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Feminist Zealots or Useful Addition to Front Line Forces?

Feminist Zealots or Useful Addition to Front Line Forces?

women soldiersColonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British forces on the front line in Afghanistan, has recently caused quite a stir with his outspoken comments about the female recruitment surge which fell at the first hurdle. The Royal Armoured Corps is one of the British Army’s largest and most important regiments for conventional warfare land forces deployments.

The RAC recently invited applications from female soldiers which, if they are accepted, would mean British ladies fighting in tank battalions for the first time in history. There was just one small problem despite this beacon of modern liberalism welcome all ladies with open arms…… they didn’t really want to!

In early 2016, the first combat unit opening its doors to women was our very own Royal Armoured Corps. There was much praise from the politicians (who made it happen of course!) The trouble was their claims that women would join in their droves proved quite misguided and presumptuous when a ridiculously small number of women actually volunteered to take up this “opportunity”.

The MOD recently released information after a Freedom Of Information Act Request was placed upon them. The information released under the FOI request showed that just 70 female army recruits had enquired about joining the RAC and of those 70, only around 30 of them had the RAC down as their “first choice”, in other words the rest of them had it further down the sheet of possible attachments.

As Colonel Kemp pointed out in no uncertain terms, and I have to agree with him here, this is an exercise in political correctness which jeapordises both the safety of the thousands of male troops alongside whom those few women will serve, and the safety of the entire Army. The drive towards extreme liberalism where the roles of men and women are increasingly blurred is frankly an exercise in the ridiculous. Women generally do not want to serve alongside men in every single role they perform, and this is no longer just a theory or a belief, but is a proven fact based on these figures. And quite honestly, I would not want a daughter of mine to WANT to serve alongside men on the front line. You can bleat on about equality all you like, but in my opinion my daughter is NO LESS FREE by being back on home soil, safe and sound and not facing bullets or missiles, so thanks very much for the offer but no thanks all the same! Thankfully my daughter feels the same way!

Colonel Kemp was quoted as saying “The Army did not want this, but it was forced on them by politically-correct politicians and feminist zealots who themselves would not dream of serving in close combat units.”

He is spot on, and he should be given credit for speaking his real mind unlike the politicians forcing this insane policy on the British Army.

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Call me old fashioned, you won’t be the first by a long chalk, but I joined the military with the idea of protecting the women and children of my homeland, not to die alongside them. What’s the point in that? And for those who would say “women are just as important as men” my answer would be “No they are not, they are MORE important than men!” And that is precisely why I do not want them dying on the front line, but staying safely out of harms way while the physically stronger gender go and risk their stupid necks for the greater good! Why do news reports even to this very day still talk of how many “women and children” are dying in Aleppo, Syria, or in refugee camps in Calais or Ukraine? If we are all 100% equal, how come these liberal journalists still get to talk about “women and children”. Why don’t the dying men carry as much importance as those women? Why? Because truthfully, the men’s lives are NOT as important. The death of men is tragic and horrible, but not AS tragic and horrible as the death of women.

For those who seek to accuse people with beliefs like mine of being bigotted, I would say quite the opposite. I value women’s lives MORE THAN YOU! So let them tend the wounded, feed the families left behind, hell even run the government, but stay safely out of flying shrapnel. I truly mean it when I say it’s no place for a women. The feminists take this statement to mean I think less of women, but that couldn’t be further from the truth, and it’s an unfair accusation without any basis, but it serves their purpose to silence the few people left who are prepared to hold onto more traditional values. I think too much of any women I know, than to want to see them in war. That’s my only point here.

I will end with what I think are some excellent and brave words by Colonel Kemp:

“Having a very tiny minority of women serving in what will remain pretty much all-male units will be counter-productive and harmful to morale and combat effectiveness.

The whole thing will turn out to be a very costly, damaging and futile exercise in political correctness, funded, of course, by the taxpayer.”

