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Post by TsarSamuil on Aug 3, 2010 7:12:36 GMT -5
Bulgarian Rangers Fend Off Taliban Attack on Kandahar Airport.
Novinite.com
Defense | August 3, 2010, Tuesday
Bulgarian soldiers from ISAF have taken part in beating back an attack on the airport in Afghanistan’s Kandahar launched by Taliban insurgents, including suicide bombers.
All of the Bulgarians guarding the Kandahar air base are safe and sound, announced Bulgaria’s Defense Ministry.
Some of the Bulgarian troops were on duty when Taliban insurgents launched two missiles and a ground attack against the NATO air field. They joined in repelling the attack together with the emergency forces of the Kandahar base.
According to the NATO command, two missiles hit the airport. One foreign ISAF soldier was killed, and several civilians inside the base were wounded. Six of the attackers, of whom two are reported to have been suicide bombers, were also killed in the shout-out.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Aug 3, 2010 8:50:22 GMT -5
TRAITORS! COCKROACHES!!!  ------------ Bulgarian Army to Be Cut in Half - Report. Novinite.com Defense | July 22, 2010, Thursday The numeric strength Bulgarian army is going to be reduced in half, according to information gathered by Bulgarian daily Standart. The newspaper writes that as part of the reforms in the army a cut-down from the current 33 000 service-persons to 17 000 is previewed. There are seven additional scenarios for reductions in the army, but this, together with a reduction to 24 000, are “the most widely discussed options,” according to Standard. The cut-down is motivated by reduced military spending, which in 2010 is with 38% less than in 2009. Wednesday Bulgarian Minister of Defence Any Angelov confirmed that there is going to be a significant shrinking in Bulgaria's armed forces, but refused to name numbers. He said that first a strategic review of the army must be completed. This is expected to happen early August. |
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Post by TsarSamuil on Aug 3, 2010 9:08:46 GMT -5
Shanghai Cooperation Organization to hold anti-terror drills in Sept.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will conduct a series of anti-terror drills from September 9 - 25 in Kazakhstan, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
The exercise, codenamed Peace Mission 2010, will be held at the Matybulak base near the town of Gvardeisky with each of the SCO member states (China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) contributing at least one operational-tactical group.
Iran, India, Mongolia and Pakistan have observer status in the organization.
The drills will test the interoperability of the SCO armed forces in rendering assistance to a member state involved in an internal armed conflict or subjected to a mass terrorist attack.
MOSCOW, July 21 (RIA Novosti)
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Post by TsarSamuil on Aug 3, 2010 9:30:51 GMT -5
New command system for the Russian military.
22:38 15/07/2010
The expected changes in the command structure of the Russian Armed Forces have become reality. Yesterday President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree establishing four unified strategic commands to be based in four new military districts.
Command West, with headquarters in Moscow, will control all military personnel and hardware in the Western Military District. The new district will incorporate the former Moscow and Leningrad military districts and the Baltic and Northern Fleets.
Command South, with headquarters in Rostov, will be in charge of the Southern Military District, which will include the former North Caucasian Military District and the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla.
Command Center, with headquarters in Yekaterinburg, will control the Central Military District, including the former Volga-Urals Military District and the western part of the Siberian Military District.
Finally, Command East, with headquarters in Khabarovsk, will have command over the Pacific Fleet, the Far Eastern Military District and the larger part of the Siberian Military District.
The leadership of the new commands will be in charge of all forces - including naval, air force and air defense - deployed on the territory of the respective military districts. Unified headquarters will be established to command these forces.
The system of military districts, which has existed for almost 150 years, was based on different principles. The commander of a military district was responsible for the land force units on his territory. He had no authority over other branches of the armed forces, except for front-line aviation, which was periodically subordinated to the commanders of military districts during the course of experiments with new command structures.
Command structures (except in the Navy) were unified at the operational level only during times of war, when commanders on the front were in charge of all forces operating on the front, regardless of the branch. This did not apply to some special units and long-distance bombers that answered directly to the General Headquarters of the Supreme Command. Cooperation with the Navy was maintained by transferring naval units to the command of maritime fronts (or fronts located near big rivers and lakes with flotillas). Cooperation was sometimes ordered higher up in the chain of command.
