Major UK warfare exercise in the Falklands to repel “enemy invasion”
British forces have been taking part in a major warfare exercise in the Falkland Islands, where hundreds of servicemen died during the 1982 conflict. The Highlanders (4 Scots) joined the Royal Navy and RAF in a two-day operation after an “enemy invasion” on the islands, 8,000 miles from the UK, in the South Atlantic.
Argentina invaded the Falklands in April 1982. The war lasted 74 days and led to the loss of 255 British service personnel, three civilian Falkland islanders and 649 Argentine servicemen.
According to News.Scotsman.com the Highlanders are currently on a tour of the Falklands and form part of the permanent joint protection force in the South Atlantic until January, when they will be replaced.
The regiment is expected to deploy to Afghanistan in early 2011 and the exercise, Cape Bayonet, was seen as a vital part of their pre-deployment training.
Officer commanding Major Jonas Fieldhouse said: “The key thing for us here is that we have come as a whole company. Back in Germany where we are based it is very hard to get everyone together at the one time to do this kind of training.
”We're back to the basics of training, all the companies here are getting a lot done and that will help us wherever we go in the world in the next two and a half years, and not just Afghanistan.“
The exercise saw 100 Highlanders picked up by state-of-the-art protection vessel HMS Clyde at Mount Pleasant and transported overnight to San Carlos, scene of a major British amphibious landing during the 1982 conflict.
The soldiers arrived in a landing craft in three lots and marched ten miles before spotting the enemy embedded up a steep hill. Their orders were to identify attack and defeat the force on foot.
After an hour of fierce fighting, the enemy was captured and the company marched onwards over the unforgiving terrain.
Before being picked up and transported by Search and Rescue helicopter for the second stage of the gruelling exercise, the troops, each carrying upwards of 40lb of kit as well as rifles and ammunition, visited a memorial to pay their respects to the fallen at San Carlos.
Then they spent a night at Onion Range, a remote part of East Falkland, before embarking on a live firing exercise which saw them use live ammunition in a training field.
As they did so, two Typhoon jets, the RAF's most modern multi-role fighter, were called in to join the exercise offering unrivalled air support to the troops on the ground.
It was vital that all three services worked in unison to defeat the enemy. The exercise is seen as important training in the planning and execution of tactical manoeuvres which the forces will experience in the battlefield.
Regimental Sergeant Major Robert Loudon, 34, from Motherwell, Lanarkshire, has already completed two tours of Iraq.
He said: ”This is ideal training for Afghanistan. It is good to get the boys back out on their feet and into the field, back to soldiering. It means they can sharpen their skills.“
The exercise was deemed a success following a debrief with all the officers involved.
But the Highlanders are not just in the Falklands to train, they are there to carry out protection duties.
Following the conflict there has been a strong military presence in the Falklands, and a major base and airport were built at Mount Pleasant, 35 miles from the capital Stanley.
Daily patrols throughout the Islands, nicknamed the Penguin Patrols, are seen as a visible demonstration of the United Kingdom's sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and they are welcomed by the locals.
Maj Fieldhouse said: ”We're here in support of the mission that the British forces have in the South Atlantic to deter military aggression against these Islands”.
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This is the XXI century you know, so I would have thought Argentina would have evolved enough to recognise the islanders' right to determine their own future.
Khh, what you call “unjustified claim” is a very very very very very very justified claim for us and we won't drop it. You have to think that we have nothing to lose and you........ and there are more british people now that say ..................... “We have many problems here to keep maintaining forces protecting others overseas”.......................“If gibraltar and falklands' people want to be british, that's fine, as long as they do it with their own taxes”.......... They will give you up, we only have to wait. Time is not a problem for us, time is our ally.
Happy new year!
Its the 21st Century and you're still whining about the events of nearly 200 years ago, events that you have to distort to contrive an illogical irredentist case, one that you have to stoop to lying to support.
The idiom in spanish is “Nosotros tenemos la sarten por el mango”. The more you deny our rights, the more you suffer isolation.