Famous Members – James Blunt

Famous Members – James Blunt

james-blunt-armyJames Blunt (born James Hillier Blount, February 22, 1974) is an English singer-songwriter whose debut album, Back to Bedlam, and single releases — especially the number one hit “You’re Beautiful” — brought him to fame in 2005.

His style is a mix of pop and folk rock. Along with vocals, James Blunt performs on the piano and guitar. He is signed to Linda Perry’s American label Custard Records. Blunt won two BRIT Awards and two Ivor Novello Awards, and was nominated for five Grammy Awards in 2006. Blunt subsequently released his second album, All the Lost Souls, in 2007; this album was certified gold within its first week of release.Prior to embarking on a career in music, Blunt was an officer in the Life Guards unit of the British Army, and served as a member of the NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo. While posted to Kosovo, Blunt was introduced to the work of Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) (also known as Doctors without Borders), a humanitarian aid group best known for its emergency medical care in conflict-torn regions; during his musical career, Blunt has supported MSF by holding meet-and-greet auctions at many of his concerts. While Blunt has spent most of his life studying and living in England, his primary residence is now on the Spanish island of Ibiza, where he wrote many of the songs on his second album.

Early life

Blunt was born at a military hospital in Tidworth, Wiltshire, England, the first child born to Jane and Charles Blount. Blunt spent his early childhood living in England, Cyprus, and Germany, where his father, a Colonel in the British Army Air Corps, and military helicopter pilot, was posted at various times. He has two younger siblings. His father instilled in his son a love of flying, and Blunt earned his pilot’s license at age 16. The Blount family has a long history of military service, dating to the 10th century. At age seven, Blunt was enrolled at Elstree School, Woolhampton, then attended Harrow School (Elmfield House) on an army bursary. From Harrow School he gained an army-sponsored place at Bristol University, where he first studied aerospace manufacturing engineering and then subsequently read sociology. He graduated with a BSc in Sociology in 1996. Blunt completed his education at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

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Military career

Much has been made of Blunt’s military background, and questions about his assignments and activities have been raised in almost every interview since Blunt entered public life as a musician. As the British Army sponsored his university education, he was obliged to provide a minimum of four years of service. He was commissioned as a subaltern (second lieutenant) in the Life Guards, a unit of the Household Cavalry of the British Army, where he rose to the rank of captain.

One of his first assignments was to British Army Training Unit Suffield in Alberta, Canada, where his squadron was posted for six months in 1998 to act as the opposing army in combat training exercises.In 1999, he served as an armoured reconnaissance officer in the NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo. Initially assigned to reconnaissance of the Macedonia-Kosovo border, Blunt and his unit worked ahead of the front lines directing forces and targeting Serb positions for the NATO bombing campaign. He led the first squadron of troops to enter Priština, and was the first British officer to enter the Kosovan capital. His unit was given the assignment of securing the Priština airport in advance of the 30,000-strong peacekeeping force; the Russian army had moved in and taken control of the airport before his unit’s arrival. As the first officer on the scene, Blunt shared a part in the difficult task of addressing the potentially violent international incident.

There were less intense moments during Blunt’s Kosovo assignment, however. Blunt had brought along his guitar, strapped to the outside of his tank. At some places, the peacekeepers would share a meal with hospitable locals, and Blunt would perform. It was while on duty there that he wrote the song “No Bravery”.

Later assignments included captaincy of the Household Cavalry Alpine ski team, based in Verbier, Switzerland, with Blunt eventually becoming champion skier of the entire Royal Armoured Corps. Following this came a tour of duty with the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment in London, England. During his London posting, Blunt was interviewed about his responsibilities on the television programme “Girls on Top”, a series highlighting unusual career choices. As part of the Mounted Regiment, he carried out many ceremonial duties. He stood guard at the coffin of the Queen Mother during the days of her lying in State and was part of the funeral procession on April 9, 2002. He had extended his period of service in November 2000, but then left the army on 1 October 2002.

