LancsMike

Thanks mate, will do my best

Oi have less of that ! Bloody Wedges calling each other Fella all the time with their stable belts...

Ah fantastic ! goes to show it's a small world might see him about at some point. Sorry Sgt Major Lofthouse ! was a few whiskeys down by that point and a strong breeze may have blown me over ! Cheers mate hope you have been well and works picked up Thanks mate I'll do my best, even though I am RLC after all !

Ah cool Burgess, is he An AT too or Royal Engineers ?

How do folks as title says been awhile and hope you are all well Thought I'd share a bit about what I have been upto after I left Tree work. I joined the Army and finally completed my Trade course as an Ammo Tech, too many exams to count later finally earned my Flaming A know quite a few of your are ex forces and just thought you might be interested even though I went the other route of Tree work then Army lol. Hope business is picking up for everyone and we finally edge ourselves out of this Recession. Myself and best mate on the right

Can't even imagine what it's been like past year or so in Tree work, glad to hear things are picking up for you though mate

Been awhile since I've been on here, hope everyones doing well and work is picking up [ hopefully out of the Recession finally ] and as the title says, whats everyone been upto ? Haven't been able to keep touch with a lot of you. - Mike

Just for you Dean on such a happy topic.. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRAU11JXcvU&feature=fvst]Eve of Destruction --- Barry McGuire - YouTube[/ame] To be honest, yeah the information is there to say we are in trouble but it's like the news on the whole - bad news sells. What about the advances in technology out there that benefit mankind and reduce the likelihood of shortages of food ? New Scientist a couple of issues back covered that with GM Foods in particular and the issue after also looked at the new wave of Cancer treatments which are increasing the survival rate. Or go one step further and the idea of making new planets inhabitable using microbes ? As Andy and Stephen said.. lifes for living, rather be happy and well informed from both sides and my humble view is the future for humanity is looking pretty good, far from bleak and apocalyptic - sorry if that buggers up the Doomsayers paradigms

I even thought of doing this for the front corner where it's dinted inward for a few laugh's

Going to give this a crack in the next day or so, been doing a lot of Gym lately getting ready for Phase 1 which isn't far off for me. Been finding doing Rowing Machine on Max Resistance [10 on ones I use] and do 2.6km as fast as you can followed by a set of weights, then 2.6km best effort on treadmill, weights again, treadmill again, weights again followed by 10km on bikes and your advice awhile back was right Mark about weights - been doing 15 lifts, breather then doing 12 then 10 in each set and feeling the benefits already, gone upto 14 stone when earlier this year was just a shade over 10 stone. Either way rambling aside, will give the pressups a crack and post back here

Thats a lovely looking machine Geoff, definete dogs danglies for a Land Rover I still have the Ex Army Paint job on mine and some dint's like on the front driver side corner but I might get around to repainting it, even thought of doing it matte black.

Whether it '' washes '' or not, fact remains the internet, news outlets and many books cover this topic and past topics extensively, as said in a previous post if you want to bury your head in the sand by all mean's do that - just don't confuse that with Nationalism because it isn't, you're talking about Isolationism which didn't really work out so well as in the 1930's, letting Nations '' get on with their own business '' but that's another debate. We do our part when and where we can with medical care thats why we protect NGO's operating in there who give food, water, help rebuild infrastructure and medical care - just because you don't deem that '' appropiate '' medical care doesn't mean its not happening, Warzones are quite hard to operate in strangely enough plus I'm pretty sure I mentioned anyone who does get hurt by us or even the Taliban we give medical care to at the risk of our own Soldiers - which the Insurgents plan on by setting up Ambush sites for Chinooks Evaccing Casulaties, Civilian and Soldier. Think that'll be my tuppence on this debate, enjoy a great discussion

I agree, there's always hidden agendas and offshoots from any noble goal or aim but I don't think that is the case with Afghanistan, Iraq is another kettle of fish and we did get dragged into a proverbial excrement storm for lack of swearing. But Afghanistan's security like in times gone past is about a much bigger geopolitical picture in my own humble view, thats why the West and in particular Great Britain has been involved in Afghanistan for 100's of years now from Disraeli to present day. I didn't mean it to come off as I thought you were trash talking the lads and lasses out there, both in uniform or the civilians or the NGO workers. I just think it's a bit too reductionist to say it could be 1 or 2 agenda's. That Senior Officer just gave 1 viewpoint, a bit like 1 Tree Surgeon giving his view on the job and what it entails, speak to someone else and they offer another view. It's such a huge puzzle of how we got to peacekeeping in Afghanistan, to present day and the future of the Country and security it's going to take years and years of reading and studying to really grasp the whole picture and even then - like you said Andy not all files will be open to Joe Public due to OpSec.