During the post-war period, the capabilities of air forces and navies in operations against the shore were vastly expanded and new command systems made it possible to coordinate the efforts of various branches of the armed forces. As a result, unified commands became a standard feature of militaries in the West, and now Russia has finally adopted the practice.
The new districts are divided up geographically to reflect the most likely movements of the armed forces in the event of a conflict. The Western Military District includes the units that would have been mobilized for action in the European theater and nearby waters: the Moscow and Leningrad military districts and the Northern and Baltic Fleets. The Southern Military District is responsible for the Caucasus, the Black and Caspian Seas, the Mediterranean and the western part of the Indian Ocean. The Central Military District can be thought of as the Central Asian district. Its potential zone of responsibility covers all of Central Asia, stretching from Kazakhstan to the Hindu Kush. Finally, the Eastern Military District is in charge of Russia's eastern border, as well as the Asia-Pacific region.
The new command structure is to be instituted by December 1 of this year. Certain elements have already been tested at the recent Vostok-2010 exercises. The formation of the commands represents the final stage of the army's transition to a three-tier command structure: unified strategic command-operational command-brigade. During the initial stage, new brigades were established within the former command structure; next the army headquarters were transformed into the headquarters of operational commands, and finally the top-tier headquarters followed suit.
The new commands will control troops both in Russia and beyond. Each command will have its own zone of responsibility abroad, and the headquarters of the Unified Strategic Command will have authority over all military forces.
Only strategic missile force, which is directly and exclusively controlled by the supreme commander, will retain an independent system of command and control.
In tandem with establishing unified commands, Russia has also created a new integrated structure for material and technical support of the armed forces, incorporating the logistics service and the armaments service. It will be responsible both for providing food, fuel and other supplies, and also weapons and ammunition. Until now, these functions were divided among various services and departments. The deputy defense minister for armaments will now deal solely with the production and adoption of new types of armaments and other materiel.
Establishing multi-service commands in place of military districts is a long overdue reform. However, the implementation of the reform is raising many questions. First, is Russia's officer corps prepared to command formations consisting of different armed services? Second, will these formations be capable of responding to diverse threats arising in vast zones of responsibility in Russia and abroad? The latter question is particularly relevant when it comes to commanding fleets in remote theaters, such as the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and other strategically important regions.
Naval officers must play a much larger role in multi-service commands if they are to be effective. Otherwise, the Navy will cease to be an independent branch of the military and will become the army's marine division, making it impossible for the Navy to carry out most of its missions.
There are even bigger questions about the extent to which the troops and headquarters are properly equipped. The reform will not produce the desired effect if it is not backed up by technical modernization. Improper equipment will greatly limit the ability to command troops, which is far from ideal even now.
Both military and civilian experts agree that a shortage of modern command and communication systems is one of the army's biggest problems. The president has signed an executive order requiring that headquarters be equipped with new command and communication systems in the next two to three years.
It will also take time to train the officers to command multi-service formations. Years will pass before the new structure will become fully functional, and these years will be some of the hardest for the Russian Armed Forces.
Nor is there any chance of rearming the armed forces quickly. Armament that has been obsolete for 20-30 years is hindering efforts to create an effective combat mechanism. Hopefully, the new federal armament program for 2011-2020 will improve the situation, provided it is implemented with greater skill than its predecessors.
RIA Novosti military commentator Ilya Kramnik
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Aug 3, 2010 9:40:07 GMT -5
Army veils true extent of number of wounded in Afghanistan.
Thenews.pl
02.08.2010 11:29
Poland’s armed forces are not fully disclosing the amount of wounded in Afghanistan, it has been revealed.
According to the Operational Command of the Armed Forces, as many as 71 Polish soldiers were seriously injured and 100 slightly wounded in the past three months in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the Military Health Service Inspectorate claims that since the beginning of the Polish mission in Afghanistan only 40 soldiers have been wounded and 19 killed.