Music career

Early career

Blunt took piano and violin lessons as a child, but his first significant exposure to popular music was at Harrow School. There, he was introduced to the guitar by a fellow student, and started playing guitar and writing songs at age 14. At Bristol University, his graduate thesis was The Commodification of Image – Production of a Pop Idol; one of his main references for the thesis was Simon Frith, a sociologist and rock critic, and current chair of the Mercury Music Prize. Blunt left the British Army in 2002 so that he could pursue his musical career.

It was at about that time that he started using the stage name “Blunt,” in part to make it easier for others to spell; “Blount” is pronounced the same way, and remains his legal surname. Shortly after leaving the Army, he was signed to EMI music publishers, and to Twenty-First Artists management. A record contract remained elusive however, with recording label executives pointing to Blunt’s “posh” speaking voice as a barrier. Linda Perry, who was just launching her own Custard Records label in early 2003, heard Blunt’s promotional tape when visiting London, and soon after heard him perform live at the South by Southwest Music Festival. Within a few days, Blunt signed a recording contract with Perry, and one month later he was in Los Angeles working with producer Tom Rothrock.

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Back to Bedlam

Blunt recorded Back to Bedlam in 2003 with producer Tom Rothrock at Rothrock’s home studio, using session musicians and performing on many different instruments himself. While in Los Angeles, he lodged with actress Carrie Fisher, whom he had met through the family of a former girlfriend. Fisher was very supportive of Blunt’s aspirations, suggesting the name of the album and providing use of a bathroom in her home for Blunt to record the song “Goodbye My Lover”. Back to Bedlam was finally released in the UK in October 2004.The debut album from the unknown Blunt attracted little critical attention, and there were no published reviews from major UK music journals. His live performances, mainly in support of better known musicians, received somewhat mixed but generally favourable reviews. Blunt’s lack of performing experience and inconsistent approach with audiences was commented upon, while his music was likened to that of Damien Rice and David Gray.

In March 2004, with Blunt performing in the support role for Katie Melua in Manchester, Alex McCann of Designer Magazine wrote, “Blunt’s ascendance is a dead cert and this time next year it isn’t that far removed from reality to suggest that a number 1 album, Brit Award and countless accolade’s [sic] will be his for the taking.”

James Blunt’s debut single in the UK was “High” (co-written with Ricky Ross of Deacon Blue). This song peaked below the Top 100 of the UK Singles Chart. However, the song was chosen to appear in a Vodafone commercial in Italy, and was a Top 10 hit in that country. Concert support slots for Elton John and Lloyd Cole and the Commotions in late 2004 and early 2005 followed, as did a band residency at London club 93 Feet East.

In March 2005, his second single, “Wisemen,” was released.

Blunt’s third single “You’re Beautiful” was his breakout hit. The song debuted at number 12 in the UK, and rose all the way to the number one position six weeks after its debut. The song also received massive airplay in the UK, which helped propel Back to Bedlam to number one on the UK Albums Chart. The extensive airplay ultimately led to Blunt and his co-writers being awarded the Ivor Novello Award for Most Performed Work. After the success of “You’re Beautiful” in the UK, the song crossed over to mainland Europe, becoming one of the biggest hits of summer 2005 across the continent. In the U.S., “You’re Beautiful” made its debut in the summer of 2005 on WPLJ, a prominent radio station in New York City, despite not having been released to radio yet. Once the song was released to radio stations in the fall of 2005, the song climbed into the Top 10 at three radio formats: Adult Contemporary, Adult Top 40, and Adult Alternative.

Blunt became the first British artist to top the American singles chart in nearly a decade when his song “You’re Beautiful” reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2006; the last British artist to do so had been Elton John in 1997 with the song “Candle in the Wind 1997″.

“Goodbye My Lover” was released as the fourth UK single from the album in December 2005, and was later the second US single. The songs “High” and “Wisemen” were subsequently re-released in 2006. Blunt started off 2006 celebrating five BRIT Award nominations, going on to win Best British male solo artist and Best pop act categories, having already started an 11-month tour that would take him around the world.