You're speaking of the normal, decent people which is fair enough - this thread has been speaking on the ones who don't see reason and would rather use violence to get what they want via coercion on others, to sit and ignore that and only talk of the good ones is sticking your head in the sand and leaving the problem to be dealt with by someone else which is fine, because I have no problem doing that as I am enlisting and start in June along with family members who are already serving and ones who have served in the past. It's your right to disagree paid for by others, as much as you might not like that truth. @Andy, what that Leading Commander said is true to him, but it's just his opinion to be fair even though I can see what he's saying as accurate. I doubt most Politicians do give a damn about a Tribesman out in Helmand thinks or does but their job is Civilian Government, the PM and the Queen decided a job needed to be done so the Military acted on that request and are performing the job to the best of their abilities. I think it's a bit disrespectful to paint that type of picture because it's making out the sacrifices that have been made so far towards Security have been in vain but if thats your true belief, fair enough though I disagree strongly. As for the Falklands, same can be said of any Military scenario wherein an Invasion occurs, 99/100 you're not going to be totally prepared unless you act on Conscription and have the Army prepared to fight however we do have quite a substantial base on the Falklands and I doubt they are really going to broadcast all their capabilities, as well as Dauntless has set sail for the Falklands.

Hopefully if he does do time or community service he'll come to you afterward and help you rebuild and learn something from you. Good luck coming back from that mate, wish you all the best

Matty, by failing to mention what the Taliban are doing and a couple of times speaking about our Forces or the cock ups they have made, it paints a bit of a negative slant on NATO as a whole by not mentioning the horrendous things the Taliban and other groups have and continue to do - but fair enough if you do respect those who are out there doing their bit, thats your call either way all I point out to folk is to look at the big picture. Andy, I can see your point but there is a fundamental difference in what we would deem '' acceptable '' compared to what the Taliban and the Insurgents have done and continue to do out there - We don't use kids as weapons or as said in an earlier example, maim a bunch of them knowing out of decency we'd Medevac them. Plus the example with the Nazi's isn't really comparable - we moved into Afghanistan due to international security threats, the Nazi's were looking for Lebensraum as Hitler coined it. We became involved in Afghanistan and are acting as a Peacekeeping force, the Taliban via their madrassa's are spinning it that we are invaders and probably even have the old crusader's story told to kids but you and I both know it's a complete and utter lie, we are trying to give future generations there a chance at a normal, decent life something which the Taliban don't want them to have. The Nazi's didnt offer us a decent way of life, more living in constant fear under a totalitarian state and put into a concentration camp if you stepped out of line. Not to mention Military tactics would be applied through Guerilla mean's if we fought the Nazi's; whereas what the Taliban and the Insurgents do is beyond barbarism, it's vile. The Beslan School Siege showed us what Al Qaeda and Islamic Extremism is capable of and that wasn't Guerilla warfare.

Fair play to them both for being able to do Gibbon and not get into trouble, but I've heard the same reasoning about ''respecting other cultures and you'll be alright'' from my Aunt who is out in Somalia at the moment doing Consultancy and Aidwork, when she was heading back for my Grandfathers funeral a few years back on the phone you could hear Mortar Shells hitting close to her Compound with the odd crack of Gunshots and she's a full on Hippy who has lived out in China and Vietnam embracing new cultures. It'd be nice if we did live in a world where everyone was rational, reasonable and didn't feel a need to pick up a Rifle or use Bomb's but it just isn't the case, but I think we are working towards a more peaceful and better world albeit slowly.

Great link, very informative

Why are you so hellbent on disliking our Troops and Services but willing to overlook the Taliban and other groups who murder, maim and torture innocent people on a regular basis ? - For example cases where the Taliban have thrown a hand grenade into a group of children knowing full well NATO and in particular UK troops would do a Medevac and try to save the children just so they can ambush us ? [believe this has been mentioned in Bombhunters by Sean Rayment] - The UN Gave funding for a Football Stadium to be built and when the Taliban took power they used it to publically execute people [ Ahmed Rashid - Taliban and Militant Islam ] - Or the countless Christian aid workers who have been murdered and beheaded because they were Christians ? both in Afghanistan and Pakistan ? check News Articles and Liveleak if you don't believe me Forgetting important details like that, you're more likely to step on a mine than be blown up by an A10 or an Apache as well, since Afghanistan is one of the most heavily mined places on the planet, let alone the Soviet Legacy minefields all over. Might want to remember '' small '' details like that in the future, rather than jump to slagging our Troops off.

You're right mate, all we can do here in the Western World is try to understand the bigger picture better and make a more balanced and informed opinion. All we can do is try to improve the odds, ultimately the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan will decide their own future - I just hope its to better themselves rather than relapse back into violence and extremism.