The disparity is due to differing definitions of what “wounded” means.
The Operational Command defines “wounded” as those who required surgery and were hospitalized for up to two weeks, while the inspectorate defines wounded as those who had to end the mission and return to Poland because of severe injuries.
“Those with slight injuries are called “harmed”,” Major Piotr Jaszczuk from the Operational Command told the Rzeczpospolita newspaper, Monday. (mg/pg)
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Post by TsarSamuil on Aug 3, 2010 9:53:52 GMT -5
Russian, Serbian sappers conduct mine clearing in central Serbia.
Russian and Serbian sappers have cleared the area around the town of Paracin in central Serbia of about 350 pieces of unexploded ordnance in the last four months, the Russian Emergencies Ministry said on Monday.
Unexploded ordnance from the Yugoslav wars in the 1990s has yet to be disarmed in several areas of Serbia. A joint Russian-Serbian sapper group, which includes 11 Russian explosives experts, started work in the Paracin area on March 16.
"Sappers from the Lider high risk rescue operations center have examined almost 450,000 square meters of territory around Paracin and disarmed 334 unexploded munitions, a ministry spokesman said.
The town of Paracin is located on the route of the future South Stream gas pipeline, which is due to transit Russian gas to Europe bypassing Ukrainian territory.
Last year, Russian sappers disarmed 731 unexploded munitions, including mines, artillery shells and bombs, in an area of about 80 hectares in Serbia.
Russian experts will continue mine clearing operations in Serbia until 2012.
MOSCOW, July 12 (RIA Novosti)
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Post by TsarSamuil on Aug 3, 2010 10:30:56 GMT -5
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Post by TsarSamuil on Aug 6, 2010 18:31:49 GMT -5
Polish troops smash Taliban ring in Afghanistan.
IAR
06.08.2010 12:20
Polish troops in Afghanistan say they have broken up and illuminated a group of insurgents responsible for kidnappings and attacks in Ghazni province in the south east of the war-torn country.
The operation took place at night, on 1 and 2 August, the Polish Military Contingent has informed. The operation was launched after Polish troops freed two Afghan policemen from insurgents. The men helped determine who the kidnappers were and where they were hiding.
While detaining the kidnappers, Polish troops killed five and seized weapons, explosives and training materials. Among the dead were two foreigners specialist in constructing and planting bombs.
The Taliban group was responsible for numerous deadly attacks on Polish soldiers deployed in Afghanistan. Commander of the Polish Military Contingent General Andrzej Przekwasa says that thanks to the operation security of Afghani civilians and allied troops will rise. (mg/pg)
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Twentieth Polish soldier dies in Afghanistan.
IAR
06.08.2010 13:45
BREAKING NEWS - A 31 year-old Polish soldier has been killed in Afghanistan, a statement by the Polish contingent has announced.
The soldier has been named as Private Dariusz Tyleda who served in the Goldap anti aircraft battalion. He was killed after his patrol unit was attacked by an improvised explosive device (IED) and then shelled by insurgents.
Five soldiers were also seriously wounded in the attack, says the statement.
Private Dariusz Tyleda, who leaves a wide and child, becomes the twentieth casualty among the 2,600 strong Polish contingent in Afghanistan, most of which is stationed in the south east Ghazni province. (ab/pg)
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Post by TsarSamuil on Aug 6, 2010 18:56:56 GMT -5
Iran calls for regional alliance to counter NATO.
Ahmadinejad courts Central Asian neighbors in hope of forming new bloc once foreign troops quit region.
By Reuters
22:09 05.08.10
Iran's president told the leaders of Afghanistan and Tajikistan on Thursday that the three neighbors could provide a counterweight to NATO in Asia once foreign troops quit the region.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hosted the leaders of the two other Persian-speaking countries at a time when Iran is seeking to increase its influence in the region and NATO troops are struggling in Afghanistan.
A bete noire of the West over Iran's nuclear activities, Ahmadinejad said the three countries had all thrown off foreign domination in recent decades and should strengthen economic and security ties and be independent of big powers.
