breeds Crime
(Associated Press May 19, 2006)-- A police car screeched to a halt in the Novo
Mundo slum. Children scattered as three officers with guns and bulletproof
vests leapt out and ran into a tenement. Minutes later, the police left and an
angry 17-year-old emerged, presenting bruises on his cheek and chest as
evidence of the officers' abuse. "I have no idea why they did this,"
Diego Romao dos Santos
muttered as he walked down the dusty streets. In Novo Mundo and other
"favelas" that surround Brazil's largest city, police are
more feared than gangs, and anger over police brutality helped fuel a week of
attacks that has killed at least 170 people. The violence erupted in the 600
overcrowded and crime-infested favelas sprinkled around Sao Paulo, a city of 18 million. Jailed
leaders of the First Capital Command, or PCC, Brazil's most notorious organized
crime group, lashed out after police transferred them to a remote prison. Using
cell phones smuggled into their cells, they commanded their
"soldiers" to strike back at the state. Slum dwellers attacked
courthouses, banks and police stations with machine guns, grenades and Molotov
cocktails. They set buses on fire and seized control of prisons. Gun battles
rang out in the streets and public transportation ground to a halt. Businesses
in Brazil's
financial capital closed, and frightened parents kept children home from
school. By Friday, when the violence appeared to subside, authorities had
counted 170 dead _ 107 suspected criminals, 41 police and prison officers, 18
inmates and four civilians. Police Colonel Elizeu Eclair said the number of
attacks had dropped over the past few days because the "good citizens
stayed home." "It was easier to identify the bandits," he said,
calling the latest attacks. For Cicero Pinheiro de Nascimento, president of the
Novo Mundo Residents' Association, nobody should have been surprised by the
PCC's ability to mobilize in the slums. Police raids like the one Thursday in
which the teenager was roughed up are a common occurrence, he said. "What
you saw has been part of our daily lives for years," Nascimento said,
walking along an open-air sewer surrounded by wood-and-cardboard shacks housing
some of Novo Mundo's 12,000 residents. "We are easy prey for corrupt police
who abuse their power and demand money in exchange for not taking us to jail on
trumped-up charges of drug or weapons possession." Throughout the week,
human rights groups have questioned the police backlash as officials refused to
give details of the rising death toll among "suspected criminals."
Asked Friday about allegations of police brutality, the Sao Paulo state police had no immediate
comment. A single, non-fatal attack was registered against police on Friday _
two men were arrested after firing shots at the Criminal Institute in the city
of Osasco in
Greater Sao Paulo, police said. One of the weapons apprehended bore the
inscription "PCC." Unlike other Latin American crime gangs with
international ties, the PCC is confined to Brazil,
and runs its operations _ drug and weapons smuggling, bank hold-ups,
kidnappings, extortion and murder _ chiefly from the slums of Sao Paulo. Most favela residents are not
enamoured of the PCC, but they often look the other way, finding the gang less
threatening than the law. "You don't mess with (the PCC), and they won't
mess with you," Nascimento said. "If you do mess with them, they will
kill you. But they do not cause the fear and hatred slum dwellers feel toward
police." Across town in the Nelson Cruz slum, a labyrinth of narrow, dark
and dank alleyways, one woman said the PCC wins support by protecting residents
from "other bandits who once in a while try to rob us." But she said
residents are fearful of the gang as well, and asked that her name not be used
"because they may come after me if they knew I talked to you." But
each time police sweep through her shantytown, the PCC gains supporters, she
said. "I know too many people who have been victims of police abuse to
trust those who are supposed to protect me."
Ø
Full Steam Ahead: Brussels
Draws Up Plan For 'EU Navy'
(The Telegraph: 21/05/2006) The European Commission has drawn up plans to set
up a European coastguard, which critics fear is a back-door attempt by Brussels
to create an EU navy with its own powers to stop and search shipping. Plans to
upgrade the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) into a fully-fledged
coastguard are buried in a document revising European Union (EU) transport
policy that is due to be published next month. The commission says a European
coastguard would help to enforce maritime legislation. It would have the
authority to intercept shipping across all of Europe's
traditional maritime borders, which could require that crews be armed - and
raises questions of national sovereignty over coastal waters. Lloyd's List, the
daily newspaper which covers the maritime industry, accused the commission of
attempting to build up a navy by stealth in a leading article last week.
"The concept of a European coastguard has a federalist charm about it that
causes eyes to brighten instantly among gatherings of Europhiles, tired of
endless discussions about fish or agriculture," the newspaper said.
"In a way, it is a European navy, by the back door." The commission
document is written in French and entitled Préparer la Mobilité de Demain
(Preparing Tomorrow's Mobility). In it, the commission says it believes the
time has come to consider the "concept of a European coastguard".
Such a body would improve passenger safety at sea and environmental protection
legislation, it says. Its main role initially would be to avert maritime
pollution disasters, such as the oil slick that devastated French and Spanish
Atlantic coasts in 2002, when the aged Prestige tanker snapped in half. The
coastguard would be easy to implement, the commission notes, because the EU can
"from today call on the support of the safety agencies", including
EMSA. The Lisbon-based agency came to life two years ago as a technical body to
help the commission to draw up maritime legislation. But its remit and staffing
levels have increased rapidly since then. It controls a small fleet of ships
and has a staff of around 120 - more than twice the number originally
envisaged. The European parliament has long supported forming an EU coastguard,
claiming that the principle of the coastguard is already accepted by all EU
governments, including Britain.
The Council of Ministers, the institution that represents governments in Brussels, last year
agreed to a feasibility study on its creation. Until now, however, it has not
been official EU policy. Critics say a European coastguard would be more
complicated to set up than a European army because national coastguards today
have varying functions, both military and civil.
Ø
Colombian Troops Kill 10
Police in "Friendly Fire"
(Reuters May 23,
2006) - A Colombian army patrol accidentally killed 10 police
officers engaged in an undercover operation in one of the country's worst
"friendly fire" incidents, authorities said on Monday. A civilian was
also shot dead by the army patrol. The deadly confusion just days before
elections dealt a blow to President Alvaro Uribe who has led a military
crackdown on left-wing FARC rebels, rightist paramilitary militia and the
cocaine trade that illegal armed groups use for financing. "In the course
of army and police operations ... there was an incident involving the security
forces during which 10 police and one civilian were killed," Defence
Minister Camilo Ospina told reporters. The incident took place in a rural
region of Valle province, where drug traffickers and the 17,000-strong
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC, the country's largest left-wing
rebel group, are active. Uribe, a Washington
ally whose government has received billions of dollars in US anti-drug
and military aid, is popular for reducing crime and kidnapping in the cities
and is expected to win re-election in Sunday's ballot. But thousands of people
are still killed or forced from their homes each year by illegal armed groups
who control large parts of Colombia's
rural countryside and jungle. Uribe was elected in 2002 promising to smash the
insurgency by the FARC. Since then his government has demobilized 30,000
right-wing militia fighters and started talks with the smaller ELN rebel group.
But the FARC will not negotiate. Colombia's security forces have
been involved in eight so-called friendly fire incidents since 2004 that have
killed 32 soldiers or police officers and five civilians. Uribe's critics say
increased government pressure for results from his security forces has triggered
friendly fire incidents and human rights abuses against civilians caught up the
conflict.
Ø
British Troops In Iraq For
Another Four Years
(The Telegraph: 23/05/2006) British troops could spend up to four more years in
Iraq after Tony Blair reached agreement yesterday with the country's new prime
minister on the phased handover of control to civilian authorities. Mr Blair
flew to Baghdad
amid tight security to show support for the national unity government sworn in
three days ago after months of argument. Standing shoulder to shoulder with
Nouri al-Maliki, Mr Blair called the formation of a power-sharing government a
"new beginning", although he admitted it had taken longer than he had
hoped. The two men said they expected Iraq's
home-grown forces to take on responsibility for "territorial
security" in much of Iraq
by December. But Mr Blair stressed that the transition would depend on
conditions on the ground. British sources hinted last night that up to 1,000 of
the 8,000-strong presence in Iraq
could be home this year. But they warned that a hand-over to civilian
authorities would not immediately lead to a swift pull-out - dashing Mr Blair's
hopes of bringing the troops home before his expected departure from No 10 next
summer. The scale of the threat from Iraqi insurgents was graphically
underlined as Mr Blair and his party of officials and journalists made a
half-hour flight on two Chinook helicopters from Kuwait
to the heavily fortified Green Zone in the heart of Baghdad. Flying just over the treetops, the
helicopters were shadowed by two Apache gunship helicopters. At one point, the
second Chinook's missile protection system fired off two flares as it skimmed
over a small village. Mr Blair's visit - only his second to the Iraqi capital -
was cloaked in secrecy amid fears of a possible attack and no news of the visit
was broadcast until he had landed in the Green Zone. Members of the honour
guard lining up along the red carpet were patted down by fellow Iraqi security
officials before Mr Blair and President Jalal Talabani reviewed the men who are
supposed to secure the future of Iraq. This appeared to be an
attempt to avoid an assassination of the kind that killed Egypt's
president Anwar Sadat during a military parade in 1981, when a soldier opened fire
on the review stand. Two bomb attacks killed nine people in Baghdad while Mr Blair was there and at least
20 other violent deaths were reported around the country. Mr Blair was the
first Western leader to visit Iraq
following the inauguration of its new government on Saturday. A senior official
travelling with Mr Blair said he hoped that all combat troops would leave
during the Iraqi government's four-year term. "The aim is to take Iraq to a
position where the multinational force is able to withdraw during its period in
office," he said. It was the firmest comment yet from one of the two main
allies. Mr Blair and Mr al-Maliki issued a joint statement that spoke
optimistically of starting to hand over responsibility for security to Iraqi
troops within weeks. However, Mr Blair later sidestepped questions about
whether British troops would still be in place in four years, saying he hoped
"slowly" to be able to release individual provinces into the full
control of Iraqi forces. "We want to move as fast as we can but it has to
be done in a way that protects the security of the Iraqi people."
