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British Military Current Events

Can we buy it?


In other news, the king is apparently furious at push back over the coronation medal


It's comforting to know that the British, like us, regularly torture themselves about honours and awards dished out to recognize salient events in the lives of the Royal Family.

I arrived in the UK a few years after the Silver Jubilee medal was dished out, and the resulting fallout was still drifting down related to who had received the 'Order of the Brown Nose' ;)

Basis of award and numbers awarded​

The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal was created by a Royal Warrant from the Queen.[2]

Until 1977, the practice for coronation and jubilee medals was for the United Kingdom authorities to decide on a total number of medals to be produced and allocate how many were to be distributed by each Dominion and possession across the British Empire, and later, to each Commonwealth country. From 1977, the award of the medals was at the discretion of each national government. Thus, 30,000 were distributed in Britain, 1,507 in New Zealand,[2] 6,870 in Australia,[3] and 30,000 in Canada.[4]

 
At least the Brits ,the Yanks and the French not only can do something about that sort of situation but might actually do something.
Long ago I realized that if I travelled if something like what's going on now happened to me unless I was next door to one of those three embassies. I was was pretty much screwed if I waited for my country to do anything except hold press conferences.
 
Well done the Meat and Veg! ;)


UK armed forces evacuate British diplomats from Sudan after threats​

Rishi Sunak says ‘complex and rapid’ operation carried out, amid fears for remaining UK nationals


The UK has evacuated its diplomatic staff and their dependants from Khartoum, the British prime minister and foreign secretary said on Sunday, but UK nationals still living in Sudan remained in the country.

Announcing the evacuation, Rishi Sunak said British armed forces had carried out “a complex and rapid” military operation. The evacuation involved members of UK special forces and the Parachute Regiment.

With UK citizens still trapped by the fighting in Khartoum, the news that diplomats have been prioritised is likely to cause deep concern, but James Cleverly, the UK foreign secretary, insisted the top priority remained the safety of British nationals.

 
I ... er ... uh ... no. Just no...


People watching the Coronation will be invited to join a "chorus of millions" to swear allegiance to the King and his heirs, organisers say.

The public pledge is one of several striking changes to the ancient ceremony revealed on Saturday.

In a coronation full of firsts, female clergy will play a prominent role, and the King himself will pray out loud.

The Christian service will also see religious leaders from other faiths have an active part for the first time.

The Coronation on Saturday will be the first to incorporate other languages spoken in Britain, with a hymn set to be sung in Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic.

 
Ubique...

Military carries out first operational runway repair since Falklands War in Sudan​


British military engineers carried out urgent airfield damage repairs at the Wadi Saeedna Air Base in Sudan - the first operational runway repair conducted by UK forces since the Falklands war in 1982.

23 Parachute Engineer Regiment and 24 Commando Royal Engineers carried out the work, known as Airfield Damage Repair, last week as the military evacuated UK nationals out of Sudan from the airfield.

Wadi Saeedna airfield, near the capital Khartoum, was being used by multiple nations to evacuate their citizens from Sudan.

23 Parachute Engineer Regiment tweeted the airfield "was in a poor state of repair, further exacerbated by the high tempo of heavy, multinational military transport aircraft".

"The work enabled the continued evacuation of UK and other nations' entitled people," they added.

The UK's aerial evacuation mission from Sudan is over with the passengers on the final repatriation flights expected to land in Britain today.
According to the Ministry of Defence (MOD), the RAF has now evacuated more than 2,000 people from Sudan, most of whom are UK nationals or their dependents.

They have also evacuated civilians from more than 20 other nations in support of their allies and partners.

 
400,000 Coronation medals... quick, march!

Coronation Medal to go to Armed Forces and frontline emergency service workers​

Members of the Armed Forces, frontline emergency service workers and people actively contributing to The King’s Coronation will be among the 400,000 people to receive a Coronation Medal, the design of which is unveiled today.


