Tag: Ministry of Defence

The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 19 October 2022.

AVM Walton has had a distinguished career in the Defence Medical Services spanning 35 years encompassing roles in both operational and firm base environments. Her experience offers a unique insight as she steps into the role of Director General and leads the organisation forward on its ambitious transformation journey.

As part of her role as DG DMS, AVM Walton will be responsible for:

generating, delivering and assuring medical operational capability for operations and fixed tasks

providing and commissioning a safe, effective and efficient healthcare service for all armed forces personnel

providing policy and advice on health, healthcare and medical operational policy

As Air Marshal, she becomes the first female lead of Headquarters Defence Medical Services and is also the first female of this rank appointed within UK Strategic Command.

General Sir James Hockenhull, Commander United Kingdom Strategic Command said:

I am delighted to announce AVM Clare’s appointment as the next Director General, Defence Medical Services. Clare brings a wealth of experience to the role, in an area that is a core part of Strategic Command and wider Defence. I look forward to working with Clare as she leads the next phase of the DMS transformation journey.

AVM Clare Walton CB KHP said:

I am incredibly proud and honoured to be appointed as the next Director General Defence Medical Services. I am passionately committed to the continuous improvement of the care and services our amazing people deliver and am really excited to remain part of our transformation journey.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 16 October 2022.

Today marks the year anniversary of the recommendations made by Rt. Hon. Sarah Atherton MP in her report ‘Protecting Those Who Protect Us: Women in the Armed Forces from Recruitment to Civilian Life’. A year on, Defence have taken on these recommendations and introduced an extensive programme of work alongside the work that was already being undertaken to tackle unacceptable sexual behaviour, improve the experience for women in the Armed Forces and build trust in the Service justice System.

Most recently Defence has launched three new measures that provide clearer direction to prevent and address incidents. These are the Zero Tolerance to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) Policy (JSP 769), the Zero Tolerance to Unacceptable Sexual Behaviour: A Victim/Survivor Focused Approach Policy (2022DIN01-073) and the Tackling Sexual Offending in Defence Strategy. These policies will ensure that Defence continues tackle unacceptable sexual behaviour and is a place where people are proud to work and have faith in their justice system.

In parallel to the recently published policies, a significant programme of work has been delivered across Defence and were set out in the Government’s Response to Sarah Atherton’s Inquiry. This includes training developments, transformation of the Service Complaints system, the stand-up of the Defence Serious Crime Unit HQ, delivery of improvements to uniform and equipment and the Servicewomen’s Health Improvement Sprint.

These delivered measures include:

Recruitment

Defence has set a Level of Ambition to achieve a 30% inflow of women to the Armed Forces by 2030. It is recognised that 30% is a very challenging level of ambition, and one which has not yet been achieved by many of our NATO partners. In meeting this ambition, a Whole Force approach has been developed including tailored recruiting activities, women-focussed marketing campaigns and making greater use of Servicewomen as recruiters. Defence, however, recognises that recruitment alone is not enough and recognise that a greater focus on retention, behaviour and inclusion continues to be vital.

Women’s Health

As part of the commitment to improving the health and wellbeing for women in the Armed Forces, The Servicewomen’s Health Improvement Focus Team (SHIFT) was established to deliver the six-month Women’s Health Sprint, bringing together military and civilian skills and experiences to deliver key women’s health policies and initiatives. This includes menstruation disposal bags and a urinary support device, which are currently under procurement. Furthermore, a series of blogs on women’s health has been published by the SHIFT, with the aim of normalising the discussion of women’s health topics. These have received thousands of views and positive comments from Servicewomen, who feel like their voices are finally being heard and acted upon, and by others who welcome the opportunity to better understand and support their Servicewomen colleagues.

Diversity & Inclusion

A thorough training needs analysis was undertaken and a common standard introduced. Active Bystander Training continues to be an important part of the training offering, with the course being streamed 135,000 times, and we introduced a new Holistic Allies Training package in March 22.