Ø
Military Wages Campaign
Against Sexual Harassment Of Servicewomen (FT May
26 2006) A drive to root out sexual harassment in the military was launched
after an independent survey reported that more than two-thirds of servicewomen
had been the subject of "sexualised behaviour" in the past 12 months.
The biggest survey on sexual harassment conducted by a British employer found
that more than 6,000 servicewomen had been harassed in the past year. Behaviour
included the "making of unwelcome comments, sending sexually explicit
material, unwanted touching and sexual assaults". However, only 72 out of
1,400 women who claimed to have suffered a "particularly upsetting
experience" had taken official action because they lacked confidence in
complaints procedures. More than half said "there had been negative
consequence as a result of doing so". Some 49% of those subjected to a
particularly upsetting experience said it had lasted for more than two months
while 23% said it had lasted for more than six. A total of 9,384, 52% of
servicewomen, responded to the survey. Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup,
chief of the defence staff, said: "It is clear . . . that we have a
problem which we must deal urgently with. This is not about political
correctness; it is about operational effectiveness. Harassment damages people,
teamwork and operational capability. We have comprehensive and detailed
procedures for tackling it but they are not being consistently applied. "I
want every serviceperson, irrespective of rank, to understand that it is their
duty to challenge inappropriate behaviour; that a failure to do so lets us all
down." An agreement with the Equal Opportunities Commission says military
personnel "must feel able to complain and have confidence in complaints
procedures". These should include a robust investigation process,
high-quality support, effective sanctions and protection from harassment or
victimisation. The commission will monitor progress until 2008 when it will
decide whether action is needed. Sir Jock, when asked if pin-ups would be
banned, said it was "not about banning this or that" but about
changing the forces' culture. "We will not become fuzzy and unmilitary . .
but we will insist that every member of the armed forces recognises one another
for what they contribute rather than who they are."
Ø
Oldest British Regiment
Takes Last Salute
(Scotsman 27 May 2006) From Napoleon to Saddam Hussein, Edinburgh's Royal Scots
have spent nearly 400 years fighting foreign foes under their defiant
regimental motto: "Wha daur meddle wi' me." But yesterday the proud
soldiers of the oldest infantry regiment in the British Army took part in a
march to bid farewell to hundreds of years of history. For the Royal Scots are
to be merged with the King's Own Scottish Borderers to become one of five
battalions in the new Royal Regiment of Scotland. They will not forget their
history, however. The Royal Scots were created in 1633 under a Royal Warrant
from King Charles I, when one Sir John Hepburn recruited 1200 men in Scotland for service in France. Since
then the regiment has been called to arms in virtually every war which Britain has
taken part in. In 1661, the regiment became a model of excellence in the Army
after being summoned to bridge the gap between the disbanding of Cromwell's New
Model Army and the creation of a regular army. The regiment soon proved its
worth. Its first battle honours were won in Tangier in 1680, and on return to Britain in 1684
the title the Royal Regiment of Foot was conferred by King Charles II. In 1743,
the 1st Battalion went to Germany
to take part in the War of the Austrian Succession, and soon after, the 2nd
Battalion became involved in the fight against Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Young
Pretender, which culminated in the Battle of Culloden in 1746. During the
Napoleonic Wars, the regiment increased from two to four battalions, rising to
35 during the First World War. More than 100,000 men passed through those
battalions, of whom 11,000 were killed and more than 40,000 wounded.
Seventy-one battle honours and six Victoria Crosses were awarded to the
regiment. At the start of the Second World War, the 1st Battalion embarked for France as part of the British Expeditionary
Force, but was forced into the retreat which was to end at Dunkirk, and few escaped. The 2nd Battalion,
based in Hong Kong, also saw action when the
Japanese attacked in December 1941. Since 1945, the regiment has continued to
serve in countries around the world, including Germany,
Korea, Cyprus, Suez, Aden and Northern
Ireland. Today's soldiers have just returned
from their second tour of duty in Iraq.
Ø
Troops Pour Into Unstable E
Timor
(BBC ) East Timor's capital was reported to be
calm but tense on Friday as foreign troops arrived to quell clashes between
local security forces and ex-soldiers. A BBC correspondent, Phil Mercer, says
people are slowly starting to return to the capital Dili as the arrival of
Australian troops takes effect. But gunfire rang out from the outskirts of the
city on Friday and the exodus of foreign embassy staff continues. Australia, Portugal,
Malaysia and New Zealand
have agreed to send troops. Nine people died in one incident on Thursday, when
unarmed policemen, whom the East Timorese military suspected of aiding the
rebels, were shot dead by troops. Australia
has experience of providing military aid to East Timor as it led a UN-sponsored
force into the country in 1999 to end the unrest sparked when the population
voted for independence from Indonesia.
Late on Thursday the UN Security Council backed the deployment of foreign
troops in East Timor, only a year after UN
peacekeepers left. Eyewitnesses reported the sound of heavy machine-gun fire
and mortars from the hills surrounding Dili on Friday morning. Others told the
Australian press of long bursts of automatic weapons fire near the police
headquarters, the scene of Thursday's main bloodshed. "As the unarmed
police were being escorted out, army soldiers opened fire on them, killing nine
and wounding 27 others," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told the
Associated Press. Despite the unrest, Australia Defence Minister Brendan Nelson
insisted that the first wave of Australian troops had already improved the
situation. "With the 220 or so soldiers we already have on the ground, a
significant degree of stability has come to East Timor
and Dili overnight," he told Australian radio on Friday. "Over the
next 24 to 48 hours you will see the remainder of the 1,300 troops being
deployed roll out," he said. A smaller Malaysian force has also begun to
arrive to help the situation. The foreign forces are due to move into key sites
in the capital in the next few days, to try to separate the fighting factions,
according to East Timor's Foreign Minister
Jose Ramos-Horta. He added that the East Timorese troops would move back to
their barracks on the outskirts of the city. The unrest began in March, when
nearly 600 of the army's original force of 1,400 went on strike for better
working conditions. They were subsequently sacked.
Ø
No Planes To Bring Troops
Home From Iraq On Time
(The Telegraph: 28/05/2006) The impact of [British] Army
"overstretch" has emerged after the Government admitted that it is
struggling to fight wars on two fronts. Thousands of troops in Iraq have had their tour of duty extended from
six to seven and a half months because the RAF does not have enough transport
aircraft to move troops out of Afghanistan
and Iraq
at the same time. The RAF has fewer than five Tristar troop transporters. The revelation
undermines the claim that Operation Herrick - the deployment of 3,300 troops in
Afghanistan - would not
affect troops in Iraq.
The crisis follows previous warnings by former defence chiefs who have claimed
that soldiers' lives would be lost if the Army was constantly asked to "do
more with less". The problem has arisen because the troops serving in Afghanistan were due to be replaced after six
months on operations at the same time that 7,500 troops are serving in Iraq. The
troops facing an extended tour come from 20 Armoured Brigade, normally based in
Germany.
The unit began arriving in southern Iraq last month and could under
normal conditions have expected to return home in October. It is understood,
however, that the RAF has fewer than five Tristar troop transporters - each
capable of carrying 266 passengers - fitted with the necessary equipment to
protect them against missile attack. Although the Government has leased three
C17 transports from the United
States, the RAF was unable to give assurances
that it would be able to cope with transporting more than 20,000 troops over
two weeks. It is understood that the transport problem was first identified by
military planners earlier this year after the deployment to Afghanistan was
delayed because the British and Dutch governments could not agree on the exact
role of a multinational force being sent into the country. It can also be
revealed that 1Bn Grenadier Guards, which is serving with 20 Armoured Brigade
in Iraq, will come home
early to begin training for operations in Afghanistan from March next year.
