British Army Chief Warns UK and Allies Facing '1937 Moment'

Jun 28, 2022 • The Head of the British Army, General Sir Patrick Sanders has stated the UK and its allies face their "1937 moment" following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Chief of the General Staff stressed the importance of being prepared for all eventualities in the years ahead.

British Army General 'to Come Out as Gay'

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts is preparing to become the most senior military figure to come out as gay, amid claims that homophobia persists in the Army

A married British Army general who served in Afghanistan and Iraq is planning to come out as gay, becoming the highest[-]ranking military officer to do so, it has emerged.

The general is hoping to tackle the perception that admitting homosexuality would amount to career suicide.

Homophobic bullying and abuse are still common in the military despite attempts by the Ministry of Defence to improve the Army’s image, he claimed.

“I never considered outing myself until another very senior officer said he believed that admission of homosexuality by a senior officer would be career suicide,” he told the Mail on Sunday.

“I actually felt like saying, ‘Actually I’m gay and it has never prevented me from serving Queen and country’. » | Telegraph staff | Sunday, January 25, 2015

Former British Soldier Converts to Islam
Former British Soldier Converts to Islam. Liverpudlian and former British soldier embraces Islam after serving 12 years in the Army.

Army to Ditch Danish Bacon
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Army could soon be marching on a breakfast made from entirely British ingredients for the first time in over 40 years, after an innovative experiment involving pig farmers.

Any member of the Armed Forces who is fighting on the front line is entitled to a full English every morning. However, for generations the bacon has not been British because it has been too expensive; instead troops have been offered cheap Danish or Dutch bacon.

The Conservative party, when in opposition, vowed to end this scandal. But latest Ministry of Defence figures indicated that not a single rasher of the £1.5 million-worth of bacon consumed by the Armed Forced over the last year was British.

Now, pig farmers have started an innovative trial with the MoD to ensure that solely British bacon is supplied to troops, even though this country consumes so much bacon it is forced to import more than half of what it eats.

The experiment involves turning 4-year old sow pigs into rashers. Bacon has historically always been made from young male, or boar, pigs. Sows, whose sole purpose is to breed, have been considered tough and inedible in Britain and their meat is sold to German bratwurst makers and Italian salami makers. Long-standing butchers said the only time sow meat, which tends to be very fatty and dark in colour, has been sold as a cut of meat was during rationing in the Second World War. » | Harry Wallop, Consumer Affairs Editor | Saturday, May 14, 2011

My comment:

I suspected it all along, know this article has proved it: David Cameron is a 'Little Englander.' What a hare-brained idea this is! What on earth is shameful about our military men consuming Danish bacon? We're in the EU, don't you know?! And even if we weren't, there'd still be nothing "shameful" about it.

Were I to be in the forces, having to consume sow bacon would be enough to put me off my full English. Who the hell wants to breakfast on dark, tough, sow bacon? Good God, it's enough to drive a man to Islam – in earlier times I might have said 'to drink,' but I'm sure some nutcase out there would object on the grounds of political correctness, so 'to Islam' will do – I think I'd rather make do with toast and marmalade.

Give me high-quality Danish bacon every time if good quality British bacon isn't available. Cameron can stuff his sow's bacon! Anyway, why can't we afford the best British bacon for our troops? Why does the British government always have to behave like a bunch of cheapskates? I'd bet you dollars to doughnuts that Cameron hasn't been raised on cheap alternatives, so why push them on our military – the men who risk their lives to keep us safe? – © Mark

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Army Sorry For Sacking Soldiers By Email
The military apologises for after 38 troops were sent emails telling them they had been fired

Army Misses a Trick as Geordie Is Hailed Hero of the Foreign Legion
Adjudant-chef Rowe has received an almost unheard of five citations for bravery during his 23-year Legion career. Photograph: The Times
THE TIMES: Amid the pomp of the Bastille Day celebrations in Paris next month, Alex Rowe, Newcastle-born and Gloucestershire-raised, will be invested as a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur for his service in the French Foreign Legion.