There was extensive promotion in the United States starting in the fall of 2005, with Blunt making appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show and as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live. Eight of the songs on the album were featured in television shows (The O.C., Grey’s Anatomy and many more), films (Undiscovered), and advertising campaigns (Hilton Hotels, Sprint telecommunications) throughout 2005 and 2006.

Blunt performed “You’re Beautiful” at the 49th Grammy Awards in February 2007, dedicating the song to the late Ahmet Ertegün of Atlantic Records, but he did not win in any of the five categories for which he had received nominations.The album eventually sold 11 million copies and topped the album charts in 16 territories worldwide. It sold 2.6 million in the U.S and was certified 2x platinum.

In Britain the album was certified 10x platinum and sold over three million copies. It was the best sold album in 2006 in the world.

In 2005, Blunt performed in 90 live shows, mainly across the UK and Europe, ending the year supporting Jason Mraz in a North American tour. The “Back to Bedlam World Tour” started off in January 2006, covering cities in Europe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, as well as three separate headline tours in North America, ending in November of that year. Not including promotional appearances, Blunt performed over 140 live shows in 2006. He enjoys the touring experience, saying in July 2006 that he and his band were having the time of their lives going to new places every day.

The videos for all of Blunt’s singles released from Back To Bedlam feature symbolism and dark imagery. In the first video for “High”, he is buried in a desert. In the first video for “Wisemen”, he is kidnapped and taken hostage. In the video for “You’re Beautiful”, he alludes to suicide by jumping off a cliff into the sea. The re-release video for “High” then features Blunt running in a forest. The re-release video for “Wisemen” has Blunt burning identification papers, and then walking through a forest while he is on fire and in “Goodbye My Lover”, he is the outsider in a love triangle, imagining the couple, a man and woman (played by Matt Dallas of Kyle XY and Mischa Barton of The O.C.) together.

In 2006, the name James Blunt was entered into the Dictionary of Cockney rhyming slang (a ‘right James Blunt’) in reference to the word c*nt. Blunt is said to have responded, “John F. Kennedy got an airport named after him — I got my favourite part of the female anatomy”.

 

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All the Lost Souls

Blunt’s second studio album, All the Lost Souls, was released on 18 September 2007 in North America, one day after its release in the United Kingdom. It sold 650,000 units in its first week, and was certified gold in the UK after only four days.

By the end of January 2008, the album had sold 600,000 copies in the UK, and 3.5 million copies internationally. Blunt completed the album’s songs at his home in Ibiza in the winter of 2006–2007. He performed five of the ten album tracks during his 2005–2006 tours; lyrics, melodies, and harmonies were refined for the studio recording, on which his touring band played and Tom Rothrock worked as producer. While Blunt’s first album received very little critical attention, critics from every major music publication, and newspapers around the world, weighed in on All the Lost Souls.

Critics were polarized in their treatment of the album, with some panning Souls, while others were filled with praise. Eric Danton, of The Hartford Courant wrote that the album is “a collection so bland, it makes hardtack seem sumptuous”, while Rolling Stone said that the album contains “forgettable ballads”.

Yet, in her review of the album, Kerri Mason of Billboard said Blunt “shows the abandon and confidence of a long-term artist, not just a one-hit wonder”. And of the album, Mason wrote, “there is not a misstep throughout”. Equally effusive, Liz Hoggard of The Observer wrote that “it’s impossible to resist Blunt’s troubadour yearning.” While not universally acclaimed, Blunt’s second album stirred far more critical review — both positive and negative — than his debut. Only after the success of “You’re Beautiful” did critics begin to take real notice of Blunt’s debut album.

The first single from All the Lost Souls, “1973″, was inspired by Blunt’s nights out at Pacha, an Ibiza club, which opened in that year. The song became another hit for Blunt reaching number one on the World Singles Top 40, and reached the top in the Billboard European Hot 100 Singles chart.

D.J. Pete Tong remixed “1973″ and played the track during his set at Pacha over the summer of 2007. The second single, “Same Mistake”, was released in early December 2007 but did not fare well in the charts, peaking at number 57 in the UK charts. The third single from the album will be “Carry You Home”, scheduled for release in March 2008.