The Ministry of Defence's own rules state that for reasons of morale and
operational effectiveness all units should, whenever possible, have at least a
24-month gap between deployments so soldiers can rest, train and be with their
families. Under routine deployments troops spend about six months in Iraq. The start
of the tour is usually staggered so that fresh troops can serve and patrol
alongside those who have been there for several months - a practice known as a
"hand-over take-over". Earlier this year Lord Guthrie, a former chief
of the defence staff, gave a warning that the Government would face
difficulties maintaining operations in Iraq
and Afghanistan.
Referring to Afghanistan,
Lord Guthrie, who is also Colonel Commandant of the Special Air Service, said:
"The British Army is already dangerously overstretched and maintaining a
force even of this size over the years will be difficult." The MoD
confirmed that a shortage of aircraft meant troops would spend longer in Iraq.
Ø
At Least 1,000 UK Soldiers
Desert
(BBC 2006/05/28) More than 1,000 members of the British military have deserted
since the start of the Iraq
war, the BBC has learned. Figures for those still missing are 86 from 2001, 118
from 2002, 134 from 2003, 229 from 2004, 377 from 2005, and 189 for this year
so far. The news comes as Parliament debates a law that will forbid military
personnel from refusing to participate in the occupation of a foreign country.
The MoD insists "absent without leave" figures have remained
constant. A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said the soldiers currently missing
were considered to be "absent without leave" and would have to be
court martialled before they could be found guilty of deserting. She added only
one person has been found guilty of deserting the Army since 1989. According to
MoD figures 2,670 soldiers went "absent without leave" in 2001, with
the figure rising to 2,970 in 2002 and falling in 2003 to 2,825. In 2004 it
rose to 3,050, falling back again in 2005 to 2,725. She added: "We regard
that figure as fairly constant. It often happens for family reasons and there
is no evidence to suggest operational commitments contribute significantly to
the figures." Justin Hugheston-Roberts was the solicitor for Flight
Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith who was sentenced to eight months in prison
for refusing to follow orders in connection with a deployment to Iraq. He said:
"I am approached regularly by people who are seeking to absent themselves
from service. There has been an increase, a definite upturn." Major
General Patrick Cordingley, who commanded the 7th Armoured Brigade "Desert
Rats" in the first Gulf war, said servicemen's views on Iraq prompted some
to leave but "good leadership" would stop it reaching epidemic
proportions. He said those who had been to Iraq before or whose families were
unhappy about them going were among those who might not want to serve there.
"If you have such a person in your unit you have to discuss things with
them... you do not necessarily want people with you if they have that
particular view," he added.
Ø
Coalition Raid Kills 50
Suspected Taliban
(Mail & Guardian 29 May 2006) Coalition
warplanes bombed Taliban meeting in a mosque in southern Afghanistan on Monday,
killing up to 50 suspected rebels, Afghan and the United States-led coalition
officials said. Five Canadian soldiers were wounded and a suspected Taliban
killed in a gun battle elsewhere in the volatile south. The coalition said they
had dropped a bomb on the rebels when they had retreated into a
"compound" after attacking an Afghan and coalition patrol in restive Helmand province's Kajaki district. "The Taliban had
gathered for a meeting in a mosque and coalition forces identified their
location," Helmand province's deputy
governor Amir Mohammad Akhunzada said. "In an attack by planes, about 50
Taliban were killed," he told Agence France-Presse. A coalition
spokesperson, Major Quentin Innes, said he could believe the figures given by
Akhunzada. "Based on the incident, that's not an unreasonable
number," he said, after he was asked if the figures were accurate.
"This morning Afghan national security forces and coalition forces were
attacked by ... suspected Taliban in Helmand
province," the spokesman told AFP. The coalition responded by dropping a 1
125kg bomb on the compound. A spokesperson for the governor's office, Mohaidin
Khan, confirmed the bombing but had no information on the casualties. In
separate incident, 5 Canadian soldiers were wounded and a suspected Taliban
killed in a gun battle early on Monday in Kandahar
province, the Canadian military said. The Canadians were wounded after
encountering a Taliban attack about 20km west of the provincial capital Kandahar. Security force
and Taliban activity always rises as the weather warms but has been
particularly intensive this year, with analysts saying the rebels appear more
organised and aggressive. There are more than 30,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan
serving either with a US-led coalition or a NATO force and working alongside
the Afghan army and police. The foreign troops, drawn from nearly 40 countries,
arrived with the fall of the Taliban in 2001 in an invasion led by the US after the
harsh regime failed to surrender Osama bin Laden for the September 11 attacks.
Despite their presence, the insurgency has become more violent with each
passing year and most of its leaders, who feature among the world's most-wanted
men, have evaded capture. -- AFP
Ø
MBEs For Japanese Who Help To 'Heal' PoWs
(Telegraph: 31/05/2006) Two Japanese researchers who have devoted decades to
uncovering the fate of Allied PoWs were yesterday awarded honorary MBEs (Member
of the British Empire) at the British Embassy in Tokyo. Yoshiko Tamura and
Taeko Sasamoto were praised in the citation for their "tireless
dedication" and "true commitment" to helping survivors of the
camps and their relatives. The two women have hosted hundreds of former PoWs
and their relatives in Japan.
This week they accompanied Frank Planton, 85, from Kings Lynn, to visit the
grave of his friend William Outen in the Commonwealth
Cemetery in Yokohama. They have also arranged for him to
visit the two camps in northern Japan
where he was held for three and a half years, including Hakodate where 114 men died. "The MBEs
are well deserved," said Mr Planton. "They took the trouble to come
over to England to interview
me and to find out about the old Hakodate
camp. And now I am getting the chance to visit the places where I was in Japan."
Last year the Japanese researchers' network published an internet database
giving information about who was held at which camp, including previously
unknown details of where and how men died. "We are relieved to know our
small efforts could help somebody's scar heal somehow - even if it is only a
little bit," said Mrs Tamura.
Ø
Soldiers' families face long
wait for inquests
(The Telegraph: 01/06/2006) Ministers were accused last night of failing the
families of more than 50 soldiers killed in Iraq who are still waiting for
inquests. The soldiers' relatives urged the Government to end their ordeal by
clearing the backlog of cases, half of which relate to deaths that occurred
three years ago. Despite months of pleading, the backlog is still as big as it
was a year ago when 55 cases were outstanding. The Government's only response
has been to grant £80,000 to take on some additional coroner staff. The bodies
of services personnel are flown back to RAF Brize Norton which means that all
the inquests have to be handled by Nicholas Gardiner, the Oxfordshire coroner.
His office has been overwhelmed by the conflict, which has claimed the lives of
113 British troops in just over three years. Harriet Harman, the constitutional
affairs minister, admitted early last month that 47 inquests still had to be
heard, 31 relating to the deaths of soldiers in 2003, nine from 2004 and seven
from 2005. Since then, nine more troops have died in Iraq, bringing the number of
pending cases to 56. The hold-up was criticised last night by Peter Brierley,
of Batley, west Yorks, whose son Shaun, 28, died in a road accident during the
invasion in March 2003. After three years and three months, his son's inquest
will finally take place on June 21 and Mr Brierley said his wife and he were
braced for a "very tough, emotional journey". Mr Brierley said the Oxford coroner had
promised to bring in extra staff last year "but they never
materialised", leading to a further backlog. "If they had done the
inquests locally we would have had ours a long time ago," he said.
"We would rather it was done quickly so that we can move forward."
Although the soldiers' bodies are normally returned to their families at the
opening of an inquest shortly after they are flown home, the delay of up to
three years in reaching a verdict has greatly prolonged the suffering for
relatives. A spokesman for Miss Harman said that Miss Harman was preparing to
publish a draft Bill this month to reform the coroners' court system. The Bill
is expected to include plans to scrap the existing system of boundary
restrictions which prevents coroners from sitting outside their own area of
jurisdiction. Ministers hope the change will make it easier to draft in other
coroners to help clear the backlog, although critics say that the Bill could
take more than a year to reach the statute book.