It is an honour unheard of for an English legionnaire, but Adjudant-chef Rowe is frank: he would much rather have joined the British Army. While his twin brother, Mark, was accepted into the Royal Engineers, Adjudant-chef Rowe was rejected because of a childhood detached retina.

The decision still rankles. While he speaks matter-of-factly about quelling African rebellions and escaping death in a Taleban ambush, mention the British army and he suddenly becomes animated. “I became a sniper, this is the point,” he said, his accent veering between Geordie and French. “You can’t get into the British army because you’ve got a f***ed eye, and you become a sniper in the French Foreign Legion. Something’s gone wrong there.”

Not just a sniper, but one of the most highly decorated of all legionnaires. He has seen action in Bosnia, Kosovo, central Africa, the Ivory Coast and Afghanistan, winning an astonishing five citations for bravery. In his first interview, he told The Times: “Most guys will have one citation, some will have two. Three is very rare. Five is . . .” here he tailed off into a very Gallic shrug. “But I haven’t done anything more than my job.”

At a Legion training camp near Toulouse, Adjudant-chef Rowe, 43, explained how he went from running a pub in Stroud to being a hero of France’s elite and mythologised unit. Furious at his medical rejection by the Army, despite acceptance by Sandhurst, Adjudant-chef Rowe tried to run away to the Legion at 18. His mother talked him out of it, but just before his 21st birthday he flew to Marseilles, walked into a recruiting office and “basically disappeared” from the outside world. Continue reading and comment >>> Chris Smyth | Monday, June 14, 2010

Army Criticised for 'Mosques' on Firing Range
THE TELEGRAPH: A Muslim group has criticised the Army for using structures on a firing range that resemble mosques.

Bradford Council for Mosques said the features on Bellerby firing range at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire should be taken down immediately.

The Army has apologised but said it was vital soldiers trained in an environment which replicated where they were deployed.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said the structures were ''generic Eastern buildings'' and were not used as target practice.

Mohammed Saleem Khan, chief executive of the Bradford Council for Mosques, said the shape and colour of the structures - a green dome - symbolised an Islamic place of worship. >>> | Thursday, April 08, 2010

Army Chief Warns of 'Terrifying Prospect' of Failure in Afghanistan
THE TELEGRAPH: The head of the British Army, General Sir David Richards, has issued a wake-up call to the public by warning of the "terrifying prospect" of a defeat in Afghanistan.

General Sir David Richards attends a conference on the UK armed forces in central London. Photo: The Telegraph
In an unprecedented intervention, the chief of the general staff described the conflict as "this generation's war" and added that failure by Nato would have an "intoxicating effect" on militant Islam.

In his first interview as the head of the Army, Sir David told The Sunday Telegraph that if Britain and Nato failed in Afghanistan the risks to the western world would be "enormous" and "unimaginable".

He said: "If al-Qaeda and the Taliban believe they have defeated us – what next? Would they stop at Afghanistan? Pakistan is clearly a tempting target not least because of the fact that it is a nuclear-weaponed state and that is a terrifying prospect. Even if only a few of those (nuclear) weapons fell into their hands, believe me they would use them. The recent airlines plot has reminded us that there are people out there who would happily blow all of us up."

The general's intervention comes at a crucial time, with the US General in charge of operations in Afghanistan calling for more troops to be sent to the country to fight the Taliban.

At home, the Government has come under increasing pressure for the way it has handled the war, with critics saying the armed forces have been under-resourced. >>> Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent | Saturday, October 03, 2009

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: General Sir David Richards: 'We can't afford to lose the war in Afghanistan' >>> Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent | Sunday, October 04, 2009

Iraq War "Badly Planned," Says British Army
THE TELEGRAPH: A leaked internal Army report has delivered an unprecedented attack on the planning and execution of the war in Iraq.

The document, which openly condemns British and US foreign policy, says that "leaders should not start an operation without thinking through the options and implications of their plans". Iraq war was badly planned, says Army (more) By Sean Rayment

Mark Alexander