ianstone
07-19-2010, 03:38 PM
As 300th hero is buried, Our Boys quit Death Valley
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01080/SNN07TRUCKS-682_1080113a.jpg Heavy toll ... Our Boys to pull out of Sangin after 300th British death
This is no retreat
By DUNCAN LARCOMBE
Defence Editor
BRITAIN'S withdrawal from Sangin is a turning point in the war against the Taliban.
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01080/SNN0711TAL_1080473a.jpg Target ... Taliban
Put simply, dozens of British lives in the coming months will be spared while our troops elsewhere in Helmand Province will have the chance to consolidate and smash the insurgents once and for all.
With increased numbers and resources, the US troops will build on all the progress that has been made.
But there is a real danger that in some parts this will be seen as a retreat. That would be an insult to all those British heroes who shed blood in the so-called Valley of Death.
They transformed the lives of thousands of Afghans as they slowly won over the local population terrorised for so long by the Taliban.
Every soldier who served in Sangin, their families and the public at large can hold their heads high at a job well done.
THE 300th British victim of the Afghan conflict was buried yesterday - as it was revealed Our Boys are to pull out of the Sangin "Valley of Death" where he suffered his fatal injuries.
Commanders will hand responsibility for patrolling the notorious Taliban stronghold in the north of Helmand to the US.
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01080/SNN0710AA-380_1080471a.jpg Farewell ... Marine Hollington's funeral
The handover - seen as the most significant development in the nine-year Afghan conflict - could begin in DAYS.
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01080/SNN0710MM-180_1080469a.jpg 300th British death ... Marine Richard Hollington
Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox will make an announcement to the House of Commons at 12.30pm today. Of the 312 Brits killed in the conflict, 99 have been in Sangin. Most of the deaths have been caused by improvised explosive devices.
Among the victims are Green Beret Richard Hollington, the 300th Brit to die. Family and friends said farewell to the heroic 23-year-old yesterday at a service in his village of Steep, Hants.
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01080/SNN0711GXA_1080472a.jpg War-torn ... map showing Helmand province
Commanders are desperate that the decision to pull out is not seen as "defeat" or a "climb down". They will insist this is part of a restructuring of allied troops within the International Security Assistance Force.
But whatever the reasons behind the restructuring, the decision will be controversial.
British troops have battled hard for control of Sangin since 2006.
The area is notorious as one of the central locations of the opium trade.
Support for the Taliban within its 14,000-strong population has remained strong.
http://t.mookie1.com/t/v1/imp?migAgencyId=186&migSource=adsrv2&migTrackDataExt=2768331;49980294;226055963;3730387 6&migRandom=4802054&migTrackFmtExt=client;io;ad;crtv
The decision will most affect the members of 40 Commando. The Royal Marine unit arrived there in March and have been battling hard to build on the success of previous units.
They were not due to leave until the next British battle group arrived at the end of September.
It is not yet clear how quickly Sangin will be handed to US troops. However, the process could begin within a week.
Last night a senior military source told The Sun: "Even the most optimistic commanders accept Sangin has been a thorn in our sides.
"Battles there have been bitter, bloody and sustained. Progress has been made and the lives lost have not been lost in vain.
"But we should avoid letting any stubborn sense of national pride stand in the way of this handover. The Americans are our allies. It is a natural progression for the Americans to take control of their battlespace."
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01080/SNN0711BRZE-180_1080438a.jpg Killed in blast ... Corporal Andrew Breeze
The development will not change the total number of British troops deployed in Afghanistan.
General Richard Mills - one of the most senior US commanders in Afghanistan - said the record of UK forces in Sangin has been "nothing short of magnificent".
A second senior military source said: "Our troops have done a fantastic job in one of the most dangerous parts of Helmand. We will leave with our heads held high, proud of what we've achieved."
Marine Hollington was injured in a blast there on June 12. He died from his injuries eight days later.
Richard, who served in 40 Commando, "lived as a lion" and always led from the front, his colleagues and family said. Even in death he was able to help others. More than 500 mourners at his funeral in home village of Steep heard how he donated his organs.
Also buried yesterday was Lance Corporal Andrew Breeze, 31, of Gorton, Manchester, from 1st Battalion, The Mercian Regiment. He died in a roadside blast in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand on June 12.