Ø
Ethics training for troops
in Iraq after 'massacre'
(The Telegraph: 02/06/2006) A senior US commander in Iraq ordered all coalition
forces to have fresh legal, moral and ethical training yesterday as Washington
grappled with potentially its greatest military disgrace since the My Lai
massacre of the Vietnam war. The order came as investigators prepared to
conclude today the first of two reports into the apparent massacre of 24
civilians by US marines in the town of Haditha
last November. No officers are said to have been present at the scene of the
massacre but a military report is expected to conclude that officers misled
their superiors about the incident, according to the Washington Post. The
commanders were then negligent in failing to scrutinise the initial reports of
the incident, an army official told the newspaper. Lt Gen Peter Chiarelli, the
commander of US combat
troops in Iraq,
directed his officers to give all their troops a refresher course in "core
warrior values training" over the next month. "Of the nearly 150,000
Coalition Forces presently in Iraq,
99.9 per cent of them perform their jobs magnificently every day,'' he said in
a statement. "They do their duty with honour under difficult circumstances
… and they do the right thing even when no one is watching. Unfortunately,
there are a few individuals who sometimes choose the wrong path.'' His
statement did not mention the town of Haditha,
but it was clearly issued in response to the shocking reports that US marines
shot dead 24 civilians there, apparently after one of their unit was killed by
a roadside bomb. The massacre on Nov 19 last year is being widely described in
the US media as a smaller
version of the 1968 My Lai massacre. The
slaughter there of hundreds of unarmed civilians by US soldiers fuelled
domestic opposition to the Vietnam War. Military spokesmen initially described
the Haditha incident as an ambush on a joint US-Iraqi patrol and suggested that
15 civilians had been killed in a roadside bombing. A three-month investigation
by an Army major general is expected to be formally handed to the Pentagon
today with the stark conclusion that there were "multiple failings".
The finding will fuel accusations of a cover-up, a charge that President George
W Bush attempted to defuse yesterday when he promised a "full and open
investigation" in the best traditions of a "transparent"
society. A second broader criminal investigation is to be concluded later this
summer and is expected to result in marines being court-martialled for murder
and other charges. The new stricture for coalition forces envisages a rerun of
training on rules of engagement that all forces had before deploying in Iraq. Lt Gen
Chiarelli said that "it was important that we take time to reflect on the
values that separate us from our enemies".
Ø
Suicide attack kills 4
Pakistani soldiers (Xinhua June 02, 2006) At least
four Pakistani soldiers were killed and eight other injured Friday when two
suicide bombers rammed their explosive-laden car into a convoy of security
forces in remote town in the country's northwest frontier province, a TV
channel reported. The two suicide bombers were also killed in the attack at
Baka Khel area near the restive North Waziristan
tribal region, private Geo TV said, adding that there was no official reaction
about the attack. The convoy was going to Bannu, a major town in the area, from
Mir Ali, a town in North Waziristan. The
injured soldiers were taken to a military hospital in Bannu. The injured
security men are stated to be in critical condition. The targeted vehicle of
the security forces was destroyed in the attack, the TV said.
Ø
US soldiers cleared of
murdering Iraqi civilians in raid ·
(The Guardian June 3, 2006) American soldiers have been cleared of deliberately
killing Iraqi civilians in one of several incidents that have raised questions
about the conduct of the occupying force, it emerged yesterday. But US marines
still face murder charges for two other incidents. According to defence
officials quoted last night, a military investigation has cleared troops involved
in the March raid on Ishaqi, 60 miles north of Baghdad, in which women and children were
killed. The BBC broadcast footage from Ishaqi apparently questioning the
American version of events, which contended that four people were killed when
US troops raided a house in pursuit of an al-Qaeda suspect. Iraqi police say 11
people including four children were executed and the house subsequently
demolished. According to yesterday's reports, the troops were found to have
followed normal operating procedures in using force in approaching the house.
US forces in Iraq
still face scrutiny for the actions of marines in two other incidents in which
civilians were killed. Defence lawyers for US marines being held at Camp Pendleton, California
said seven marines and one sailor were facing possible murder, kidnapping and
conspiracy charges over the death of an Iraqi man in the Baghdad suburb of Hamandiyah on April 26.
According to media reports, the victim was dragged from his house and shot and
a gun was planted on the body. Meanwhile, navy investigators were reported to
be planning to exhume the victims of an alleged massacre in Haditha,
north-western Iraq,
last November, to examine claims that the 24 dead people had been shot at close
range by a marine unit on the rampage after the death of one its own. A
separate army investigation into a possible cover-up of the Haditha incident
was due to have been completed yesterday but a marine officer said the findings
might be withheld until the criminal inquiry is completed. In the fourth case
known to be under investigation, a pregnant woman in labour and her cousin were
killed by a hail of gunfire in Samarra on
Tuesday when their car failed to stop at a US checkpoint on their way to
hospital. All US troops in Iraq will have to attend a workshop on battlefield
ethics this month, but Iraq's prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, said his
government was losing patience with reports of civilian deaths at the hands of
coalition forces. "There is a limit to the acceptable excuses," he said.
"Yes, a mistake may happen, but there is an acceptable limit to
mistakes." Mr Maliki suggested that the civilian deaths would be a factor
in future talks on the presence of foreign troops in Iraq. The Iraqi government would
mount its own investigation into the Haditha incident, he said, and asked for
US files on the case to be handed over. The naval criminal investigation
service, which is leading the Haditha criminal inquiry, has said it began its
work only in March, four months after the event, and much of the forensic
evidence had been destroyed. The exhumation of bodies and their examination
might fill some of the forensic gaps, but will prolong the investigation into
the summer.
Ø
‘Bad behaviour’ holding US troops back from
conquering Kabul
(June 04, 2006 afp)
It is an average afternoon in a suburb of Kabul
– a convoy of US military trucks belts down the road. From atop a Humvee, a
helmeted and heavily armed soldier gestures aggressively at a civilian driver,
who can do nothing but meekly pull over and let them pass. Many Kabulis find
their behaviour arrogant and disrespectful – even though Afghan drivers could
themselves learn some lessons about road etiquette. “I don’t like Americans.
They are arrogant, they are selfish and they act in a manner quite opposite to
our traditions,” said Matin Rahimi, an employee of the national airline Ariana.
“Whoever says they are here to help us, I don’t believe them,” he said. Similar
criticism comes even from those who think the US military presence is vital to
preventing the country from again descending into conflict such as the
1992-1996 civil war that destroyed half the capital and left tens of thousands
dead. “If we look at the history, the really bad time with our own people, I
would say the presence of Americans is necessary... at least for the time
being,” said telephone salesman Mohammad Akram Aman. “But at the same time I
would say the way they operate is not acceptable. If they want to stay here,
they really need to change their behaviour,” Aman said. Most foreign military
vehicles usually belt through this congested city to avoid becoming a target of
militant strikes with several suicide blasts in the capital in the past eight
months. And it is not just US
troops that point their guns at drivers and pedestrians, and yell down to let
them pass. But the Americans are regarded as the most aggressive. The issue
came to a head on Monday when a heavily loaded US military truck ploughed into
several civilians cars, unleashing a day of riots in the worst violence the
city has seen since the Taliban were toppled in 2001. About 20 people were
killed in the crash and subsequent rampaging, according to a rough figure given
by Afghan officials to the US-led coalition. President Hamid Karzai’s office
said five civilians were killed in the crash; the coalition says it knows of
one death and six injured. An angry crowd gathered and began hurling stones at
the troops. What happened next is not clear: the coalition admits soldiers did
“use weapons in self-defence” but does not say if they fired into the mob;
witnesses say they saw at least four people shot dead. The fast-developing and
confused chain of events gave rise to baseless rumours that whipped up the
crowd and saw hundreds of men take to the streets torching buildings and cars,
ransacking offices and chanting “Death to America, Death to Karzai”. A
foreign national working for one of the nongovernmental groups that was looted
was told that 300 people were killed in the accident. Some demonstrators swore
the US
soldiers were drunk, Afghan media said. The coalition voiced its regret, saying
the crash had been unavoidable because the heavy vehicle’s brakes failed. It
was also “aware of concerns over coalition driving procedures and behaviour”
and was addressing the problem, spokesman Colonel Tom Collins told reporters.
The international forces “go wherever they want, they display their power,
break the law, and hit people,” said Abdul Razaq Momun, political analyst and
news editor in an article by the IWPR institute that writes about Afghanistan and
trains Afghan journalists. “That is very bad for Afghans’ sense of honour.
People may not show their reaction immediately; it may be six months, a year,
or three years, but they will definitely react,” he said.
& On the Lighter Side
Ø Army Menagerie Of Regimental Mascots Costs £12,000 A Year
(The Telegraph: 17/05/2006) More than £12,000 a
year is spent by the Ministry of Defence and British regiments on two goats,
two Shetland ponies and five other regimental mascots. The largest single bill
is £4,300 for two drum horses but food and veterinary care for two wolfhounds
does not come cheap at £3,100 a year. The two regimental goats, by comparison,
are much better value. They have an estimated cost of no more than £500 a year.
