Your weekly dose of defence news, biased opinions and poorly curated content. You’re welcome.
TOP STORY THIS WEEK
The world waits while Putin and Trump meet in Alaska
The meeting of the world’s two hard men is penned for today at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson near Anchorage, Alaska. You don’t need us to tell you the outcomes could be titanic for Ukraine.
In the offing are land swaps, mineral swaps and all sorts of other swaps. Ceding territory is unpopular (and unconstitutional) in Ukraine but, for now, just having Russia at a negotiating table is progress.
IN OTHER NEWS
Starmer and Zelenskyy meet at No. 10
Thursday was yet another opportunity for the “coalition of the willing” to show solidarity with Ukraine but, with Europe essentially sidelined in these negotiations, words are pretty meaningless until the outcomes of the Alaska summit are made clear.
Category A nuclear “incident” reported at Faslane
So there has definitely been a leak of radioactive material from Faslane - that much we do know. When it happened, how it happened and why it happened is less clear and the MOD certainly isn’t up for shedding further light on the situation. Before you panic - nuclear leaks happen more than you’d think; it’s just not normally a Category A (i.e. the highest risk category).
Defence Secretary John Healey basically told everyone to stop banging on about it and that "reported events were categorised as of low safety significance”. Chill out.
THE RUMOUR MILL
There is no guaranteeing the veracity of these stories, it’s just what we’re hearing.
Wizz Air to run Para Jumps Course for MOD
Wizz Air has apparently beaten the RAF to win the prestigious Parachute Jumps Course training contract from the MOD. A Wizz Air spokesman is reported to have said: “with no operational aircraft the RAF were always going to struggle but it was our ability to be in the right country on the right date that really won it for us.”
Wizz Air are rumoured to have turned down free space for their aircraft at RAF Brize Norton, saying “the security at my child’s kindergarten is tighter”.
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
Big events from the past, covered in brief and probably inaccurately.
15th August: Victory over Japan (VJ) Day
Source: Imperial War Museum
VJ Day is commemorated annually in the UK (although sadly to less and less fanfare). The Japanese surrender marked the end of World War II, yet for many years, the Fourteenth Army, “The Forgotten Army”, under legendary General Slim, saw little formal recognition. This massive one million strong force drew soldiers from across the British Empire and Nepal, and fought bitterly throughout the entire Burma Campaign, only to have their successes overshadowed by European-focused histories.
IN THE MEDIA
The Classic: Quartered Safe Out Here
For a brutally honest insight into the Burma Campaign, look no further than George MacDonal Fraser’s epic Quartered Safe Out Here. A mainstay on military bookshelves nationwide this is a true gem written by a soldier for soldiers. What more would you expect from the creator of the Flashman series.
JOB SPOTLIGHT
Changing things up? This is where we briefly look at career options from across the civvy world - everything goes here so expect some absolute drivel. Sometimes Forces Assist can help place you, sometimes we can’t. Either way we can offer advice.
GRT: What’s the craic
Graduated Resettlement Time is the period before leaving the Armed Forces when service personnel can reduce their military duties to focus on preparing for civilian life. You can get up to 35 days and should use it wisely.
We talked about this in detail on our Insta:
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
We’re always looking for drivers
Over at Forces Assist we’re always looking for qualled up drivers nationally. If you have driving qualifications and are looking for work then head to forcesassist.com to start conversations.
Thank you and good morning.
Keep spreading the word - any help is golden for us.
Cheers,
Forces Assist.