"Many don't find this desirable -- three independent countries forming a powerful friendship in the region, and changing the current situation. None of them is happy about this," he said in part of the meeting which was televised.
Iran sees the United States, which has troops in Iraq to its west and Afghanistan to the east, as an enemy. Washington is suspicious of Tehran's regional ambitions and is determined to stop it getting a nuclear bomb, something Iran denies it wants.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who addressed the other leaders seated around a triangular table as "my dear brothers", has been trying to improve relations with Iran in recent months, to the occasional consternation of Washington.
Karzai welcomed Ahmadinejad to Kabul in March and said he would host him and Tajikistan's President Imomali Rakhmon at the next trilateral meeting in the Afghan capital.
Troops out
Ahmadinejad called on foreign troops to leave the region and allow the three nations to develop closer bonds.
"Those who came in from Europe representing NATO, they want to put pressure on China, Russia and India, and if they are confronted by three independent, empowered countries here, then that is an obstacle," he said.
Karzai has been looking for allies in the region in advance of an eventual American withdrawal.
Shi'ite Iran was a sworn foe of the Sunni Muslim Taliban when they ruled Afghanistan before 2001. U.S. officials say they suspect Iran has nonetheless provided some support for Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, although not on anywhere near as great a scale as in Iraq, where Iran has Shi'ite allies.
"Foreigners who came to Afghanistan with the slogan of establishing security and democracy, now target civilians and their presence has brought nothing but mischief and corruption to the Afghani people," Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said at a separate meeting with Karzai and Rakhmon on Thursday, according to official news agency Irna.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Aug 10, 2010 6:54:48 GMT -5
Pffftt!!  those people should be target practise instead.. Fuck Ramadan. ----------- Bulgarian Rangers Extend Ramadan Gifts to Locals in Afghanistan. Novinite.com Defense | August 9, 2010, Monday Bulgarian servicemen from Kabul made a donation Monday to residents of the Deh Sabz district near the city. The Bulgarian soldiers gave sacrificial animals and large quantities of drinking water to local Afghanis from six settlements in the area on the eve of the great Muslim holy month of Ramadan in recognition of the traditions, religion and ancient culture of Afghanis. Bulgarian soldiers met the sincere gratitude of elders and imams. The Deh Sabz governor also thanked for the gift, saying that the Afghani people trust Bulgarian servicemen in the country. Security in a large part of the Deh Sabz district, which is the second-biggest district in Kabul province, is the responsibility of the Bulgarian army.  Bulgarian servicemen in Afghanistan presented local residents with sacrificial animals and drinking water Monday in the eve of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. Photo by the Ministry of Defense. |
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Post by TsarSamuil on Aug 11, 2010 10:43:00 GMT -5
Macedonia sends anti-Nato ambassador to Nato.
Euobserver.com
SVETLANA JOVANOVSKA
Today @ 09:10 CET
SKOPJE - Martin Trenevski, the newly appointed Macedonian representative to Brussels' Nato headquarters, has given offence even before his term of office starts on 1 September.
The alliance is inflicting "political and economic aggression upon our country" by giving support to Greece in the long-raging dispute between Macedonia and its rival neighbour, he explained to his countrymen. His will ask Nato to "correct the Bucharest summit conclusions and change its position towards Macedonia," he said during the presentation of his programme in parliament.
Ever since Macedonia became independent in 1991, Athens and Skopje have been at loggerheads about the country's name. Greece wants it to add a geographical determinant so as to distinguish between the Greek northern province of Macedonia and the independent Republic of Macedonia. The latter fears that inserting an adjective such as "northern" or "upper" will change its people's identity and oblige citizens to become Northern or Upper Macedonians.
The dispute culminated in April 2008 at the Bucharest Summit when Greece blocked Macedonia's accession to Nato. After that, negotiations that had been ongoing under UN-auspices since 1995 were practically stopped.