 
I ... er ... uh ... no. Just no...


People watching the Coronation will be invited to join a "chorus of millions" to swear allegiance to the King and his heirs, organisers say.

The public pledge is one of several striking changes to the ancient ceremony revealed on Saturday.

In a coronation full of firsts, female clergy will play a prominent role, and the King himself will pray out loud.

The Christian service will also see religious leaders from other faiths have an active part for the first time.

The Coronation on Saturday will be the first to incorporate other languages spoken in Britain, with a hymn set to be sung in Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic.

Funny thing.
Welsh is Saxon for foreigner.
Gael is Gaelic for foreigner.
Where's the Pictish verse?
 
Maj. Thompson is setting hearts aflutter...



'Braw darling!': The kilt-clad Scottish Army officer and equerry for the new King who is setting hearts aflutter

Major Jonathan Thompson has been catching the eye of Royal watchers

He was once the Queen's most senior bodyguard and now equerry for the King

Some thought Major Thompson as something of a 'hunk' in Scottish slang

Blessed with dashing good looks, he is the Scottish Army officer who is equerry for the new King and is thought of as something of a ‘braw darling’ – ‘hunk’ in Scottish slang – by Royal watchers.

Major Jonathan Thompson of the 5th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland was once the Queen’s most senior bodyguard.

Known to friends as ‘Johnny’, in recent days he has found himself front-and-centre of historic Royal events as the equerry of King Charles III, having served in the role when he was Prince of Wales.

On Friday, Major Thompson watched over Charles’s first public walkabout as Monarch.

Later that day the officer escorted Prime Minister Liz Truss to meet the King at Buckingham Palace. Yesterday, he was seen standing behind the King as he signed the proclamations at St James’s Palace.

Major Jonathan Thompson of the 5th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland, known to friends as 'Johnny', has caught the eye of a number of Royal watchers. Major Thompson (right) was pictured on Thursday with Prime Minister Elizabeth Truss (left)

Major Thompson always wears a thick tartan kilt and large fur sporran, which had him sweltering during Charles and Camilla’s Royal tour of Canada in May.

The moment the Major – who is married – and Prime Minister looked into each other’s eyes yesterday caused some amusement among observers of the historic occasion.

A body language expert joked: ‘This is how most Mexican telenovelas [soap operas] begin.’

One Twitter user posted: ‘PM Truss is the envy of the world. A weekly meeting with Johnny – I mean, King Charles?’ Another tweeted: ‘We’ll be seeing a lot of him now. As my dear husband said, “Oh look here’s your Major” (in my dreams).’

Major Thompson (pictured right) had previously accompanied Queen Elizabeth II upon her arrival at Balmoral earlier this summer, prior to her death

But another Twitter user empathised with Major Thompson, who was known to be close to the Queen, saying: ‘I think he looks very sad, he’s really devoted to the Royal Family, bless him.’

Earlier this year he was present at July’s Service of Thanksgiving for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee at St Paul’s Cathedral, sitting behind the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

The kilt-clad Scottish Army officer hearts aflutter
 
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One of my big regrets in life not going to Berlin in the late 80's in my late teens/twenties. I was studying in London one summer too. I would loved the nightlife.

I love the movie Atomic Blonde for the "feel" of the divided Berlin just before the wall comes down. The sound track is great too. Like all period pieces (I can't believe something I was a live for is a period piece) it magnifies (maybe too much) some of the cultural touch points. But it really gives a sense of the vibe.
A good friend of mine was in the U.S. army in the 1970s. Being a musician he was in an army band there that not only marched but played at dances and parties as well. On several occasions his band was invited to play at Russian Embassy parties. He said the Russian Ambassador evidently preferred their music over what the Russians would normally end up getting.
 
From ARRSE... the RN's POV:

"Well that was mental.

1am start this morning with fuckloads of hurry up and wait.