The regimental mascot bill is revealed in a letter from Adam Ingram, the
defence minister, to Gordon Prentice, the Labour MP for Pendle. Mr Prentice
said he was not complaining about the expenditure but had had his curiosity
aroused by seeing a regimental goat on television. Apart from the dogs, goats
and drum horses, the regimental team includes two Shetland ponies, one Indian
black buck and one ram. The ram costs £700 a year and the ponies £3,000, while
the Indian black buck has a budget of about £700. Mr Ingram made clear that not
all the estimated £12,300 bill was met by the MoD as nearly all the animals
were partly paid for by individual regimental funds. "Where a particular
mascot has died. . . and a replacement is awaited, indicative costs are used to
broadly account for the likely expenditure had the animal survived for the full
12-month period," said the minister in a detailed reply. Mr Ingram
appeared somewhat defensive over the cost of the dogs: "Although it may
appear that the costs of maintaining the dogs are relatively high, you may wish
to bear in mind that these are wolfhounds which, as a result of generations of
inbreeding, require a refined diet and a great deal of veterinary care."
Ø Football Fans In Ticket Hold-Up
(BBC 2006/05/16) Two football fans in Paris have held a group
of councillors in a town hall at gunpoint, demanding tickets for Wednesday's
Champions League final. The men, threatening to shoot one of the councillors in
the foot, demanded to see the mayor to get tickets. When they realised the
mayor was not there, they fled empty-handed. The town hall in the suburb of Saint-Denis usually gets
tickets as it is home to the stadium where the Barcelona-Arsenal match will be
played. Tickets for the final between the Spanish and English sides at the
Stade de France are changing hands on the black market for anything from 500
euros to 2,000 euros (£300-£1,300). The two masked men broke into the town hall
late on Monday night and burst into the council meeting, brandishing a gun.
There, they took 13 councillors hostage and said they wanted to see the mayor
to get tickets for the match. "They said they were going to shoot us. We
did as we were told. They were asking for 'stadium tickets' and looking for the
mayor," deputy mayor for health Stephane Prive told the AFP news agency.
No-one was injured, but the councillors were left in shock, says the BBC's
Caroline Wyatt in Paris.
On Tuesday, the mayor of Saint-Denis
said no tickets for the final were being kept at the town hall - even though
his office does get an allocation for most matches played at the Stade de
France.
Ø Canada Thief Strips, Fails To Give Police The Slip
(Reuters May 18,
2006) - A Canadian bank robber has discovered that stripping off his
clothes in public was not the best way to escape the police. The man disrobed
after robbing a bank in the Vancouver suburb of Burnaby on Wednesday, but
then was unable to get taxi driver to give him a ride. "The quick thinking
cab driver assessed the fare's unusual clothing, or lack of, and relied on his
gut instincts and denied him access to his cab," the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police said in a statement. Police said the suspect then attempted to
flee the scene via a public transit station, but was spotted by officers and
tackled.
Ø WW2 Plane Loses Cockpit Cover, Hits Takeaway Stand
(Reuters May 18,
2006) - The glass cockpit bonnet of a vintage World War Two US
fighter P51 Mustang came off in mid-flight over Germany and destroyed a
takeaway stand near the western German town of Muenster, police said on
Thursday. No one was hurt when pieces of the glass covering of the
single-propeller plane crashed into the roof of a house and demolished the
takeaway stand on Wednesday, police said. The debris missed hitting a woman by
about one metre (yard). But the British pilot of the plane, which had taken off
from near London, carried on another 400 km (250
miles) to his destination at Berlin's
Schoenefeld airport without reporting the loss of the cockpit's glass cover.
"The pilot just kept on flying, apparently as if nothing had
happened," a police spokesman in Muenster said. Police said the
bonnet-less plane, which was built in 1942 and is capable of flying 700 km/h,
was found parked correctly at the International Air Show in Berlin but there was no trace of the pilot.
The pilot is wanted for questioning, police said.
Ø German Mugger Pleads For Bus Fare
(Reuters May 16,
2006) - A knife-wielding mugger was reduced to pleading with a
pensioner for his bus fare home after she refused to hand over her purse,
police in northern Germany
said on Tuesday. With his woolly hat pulled down and the neck of his sweater
covering his nose and mouth, the youth pulled a 25-cm (10-inch) blade on the
woman in the seaside town of Binz
and threatened to stab her unless she handed over her bag, police said. She
refused. "Then he tried to invoke her pity," a police spokeswoman
said. "He said 'at least give me five euros (3.40 pounds) for the bus ride
home'. But she just walked off and left him standing." Police believed the
youth, aged about 16, was probably a novice as his threats were delivered in
the polite form of "you" in German -- "Sie".
Ø Escaped Prisoner Found After Nearly 38 Years
(Reuters May 20,
2006) - A man on the run for nearly 38 years since escaping from a California prison has been arrested in Oklahoma, authorities said on Friday.
Michael Smith, who escaped from Correctional Training Facility in Soledad on June 7, 1968, was arrested on Thursday, the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation said. Smith escaped while serving the third year
of a five-year-to-life sentence for first-degree robbery. His case was reopened
in December 2003 and a special agent tracked him down in Sapulpa, Oklahoma.
Smith is in jail in Oklahoma awaiting an
extradition hearing, California
prison officials said in a statement.
Ø Young People Have More Respect For People In Uniforms (Reuters May
31, 2006) - Despite their tag as the awkward "hoodie"
generation, young people have more respect for people wearing uniform than do
the older Baby Boomer generation, according to a survey on Wednesday. A quarter
of 16-24 year olds claim to respect a person wearing uniform, against a mere 13
percent of 55-64 year olds, according to the study. The research was conducted
to "uncover people's perceptions and attitudes towards those wearing
uniforms" according to Douglas Greenwell, Marketing Director of G4S
Security Services which carried out the survey. "It's encouraging that
younger people are more respectful than many people think," he added. Dr
Mark Button, Principal Lecturer and Associate Head of the Institute
of Criminal Justice Studies at the University of Plymouth said types of clothing provoked
different feelings among the generations. "As a society, we are often
quick to stereotype the thoughts and actions of young people simply because of
how they dress," he added in a commentary.
Ø Police Sergeant Busted For Flashing Middle-Aged Woman (Mainichi May 31, 2006) A [Japanese] police sergeant has been arrested
for exposing his private parts to a middle-aged woman in Tokyo early Tuesday, police said. Nobuyuki
Tanioka, 37, a sergeant at Tanashi Police Station, is accused of indecent
exposure. He admitted to the allegations during questioning, investigators
said. At around 5:40 a.m. on Tuesday, Tanioka exposed his private parts to a
woman in her 50s, who was on her way to work, on a street in the Akabanedai
district of Kita-ku, Tokyo,
local police said.
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What's New?
·
For those of you who didn’t get the message, Yahoo
decided to freeze my access to the old IVA Members Only email group. This meant
that I had to create a new one – no wonder Google is kicking Yahoo’s butt!
Anyway, if you’d care to join, you can use the link at the end of this Update
or go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ivamesshall.
Sorry for the inconvenience but that’s the Internet for you!
Return
to top
Help Please
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This month's quote seems to be very appropriate if you've read the
latest examples of how the British civil service doesn't give a tinker's cuss
about the soldiers. It comes from a man who did his best to reveal how the
Victorian British Government mistreated its troops -- funny how some things
never change! Anyway, he dedicated his classic "Barrack-Room Ballads"
to 'Thomas Atkins', meaning every British soldier. The last part of his
dedication is worth quoting even now:
" O there'll surely come a day
When they'll give you all your pay,
And treat you as a Christian ought to do;
So, until that day comes round,
Heaven keep you safe and sound,
And, Thomas, here's my best respects to you!"
That day still seems a long way off, but at least I know we all support
and pray for our present day comrades in uniform, wherever they be and whatever
flag they salute.!
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Old Troopie's Almanac
Ø 06/04 1940 The Allies completed the 10-day
evacuation of 338,000 troops from Dunkirk.
Major-General Harold Alexander inspected the shores of Dunkirk
from a motorboat this morning to make sure no-one was left behind before
boarding the last ship back to Britain.
A flotilla of small boats spent nearly a week recrossing the English
Channel to rescue nearly 350,000 British, French and Belgian
troops from advancing German forces. Many French troops remained to hold the
perimeter & were captured.
Ø 06/05 1944 At 04.30, Allied Supreme Commander US
General Dwight D. Eisenhower launched Operation 'Overlord'. At 22.00, an armada
of 7,000 boats left Britain
to cross the channel. Some 21,000 British and US parachutists took off with
planes or gliders.
