British military

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British Military Blasted Over White Male Toy Soldiers

(Newser) - The British Defense Ministry is under fire for backing a new line of all-male toy soldiers, reports the Guardian.The promotional campaign for the new toys is also all-white. The figures were created with the help of senior officials from Britain's army, navy, and the Royal Air Force. They carry...

Wills 'Cooked' Engine of $1.5M Plane

Royal made rookie error during training, retired officer recalls

(Newser) - Sometimes a royal can screw up royally: Britain’s Prince William made an error that “overcooked” a plane’s engine during his Royal Air Force training, grounding the aircraft for days, the Daily Mail reports. “He flicked the wrong switch on shutdown and overcooked the turbo,” says...

Joyriding UK Soldier Crashes 2 Tanks

(Newser) - A few drinks apparently inspired a British soldier to go joyriding and crash two tanks today, the Guardian reports. The unnamed Desert Rat, stationed at the Bergen-Hohne army base in Germany, hopped in an armored vehicle and promptly drove it off the road. Undaunted, he walked back and commandeered another...

Crashed Subs Carried '1200 Hiroshimas'

Lawmakers demand answers after British, French subs collide under the Atlantic

(Newser) - British lawmakers are demanding to know how the flagships of the British and French nuclear submarine fleets—each carrying missiles with enough power for 1,250 Hiroshima bombings—managed to collide earlier this month, the Independent reports. Defense sources say the crash was just incredibly bad luck, but experts are...

Harry Faces Disciplinary Action for Racist Slur

Prince's use of "Paki" violates no-racism policy

(Newser) - Prince Harry will likely receive a formal reprimand after a video of him using a racist slur made waves in the British press, reports the Telegraph. Harry has already had one meeting with his regiment commander over his use of "our little Paki friend" to describe a captain in...

US Soldier Among 9 Killed in Afghan Market

Attack brings year's death toll to 5,400

(Newser) - A suicide car bomber struck a US military convoy passing through a crowded livestock market in eastern Afghanistan today, killing an American soldier and at least eight civilians and wounding an additional 74 civilians. Yesterday, two British troops were also killed when their vehicle was struck by an explosive while...

Queen's Guards Fired for Drugs
 Queen's Guards Fired for Drugs
Aug 26, 2008 12:57 PM CDT

Queen's Guards Fired for Drugs

Five members of a ceremonial unit test positive

(Newser) - Five soldiers from the Queen of England's ceremonial guard unit have been fired after testing positive for Class A drugs, reports the Times of London. A failed test is virtually a guaranteed career-ender in the British Army, and only a slim 0.8% of personnel have tested positive in the...

First British Woman Killed in Afghanistan

Servicewoman dies in bomb attack on convoy

(Newser) - An attack on a British military convoy in Afghanistan killed four troops, including the first British female soldier to die since the conflict began. The soldiers died in an explosion in Helmand province, Afghanistan's most volatile region, reports the Guardian. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband expressed his "deepest condolences"...

Honor Killing Dad: 'Daughter Deserved Death'

Iraqi proudly murdered 17-year-old over her crush on British solider

(Newser) - The Iraqi father who suffocated and stabbed his 17-year-old daughter has only one regret over her honor killing: That he didn't murder her "the instant her mother delivered her." "Speaking with a foreign solider, she lost what is the most precious thing for any woman," Abdel-Qader...

Prince Pilots Chopper to Gal Pal's Home

Military defends 'royal heir farce'

(Newser) - British officials have defended allowing Prince William to land a military helicopter on a field next to the home of his girlfriend’s family after the media blasted it as “ridiculous and inappropriate,” the BBC reports. “This was a routine training sortie"—and no one entered...

Iraqi Troops Seize Sadr Stronghold
Iraqi Troops Seize
Sadr Stronghold
Apr 19, 2008 9:11 AM CDT

Iraqi Troops Seize Sadr Stronghold

Fighting in Baghad kills 12, wounds 130

(Newser) - In a major new clash, Iraqi troops backed by American and British firepower today captured a stronghold of fighters loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Basra, said Iraqi officials. In a show of force, American planes and British artillery attacked a deserted area outside the Sadr-controlled section of Hayaniya...