Happy new year Justin. Be happy!
Quite simply ignore you as irrelevant, like most people do.
Its the most dumb way to go ahead. They should creat economic ties, airways, create a friendly atmosphere and then, maybe, create a common interest. But you can imagine, after the war, and the bullying, that the Islanders will not want ANY argentine on the island. Its just to late and its there own stupid fault.
Some of you (islanders), and some of my compatriots are so selfish and lack of ojetivity, you dont want to recognize the rights of the other part, you think that only your truth is valid, and you dont even respect the opinion of the rest of the people, i got enough of your idiot mentality.
What i heard the most is, the islands are just argentine, and bretain doesnt have any thing to do there, or we have right to self determination, or the islands are just british and we want to remain in this way.
As long as our goverments dont start to talk to find a solution to the conflict, the F.I.G must be included obviusly, the status quo will remain for many years, and we just will keep on claming, and you will be for years just a prosperous dependent territory.
Any way i dont regret for writing in this forum, because i found also very smart people, it's really constructive to talk to all of them, and if some day i travel to the islands, i hope we can meet.
I studyed your arguments, i keep on doing it, and i m talking to expert profesors on the conflict who studyed at the university, they recognize that some arguments of the islanders are true, but they also gave me enough reasons to keep on clamig the islands, any way my survey doesnt finish here, i need more opinions to be sure of our rights.
As long as my country doesnt recognize that the islands are british too, and as long as bretain and the islanders dont recognize our rights on the islands, we will keep on reading the comentarys of just a few pathetic people insulting each other, some of them think that we should to subdue the islanders, or many islanders hold tha we have nothing to clame, you just represent (VERGUENZA AJENA).
To finish my comentary you should take into account that, is not our fault for what happened in 1982, one day we woke up, and we saw on tv on national chane that an irresponsable drunk president who we didnt even voted, took possesion of the malvinas-falkland islands, i was a baby in that time , and sadenly many young people were called to fight for what we consider as part of our terrytory, all that rest of the history you already know it.
Those criminals just played with our illusions like many others in democratic times did it too, any way in spite of all the terrible moments that these corrupters made us live, i am totally sure that before i die, we will have the country that all of us deserve, it's a great nation with good and bad aspects like any other.
And you Justin, you can't ignore us. We control the flights in and out of there. Did you know that? We control the sea wich surrounds you. Did you know that?
Don't say that again! You don't even believe yourself!
We do just ignore you. You control squat.
Yes we can, and we do.
We control the flights in and out of there. Did you know that? We control the sea wich surrounds you.
There's not much evidence of your “control”.
I pity you!
es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:Tronador2.2b.jpg
Not like Argentina that is like a smelly little shed full of dead flys.
There is only one real name for the islands & that is the FALKLAND ISLANDS - British territory. like I said we have it all even with a smelly troll nextdoor playing silly buggers all the time.
We are not isolated. I bet per head of population more Islanders travel then argies do. 3 flights a week and cruse ships all summer long , no problem.
(and when they invaded all of Ireland and still have not returned the northern section)? Miltitary might and wealth are not rewarded by God.
To both sides- insulting each other and ignoring the valid points of the opposing view is childish as well as .
I'm not sure why you mention Northern Ireland? The six Irish counties which form Northern Ireland voted to remain part of the UK by opting out of the Irish Free State in 1922.
Whatever the history, the only thing which counts in the Falkland Island equation today is Islander self determination. Argentina refuses to accept this and until Argentina does then there will be deadlock.
blogs.clarin.com/blogfiles/ciencia/Tronador2.2.jpg
www.machtres.com/condor2-003.JPG
You can control commercial flights from overflying your territory enroute to the Islands- but that is all.
We receive 2 passenger flights a week direct from Britain anyway. We receive a British cargo ship every 5-6 weeks direct from Britain, every 2 weeks we received a container vessel from Montevideo and Punta Arenas. Every summer we receive many many cruise vessels from all parts of the world,
So much for your control over air and sea!
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