April 22 saw the implementation of Climate assessments across Defence and work continues to upskill our diversity and inclusion Advisers and Practitioners to better support our people

Uniform and Equipment

As part of the pledge to improve the uniform and equipment offerings for women in the Armed Forces the Services have all made amendments to uniform and clothing that address women’s sizing, body shape and body changes. This includes the development of the Narrow Scalable Tactical Vest (STV). Wider revisions to uniform and clothing for each of the Services is in progress and rollout will commence in Summer 2022 and complete in 2023.

Service families

In recognition of the requirement to support a modern and diverse workforce, the UK Armed Forces Families Strategy was launched in January 22. As part of the support to service families there are currently six pilot locations running the Wraparound Childcare (WAC) scheme, with full rollout in September 22, with almost 2000 Service children benefitting from before and after school free childcare.

Service Complaint & Service Justice Reform

In June this year we published the Service Complaint Reform which introduces a range of reforms and improvements to the existing Service Complaints system for Service Personnel. This is a new system that will increase efficiency; make the system more independent through the introduction of Central Admissibility Teams; improve the support available for those who engage with the process and increase trust and confidence in the system and its decision makers.

In order to address the recommendations regarding the investigation of serious crime the Defence Serious Crime Command was established in April this year and the Defence Serious Crime Unit (DSCU) will be fully operational by December 2022.

Defence continues to build trust in the Service Complaints System and Service Justice System through a revised approach to the publication of official statistics. This is part of a commitment to being transparent and continually seeking to develop and improve policies and support to serving personnel.

Understanding behaviours

We have also launched several targeted interventions to enable Defence to improve our understanding of unacceptable behaviours. These have included the implementation of recommendations from the ‘Wigston Review into Inappropriate Behaviours’ and the subsequent Gray Review. April 22 saw the implementation of Climate assessments across Defence and work continues to upskill our diversity and inclusion Advisers and Practitioners to better support our people.

These delivered measures ensure that Defence continues to be a place where people are proud to work and have faith in their justice system. However, this is only the beginning and we are continuing to develop and improve policies to ensure our brave and dedicated serving personnel are proud to be part of the British Armed Forces.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 13 October 2022.

Summary

• Monday 10 October – a Reaper engaged a Daesh terrorist in northern Syria.

Detail

Royal Air Force aircraft have continued to conduct armed reconnaissance patrols against Daesh terrorists.  On Monday 10 October, a Reaper remotely piloted aircraft, armed with Hellfire missiles, tracked and, when it was safe to do so without posing a risk to civilians, successfully engaged one such terrorist who was on a motorcycle in northern Syria, near Hamman At Turkumen.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 13 October 2022.

The UK will donate cutting edge air defence missiles to Ukraine which can help protect against Russian missile strikes, the Defence Secretary announced today.

The AMRAAM rockets, which will be provided in the coming weeks for use with the NASAMS air defence systems pledged by the US, are the first donated by the UK which are capable of shooting down cruise missiles.

The rockets will help to protect Ukraine’s critical national infrastructure, with the announcement coming days after Russian missiles struck civilian targets in cities across Ukraine.

Hundreds of additional air defence missiles, of other types previously provided, will also be donated as part of the package, along with hundreds of additional aerial drones to support Ukraine’s information gathering and logistics capabilities, and a further 18 howitzer artillery guns, in addition to the 64 already delivered.

Bolstering Ukraine’s air defences has been and remains a priority for UK military support. So far we have provided a variety of air defence systems including Stormer vehicles fitted with Starstreak launchers, and hundreds of anti-air missiles.

Ben Wallace announced the latest tranche of equipment ahead of a meeting of NATO Defence Ministers in Brussels today (Thurs 13 Oct), where Allies met on the sidelines yesterday to discuss further support for Ukraine. It also comes as Ukraine prepares to honour veterans and fallen soldiers on Defenders Day tomorrow (Fri 14 Oct).

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:
Russia’s latest indiscriminate strikes on civilian areas in Ukraine warrant further support to those seeking to defend their nation. So today I have authorised the supply of AMRAAM anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine.

These weapons will help Ukraine defend its skies from attacks and strengthen their overall missile defence alongside the US NASAMS.

The UK will also give £10 million to NATO’s Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine. The funding will help to provide urgent non-lethal assistance to Ukraine such as winter clothes, shelters, generators, fuel trucks and ambulances for the Ukrainian Army ahead of the winter.