Ø 06/06 1918 - The first large-scale battle fought by
American soldiers in World War I began, in Belleau Wood, northwest of Paris.
Ø 06/07 1981: The Israelis bombed a French-built
nuclear plant near Iraq's
capital, Baghdad, saying they believed it was
designed to make nuclear weapons to destroy Israel. It was the world's first
air strike against a nuclear plant.
Ø 06/08 1965 - US forces were authorized to go into
combat in South Vietnam.
Ø 06/09 1951 After several unsuccessful attacks on
French positions, North Vietnam's General Vo Nguyen Giap orders Viet Minh to
withdraw from the Red River Delta.
Ø 06/10 National Day in Portugal (Felicitações
a todos nossos camaradas portuguese)
1898 - US Marines landed at Guantánamo Bay and for a month fought a land war in
Cuba, ending Spanish colonial rule in the Western Hemisphere.
Ø 06/11 1976: The trial of 13 mercenaries began in Angola. The 10
Britons, 2 Americans &
one Argentine were mercenaries in the Angolan civil war but had not been seen
prior to their court appearance. At the end of the trial 3 Britons & an
American were sentenced to death by firing squad.
Ø 06/12 1993, US helicopters and gunships destroyed 4
of Somali warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid's arms depots, one week after his forces
allegedly killed 23 Pakistani members of the UN peacekeeping forces.
Ø 06/13 1940 Paris
was evacuated before the German advance on the city.
Ø 06/14 1789 - English Captain William Bligh and 18
others, cast adrift from the HMS Bounty 7 weeks before, reached Timor. They had travelled 4,000 miles in a small, open
boat.
Ø 06/15 1964 The last French troops leave Algeria.
Ø 06/16
Ø
1948
- A state of emergency was declared in Malaya
after 3 European planters were murdered. The Communist insurrection in the
Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia)
continued from this year until 1960.
Ø 06/17 1940 - France
announced that it was negotiating an armistice with Germany;
General Charles de Gaulle fled to Britain.
Ø 06/18 1815 Near Waterloo in central Belgium, 72,000
French troops, led by Napoleon, were defeated by a combined Allied army of 113,000
British, Dutch, Belgian, and Prussian troops in a battle where one British
regiment lost every man & Marshal Ney lost 5 horses beneath him.
Ø 06/19 1867 Abandoned by France (under US pressure),
the Emperor Maximilian was executed on Mexican President Benito Juarez's orders
just 3 years after his coronation.
Ø 06/20 1999 NATO declares an official end to its
bombing campaign of Yugoslavia.
Ø 06/21 1915 Germany
uses poison gas for the first time in warfare in the Argonne Forest.
Ø 06/22 1946 Zionist extremists blew up the British
Military Headquarters at the King David Hotel,
in Jerusalem,
killing 91, including guests.
Ø 06/23 1865 - The last formal surrender of
Confederate troops occurred as Cherokee leader and Confederate Brigadier
General Watie surrendered his battalion comprised of American Indians in the
Oklahoma Territory.
Ø 06/24 1859 More than 40,000 died as France defeated
Austria at Solferino, a battle witnessed by Henri Dunant, a Swiss businessman
who tended the wounded of both sides & went on to establish the Red Cross.
Ø 06/25 1876 - US General George A. Custer, leading
250 men, attacked an encampment of Sioux Indians near Little Bighorn River in Montana. Custer and his
men were then attacked by 2000-4000 Indian braves. Only one scout and a single
horse survived.
Ø 06/26 1857 The first investiture ceremony for
Victoria Cross winners took place in Hyde Park, London. Queen Victoria
personally awarded 62 servicemen with Britain's highest military honour.
Ø 06/27 1991: Yugoslav troops invaded the small
republic of Slovenia,
48 hours after it declared independence.
Ø 06/28 1919 - The signing of the Treaty of Versailles
formally ended World War I. According to the terms, Germany was asked to admit guilt,
give up Alsace-Lorraine and overseas colonies, and pay reparations of $15
Billion. The treaty also prohibited German rearmament.
Ø 06/29 1949 US
troops were withdrawn from South
Korea. The North invaded 361 days later.
Ø 06/30 1934 In Germany, the 'Night of the Long Knives'
when several hundred members of the 'Storm Troopers' and other senior members
of the Nazi Party were killed by the SS on the orders of Adolf Hitler for
allegedly being involved in a plot to assassinate him.
Ø
07/01
National Day in Canada
-- Congratulations to all our Canadian membeers.
1916 British forces suffer staggering
losses (57,470 casualties in one day) in an attack on German positions in the Battle of the Somme.
Ø
07/02
1917 A small force of Arabs led by
British Captain T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) captured Akaba from the
Turks, by attacking across the desert against the undefended backside of the
city.
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Birthdays
Please raise
your glasses and toast:
Ø
06/05/1755 American revolutionary Nathan
Hale
06/05/1878 Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa
Ø
06/06
Happy Birthday to members Walrus and Robbo
1756 - John Trumbull, American
soldier, diplomat, author, and painter.
Ø
06/06/1868 British Antarctic explorer
Captain Robert Falcon Scott
Ø
Happy
Birthday to member Hondo
Ø
06/11/1910 French naval officer &
undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau, inventor of first underwater breathing
apparatus, called the Aqualung.
Ø
06/13
Happy Birthday to member Redrock
1786 American Army General
Winfield Scott. Nicknamed "Old Fuss and Feathers" because of his
formality, he served in 3 wars - the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the U.S.
Civil War.
Ø
06/14
Happy Birthday to member Sarum
Ø
06/15
Happy Birthday to member Geordie
Ø
06/16/1829 - Geronimo, Apache leader and
warrior.
Ø
06/20/1924 American military hero and actor
Audie Murphy, the most decorated American soldier of World War II, awarded 37
medals and decorations, including the Medal of Honor for single-handedly
turning back a German infantry company by climbing on a burning U.S. tank
destroyer and firing its .50-cal. machine gun, killing 50 Germans.
Ø
06/24
1850 Lord Horatio Kitchener, English soldier
Ø
06/26
Happy Birthday to member Boarhog
Ø
07/02
Happy Birthday to member LuckyZA
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Lest We Forget
This
is somewhere to mark and honour the passing of departed comrades. To be
registered here, the deceased need not have died in combat or even whilst still
serving, but they must have served in an appropriate unit and be nominated by
an IVA member. If you wish to make use of this feature, just drop an email to
the IVA.
‘ It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God
that such men lived.' --Gen. George S. Patton, Jr.
Obituaries
Ø John Wellham, Pilot who braved heavy
fire on his Swordfish during the attack on Taranto.
Lieutenant-Commander John Wellham, who has died aged 87, was the last surviving
pilot of the [British] Fleet Air Arm raid on the Italian fleet at Taranto. On November 11
1940 Wellham was at the controls of Swordfish E5H in the second wave of the
attack. He had taken off from the carrier Illustrious, loaded to maximum weight
with an 18-in torpedo and a long-range tank. Flying in formation at 7,000 ft,
he saw from 30 miles away fountains of tracer fire over the Italian port. The
element of surprise had been lost, and there was no possibility of a
co-ordinated attack as the aircraft dived towards the harbour. Wellham
remembered meeting a barrage balloon at 4,000 ft and thinking that it must have
broken off its moorings. As he manoeuvred violently around it he was hit by
flak, and had the control stick wrested from his hands. Then, slamming it hard
to right and left while opening and closing the throttle, he suddenly realised
that he was heading vertically for the city's rooftops. Levelling out with
difficulty 100 ft above the sea, he glimpsed a battleship on his right, and
instinctively swung his tail from side to side to reduce speed and keep the
aircraft at the correct dropping height. Most of the tracer passed overhead,
but, after dropping its torpedo, the Swordfish rose into the stream of fire.
Zigzagging wildly at low level, it crossed the breakwater and began climbing
into the night sky. Lieutenant Pat Humphries, the observer, shouted at Wellham
through their voice tube: "That was a bit exciting. I think that you've
bent the plane somewhat. Do you think she'll get us home?" "It wasn't
my fault," Wellham replied indignantly. "It was those bloody
Eyeties!" He then flew 150 miles back to Illustrious without difficulty.