A colleague from the battalion also died yesterday - the 312th Brit to be killed in the conflict.
d.larcombe@the-sun.co (d.larcombe@the-sun.co.uk)
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/campaigns/our_boys/3044094/As-300th-hero-is-buried-Our-Boys-quit-Death-Valley.html#ixzz0u9u2eCsm
Not new but relivent
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01080/SNN07TRUCKS-682_1080113a.jpg Heavy toll ... Our Boys to pull out of Sangin after 300th British death
This is no retreat
By DUNCAN LARCOMBE
Defence Editor
BRITAIN'S withdrawal from Sangin is a turning point in the war against the Taliban.
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01080/SNN0711TAL_1080473a.jpg Target ... Taliban
Put simply, dozens of British lives in the coming months will be spared while our troops elsewhere in Helmand Province will have the chance to consolidate and smash the insurgents once and for all.
With increased numbers and resources, the US troops will build on all the progress that has been made.
But there is a real danger that in some parts this will be seen as a retreat. That would be an insult to all those British heroes who shed blood in the so-called Valley of Death.
They transformed the lives of thousands of Afghans as they slowly won over the local population terrorised for so long by the Taliban.
Every soldier who served in Sangin, their families and the public at large can hold their heads high at a job well done.
THE 300th British victim of the Afghan conflict was buried yesterday - as it was revealed Our Boys are to pull out of the Sangin "Valley of Death" where he suffered his fatal injuries.
Commanders will hand responsibility for patrolling the notorious Taliban stronghold in the north of Helmand to the US.
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01080/SNN0710AA-380_1080471a.jpg Farewell ... Marine Hollington's funeral
The handover - seen as the most significant development in the nine-year Afghan conflict - could begin in DAYS.
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01080/SNN0710MM-180_1080469a.jpg 300th British death ... Marine Richard Hollington
Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox will make an announcement to the House of Commons at 12.30pm today. Of the 312 Brits killed in the conflict, 99 have been in Sangin. Most of the deaths have been caused by improvised explosive devices.
Among the victims are Green Beret Richard Hollington, the 300th Brit to die. Family and friends said farewell to the heroic 23-year-old yesterday at a service in his village of Steep, Hants.
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01080/SNN0711GXA_1080472a.jpg War-torn ... map showing Helmand province
Commanders are desperate that the decision to pull out is not seen as "defeat" or a "climb down". They will insist this is part of a restructuring of allied troops within the International Security Assistance Force.
But whatever the reasons behind the restructuring, the decision will be controversial.
British troops have battled hard for control of Sangin since 2006.
The area is notorious as one of the central locations of the opium trade.
Support for the Taliban within its 14,000-strong population has remained strong.
http://t.mookie1.com/t/v1/imp?migAgencyId=186&migSource=adsrv2&migTrackDataExt=2768331;49980294;226055963;3730387 6&migRandom=4802054&migTrackFmtExt=client;io;ad;crtv
The decision will most affect the members of 40 Commando. The Royal Marine unit arrived there in March and have been battling hard to build on the success of previous units.
They were not due to leave until the next British battle group arrived at the end of September.
It is not yet clear how quickly Sangin will be handed to US troops. However, the process could begin within a week.
Last night a senior military source told The Sun: "Even the most optimistic commanders accept Sangin has been a thorn in our sides.
"Battles there have been bitter, bloody and sustained. Progress has been made and the lives lost have not been lost in vain.
"But we should avoid letting any stubborn sense of national pride stand in the way of this handover. The Americans are our allies. It is a natural progression for the Americans to take control of their battlespace."
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01080/SNN0711BRZE-180_1080438a.jpg Killed in blast ... Corporal Andrew Breeze
The development will not change the total number of British troops deployed in Afghanistan.
General Richard Mills - one of the most senior US commanders in Afghanistan - said the record of UK forces in Sangin has been "nothing short of magnificent".
A second senior military source said: "Our troops have done a fantastic job in one of the most dangerous parts of Helmand. We will leave with our heads held high, proud of what we've achieved."
Marine Hollington was injured in a blast there on June 12. He died from his injuries eight days later.
Richard, who served in 40 Commando, "lived as a lion" and always led from the front, his colleagues and family said. Even in death he was able to help others. More than 500 mourners at his funeral in home village of Steep heard how he donated his organs.
Also buried yesterday was Lance Corporal Andrew Breeze, 31, of Gorton, Manchester, from 1st Battalion, The Mercian Regiment. He died in a roadside blast in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand on June 12.
A colleague from the battalion also died yesterday - the 312th Brit to be killed in the conflict.
d.larcombe@the-sun.co (d.larcombe@the-sun.co.uk)
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/campaigns/our_boys/3044094/As-300th-hero-is-buried-Our-Boys-quit-Death-Valley.html#ixzz0u9u2eCsm
Not new but relivent