The Defence Secretary will urge his Allied counterparts to continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes. They will review the implementation of decisions taken at the Madrid Summit designed to strengthen NATO’s collective deterrence and defence. This will be the first time that Finland and Sweden will attend as official invitees.

They will also discuss defence industrial capacity, to ensure that Allies are able to increase stockpiles of munitions so that we can keep supporting Ukraine, while remaining ready to defend NATO territory.

Defence Ministers will speak about the recent sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, as well as how the Alliance can safeguard critical infrastructure from future attacks.

NATO Allies have stepped up their presence in the Baltic and North Seas in response to the attacks, increasing security around key infrastructure across multiple domains, including with satellites, ships, submarines, maritime patrol aircraft, and anti-drone systems.

 

The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 7 October 2022.

During the next five years, Royal Navy ships will undergo a series of technical upgrades to their Magazine Torpedo Launch Systems and threat countermeasure capabilities, the latter of which will help ensure the ships continue to counter the threat of hostile anti-ship missiles.

The contract was award to Systems Engineering & Assessment (SEA) in Devon.

Sustaining 150 UK jobs across Barnstaple, Beckington and Bristol in the south west of England, the upgrades will ensure that critical systems on Type 23 frigates continue to operate reliably, and that upgrades can be seamlessly adopted and installed until their out of service dates.

The Type-23 frigate carries out a wide variety of operations, including securing the UK’s vital maritime trade routes East of the Suez Canal and safeguarding British interests in the South Atlantic. This week the Royal Navy deployed HMS Somerset to play a leading role in protecting critical energy infrastructure, working with Norway and our allies in the North and Norwegian Seas.

Minister for Defence Procurement, Alec Shelbrooke, said:

These crucial upgrades will help to ensure our Royal Navy ships remain equipped with the latest counter-threat capability.

Supporting 150 jobs at sites across the UK, this contract is another example of how we are investing in the future, sustaining UK jobs and securing cutting-edge defence capabilities.

Type 23 frigates will have electronic upgrades to Seagnat, a system which safeguards the vessel against incoming missiles by firing a variety of decoys to defeat incoming missiles.

Some ships will also undergo a further technical upgrade to their Magazine Torpedo Launch Systems – a close range, quick reaction Anti-Submarine weapon system which launches torpedoes from tubes mounted in the vessel’s magazine.

The contract was placed by the Maritime Equipment and Warfare (MEWT) team at Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), the procurement arm of the UK Ministry of Defence.

DE&S’ Director Ships Support Rear Admiral Jim Higham:

I’m incredibly proud of our team which has worked so hard to place this contract, ensuring Type 23 has the battle-winning capability it needs to perform their critical role in the Royal Navy fleet now and into the future.

In addition to Type 23 updates, the contract will also upgrade Seagnat systems during the next five years on Type 45 destroyers and Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) tankers, which provide fuel, food, fresh water, ammunition and other supplies to Royal Navy vessels around the world.

The contract also secures five further years of support for the systems on board the vessels with improved provision for spares.

The equipment supported under this contract (Magazine Torpedo Launch Systems, Seagnat and Air Weapons Handling) are used on various ships in the Royal Navy such as Type 23 frigates, Type 45 destroyers, Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC), Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels and Albion-class Landing Platform Docks.

Richard Flitton, Managing Director at Systems Engineering & Assessment said:

This major contract, SEA’s largest to date, demonstrates the systems knowledge and maritime domain expertise within our UK-based team and builds on our long-standing partnership with the Royal Navy.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 5 October 2022.

Colonel Stewart initiated his new role as the UK’s Defence Attaché to Guatemala. He takes on the role with over 20 years of operational experience in the USA, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

During this initial visit, Colonel Stewart and the British Ambassador, Nick Whittingham, met with the Guatemalan Minister of Defence, Major General Henry Yovani Reyes Chigua. Colonel Stewart reiterated the UK’s eagerness to work alongside Guatemalan counterparts while enhancing cooperation between armed forces.

Colonel Stewart also met with the Commander of the Guatemalan Air Force, Colonel Juan Carlos Ponce and visited the Air Force Defence Unit along with Colonel Roderico Stoardo Guzmán Barrera, head of the Unit. Colonel Stewart discussed new opportunities for cooperation, training and exchange programmes between the UK and Guatemala.

