Homecoming

The Three Rifles Battlegroup returned to their base, Redford Barracks in Edinburgh, a couple of weeks ago after a six month tour of Afghanistan.

Yesterday they held their Homecoming Parade by marching down the Royal Mile and later they were presented with their operational service medals at a ceremony in Redford Barracks.

The Three Rifles Battlegroup lost 30 men during their 6 month tour - the heaviest casualties suffered by a British army Battlegroup for 60 years.

These soldiers put themselves in the frontline of battle day in and day out. Many at yesterday's events were unable to join with their colleagues on the march because their injuries were too severe. Some of the injured did attend but there were others who, no matter how much effort they made, were unable to be present.

David Cameron has said, should he be Prime Minister, he will set up a War Cabinet immediately. This should make quite a difference to our troops deployed overseas because with a War Cabinet in operation, funds will be available not only from the MoD budget but directly from the Treasury. At present the Afghanistan war is funded only by the MoD budget.

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Lives Nor Lies Mean Nothing To Labour.

Why Does Jonah Go To Afghanistan?

"Two British soldiers have been killed by a suspected suicide bomber while on patrol with the Afghan army.

The troops, from the 3rd Battalion, The Rifles, were caught in the blast near Sangin in Helmand on Tuesday afternoon."

This, Labour, Blair, Brown is your legacy. The tears of generations to come. When they ask why, no one will know the answer, as they look at the wasteland the UK is will become.

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Afghanistan Toll Increases to 222

A British soldier has been killed by a blast in southern Afghanistan, the MoD have reported.

The serviceman, from the Royal Military Police, died while on a foot patrol near Gereshk district centre in Helmand Province yesterday morning.

The sacrifice of our young now reaches 222 and there is still no sign of a strategy from government. Meanwhile these soldiers continue their deployment and continue to die.

My condolences to his family.

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Tom Neathway

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Additional Comment on This Week's FMQs

It occurred to me late last night that on Thursday the First Minister wished to record his appreciation for the life of Bill Spiers who gave many years of his life to the Scottish Trades Union Congress, but no mention was made of the Monifieth soldier, Sgt Michael Lockett, who gave his life last Monday in Afghanistan, in the service of our country.

This is the second time the First Minister has omitted to mention the death of a Scottish soldier. The first time I was informed it was an administrative error and would not occur again. It has.

A government, which professes Scotland is a compassionate country, can surely find a few seconds to pay respect, on behalf of the whole country, to our fallen and their families at the weekly FMQs. They deserve no less.

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Sgt Michael Lockett RIP

Acting Sergeant Michael Lockett, 29, was named yesterday as the latest victim of a roadisde bomb in Afghanistan. He was one of a group of soldiers from the 2nd Battalion the Mercian Regiment who, on a previous tour of Afghanistan, attempted repeatedly during the night of 8 September, 2007, to recover the body of Private Johan Botha, who had been on his first overseas tour since joining the Mercians.

For his bravery Sgt Lockett received the Military Cross.

Sgt Lockett, who was from Monifieth near Dundee, was the 217th British soldier to die in Afghanistan since 2001 and the 212th since the campaign in Helmand began in 2006.

He leaves behind 3 young children.

Anthony Lloyd writes in the Times this morning 'Troops are fighting a losing battle not a lost cause'. It's not a view with which I completely agree but it is essential all opinions are considered if we want to withdraw our soldiers from this needless and historically unwinnable war.

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A Scots Father Thanks the Army

Chris Moon

When reading this article in today's Courier, I was struck by the sincerity of the father of Lance Corporal Jack Ritchie. Jack (21) lost a leg and has other serious injuries as a result of standing on a land mine while attempting to secure a school perimeter in Afghanistan last Thursday.

Mr Ritchie praised the army and its medical staff for the care and compassion shown to his son.

“He is at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham and when he is well enough to travel he will be transferred to Hedley Court in Epsom for prosthetic rehabilitation and physiotherapy.

“Prior to this, all I have heard via the media are negative comments and bad publicity regarding the handling of the troops and feel this is unjustified by my experiences of the aftercare attention my son and family have received since the incident, both from his regiment, The Scots Guards, and the welfare and nursing staff at Selly Oak where Jack is currently within the critical ward.

“Selly Oak is bursting at the seams, with a huge influx of injured personnel following the recent publicised operation in Afghanistan, but the nursing staff there are coping admirably.

Such gratitude from the father of a soldier whose life will never be the same again.

It pleases me to note that Jack's regiment, the Scots Guards, are described as "faultless" and it shows the military do know how to look after each other, but also his comments show that Selly Oak is now well over-stretched. Isn't it time the MoD decided to open a hospital purely for military casualties? Not so many years ago there were a few military hospitals throughout the UK and now, with our troops serving in this bloody war, there is none. What other country closes down its military hospitals then sends thousands of their troops into hellish wars which are nothing to do with protecting Britain but far more to do with trying to behave like the principal players in asserting the New World Order?

Latest statistics from the MoD indicate that between January 1 and June 30 this year, there were 476 patients from Operation Herrick treated at either Selly Oak or Headland Court and of these 239 were battle injuries, 149 were non-battle injuries and 88 were natural causes.

Of these, 275 were new patients who had not previously been treated at either hospital for this injury or illness (95 were battle injuries, 100 were non-battle injuries and 80 were natural causes).

Wouldn't you think on the strength of these numbers a military hospital was a must? I've read all the arguments about Selly Oak having the best of everything to treat all casualties, but more often than not it's not the equipment that matters, but the surgeons, doctors and nursing staff. The army has the staff working at the front line and by all accounts are working miracles under very difficult conditions. If more medics could be trained to work within a military hospital here then it would alleviate the pressure on Selly Oak. Of course this suggestion would require the MoD to spend money which they don't have so there is little chance of our military acquiring their own medical premises.

I suspect a few MoD funded convalescent hospitals are out of the question too but thankfully the public are coming to the rescue in that regard. Now some families will no longer have to travel hundreds to miles to see their wounded loved ones once they have survived their critical injuries which are treated in Selly Oak.

The UK government has a lot to answer for in relation to the welfare of our injured military personnel. After reading how other European countries care for their military, we have a big chasm of care to fill. What's the Tories policy about MoD funding? I suspect it will be the same as we have at present but I so hope I'm proved wrong.

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