Personal life

Blunt says that he has become closer to his family since his musical success; his father manages his finances, and his mother arranged for the purchase of his principal residence in Ibiza, where Blunt has holidayed since he was a teenager.

Blunt also owns a chalet in the Swiss town of Verbier; in February 2007, he was named “godfather” of one of the town’s new ski lifts.

The musician’s social life has been the subject of significant commentary, particularly in the tabloid press; he is well known to enjoy nightclubbing and socializing with other celebrities.

Blunt has, in the past, been romantically linked to Dixie Chassay, casting director for the Harry Potter films; Camilla Boler, musician and daughter of the late Stephen Boler; and supermodel Petra Nemcova. Blunt himself has found the degree of interest in his personal life to be bizarre, stating that “fame and celebrity is something that other people have constructed that I’m not really party to.”

PhilanthropyBlunt has raised funds for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors without Borders, by auctioning meet and greet opportunities at many of his concerts. He first encountered MSF medical care workers during his tour of duty in Kosovo, and was impressed with their work despite minimal support and limited security. He also supports environmental causes, screening the trailer for An Inconvenient Truth at his concerts, and planting a tree for each advance sales concert ticket purchased through his designated website. On July 7, 2007, Blunt performed at the Live Earth concert at Wembley Stadium, London.Blunt, a former soldier, is also a patron of Help for Heroes, a charity aiming to raise money to provide better facilities to wounded British servicemen.

Discography

Albums

2004: Back to Bedlam

2006: Chasing Time: The Bedlam Sessions (DVD/CD)

2007: All the Lost Souls

Awards

2005

MTV Europe Music Awards – Best New Act

Q Awards – Best New Act

Digital Music Awards – Best Pop Act

2006

NRJ Music Awards (France) – Best International Newcomer

BRIT Awards – Best pop act and Best Male Vocalist

ECHO Awards (Germany) – Best International Newcomer

NME Awards – Worst Album

MTV Australia Video Music Awards – Song of the Year for You’re Beautiful

Ivor Novello Awards – Most Performed Work and International Hit of the Year

MTV Video Music Awards – Best Male Video and Best Cinematography

World Music Awards – Best New Artist in the World and Biggest Selling British Artist in the World

Teen Choice Awards (United States) – Choice Music Male Artist2008

ECHO Awards (Germany) – Best International Male Artist

See it through their eyes – Battlegroup Afghanistan

See it through their eyes – Battlegroup Afghanistan

The conflict in Afghanistan has seen the men of the Royal Armoured Corps engaged in some of the fiercest fighting since World War Two.

Now they tell their story in The Tank Museum’s new exhibition ‘Battlegroup Afghanistan – The Armoured Soldiers’ story which opens to the public in April.

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In their own words, the serving soldiers will share their experiences and views of a conflict that is soon to enter its tenth year. In a recreated Forward Operating Base, visitors will see the vehicles used by the armoured regiments and immerse themselves in the sights, sounds and conditions of life on operations today.

Researchers have spent hours interviewing soldiers from various regiments who have seen action in Afghanistan to create the new exhibition, providing a vast amount of audio and video content that visitors will hear and watch as they explore the Forward Operating Base. True stories from the front line will include examples of day-to-day bravery that the public have never had the opportunity to hear until now.

To mark the opening of this exhibition visitors will have the chance to meet serving-soldiers and find out more about life and work in the hostile climate of Afghanistan, try on the soldiers’ desert kit, try soldiers rations, learn how to make dirty water clean, and learn more about the weapons and equipment of the modern army.

On the special message wall, visitors can leave messages for the Royal Armoured Corps soldiers on active service before trying their hand at a range of craft activities.

The Royal British Legion launches 2011 Poppy Appeal

The Royal British Legion launches 2011 Poppy Appeal

poppys_300x168The launch of the 2011 Poppy Appeal, which is aiming to break previous years’ fundraising totals by raising £40m, was yesterday attended by Members of HM Armed Forces.