But, as he throttled back to landing speed, E5H became uncontrollable, flopping
through the air and threatening to stall until he cut the engine early to thump
on to the deck. As the plane was taken down into the hangar, Wellham heard a
sailor say "F***, mate, look at that!" Looking over the aircraft's
side, he saw that the port aileron rods were broken into two jagged pieces and,
through the broken fabric, he noted several bent wing ribs. The attack by 21
Swordfish torpedo bombers left Taranto
in chaos. The Italian battleships Conte di Cavour, Littorio and Caio Duilio had
been sunk, the seaplane depot set ablaze and a cruiser damaged, all for the
loss of two aircraft and their crews. The battle sounded the death knell not
just for the Italian fleet but for all battleships. The Japanese studied the
attack carefully before launching their attack on Pearl
Harbor 11 months later. Wellham appreciated the laconic signal
"Manoeuvre well executed" from Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, C-in-C
Mediterranean; but the miserly scale of awards to air and ground crew left a
lasting sense of resentment. Wellham himself was mentioned in dispatches six
months later. John Walter George Wellham, the son of a retired petty officer,
was born on the Isle of Bute on January 2 1919. After his mother died in
childbirth when he was six, he was brought up by his grandmother. The young
Wellham's ambition to fly was ignited by reading Captain WE John's Biggles
novels - and was fanned when he won, in a spot dancing competition, a flight in
a Fox Moth. He joined the Royal Air Force at 17, and flew with No 50 Bomber
Squadron. After a near-fatal crash in a Hawker Hind in 1937, he was visited by
a premonition that he would not die flying; he also conceived the notion that
he was under the personal protection of a spirit called Joey. Given the chance
to transfer to the Royal Navy, Wellham thought that he had gained the best of
both worlds. Taking with him his seniority in the RAF, he became a lieutenant,
aged 20, much to the chagrin of his Dartmouth
contemporaries. After practising deck landings at HMS Merlin at Donibristle and
on the carrier Courageous, he joined 824 Naval Air Squadron in the carrier
Eagle. Wellham hunted for German raiders in the Indian Ocean until May 1940,
when Eagle entered the eastern Mediterranean.
During the battle of Calabria
on July 9 1940 he made two torpedo attacks on the Italian fleet and had a
bird's eye view of the enemy fleeing as the battleship Warspite's 15-inch
shells rained among their ships. He was mentioned in dispatches. Six weeks
later Wellham was one of three Swordfish pilots who attacked the Bay of Bomba,
approaching at sea level after a flight of several hours. They caught the
Italian submarine Iride offshore and a depot ship, a submarine and a destroyer
at anchor. Wellham's leader, Captain Ollie Patch, Royal Marines, sank Iride;
while Wellham, with his observer, Petty Officer "Swampy" Marsh, and
Lieutenant "Cheese" Cheesman attacked the others. As Wellham flew
close to the depot ship, it fired at him with all guns fully depressed; one
bullet smashed his main spar, punctured the fuel tank and hit him in the foot.
As he climbed away he saw a huge pall of black smoke tinged with flame rising
hundreds of feet in the air. The Swordfish had sunk four ships with three
torpedoes, and, although they did not know it until much later, they had
thwarted an attack by miniature submarines on Alexandria. Low on fuel, Wellham returned to
his desert base and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. In March 1941
he flew off the carrier Eagle, which was at anchor in Alexandria,
and crossed the desert in several stages to attack Italian warships at Massawa
on the Red Sea. Two destroyers were sunk, and
Wellham attacked Tigre, forcing her to beach;
the Italian ship was then shelled by the destroyer Kingston, which presented Wellham with a
captured Italian ensign. Wellham next commanded the desert-based 815 Squadron,
operating in support of the Army and the Royal Air Force. He ended the Second
World War in the escort carrier Biter on convoy duties in the Atlantic, and in
the carrier Empress in the Far East. After
leaving the Navy in 1954 Wellham sold wallpaper and paints for Brighter Home
Stores, installed bowling alley equipment for the American Brunswick company
and was a sales manager for Vaux Breweries. In his latter years he lectured and
raised funds for the Royal Navy Historic Flight. In 1995 he published his
wartime autobiography, With Naval Wings, and co-wrote "The Attack on Taranto."
Ø Aubrey 'Trof' Trofimov, SOE officer
who led Karen fighters against the Japanese in Burma
Major "Trof" Trofimov, who has died aged 84, was awarded the Military
Cross in Burma in 1945 and
the Croix de Guerre while serving with the Jedburgh Special Forces in France. In
February 1945 Trofimov, then a captain, was dropped by Dakota into dense jungle
in the Karen mountains of Burma.
He landed with a crash among the trees, took a step forward in the darkness and
pitched 30 feet into a ravine. He crawled back up and found that he had lost
his torch. There was no sign of his five comrades, and it was days before they
were re-united. Trofimov, who was serving with Force 136, was charged with
building up a unit comprising Karen volunteers to harass the retreating
Japanese. Once he had equipped and trained them, they planted booby traps, set
ambushes, mined roads and blew up bridges. Trofimov's group of about 100 men
caused havoc among the enemy, and a price was put on his head. In April he and
Major R A Critchley led an attack on a strong Japanese garrison at Papun. The
Japanese had been forewarned, and Trofimov's force, most of whom had never seen
action, came under devastating machine-gun fire. Some Karens took to their
heels, but many held firm. Trofimov found himself pinned down under the weight
of fire, but he had some home-made bombs and he quickly armed these and threw
them. He rallied the survivors and led them out. He was awarded an immediate MC
for his part in the battle. Aubrey Alwyn Edgar Trofimov was born in Manchester on December 7
1921. His father had left Russia
in the Revolution and taught Russian at Cambridge
before holding a Chair at Manchester
University.
"Trof", as he was always known, went to school at Menton, in the
south of France,
until he was 11, and became fluent in the language. Trofimov joined the Army as
a gunner in October 1941. After gaining a distinction on a course at the
Catterick School of Signals, he was commissioned into the Royal Artillery and
joined 148/170 Field Regiment RA. He disliked regimental life and in 1943 he
volunteered for Special Duties. Trofimov was put through a series of exacting
tests. In one of them he was locked in a cellar and told to try to escape. He
managed to displace some bricks at ceiling height, crawl down a duct, remove a
grating and get out. He grabbed the sentry from behind and whispered,
"You're dead!" Then he returned to the room containing the examining
staff, flung open the door and said, "Technically, I could shoot the lot
of you." Trofimov was posted to Milton Hall, Peterborough, for several months' intensive
training before joining SOE and being assigned to the Jedburghs, a joint
Anglo-American enterprise. Almost 100 "Jed" teams were parachuted
into France
before or shortly after D-Day to co-ordinate underground resistance in support
of the invasion. They were not spies but normally operated in uniform. On July
9 1944 Trofimov was part of a three-man team code-named "Guy" which
was dropped into Brittany,
near Alençon. He landed on a road and the butt of his carbine hit him in the
chin, nearly knocking him out. Dazed, he found that he had forgotten the
password, and there were some anxious moments before he was able to establish
his bona fides. He and his comrades spent the night in the loft of a farm. The
following morning, after transmitting a brief message to base, he descended the
ladder and was appalled to see a German wireless detector van outside. He
scurried back to his hiding place, pulling the ladder after him. By sheer good
fortune, the Germans had switched off their equipment before visiting the farm.
On one occasion, Trofimov, who carried a.45 Colt, walked straight into an enemy
patrol after curfew. He pretended to be drunk and retched against a wall. The
soldiers left him alone. On another, on his way to meet an agent and wearing
old clothes and a beret, he had to run the gauntlet of a whole German regiment.
He arrived, he said afterwards, in a cold sweat. Trofimov eventually linked up
with the advancing Americans. With the help of several intrepid policemen, he
had reconnoitred the area around the town of Gorron and when the Americans attacked the
town, he was able to show them the best route and keep casualties to a minimum.
He was mentioned in dispatches and, in 1946, received the French Croix de Guerre
in recognition of his services in northern France. After France was liberated, Trofimov and some of his
fellow "Jeds" were seconded to Force 136 and moved to Ceylon for
training in jungle warfare. He later criticised the inadequacy of the training.
In particular, he said, nobody told them how to contend with what he described
as "Burma's
diabolical insect life". Trofimov finished the war as a major and returned
to Manchester University to complete a diploma in
Architecture. He joined Cotton Ballard & Blow, a firm of London architects, subsequently becoming a
partner. He worked on a number of imaginative development projects in northern France with the
help of former comrades in the French Resistance and was made an honorary
citizen of Le Touquet in 1984. Trofimov retired from private practice in 1979
but, after moving to West Sussex, he remained
active as a consultant and regularly attended gatherings of former Jedburgh
comrades. He loved entertaining, good food, good wine and a convivial
atmosphere. He also enjoyed water-skiing, shooting and golf. "Trof"
Trofimov died on May 6 while attending a Jedburgh reunion.
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Where are our Members?
- AUSTRALIA: Busselton (currently out of
contact), Melbourne, Perth*, Tewantin (currently out of
contact), Toowoomba, Townsville and Yorketown.
