UK casualties in Afghanistan

I just hope it wasnt a mate of mine

Donnie

 

Can ya text him or ring family mate?

 

Id rather not just incase, i wouldnt want to worry them or if it is i dont want the hot end of a situation like this. I think i will just wait out and see whats what.

Donnie

 

BBC NEWS | UK | Four UK Afghan deaths in one day

A soldier from 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles


Quite ironic that one of the Gurkha's gives his life considering whats going on in the home front regarding immigration.

Cpl Binnie was part of a Battlegroup mentoring the Afghan army


A 22 year old Corporal serving with the Black Watch he had only been married 6 months. He must have been some soldier with a massive career ahead of him to get two tapes up in a Infantry unit as such a young age.

 

Rest In Peace

 

Words cannot really hold the sorrow and awareness we feel nor can they remotely or even adequately describe the grief which has to be endured by those who greet their children as they are carried from an aircraft.
Those who mourn will sadly will still look for them ,will think fondly in the years to come , be that at a wedding , the birth of a child , or when they catch their eye or smile in a photograph.

"Life to be sure is nothing much to lose,
But youngmen think it is,
And we were young"

 

Major in the Welsh Guards becomes the 169th British Military Death.

BBC NEWS | UK | Tributes to dead British soldier

 

BBC NEWS | UK | UK Lt Colonel dies in Afghanistan

and no less a loss to his family and friends Trooper Joshua Hammond

The Welsh Guards seem to be having a bad time of it.

 

Friends, don't be so sure that the TV will tell you the real number of casualties. My country also has soldiers in Afganistan, for a very long time, a few years already, and TV news never spoke about casualties. Im kind of sure that there cant be none.
Usually army, is keeping most things in secret.

 

Thorneloe was considered one of his generation's highest fliers, earning the respect of his military and political masters alike.

One of only eight Army officers since 1948 to have been killed on operations while in command of their units, Thorneloe was the first since Lieutenant-Colonel "H" Jones, VC, who was killed leading an attack at Goose Green in the Falklands in May 1982.

A tall, charismatic figure with a formidable intellect, Thorneloe was also considered friendly and informal; he belonged to a modern school of thoughtful soldiery.

The 1,000 men under his command were deployed in Helmand province, where they were responsible for improving security in and around the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, an area that is home to about half the province's population.

In February, a month before the 1st Battalion was deployed to Helmand, Thorneloe gave an interview about his regiment's prospects. "We are pretty well-prepared," he declared, "but it will be a challenging tour, and the biggest challenge will be to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people."

Once in Afghanistan he was deeply affected by the cruelty of the Taliban, and was convinced of the justice of the British military presence in the country. "After 9/11 this war has real resonance, and it is the top end of soldiering, a real test," he told a journalist, adding: "We are conscious in the Welsh Guards that we are writing regimental history here."

Rupert Stuart Michael Thorneloe was born on October 17 1969 and educated at Radley and Reading University. After attending Sandhurst, he was commissioned into the Welsh Guards in 1991.

As a young officer he had experience of soldiering in Northern Ireland and, in addition to regimental duties, he spent a year as an intelligence liaison officer with the Royal Ulster Constabulary Special Branch in South Armagh.

In 1999, after an appointment as adjutant, he moved to Permanent Joint Headquarters, Northwood, as an intelligence analyst. He was posted to Bosnia in 2002 as a company commander and, in 2004, he became G3 at HQ 1 (UK) Armoured Division. He was appointed MBE in 2006 for service on operations in Iraq.

Thorneloe moved to the MoD in 2006 as military assistant to the Assistant Chief of Defence Staff before becoming military assistant to the then Defence Secretary, Des Browne. He left for Afghanistan last year, having taken command of the 1st Battalion.

One company commander spoke of "Colonel Rupert's" enviable capacity for work. Thorneloe's reputation among the highest echelons of the Army and the government, after his spell with the Defence Secretary, was undisputed. He was recognised as an outstanding officer destined for the very top.

Among many moving tributes was one from the Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Richard Dannatt, who described Thorneloe as an officer "at the leading edge of his generation".

Meanwhile, his operations officer, Captain Ed Launders, said: "He combined an astute military brain with real compassion for the men under his command and a unique ability to spot opportunities where others would not."

Thorneloe was killed alongside the Shamalan Canal, near Lashgar Gah. He had left his HQ in a Viking armoured vehicle to visit his men. He and Trooper Josh Hammond, aged 18, died when a roadside bomb was detonated.

Across all services, the last British commanding officer to be killed on operations was Wing Commander Thomas Nigel Elsdon, of 27 Squadron RAF (Tornado GR1), in January 1991 during the first Gulf War.

As a young man Thorneloe had been a skilful polo player, and he had later taken up sailing and game shooting. Although yachting remained a passion, he had latterly sold his boat to devote more time to his young family.

Rupert Thorneloe is survived by his wife, Sally, whom he married in 2004, and their two daughters.

 

"leave no man behind"

BBC NEWS | UK | Soldier died retrieving comrade

 

What a horrible milestone to reach. Lost over 200 now. Bloody awful.


BBC NEWS | UK | Deaths take UK Afghan toll to 201


"We owe it to you all never to forget those who have died. But my commitment is clear: we must and will make Britain safer by making Afghanistan more stable."


Not to mention the fact if we pulled out now then the Taliban would commit genocide.

 

This is very sad news and my thoughts are with
the families that this brave men have left behind.

"We have increased dramatically the resources we are spending in Afghanistan to deal with this new kind of threat which is the roadside bomb, the electronic devices, the guerrilla warfare."


I read somewhere that 75% of all our casualties in
Afghanistan have been caused by IEDs, I know and
I hear what number 10 are saying, but I just wish
things would move a little faster with the technology
that will bring this percentage down.

 

201st (170th KIA) fatality reported today is the 100th to die from an IED.

 

FYI, the military (in the UK) does pay for the funeral of those who die whilst serving. This can be either a 'military' funeral with a flag drapped coffin and a volley over the graveside to financial assistance with a simple family funeral ie with no military involvement. Sadly too many these days.

Roxy