Six soldiers from Yorkshire & Lancashire Regiments killed in Afghanistan

It has been reported that 6 soldiers have been killed in a Warrior when it was involved in an explosion in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan. It is 5 soldiers from the Yorkshire Regiment and one from 1st Duke of Lancasters.

It is the biggest single loss of British military pesonnel at one time in Afghanistan since a Nimrod crash killed 14 in 2006.

Please leave your messages of condolence and remembrance for the troops whom have served and been killed in service.

Heart, you were never hot
Nor large, nor full like hearts made great with shot;
And though your hand be pale,
Paler are all which trail
Your cross through flame and hail:
Weep, you may weep, for you may touch them not.

Wilfred Owen

How long can we tolerate the rise in inflation while our Armed Forces salaries are capped and allowances slashed?

More Nimrod were scrapped

How long can we tolerate the rise in inflation while our Armed Forces salaries are capped and allowances slashed? It just seem terribly unfair that unemployment benefit and disability living allowance have increase by 5.2 per cent.

Many Military campaigners blasted Osborne for ruining morale among troops at a time when the Army, Royal Navy and RAF are already facing crippling cuts. Most of this occurred last year and here we are in 2012 totally powerless and impotent to do anything about it.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond is trying to save £5 billion from the Ministry of Defence budget by axing battleships, fighter jets, spy planes, tanks and jobs. There is no way now we can commit to any military action in Syria.

The tax free bonus paid to personnel in Afghanistan seems a small tonic when inflation is quickly outpacing the current standard of living. The government tried to deflect attention away from the pay freeze by pointing out this tax break - but a very poor break it is.

However, it can't all be blamed on Tory policy as the Armed Forces engaged in no less than four military conflicts under New Labour - and remember Labour did not bother to have any defence reviews.
Politics aside, the question now is, what is the future? How are we going to cope with international security, how can we afford to? How do we protect the salaries and pay of our Armed Forces? It looks like the electorate will answer with their feet in 2 years time...

War in Afghanistan: Comment

Following the tragic death of yet another young soldier in Afghanistan, the message to the Government must be what? To give up the apparently utterly futile conflict in Afghanistan and bring all British forces back home as quickly as possible? Or to dig ourselves in for yet another few more years before we pull out? After all we commited ourselves to aiding the Afghan people by removing terrorists (and inadvertently the Taliban) and traditionally, we are a stubborn lot, we like to see things through.

I wasn't born until the 1970's but as far as I know, during the previous 80 years the only time we've ever retreated with our pride damaged was at Dunkirk and during Suez. Every other conflict we've been involved in we've been a thorn in the side of the opposition.


Is that enough to remain? To maintain our prestige and in addition, more significantly, to preserve the memory of the fallen can only but strengthen our resolve to see this conflict to the bitter end. And despite the recent deaths, it is quickly coming to and end. The Taliban are in disarray themselves and have split several ways into rival factions. But whose propaganda can we believe?

Some would argue however, that this is a war which should never have been begun. Almost 400 British lives have been lost, and many more times that number have been injured and maimed. Afghanistan is basically still a medieval tribal country, with regions dominated by local warlords and an economy almost entirely based on opium. What possibility is there of forcing it to become a western-style democracy and establishing human rights as we understand them in the west?

The original reason for invading 10 years ago was to capture Osama bin Laden and destroy his terrorist organisation, Al Qaeda. Hasn't this been done? Bin Laden is now dead and his international terrorist group is nominally based in Pakistan, Sudan, and Somalia.

Frank Roberts - HMForces.co.uk

Harry Will eventually go back to Afghanistan

Prince Harry has been promoted to captain after completing five years’ service as an officer in the British Army. 

Harry's serving in the AAC and has voiced his desire of returning to Afghanistan. No doubt when he does, none of us will know about it but for how long the Royal family can keep it quiet is unknown. Not for long one would imagine. As soon as Harry disappears off the media radar people will begin wondering "well well well, where is he then?". Maybe a 2-3 months stint will do him rather than the normal 4-6 months?

Mad Mullahs will ask Harry to be killed

Despite all that, he definately deserves to go. It's what he wants, and regardless of the danger that he'll be a high profile target. After all what's the point of the state spending all that money training him up for nothing, which he has admitted himself - "I’d just be taking up a spare place for somebody else if they didn’t have me going out on the job." He's following in footsteps of his Dad, Uncle, and Grandparents et al in placing Military service as a normal but significant part of his life. We all know the Windsors have various faults but we cannot fault them on their distinguished military service (Prince Edward the exception). Something our politicians have a distinct lack of experience of.