3 More Heroes gone

[The Wizard]

Three UK Soldiers die in Helmand.

Three British soldiers have been killed in an explosion in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has said.
Two of the soldiers were from 2nd Battalion The Rifles and the third was from 40 Regiment Royal Artillery.
They were killed while on foot patrol near Sangin in Helmand province on Thursday morning. Their next of kin have been informed.
The deaths bring the total in Afghanistan since the start of operations in 2001 to 199.
'Sad milestone'
Lt Col Nick Richardson, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: "Today has been incredibly sad for the whole of Task Force Helmand, and particularly for The Rifles battle group, with whom all three soldiers were serving.
"We will all feel the loss of these brave soldiers, but it is their family, friends and loved ones, as well as the men and women who served alongside them, who feel the greatest pain and we offer them our deepest and heartfelt condolences, thoughts and prayers."
Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said the loss of the three men was "a tragedy".
"It brings us very close to the sad milestone of 200 fatalities in this conflict," he said.
"We cannot help but reflect on the toll the mission has taken on our people and their families and friends. But we must also keep in the forefront of our minds how important it is to the security of this country and its citizens.
"So many young men and women have been injured or given their lives to ensure that Afghanistan does not fall back into the hands of the extremists and the terrorists who seek to threaten us and our interests.
"We must succeed. And we will."


Beyond a joke now.

 

[Whitterz]

RIP

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

The death toll is inevitably going to rise in this conflict.

 

[Psychobilly freakout]

R.I.P & Sympathies to friends and family

 

[throbinson]

Bout time the goverment gave our boys the right tools for the job

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

It's a scandal if anyone sent to fight for their country doesn't have the right equipment, of course it is but there is a deeper question which goes beyond that and the issue about how many helicopters we have. Put simply, what are we actually doing there?

Yes we're fighting the Taliban but what's the strategic aim of our engagement? What would constitute success? Containment? Because we're not going to beat them in a military sense as we all know the history of Afghanistan is littered with the defeats of the invaders. Or are we just following the Americans again?

This has now gone on for longer than the second world war. I dispise the Taliban but it's about time we had some clarity about our role there.

This latest loss of life is, of course, awful, a terrible tragedy for the families. But it has to be said that if you join the Army nowadays, it means there is a much greater risk that you will be sent to a place where the liklihood of being seriously injured or killed is far greater than it was when being sent to Northern Ireland was what constituted active service.

I suppose you think it'll never happen to you.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Bout time the goverment gave our boys the right tools for the job

Are you going on personal experience there or media headlines?

I was speaking to the husband of a friend of mine last week- he's in the Paras and has recently returned from Afghanistan. I asked him about the supposed lack of equipment (particularly when compared to the Americans) and his response was that when he was out there, they had more kit than they knew what to do with.

The helicopter thing is a slightly different issue, but equally, there was a high ranking military bloke on BBC Radio 5 Live the other day who said that, while a few more might be useful, they'd still be no use without the necessary ground troops to back them up, not to mention the increased space they'd need to accommodate the extra crews involved.

Sadly, soldiers are always going to die in any conflict. It's always been thus and always will be. Not much consolation for the families perhaps, but no matter what kit you have, sometimes it's not going to be able to save you.

 

[ebfc1]

R.i.p

 

[User removed 4]

Are you going on personal experience there or media headlines?

I was speaking to the husband of a friend of mine last week- he's in the Paras and has recently returned from Afghanistan. I asked him about the supposed lack of equipment (particularly when compared to the Americans) and his response was that when he was out there, they had more kit than they knew what to do with.

The helicopter thing is a slightly different issue, but equally, there was a high ranking military bloke on BBC Radio 5 Live the other day who said that, while a few more might be useful, they'd still be no use without the necessary ground troops to back them up, not to mention the increased space they'd need to accommodate the extra crews involved.

Sadly, soldiers are always going to die in any conflict. It's always been thus and always will be. Not much consolation for the families perhaps, but no matter what kit you have, sometimes it's not going to be able to save you.

i suspect your friends husband meant weapons and ammuition when talking about kit,rather than the armoured vehicles and helicopters that are desperately needed.