Only after the change of government in Athens last autumn did prime ministers Nikola Gruevski and George Papandreou re-establish bilateral contact by meeting several times. Both sides repeat that they want to see the name dispute solved by compromise, but so far there has been no breakthrough. The row is also blocking membership talks between Macedonia and the EU as well.
For Mr Trenevski, the Bucharest Summit conclusions asking Macedonia to solve its name issue before joining Nato amount to a "bureaucratic approach to the problem" which then became "a political position of the alliance." He now hopes to find sympathy for his country's position within Nato. Slovenia, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Baltic countries and Poland particularly are among those he expects to lobby successfully.
Looking at the wider picture, the future representative is convinced that Nato faces a serious geo-strategic and military crisis. In view of the alliance's big losses in Afghanistan, Macedonia should capitalise on its value by insisting that the enlargement process be continued to include countries like Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia which fulfil Nato standards.
His words are not considered smart by everyone in Macedonia, though. The country is eager to settle the issue and join Nato and the EU. In an effort to limit the damage done, the parliamentary opposition as well as some deputies from the governmental coalition qualified the appointee's statements as unrealistic, aggressive and confrontational.
The deputies underlined that Macedonia should be aware that membership of the club is not to be had without a compromise with Greece since Nato will not change its consensus-based decision-making just to enable Macedonian membership to occur.
For socialist opposition MEP Igor Ivanovski, Mr Trenevski's "vision" is radical and reflects positions the government does not say openly. "God help us with an ambassador like you in Nato", said Mr Ivanovski, advising Mr Trenevski to rather not to go to Brussels if he continues to promote these positions.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Aug 13, 2010 16:15:02 GMT -5
LOL Pew Pew!  ------------------ Vid, www.rp.pl/artykul/521744_Jak_sie_bawia_na_misji_w_Afganistanie.htmlPolish soldiers blow up Afghan dwelling “for fun” Thenews.pl 13.08.2010 12:04 A new video has been released of a group of soldiers from the Polish Army blowing up a dwelling in a deserted area of Afghanistan, a move which goes against the Geneva Convention. “What a beauty!” comments one of the soldiers when the building is blown to pieces in the 3-minute video, recorded by Polish soldiers from the Army’s 6th rotation during their tour of duty between October 2009 and April 2010. “It was done for fun,” a non-commissioned officer at the time serving in Afghanistan told the Rzeczpospolita daily, adding that there were more deserted buildings in the area, the remains of a village. General Janusz Bronowicz, head of the 6th rotation of the Polish Army’s Armoured Units and Mechanised Infantry in Afghanistan was not told about the activity, only acknowledging the blowing up of a cave where explosive materials were found. “If it’s true, it is criminal and impermissible,” Bronowicz tells the Rzeczpospolita daily, which breaks the story. The blowing up of civilian buildings is against the Geneva Convention and is “a foundation of international law, regardless of the fact whether the building is worth a million dollars or if it is just a shack,” remarks Dr. Elzbieta Mikos-Skuza, vice-chairwoman of the Polish Red Cross and a humanitarian expert. “Such objects can only be blown up in special circumstances, in training exercises or with the explicit agreement of local authorities, for example,” says General Waldemar Skrzypczak, former head of the Polish Armed Forces. The Polish Army is also to investigate the means used to blow up the village huts. The video shows that the ammunition used was of a large calibre, and fired from a Rosomak armoured transportation vehicle. “Ammunition for the Rosomak is very expensive, I cannot believe that we could have afforded such activity,” Skrzypczak states. Each shell for the Rosomak costs between 600 and 1,400 zloty (150-350 euro). So far three soldiers have been accused of the activity, including a platoon warrant officer. If found guilty, they may be sentenced up to 8 years in prison. The video is also being used as evidence in the case. (jb) Correction – The original version of this article referred to a “village” being blown up. This was incorrect. The exact details of what the Polish soldiers destroyed is contentious. [ed] |
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Post by TsarSamuil on Aug 17, 2010 6:48:24 GMT -5
Regional security organization to start antiterrorism drills in south Russia.