Colonel Stewart also paid a visit to Ms Claudia Herrera, Director of the Coordination Centre for Disaster Prevention in Central America and the Dominican Republic (CEPREDENAC), an organisation that promotes and coordinates international cooperation and the exchange of information, experiences and technical and scientific advice on disaster prevention, mitigation, care and response.

The British Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) mission is to protect the security, independence and interests of the UK at home and abroad, working closely with allies and partners. Colonel Stewart is also the UK’s observer for the Conference of the Central American Armed Forces (CFAC), he will be residing in Mexico and he will visit Guatemala on a regular basis.

During his visit to Guatemala Colonel Stewart said:

Guatemala is a strategically important country for the entire region and I look forward to working closely with the Armed Forces of Guatemala in partnership and friendship. I was very impressed by the military professionalism and innovation I witnessed and I have also taken inspiration from the drive, determination and skill displayed with regard to humanitarian assistance at CEPREDENAC. Guatemala is a stunningly beautiful country with a great culture and I am excited to explore it more.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 4 October 2022.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 3 October 2022.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 30 September 2022.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 30 September 2022.

Brydie Hurrell from outside Melbourne and other family members attended the service for for RAF pilot Flight Sergeant (Flt Sgt) William Robert Stephen Hurrell, at Jonkerbos War Cemetery on Thursday 29 September. Also there were representatives of the RAF, the British Embassy in the Netherlands, and dignitaries from the municipality of Lochem. Members of the RAF’s Queen’s Colour Squadron (QCS) bore his coffin.

The ceremony was led by Rev. (Squadron Leader) Josephine Critchley, Chaplain at RAF Honington, and organised by the MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), also known as the ‘MOD War Detectives’.

The remains of Flt Sgt Hurrell were discovered in 2019 after an excavation of an aircraft by the Joint Aircraft Recovery Team of the Netherlands MoD on farmland near the village of Eefde in the municipality of Lochem, as part of the Netherlands WWII National Aircraft Recovery Program, of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Working alongside the Recovery and Identification Unit of the Royal Netherlands Army and The RAF Air Historical Branch, JCCC reviewed documents confirming the plane recovered was from a Typhoon MN582 of No. 175 Squadron RAF which crashed on 26 September 1944. Flt Sgt Hurrell was flying in a formation of six aircraft on an armed reconnaissance north of Arnhem when they were attacked by up to 60 enemy ME109’s.

Tracey Bowers, JCCC said:

It has been an absolute privilege to arrange this ceremony for Flt Sgt William Hurrell and I am grateful for the help given by the community of Lochem. I am honoured to stand alongside his military and blood family to pay him this final tribute.

William Robert Stephen Hurrell was born on 1 May 1923 in London to Sydney and Daisy Hurrell. His enlistment service records from March 1941 state his religious denomination as “C of E” and show he lived in the East Ham area of London. Prior to his RAF career he was an apprentice fitter and turner. After joining the RAF, he served in India and America before receiving his pilot’s wings in 1942. He was promoted to Flt Sgt a year later.

Brydie, Flt Sgt Hurrell’s great niece, said it was important she travelled to the Netherlands:

We grew up knowing that Bill was shot down at the end of the war and that his parents had never found him. We knew he was in the Netherlands – we just weren’t sure where exactly. When we heard about the salvage project we were over the moon. Representing the rest of my family back home means a lot. Bill’s parents and his brother, my grandfather, died never knowing where he was , but we know have closure for them and for ourselves.

The ceremony included poems and readings by serving RAF personnel, family, and dignitaries from Lochem; a town instrumental in the recovery of Flt Sgt Hurrell’s remains.

Rev.Critchley, said:

As we have committed Bill’s body to the ground, we go from here knowing that his selfless actions ensured the security of so many; as he laid down his life, we are assured that he rests in God’s loving presence and is at peace.

Director for the Central and Southern European Area at the CWGC, Geert Bekaert, said:

We are privileged to host this ceremony today, dedicated to Flt Sgt Hurrell and the ultimate sacrifice he paid fighting for his country 78 years ago. It is our honour to commemorate him and care for his grave in perpetuity.