Mixed fortunes during 2011 (From Salisbury Journal)

Mixed fortunes during 2011

5:16pm Wednesday 4th January 2012 in Forces focus By David Falcke

THE last 12 months have proved to be a mixed bag for the armed services.

Operations in Afghanistan continue with no clear military objectives being achieved, although the move to transition of power to Afghan National forces has progressed.

The year saw another 44 British service deaths in the war-torn country but, thankfully, none from Salisbury or from our local units.

And British forces were drawn into the melee that is the “Arab Spring” with all three services taking part including Army Air Corps Apache helicopters based on board HMS Ocean.

All of this took place in a time of cuts, with the army announcing a first tranche of 2,000 redundancies with the RN and RAF taking proportionally greater cuts with more to come in 2012.

The past year saw almost all local units completing tours in Afghanistan with 32 Regt RA, 2 RTR and 2 R Welsh being completely back in their barracks for the first time in years. The year was not without cost, with many soldiers suffering life-changing wounds which will be with them for the rest of their lives.

To this end, the Personnel Recovery and Assessment Centre run by the army and funded by Help for Heroes and the Royal British Legion opened its doors in Tedworth House in June.

This magnificent facility owes much to the drive of Bryn Parry and his small but dedicated management team and offers help to servicemen and women to rebuild their lives.

Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox fell on his sword to be replaced by Phillip Hammond, an able man but with no previous experience of military matters.

On a lighter note, local soldier Jojo Kerr reached the final stages of X Factor and the Military Wives Choir became the Christmas Number One (there is still time to buy this excellent recording and the profits go to RBL and SSAFA).

The royal wedding lifted the spirits of the nation with Princes William and Harry resplendent in their service uniforms and the military participation in the day was, as ever, superb.

Apart from the death of the Libyan dictator, Colonel Gaddafi, 2011 saw the killing of Osama Bin Laden and the death of the last British First World War veteran aged 110 in Australia.

With the closure of RAF Lyneham and the move of all RAF transport aircraft to RAF Brize Norton, the all-too-frequent repatriation processions through Wootton Basset stopped on September 1, but the town’s role in providing a venue for relatives, friends and a grieving nation was recognised by the awarding of the title Royal by the Queen.

The Plain has continued to be busy, hosting two Afghanistan pre deployment exercises and a contingent of Indian Army soldiers who enjoyed the training experience but were disappointed with their defeat on the cricket field.

Other visitors included Dr Fox to see training, with both the Earl and Countess of Wessex visiting the Royal Wessex Yeomanry, the Duke of Edinburgh paying a private visit to 6 BN REME and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall making a very successful visit to 4 RIFLES.

Other visitors included 1966 World Cup hero Geoff Hurst to watch 32 Regiment RA march through the city, and a host of rugby stars have visited Tedworth House to raise the spirits of the soldiers undergoing treatment there.

A reverse visit was when local MP John Glen visited troops in Afghanistan as a member of the Commons Defence Select Committee and the Kings Royal Hussars received a unique honour when they were affiliated to the Royal Southern Yacht Club.

The improvement of the garrison continued with the completion of the first new married soldiers quarters’ on the Canadian estate and the refurbishment of 220 homes on the Bulford estate, all in preparation for the move to the Garrison by 1st Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment who raised their flag in December.

What does this year hold? Many of our units will deploy to Afghanistan in the spring as members of 12 Brigade and we can expect there will be some difficult times to endure.

The 2012 Olympics will involve troops helping with organisation and security for the sailing events being held on the coast, and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee will be an opportunity for wonderful pomp and splendour.

On the negative side, 2012 will bring the announcement of further cuts. This time we can expect what has been described as the most radical army reforms since the reforms of Cardwell in the 19th century. It will be painful, with many famous regimental names being removed from the order of battle, but the army will survive, it always does.