- BELGIUM: Mechelen (currently out of
contact)
- BOTSWANA: Gaborone
- CANADA: Dutton, Edmonton,
Fort McMurray, Leithbridge, Montreal, Oshawa, Prince Edward Island and Windsor
- CROATIA: Velika Gorica
- DENMARK: Haderslev
- FINLAND: Tampere
- FRANCE: Dieppe,
Paris and Toulouse
- GERMANY
- INDIA: Madras
- IRELAND: Galway
- JAPAN: Tokyo (deceased)
- NETHERLANDS: Tilburg, Veghel
- NEW ZEALAND: Tauranga
- NORWAY: Oslo*, Tananger
- PORTUGAL: Viana do Castelo
- Russia: Sakhalin, Vladivostok
- SINGAPORE: Singapore
- SOUTH AFRICA: Benoni, Cape Town, Dalton
(currently out of contact), Durban, East London, Edenvale, Johannesburg*,
Ladysmith, Margate, Paarl (currently out of contact), Pietermaritzburg,
Port Edward, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria*, Randburg, Springs, and Strand
(currently out of contact)
- SWEDEN: Goteborg
Stockholm
- THAILAND: Hua Hin
- UK: Barnstaple, Belfast, Birmingham,
Blackpool, Bournemouth, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Chessington, Coldstream,
Edinburgh, Luton, Manchester, Middlewich, Milton Keynes*, Newcastle, Oban,
St Helens, Scunthorpe, Shanklin, Sittingborne (currently out of contact),
Tamworth, Woking and Wolverhampton
- USA: Arizona, California*, Florida*,
Illinois*, Idaho, Indiana (currently out of contact), Iowa, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey*, New York*, North Carolina*,
Puerto Rico, Texas, Utah (currently out of contact), Virginia, and
Wisconsin
Where Were/ARE Our Members?
IVA members have served in
the following units:
- Australia: 1st Armoured Regt *, 1st
Combat Engineer Regiment, 7th Field Engineer Regt, Australian SAS, Royal
Australian Armoured Corps, Royal Australian Army Ordinance Corps, Royal
Australian Engineers, Royal Australian Regt.
- Belgium: 43A Medical Services
- Canada, Princess Patricia's Canadian
Light Infantry, Royal Canadian Regiment, 2nd Royal Highlanders of Canada,
Special Service Force*
- Croatia: 104 Brigade, Brig. platoon
scouts, 118 Brigade. 2 Bat. Bat. Scouts, 204br. Brigada Vukovarskih
Veterana HV, 83rd Independent Guards Battalion, Croatian National
Guard
- Denmark: Royal Guards of Denmark
- Finland: Finnish Armoured
Brigade
- France: 1er Regt. (Legion Etrangere)*, 1er Regt.
Étrangère de Cavalerie (Legion Etrangere), 27e BCA, 2ème REI (Legion
Etrangere), 2e REP* (Legion Etrangere), 2ème Regt du Génie, 3ème REI
(Legion Etrangere), 5e REI (Legion Etrangere), 5e RMP (Legion Etrangere),
13 DBLE (Legion Etrangere), Commandos de l'Air, Detachement De La Légion
Étrangère De Mayotte
- India: Indian Army Dental
Corps
- Ireland: 28th Infantry Battalion
- Israel: Israel
Air Force, Dragon Mobile AA Unit
- Italy: Carabinieri Paracadutisti,
G.I.S.
- Netherlands: 425 I.B.C., (Infantry
Security Company), Royal Dutch Army (Engineer Corps)
- Norway: 42ste Pantserinfanterie bataljon,
Akershus Regiment, N. Rogaland Infantry Regiment, Norbatt (UNIFIL, IFOR),
Sambands Regimentet, Troms Landforsvar
- Northern Rhodesia: Northern
Rhodesia Police
- Portugal: The Commandos Regiment
- Rhodesia: British South Africa Police *, Guard Force, Rhodesia
Regt.*, Rhodesian African Rifles*, Rhodesian Air Force*, Rhodesian Corps
of Signals, Rhodesian Engineers, Rhodesian Light Infantry*, Rhodesian Pay
Corps, Rhodesian Special Air Service, Selous Scouts*
- Russia: Soviet Army
- Spain: Brigada Paracaidista
- South Africa, 1st Para
Battalion. *, 21st SA Infantry Battalion., 32Bn. Buffalo Regt. *, 3rd
Infantry *, 4 Recce, 44 Parachute Brig (Pathfinders) *, 4th Infantry*, 5
Recce, 5th Reconnaissance Regt, 5th SA Infantry*, 7 Recce, Koevoets,
Regiment President Kruger, South African Airforce*, South African Army
Medical Service*, South African Corps of Military Police, South African
Navy Marine Corps, South African Navy Counter Intelligence Corps, South
African Police, South African Railway Police, South African Police
Reserve, South African Submarine Flotilla, South West African Specialist
Unit, Springs Regiment
- UK: Army Catering Corps, Grenadier Guards,
Light Infantry, Merseyside Police, Parachute Regt *, Royal Air Force,
Royal Corps of Signals, Royal Elec. and Mech. Eng., Royal Engineers, Royal
Hampshire Regt., Royal Horse Artillery, Royal Marines*, Royal Navy, Royal Regiment of
Artillery, Royal Tank Regiment
- USA: 10 SF Group (Airborne), 11th Armoured
Cavalry, 12 SFG Airborne, 173rd Airborne, 2/509 Airborne Inf., 2nd
Infantry Div., 3/7 SF Group (Airborne), 325th Airborne Infantry Regt, 3rd
Special Forces Group, 4th Cavalry, 5/6 Mechanised Inf., 8 SF Group
(Airborne), 82nd Airborne *, 961st Engr Battalion (Combat) (Heavy), California
Army National Guard, Dept. of Health And Human Services Police, Iowa Army
Nation Guard, Mascotte Police Department *, Military Assistance Command
Vietnam (MACV), New Mexico Army National Guard, Osceola County Sheriff's
Office and Bureau of Corrections, US Air Force, US Border Patrol, US
Marine Corps*, US Navy, US Virgin Islands Police
- Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Republic
Police
* Means more than one
member.
Return to top
Contact Lost
The IVA is not a conscription
thing so anyone who doesn't want to be here can leave whenever they wish.
Therefore, PLEASE try to keep in touch or at least keep your email
address up to date. Members whose email address doesn't work are moved to
the 'Inactive' file, but I would prefer to keep that file small, hopefully
empty. This is a social group, folks, so be social -- keep in touch!
·
IVA Pages
·
Home Page
·
Home
Page (in French)
·
Gallery
·
Insignia
Gallery
·
IVA Members Only Email
Group
·
Junior IVA Email Group
·
Links
·
Marketplace
·
Members Only Page
Regimental Pages
(This includes non-IVA hosted
pages on member's units)
·
1er Regt.
Étrangère de Cavalerie (Légion Étrangère)
·
2e
Regt. Étrangère de Parachutistes (Légion Étrangère)
·
32nd Battalion
Buffalo Regt.
·
325th
Airborne Infantry Regt.
·
5e Regt.
Mixte du Pacifique (Légion Étrangère)
·
Army Catering Corps (Association, UK)
·
Battalion
Chasseurs Alpins (France)
·
Brigada
Paracaidista (Spain)
·
Commandos de
l'Air (France)
·
Commandos' Regiment
(Portugal)
·
C (Rhodesia) Squadron 22 Special Air
Service Regt
·
Finnish
Armoured Brigade
·
Israeli Air Force
·
Rhodesian
Light Infantry
·
RLI Roll of Honour
·
Royal Engineers
(UK)
·
Royal Marines (UK)
·
Royal Tank Regiment (UK)
·
Russian
Police
·
Selous Scouts
(Rhodesia)
·
Special Service
Force (Canada)
·
UN
Peacekeepers
·
US Army National Guard
·
US
Border Patrol
·
US Marine Corps
Related Links
(These are links to sites associated with
non-regimental groups, such as generic military sites, related to IVA members.)
·
Association des Anciens de la Légion Étrangère de
l'Asie
·
Australian Diggers (for
all ex-Australian service folk)
·
Irish Military Parachutists
·
Rhodesian Army Association
·
South African Infantry Association
(Let me know if you want to add a
generic site to this list, OK?)
Return to top
Next Issue:
The
next issue should hit the Internet around the first full weekend of next
month.
I shall, of course, post a message using the IVA Members Only email
group when it is up and running.
Miss an issue?
Don't worry! The IVA archives are at your disposal. Just drop me an email and
let me know which issue you're looking for. Issues after
August 2002 are available on the Net and previous issues are available as text
files.