I think you're missing the point just because he was pinpointed and killed in Pakistan doesn't mean he wasn't in Afghanistan. It is well documented through several sources and books that Bin Laden was using Afghanistan through the Taliban as a training station for Global Jihad, just like he had also travelled to Bosnia in the 90's and the Sudan and helped finance Extremist Governments there too [ 2 Books by Ahmed Rashid cover this in a lot of detail in particular ] If we stand back they'd have said we are cowards, so its a case of damned if we do or don't. Fact of the matter is that we did have to get involved and it wasn't due to Oil or Gas, to be honest thats more a biproduct of our intervention through Oil Conglomerates. Our State policy was to kick the Taliban out [Which we did] and the reason they came back was because of the US focusing on Iraq which we all known was a huge mistake, but also because in particular Rumsfeld gave money to the Warlords of Afghanistan thinking that would solve the problem and mean NATO and the US wouldn't have to get involved - the reality of that is that the Taliban's very exsistence came into being because of the Warlord Culture of Afghanistan, out of desperation the people of Afghanistan turned to the Taliban as a means of restoring Law and Order. So by funding the Warlords it gave the Taliban an excuse to come back into the fold and the people turned back to them again to '' fix their problems '' - Now the Taliban are undermining that by fighting an endless War with us and the ANA. The ANA are taking over from us and we haven't lost the War either as was mentioned earlier in this thread - we were and still are peacekeeping in Afghanistan and training the ANA and ANP up to take over from us because ultimately it isn't our job to fight their war for them, we know that and they know that. Afghanistan's Stability is a lot more important than what a lot of people think with the very old, boring and asinine argument that it's about Oil and Gas, it isn't. Afghanistan's security is part of a much bigger problem in Asia, if Afghanistan falls back into total chaos like its Civil War days you have the Pakistani Taliban controlling the Federal Tribal Areas which have become so violent and lawless even the Pakistani Military with their numbers will not venture in. If that spills over the border it would be empowering the Insurgency more and more to spill into more countries and you have something akin to a Domino effect of Extremism and violence. The problem itself stems from the earlier day of the Cold War with Russia and the endless financing of the Mujhadein through the Pakistani ISI. The ISI sponsored and still do have a symbiotic relationship with Justifiable Jihad due to the war in Kashmir but like all monsters, it got out of control and is spreading like Wildfire due to growing numbers of Madrassa's rather than formal education in Pakistan, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas [FATA] and Afghanistan. To sit back and keep quoting the Anti Govt chants of Oil, Gas and Corporate greed is ignorance for ignorance sake. Have a look at books, other news medium's and read up on Wahabi and Extremist Islam. The problem is a lot more terrifying than people would admit and many in the Anti-War crowd would rather have you believe its NATO picking on '' poor dirt farmers '' than an organised, violent and very hateful group of extremists hiding amongst civilians. And if you still don't believe that, look at what happened in our Country with 7/7, or The Moscow Theater Siege, or the Massacre at Beslan, or the ongoing killings in Sudan and Somalia due to lawlessness and Extremism.

Remember seeing this not so long back but thought it was quite amusing and kinda links into the Thread, seems bad behaviour isn't limited to just us Human folk [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhiG6_83pbc]Criminal Penguins - Frozen Planet - BBC One.mpeg - YouTube[/ame]

True but there is a lot of fearmongering with the whole '' no one is safe '' and '' they have no rules '' which the Media puts out there both blatantly, like with the Riots in London which in fact helped it spread and worsen, to the more subliminal messages and stories they slip in there. Plus if you look at the construct of the News its rare you see positive feedback stories about teenagers comparatively to the ones of Gang related violence and the like. Although I am not daft enough to think it's all hyped up, there are some areas which are just no go, bit like The Bogside in NI some friends of mine still say its rougher than a badger's bum but I think the Media are quick to jump on the real, genuine cases and make it mass hysteria and anxiety. Flipside is the area I live in now, people say to me '' Oh its rough up there '' but in truth it isnt, I've wandered down to my local Asda at 2-3 and 4am and not had one ounce of trouble, people wander about without a care in the world really but if you believed local news and gossip you'd think it was a bad day in Belfast every other day. So it can swing both ways really.

I see what you're saying Dave but with Italy there are some horrendous crimes that do go on by groups such as the Camorra, which dwarf the Mafia or Cosa Nostra but there is a different mindset definetely to our own, never did quite get the binge drinking culture either but I did get told I was '' well weird '' by my peers and tend to talk with older folk, such is life What you said about decency too makes sense but some people don't know there is another, better way to better themselves so in a form of ignorance they can get swept up into the world of crime and immoral behaviour, again I'm not justifying what they do, I just try to understand the why so when I do come accross them in the street or even kids that are in the middle, I hope I leave a lasting thought or impression with them to think before they act and not just dive in with one of their mates who is a scumbag. I just try to do what I can, where I can you know ? but maybe that is a bit idealistic. You sure it's the iPhone making your eyes hurt and not your age mate ? '' Ey when I were a lad... '' Really good discussion though, pisstakes aside - quite enjoying it

I have to admit, part of me did wonder how he'd fair in Phase 1 / Basic Training with his attitude