Discussing the Prime Minister’s announcement about increasing Britain’s contribution to Operation Sophia.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b07crvzd/newsnight-27052016
International Day of Peacekeepers
This Sunday is the International Day of Peacekeepers and tomorrow at the Cenotaph, we will honour the memory of 3,400 military, civilians and police, who have lost their lives whilst serving in UN peacekeeping missions.
On 25th May 1995, the Bosnian war re-ignited as 60 people were killed in Tuzla in an artillery attack. Subsequently two French soldiers serving with the UN were killed in the Battle of Vrbanja Bridge and I had to take over responsibility for Jelah after the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment redeployed to central Bosnia. See Chapter 3 of Belfast to Benghazi for the full story of the transition from UN peacekeeping to NATO peace enforcement in 1995.
Gallant Tobruk
Today is the 75th Anniversary of the first military expedition to relieve the siege of Tobruk, Operation Brevity. In the aftermath of the 2011 revolution, I laid a wreath at the 2 Commonwealth War Cemetries in Tobruk remembering those who died in the siege and at the battle of Knightsbridge. We were welcomed by the Libyan Air Force at the General Nasser Air Base at El Adam and by the town council, who wished to re-establish the strong relationship forged between the United Kingdom and Libya, which was interuppted by Colonel Gadhafi in 1969 – see pages 268 to 270 of Belfast to Benghazi.
Audience at Aldershot
An enjoyable and engaging evening at the Prince Consort Library in Aldershot. We discussed how the security risks and key areas of interest have changed since the revolution in 2011 when Islamic black flags were not flown by the Guardians of the Revolution. See Chapter 6 in Belfast to Benghazi available at http://www.mereobooks.com/books/genre/biography-memoirs/belfast-to-benghazi or at http://www.waterstones.com
Soldier-Magazine May Edition
Book Reviews – Belfast to Benghazi ****
“What I found refreshing about this title is the way Wieloch gives his troops credit for the work they carried out rather than glorifying his own role…he tells his stories with brutal honesty mixed with military humour. A thought-provoking and thoroughly readable account of our nation’s recent military history.”
Rupert Wieloch 