Trains into London went off without a hitch and then we marched round to MOD main building which was to be our staging area before we formed up.

They’d forgotten to feed us (the RN and RM contingent) on the night rehearsal resulting in a few bods going down due to being stood still for nearly 2 hours after being awake for 20 hours and our last meal being 10 hours previously.

So they made up for it today with a hefty buffet of breakfast rolls, pastries, croissants etc.

We could see Whitehall out of the window and got to watch the carriage go past on it’s way to Westminster Palace.

I assume MOD main building has one way glass because 5 or 6 women from the crowds decided to hop the barrier and use the side of the building as a toilet, unaware that 6 or 700 sailors and marines were watching them through the windows.

At about 11am we marched round to our forming up position just outside the Red Lion pub. As the senior service we were first out which meant we had the longest to wait on parade.

We stood at ease for close to 2 hours just waiting for the off. Obviously you can’t really look around and scope out the crowd because you’re stood still looking straight ahead, but we heard the occasional copper shouting at someone in the crowd which passed the time. We’d practiced standing still but it was still mind numbingly boring. I really felt for the lads and lasses in the guard outside the palace who’d already been stood still since about 9am.

Nice rendition of the national anthem which was our signal to slope arms and get ready to go.

And off we went. I assume you know the rest as you saw it all on TV. We marched up Whitehall, did a quick left wheel round Trafalgar Square, splitting in half and then into three to get round a massive lamp post and go through Admiralty Arch.

The sight as we exited the arch was pretty special with the crowds and all the flags, but one thing we all remarked on was how quiet the crowd was. Very little cheering or clapping. Everyone just seemed transfixed by their camera phones, all pointlessly recording the same footage. I’ve done small remembrance parades in local towns where there was more clapping and cheering.

Maybe it’s just because we were close to the back of the parade (closest to the sovereign) and everyone was bored of clapping by then.

The Mall was littered with horse shit, laminated music sheets and spurs from the pongoes who’d gone before us and that was that. If I’m entirely honest it was all a bit underwhelming and quite weird. The night rehearsal was a much more spectacular affair.

As I’m sure you’ve all seen on TV, we formed sixes from twelves pretty well. At Odiham it had begrudgingly been remarked upon by the GSM that the RN had been “one of the best” at doing it.

I think that’s guards speak for “you fcuking smashed that lads, well done.”

Too right, we’ve been practicing it for 3 weeks straight.

Having formed sixes we marched round the Victoria monument and I caught a glimpse of the HAC colour party (my old regiment) looking very smart in red tunics and bearskins. I can’t say I would’ve wanted to swap places though.

Then into the garden to cheer the King and Queen. He looked genuinely impressed with the rapturous 3 cheers we gave them. We could see some minor members of the Royal Family watching us from the 1st floor windows including Beatrice and Eugenie and Mike Tindall (I think). On the top floor we could see a load of palace workers also watching, including some very casually dressed people in tracksuits. I assume the palace cleaners just wear what they want?

As we turned to march off the palace garden, Princess Anne poked her head out of the window and gave a knowing nod to us in the RN. This was the best bit of the day for me. The entire RN loves her and she truly is our own. Her making the effort to see us specifically March off was a nice touch.

After that it was back to Waterloo for a few hours of being fcuked about and shouted out, including waiting outside the station in the pissing rain in a very unsailorlike fashion for an hour or so while they sorted out our train.

Now we’re all supposed to be going on the piss but we’ve been up since 1am and no one is really feeling the party mood.

The end."

 
British Army Company Sergeant Major Johnson Gideon Beharry, VC, COG, from Grenada, carrying the Flag of Grenada into Westminster Abbey, saluted by a Lt Col of the Irish Guards. Living recipients of both the Victoria Cross and George Cross played a prominent part in the Coronation.

CSM Beharry was also awarded the Order of Grenada, an order of chivalry and a society of honour instituted by Queen Elizabeth II in right of Grenada.

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