The appeal, which is celebrating its 90thanniversary this year, raises funds needed to support those currently serving in Afghanistan, veterans of past conflicts, and their families.

The 2011 campaign has been launched with an online campaign and a chart-destined official single recorded by the Bee Gee’s Robin Gibb and forces pop sensations The Soldiers. At the launch The Soldiers performed the official Poppy Appeal song for 2011, I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You.

This year’s Poppy Appeal involves a new social media campaign where members of the public can to log on to shouldertoshoulder.org.uk and pin a poppy to an online photograph, add a message of support, and place it alongside thousands of others on an interactive wall.

The Poppy Appeal distributes around 45 million poppies, 100,000 wreaths and sprays and 750,000 Little Remembrance Crosses which are all made at the RBL’s Poppy Factory in Richmond, Surrey.

Wootton Bassett lowers its flag for last time as it prepares for repatriations to move to Brize Norton

Wootton Bassett lowers its flag for last time as it prepares for repatriations to move to Brize Norton

The repatriation flag will be lowered for the last time in Wootton Bassett tonight. As the sun sets, the church bell will toll to mark the end of an era for a town that has become synonymous with the death of British servicemen and women.

Since 2007 Wootton Bassett has ground to a halt each time the bodies of British service personnel are driven through the high street after being repatriated through nearby RAF Lyneham. Thousands of visitors and locals have stood with bereaved families to watch corteges pass through on its way to a hospital in Oxfordshire.

woottonWotton Bassett and it’s residents have seen 345 servicemen and women repatriated through RAF Lyneham since the base assumed the duty in April 2007.

The return of the body of 24-year-old Daniel Clack, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Helmand marked the 167th and final repatriation for Wootton Bassett and took place on 18 August.

RAF Brize Norton now holds the sole responsibility for repatriations as RAF Lyneham prepares to close next year.

Wootton Bassett is now ‘Royal’ Wootton Bassett after the town was granted royal patronage in March 2011 by the Queen in recognition of its efforts to honor the UK’s war dead.

Is it the end of cavalry, as Dragoons are to be merged with infantry?

Is it the end of cavalry, as Dragoons are to be merged with infantry?

One of Scotland’s oldest regiments is to be merged with the infantry. The end of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards marks the demise of the British Army’s cavalry after 350 years.

The cavalry, which dates back to the Civil War in the 1640s, will no longer be able to operate as an independent force but will instead be restructured and combined with the infantry into a “combat capability directorate”, according to a leaked army document.

It is feared the famous regimental names of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and the King’s Royal Hussars might be lost. These two regiments are likely to be split up into squadrons and incorporated into infantry battalions.

The restructuring of the army will create three more capability directorates. Artillery and engineers forming the combat support capability directorate. Logistics and electrical and mechanical engineering forming the combat service support capability directorate. Signals and intelligence forming the combat information capability directorate.

Yesterday a Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “The Defence Secretary recently announced the most radical transformation of the MoD in a generation, giving the chiefs greater power to run their services.

“The army’s new capability directorates will be more agile and responsive, providing capability development and delivery better aligned to the rest of defence.”

Prince Harry set back in latest flying test

Prince Harry set back in latest flying test

harry_afghanistan2_215x300Just days after he got into a major controversy over a racist remark against one of his army colleagues, Prince Harry has suffered yet another setback this year by failing in his first flying test….

The 24-year-old third-in-line to the British throne has flunked the theory-based flying test at a Royal Air Force base in Lincolnshire only few weeks into his two-year course, the ‘News of the World’ reported.

“Harry didn’t reach the grade but he will have plenty of other opportunities to pass it. He will now be given extra tuition. It wasn’t a case of Harry failing and being booted off the course. It’s part of an on-going assessment,” a Royal source was quoted by the British tabloid as saying.

Prince Harry, an Army Lieutenant in the Household Cavalry’s Blues and Royals, is currently on an attachment to the Army Air Corps for his flying training.