Brits Will Pay $4M to Iraqi Boy Paralyzed by Bullet

Record compensation for teen shot by dropped rifle

(Newser) - Britain's Ministry of Defense has agreed to pay $4 million in compensation to an Iraqi boy accidentally shot by a British soldier, the Guardian reports. The boy, now 17, is paralyzed from severe spinal injuries inflicted when the soldier dropped his rifle at a Basra base in 2003. He is...

McCain Cozies Up to UK's Brown
McCain Cozies Up
to UK's Brown 
Mar 20, 2008 10:00 AM CDT

McCain Cozies Up to UK's Brown

GOP candidate talks Iraq, global warming, with British PM

(Newser) - John McCain began his visit to Europe in London today, where he met with PM Gordon Brown and praised him as a "very strong leader," the Guardian reports. McCain and Brown discussed Iraq, the global economy, and climate change, but when asked about British plans to withdraw troops...

Brown Upbraids UK Public for Taunting Troops

PM irked that some personnel advised not to wear uniform off base

(Newser) - After reports that officers in Britain's Royal Air Force advised members against wearing uniforms in public, Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged troops to show their colors, the Telegraph reports—and chastised citizens for the verbal abuse that prompted the guidelines. Brown said troops should “have the respect and gratitude...

Media Leak Ends Harry's Afghan Mission

Army planning emergency exit for soldier prince

(Newser) - Britain's defense ministry is setting up emergency plans to withdraw Prince Harry from his battalion in Afghanistan after yesterday's news leak that he had been stationed there. He has completed 10 weeks of what was supposed to be a four-month tour of duty in Helmand Province, reports the Times of...

UK Military Wives Freezing Husbands' Sperm

More women planning for kids should husbands die in combat

(Newser) - More UK military wives are freezing their husbands' sperm before the men serve in the Middle East. One London fertility clinic expected interest from soldiers but was surprised by the "wives and girlfriends who want to have children should anything happen," a spokesman said. But servicemen must give...

Afghan Deputy Governor, 5 Others Killed in Mosque Attack

Bombing comes amid 'failed state' warnings

(Newser) - A suicide bomber in Afghanistan killed six people, including the deputy governor of the dangerous Helmand province, in an attack inside a mosque today. At least 11 others were injured in the explosion in the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, a focus of reconstruction programs led by the British army,...

After 5 Years, Brits Hand Over Basra to Iraqis

Strategic, unstable region to test strength of Baghdad government

(Newser) - Ending five years of British control in southern Iraq, the UK today handed over authority for the wealthy, populous Basra region to the Iraqi government. Residents greeted the handover with jubilation, but the responsibility for Basra—strategically located, an oil export hub and home of Iraq's only port—will prove...

UK Wants to Talk to Taliban
UK Wants to Talk to Taliban
Dec 12, 2007 8:13 AM CST

UK Wants to Talk to Taliban

Brown to announce major revision of Afghan strategy, rankling Washington

(Newser) - Just back from Kabul, Gordon Brown is poised to announce a major strategic revision in Afghanistan that will involve dialogue with the Taliban. Senior British officials believe that treating the loose-knit organization as a unified terrorist actor is counterproductive, the Independent reports, and they want to move from fighting militants...

NATO, Brits Accuse Iran of Arming Taliban

Shipment of roadside bombs intercepted at border fuels suspicions

(Newser) - NATO and the British military claim Iran is supplying Afghanistan's Taliban with the same equipment for explosive devices that it provides to Iraqi insurgents, the Telegraph writes. US Gen. Dan McNeill, the NATO commander in Afghanistan, said his forces discovered 50 roadside bombs and timers crossing the Iran-Afghanistan border in...

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