Law enforcement agencies and special services of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states will start antiterrorism drills in southern Russia's Saratov Region on Monday, the regional governor's press service reported.
"In line with the decision of the National Antiterrorism Committee, an international operational and strategic exercise of SCO member states, with participation of Russian, Kyrgyz and Kazakh law enforcement agencies and special services, will be held in the Saratov Region on August 16-28," the press service said.
The exercises will be held in two stages: the first stage on August 16-23, and the second on August 25-28.
"During the first stage of drills, joint actions by Russian, Kyrgyz and Kazakh law enforcement agencies and special services to conduct coordinated operational and investigative activities against a hypothetical terrorist group are to be practiced," the press service said.
"At the second stage, a counter terrorism operation is to be conducted on a mass facility in Saratov," it said.
The SCO is a security organization consisting of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan have observer status.
NIZHNY NOVGOROD, August 16 (RIA Novosti)
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Post by TsarSamuil on Aug 20, 2010 7:58:30 GMT -5
Iraq 'Ready' to Cope without US Army.
Novinite.com
World | August 19, 2010, Thursday
Iraqi security forces are prepared to completely guarantee the order in the country after the American pullout, said the spokesperson of the Iraqi government Ali al-Dabagh.
Earlier Thursday it was reported that the last US combat brigade in Iraq has left the country and crossed into Kuwait, seven years after the start of the US-led invasion that toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein.
Some 50,000 US troops will remain until the end of 2011 to advise Iraqi forces and protect US interests. A further 6,000 support troops will be in Iraq until the end of the month, when US combat operations will end.
Speaking for AFP, al-Dabagh said that the US pullout is a result of an agreement between Iraq and the USA and is completely planned and timely.
He stressed that Iraqi security forces are adequately prepared and trained.
The spokesperson further played down the importance of the fact that the Iraqi Parliament has this far failed to elect a government five months after general elections in March.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Aug 20, 2010 8:08:28 GMT -5
Bulgarian Rangers Awarded for Kandahar Attack Courage.
Novinite.com
Defense | August 18, 2010, Wednesday
Bulgarian troops from ISAF, who took part in beating back an attack on the airport in Afghanistan’s Kandahar launched by Taliban insurgents, including suicide bombers, have been awarded for their professionalism.
Gordon Moulds of the British Royal Force, who is the commander of Kandahar Airfield, conferred recognition on seven Bulgarian soldiers and extended his gratitude for the courage and determination they showed.
Bulgarian troops were on duty when Taliban insurgents launched two missiles and a ground attack against the NATO air field on August 3. They joined in repelling the attack together with the emergency forces of the Kandahar base.
According to the NATO command, two missiles hit the airport. One foreign ISAF soldier was killed, and several civilians inside the base were wounded. Six of the attackers, of whom two are reported to have been suicide bombers, were also killed in the shoot-out.
One of the suicide bombers attempted to penetrate the Kandahar base. The watchtowers guarded by the Bulgarians were shot at, and the attackers blew up a tractor loaded with explosives right outside the base, which suffered minor material damages.
After the Taliban attack was fended off, the command of the Kandahar base has decreased the alert level to normal.
At present, the Bulgarian contingents in Afghanistan, numbering 527 troops, are based in three locations – Kabul, Kandahar and Herat. Taliban rocket attacks on the Kandahar base, the outer perimeter of which is guarded by UK soldiers, are very common with up to 400 reported in 2009.
Bulgaria plans to send up to 70 more troops to the NATO-led force in Afghanistan in early September - 10 of the soldiers will be medical personnel based in Kabul and the southern city of Kandahar, and 10 will be instructors for the Afghan army. The rest will join a Bulgarian unit guarding the airport in Kandahar.
Bulgaria also plans to dispatch a 700-strong combat unit to boost its troops in Afghanistan as of 2013 at the latest.
Bulgaria’s center-right government, elected last July, initially said it would not be able to provide more forces in Afghanistan due to the economic crisis, but later changed its strategy under pressure from the United States and NATO.
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those people should be target practise instead.. Fuck Ramadan.