MOD splashing out the £Billions on more toys for the military boys.

Bumped into the beautiful,blonde, Blairite Baroness Ann Taylor ( Minister for Defence Equipment and Support ) who is excited to tell everyone that the third hugely expensive Skynet C satellite is aloft. (Note she doesn't seem to get the freebies to the sund and sand of Afghanistan like the men do)

Skynet C now joins Skynets A (launched March 07) and B ( November 07) aloft after a successful launch from Ariane Launch Complex No. 3 (ELA 3) in Kourou, French Guiana, South America at 11.0 o' clock last night, as we were getting our Horlicks and toddling off to sleep.

The Ariane 5 ECA rocket (183rd launch) , delayed from May 30th had a dual payload and also carried the Turksat 3A satellite - to be utilized by Ankara-based Turksat, providing telecommunication services and direct TV broadcasting of pornographic films for Turkey, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia.

This Hi Tech wizardry provides global communications with a relay capability for UK armed forces and other government agencies, and also is available to approved international defense, governmental and multinational organizations - including NATO It also supplies a handsome and regular income and a stonking pile of dosh under a £3 Billion Private Finance Initiative (PFI) for Paradigm Secure Communications, and EADS-Astrium who built the satellite itself, partly at their unit in Stevenage.

Skynets world-beating antenna technology improves data rates, giving a significant enhancement to operational capability for UK forces.

Such as ...er... providing free messages between service personnel on operations and their families and friends.... which beats paying them a decent wage or providing decent married accomodation.

It also enables us to control the single armed Reaper UAV we have currently in operation over Afghanistan ,( of the three the MOD bought as an "Urgent Operational Requirement", ( 1 crashed 1 on backup delivery) for £50 Mn.) that can drop an LDGP Mark 82 Raytheon 500lb (226kg) Paveway II-class laser-guided bomb (£55,000 per shot) or fire a Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missile(£70,000 per shot) on a land cruiser (when it is cloud free) or a building / compound (when it is cloud free) that operators are happy is free of civilians, women, children etc.,

This Paveway bomb is different from the "enhanced" version 1,000 lb Paveway bomb on the GR9A Harriers in Afghanistan developed by hastily cobbling together joining the body from a UK Paveway 2 and the Enhanced Computer Control Group from a Paveway 4 as an "Urgent Operational Requirement". "Make do and mend dear boys ...."

This hybrid weapon gives the GR9A an integrated, precision bombing capability, through cloud ...which, given the mountains there, happens not infrequently.

2 members of the Parachute regiment on foot Patrol in Sangin, Helmand came under enemy fire and were killed and another was injured yesterday. 5 members of the regiment have been killed in 5 days - the worst experience since the Falklands war..

Pic of "Mike" Jackson in Macedonia where things are nicely hotting up for EU/NATO forces .. daer old Mike..."The Army looks after it's own" .. Jackson. The Lion of Basra.

Running the Armed Forces and insulting them simultaneously - a Politicians trick

Des Browne the intellectually challenged Scots solicitor spoke to the Royal British Legion's Scottish annual conference last June. His dull speech has now been published as part of the papers for the 2008 conference ending today in Perth. His remarks, about servicemen' s pay, unreported at the time, have timely appeal to historians , military amputees and the guys who tighten up the nuts, wipe an oily rag over the engine and kick the tyres of the Tornado GR7A's, Chinooks, Merlins, Apaches in the balmy and delightful region of Kandahar.

The part time Defence Secretary last year asked hundreds of delegates from Legion branches: "Why don't we pay servicemen and women in a comparative rate to uniformed organisations in civilian street?"

They cheered him to the rafters when he replied ;

"I have to say the honest answer to that, for a number of young people, particularly those who join the Army, before they join the Army, they would not have been accepted by any of these organisations. "

So, Tommy Atkins is too stupid to be a Traffic warden, Community walker abouter with a yellow jacket, maybe, even a school crossing attendant .... a word of advice Des, keep that to yourself when you next visit Bagram wiith a massive security detail.

Wat Tyler (who sounds supiciously like an accountant on the loose) @ Burning our Money in his post on Thursday "The Army And The Navy Need Attention " provides a detailed and usefully annotated breakdown of squaddies pay

According to the cash-strapped MOD, Dannatt's pay discrepancy claims are simply untrue. According to their version, an 18 year old private in Afghanistan gets a fairly healthy sounding £26 grand package, comprising:

• Salary: £16,227
• Operational Allowance: (182 days) £2,380.56 (during six month tour of Afghanistan)
• Longer Separation Allowance: (182 days) £1,132.04
• Other perks including dental care and free eye tests: £510
• Financial assistance for learning costs: £2,175
• Subsidised living accommodation: £425.83
• Estimated annual employers' pension contribution: £3,148.04
• Total: £25,998.47

Which is more than a traffic warden, widely reported today to be on £17,000 pa. So the General is way offbeam. .. well up to a point Lord Copper says Wat.

The average pay of traffic wardens is higher than £17 grand. According to the Office of national Statistics ONS, in April 2007 it was running at £20,526 pa - call it £21 grand today. Wat then proceeds to break down the supposed benefits our squaddie enjoys in a detailed and devstating analysis , from cockroach infested flats to being provided with a hospital bed when his legs are blown away. Wat calculates the squaddie ends up net,net with less than the overworked and well liked and respected traffic warden. Read it.

He also supplies the following (MOD ?) chart which reveals a fascinating tale of decline and a continuing recruitment and retainment problem...

As Wat says, ".. our armed forces have been under strength thoughout the last decade - at current rates of pay, they just can't attract and retain enough Tommies and jolly Jack Tars."

Which Dickie Dannat and his gold braided predecessors have, from the evidence of the above chart, have been keenly aware about this accelerating problem for years decades.

Those interested in recent history might like to ponder why we are throwing more ill eqipped, ill trained troops, with insufficient ISTAR capability, helicopter lifting capability wich is putting such an enormous strain on the guys who couldn't hold a job down issuing parking tickets.

They may also like to reconsider why we are in Afghanistan especially after reading Des Browne's fellow scot John "we won't fire a single shot" Reid's response to the question Anne Milton raised 27th Feb 2006 in the House of Commons .

"If he will list the aims of the UK deployment to southern Afghanistan. "

There is an interesting set of pics from Afghanistan / Helmand / Gordon Brown etc on Flikr by Jim Birt - from which the above has been taken. Thanks Jim.