HMS Illustrious, command ship in tough Arctic weather training
Royal Navy helicopter carrier HMS Illustrious is in the midst of NATO Exercise Cold Response, based in the Arctic. Illustrious is the command ship for Major General Ed Davis, Commandant General Royal Marines, who, with his Commander Amphibious Forces staff, is directing the movements of allied warships.
In all, about 16.000 sailors, soldiers and airmen from 15 nations, hosted by Norway, are taking part in Cold Response which tests the ability of NATO's forces to fight in the harshest environment imaginable.
The ten-day war game has gathered an international task force in the waters of the Arctic.
The situation in the fictional 'Nerthus' region (actually northern Norway) is deteriorating, with 'Gardarland' refusing to withdraw its troops from neighbouring 'Borgland', and the multinational naval force on high alert, ready to intervene if needed.
During Cold Response HMS Illustrious is home to eight helicopters - four Sea Kings and four Lynx, all from Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton.
The 900-plus crew of HMS Illustrious, including Royal Marines and personnel from the Commando Helicopter Force, are working around the clock.
Staff working on the flight deck, day and night, is facing blizzards and strong winds that can drop the temperature to minus 40 degrees Celsius as they marshal and refuel the essential helicopters. At one point a blizzard brought flying operations to a standstill.
Royal Marines of Kilo Company, 42 Commando, had been ready to board Commando Helicopter Force Lynx and Sea Kings when the operation was called off.
Deck crews and aircraft maintainers coped with high winds and blizzard conditions to secure the aircraft to the deck or move them inside to a hangar.
Captain Martin Connell, the ship's Commanding Officer, said: “HMS Illustrious and her embarked helicopter squadrons are certainly facing some tough arctic conditions. But we have prepared for this, both in terms of training and with all our equipment, and I am very pleased with the way the crew have approached the exercise throughout the ship”.
He added that in particular “the positive attitude and cheery enthusiasm of those operating on the flight deck have been vital and have allowed Illustrious to conduct helicopter operations round the clock in support of the multinational task force.”
A few miles away, the Navy's flagship HMS Bulwark has been carrying out amphibious exercises with her landing craft.
The assault ship has been training at Red Beach near Harstad with the Korps Mariniers - the Dutch counterparts of the Royal Marines and long-standing partners of the Green Berets.
Commodore Paddy McAlpine, Commander UK Task Group, and his staff are directing amphibious operations involving Bulwark and her subordinate ships and units
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LOL.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/falklandislands/9149395/Argentine-veteran-rejects-British-Falkland-Islands-partner-for-dance-show.html
This is a fascinating story as it doesn't give the name of the Falklander who is living in BA and taking part in this weird TV show so does anyone know who it is?
C'mon you can tell me as I promise not to tell anyone else.
Whoever she is she must be errrr...sort of open minded, shall we say as this TV show is more like pornorgaphy.
Check it out :
perezhilton.com/tag/bailando_por_un_sueno/
why not go to the telegraph forum and dribble on there?
Anyway enough of that silly shit, the BBC showed a programme last night on how a Cold War RAF Vulcan bomber flew from Ascension to bomb the airfield at Port Stanley. Designed to attack the Soviet Union with Nuclear bombs, it needed refueling a number of times on its 8000 mile round trip. Such daring, such courage, these chaps flew through terrible weather conditions and Argentine Flak to deliver their payload. On the return leg, as they approached the oncoming Task Force, steaming south, they had to hurriedly impart the friendly code sequence to avoid being mistaken for enemy scum and be blasted out of the sky.
UK Armed Forces are indeed the best in the World.
I thought he had changed his name to Janine Peckless.
11 Be serious
What programme was this? I'm wondering if its on iPlayer?
It's was a Channel 4 programme called “Falklands - Most daring raid”.
When they first found out what they has to do they were fine thinking that their chances of survival were a bit better over Port Stanley than Leningrad. At that point they hadn't quite got to the actual detail of the task ahead of them.
It was an interesting show but if you want to get a lot more detail about the raid I recommend the book Vulcan 607 by Rowland White. Some fascinating photos in the book also.
the argie busters
battle of the islands
the desert argies
battle of argentina,
the islands landings,
still we can all dream lol.
Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao are either part of the Kingdom of The Netherlands or overseas countries of the same nearby the South American coastline
French Guiana, which is an overseas department of France and is therefore part of the European Union
Also don't forget the other British OTs such as BVI, TCI, the Cayman Islands, Anguilla, Montserrat and Bermuda. They're all thousands of miles from the UK but Americans (the Geoff Ward PC version of Americans that is) aren't claiming those islands as theirs.
I'll have a look for that.
Many thanks.
stealing for is not your, is relivent,
they think, that by getting others to do their dirty work, and there backing, they will get the islands, but they will not,
as long as CFK and her followers are anti democracy, then they will get nothing,
“Argentine war veteran refuses to dance with Falkland Islands female partner in Argentine TV show bailando por un sueno”
Think carefully about this. A Falklands female - doesn't say she was opinionated about the Falklands or Argentina, just that she was from the Falklands and the War veteran refused to dance with her just because of her place of birth.
Add this to the ex conscripts who served as Kitchen Porters in Pategonia during the Falklands War rioting for medals for a war they never fought in.
Add this to school children be forced to undertake mandatory indoctrination classes on the “Malvinas”.
Add this to your governments economic terrorism and Mugabe type rhetoric against the islanders and the British. Labeling Falkland Islanders and Brits “Pirates”.
Add this to a long list of tin pot dicator tactics and attitudes.
It is fanatical to the ninth degree.
ANY NORMAL PERSON WOULD BE ASHAMED TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS KIND OF MENTALITY.
It is the mentality of a 9 year old, who has just had their place in the sand pit taken.
Just a couple more 9/11, Londons, Madrids and Oslos and you all will be as modern as the Roman Empire.
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