Wole Soyinko, an interesting take he has 212man.
Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka says England is 'cesspit' of extremism - Telegraph |
Soyinko makes a very valid point in his comments and I wouldn't argue with him.
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The Sentinel R1 plane, which has a crew of five, took off from RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, at 09:25 BST on Sunday, the Ministry of Defence said. |
Took off to do what exactly?
After over a month this is little more than a flag waving exercise akin to sending an aircraft out to a natural disaster to get the roundel on tv and a bit of positive press for UK plc. Of course, it's also another string to Sentinel's bow that might save it from the chop in 2018 if it can be proven to be good in multiple environments and not just open battlefields. In this instance however, I would be very interested to see what it turns up. |
Melchett01
You mean like sending an old submarine and a ship to help search for MH370 a few weeks after everyone else gets there ? ;) |
Having worked on a Nigerian CAA aircraft it was an eye opener... Indeed several Nigerian aircraft I worked on amazed me, one in for an annual (BAe 125) had the loaner engines recovered, it had them fitted while his went for overhaul, that was the last the owners saw of them for several years and they ended up with a pair of scrappers and the Nigerian owner with a pair of nearly new engines. Took his aircraft sitting engineless and a lot of money to get it back in the air.
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Sentinel to operate from Accra?
BBC reports that it will operate from Accra. Seems an odd choice, given that Ghana has no involvement with the situation and there are French assets already operating from N'Djamena and US assets operating from Niamey.
Mind you the Movenpick hotel in Accra is by far the best hotel anywhere in West Africa, not that that could possibly have anything to do with the RAF's decision:-) |
ahem, why 'dig-in' when you can 'check-in' (and get better rest)?
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One hundred and ten years ago Nigeria was one of the most prosperous and flourishing of Britain's African colonies. My Father was out there, seconded to the Southern Nigeria Regiment from the King's (Liverpool) Regt. as a SNCO Instructor. (I believe a Major Trenchard (any relation ?) was the C.O.) Following the end of the Boer War, Trenchard decided to apply for service in the West African Frontier Force and was granted the position of Deputy Commandant of the Southern Nigeria Regiment with the promise that he was entitled to lead all regimental expeditions. On arrival in Nigeria in December 1903, Trenchard initially had some difficulty in getting his Commanding Officer to allow him to lead the upcoming expedition and only replaced his superior by going over his head. Once established, Trenchard spent the next six years on various expeditions to the interior patrolling, surveying and mapping an area of 10,000 square miles which later came to be known as Biafra. In the occasional clashes with the Ibo tribesmen, Trenchard gained decisive victories. The many tribesmen who surrendered were given jobs as road builders and thereby began to develop the country as part of the British empire. From summer 1904 to the late summer 1905, Trenchard was acting Commandant of the Southern Nigeria Regiment. He was appointed to the Distinguished Service Order in 1906 and was Commandant with the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel from 1908 onwards. |
A true MMA would be useful in this scenario:
A rapidly deployable rugged and reliable platform which requires little supporting infrastructure in terms of host nation support and airfield services . Sensor mix: GMTI/ SAR COMINT EO/IR/FMV HS Good Comms. The same platform could also provide SAR support for the missing yatch and crew. |
RAF spy plane breaks down on way to find Nigerian schoolgirls
An RAF spy plane sent to join the international hunt for schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram militants has broken down on the way. The Sentinel R1 was forced to divert to Senegal with a “technical issue” and will be grounded until repairs have been completed. The unexpected delay is a repeat of last year’s embarrassment for the Ministry of Defence when a C-17 transporter sent to help French troops in Mali was also temporarily grounded by technical trouble. David Cameron offered the Sentinel to the Nigerian government to use its advanced ground scanning radar to hunt for more than 200 school girls abducted from a school hostel last month. The modified executive business jet, left RAF Waddington on Sunday bound for its new base in Accra in Ghana, where it will be stationed while flying across northern Nigeria. However the crew reported technical problems midway through the flight. An RAF source said: “We had a choice of turning around and coming home, or landing en route.” It was last night unclear when the jet would be able to resume its flight and travel the remaining 1,300 miles to Accra............... |
Jet,
Concur - for the most part. But unless they're walking in a long straight line and wearing huge chunks of tribal jewellery and Pattern 58 webbing belts to act as radar reflectors, I'm still struggling to see the utility of SAR GMTI in a jungle/forested environment. |
200 people will require logistic support.
I will say no more. |
Originally Posted by Jet In Vitro
(Post 8484448)
200 people will require logistic support.
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Far better off staying in one place with that many people.
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Nigeria kidnapping-UK mil to be involved.
Or breaking them up into smaller more manageable cells that you can conceal more easily and which requires a far smaller logs chain and which would also give you an element of redundancy in the event a govt force tried to move against you.
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200 people will require logistic support. I will say no more. |
Small groups will require some coordination.
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20 groups of ten hostages spread out over say 10 sq km of bush with runners in between (they have mobile phones but won't use them)
from the air you'll never find them nor, more importantly, be able to distinguish them from other family groups farming/hunting in the same area |
(they have mobile phones but won't use them) |
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