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Originally posted by hptmurphy
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it is spectacular...
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i can't help with figures - we're not involved with the flooding op - but from my own travels i can say that the whole of the river Severn catchment area from Newtown in Powys to Gloucester is flooded. the upper levels around Newtown yesterday were about thigh deep on the fields, and the floods were about 3 miles wide. the same would broadly be true for Shrophire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire.
it is spectacular... -
And then you lads have summer water restrictions to look forward to....Originally posted by ropebag View PostThings fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere***
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.Comment
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yes, you might wonder at the intelligence of a people that live on an island built of coal who have water and power shortages... the word 'embarrassing' doesn't really do it justice.Originally posted by hedgehog View PostComment
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Thanks RGJ
Quite a novel use of Recce Aircraft, but very effective. It would seem the type of flooding is similar with historic flood plains being the issue.
The loss of agricultural land is huge in both countries , the knock on costs and compenstaion packages to those worst affected is going to be huge. Of course they will look for cuts else where to cover the costs and go at the low hanging fruit like Defence , which is probably the only institution that is able to provide the required man power in such situations.
We need to be able to mobilize our Reserves like wise, although in fairness the Civil Defence have had a huge profile over here this time around.Covid 19 is not over ....it's still very real..Hand Hygiene, Social Distancing and Masks.. keep safeComment
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we've been clever in using our military and the Regular Army and Army Reserve commanders at very high levels have got their heads together to make this work well for all of us, with the Royal Navy and Royal Marines all getting a part in the gig to help secure our future in a footing at home aswell as overseas, so people can see we aren't only there for projecting British ideas internationally.Originally posted by hptmurphy View Post
even at Battalion level - we couldn't pay for better PR than to see our troops on the BBC 6 o'clock news and Sky News helping in the community and being flown across the country in a Chinook etc, and our CO was very pro-active in volunteering our services.
its a chance for every force to get their name in lights in this time of crisis, and hopefully they will be remembered the next time we all face the chop.
as for the cost of the damage - the EU has a large pot of money to cover instances like this and we all pay into it - the British and Irish governments should be dipping into this pot before looking elsewhere at home for money.Comment
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What kind of takeup are you getting from reservists on this, RGJ? Are there some that live far away or have weekend jobs who aren't expected to turn in, or is 100% attendance required?Comment
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it's purely voluntary and we do have enough volunteers - infact we are oversubscribed. we can be 'mobilised' if necessary however that takes things to another level in political circles. we were infact 'Op Locked' the first night this happened (Fri 7 Feb) however we were released on Sunday night but all of us collectively were asked if we would / could stay on during the week and the CO personally guaranteed to speak individually to every man's employer of those who wished to remain on task.Originally posted by Barry View Post
a handful of Reservists stayed on and are doing the weekends and covering shifts while this operation continues.
remember - we all get paid for every 2 hours (upto 8 hours in 24) we are 'on duty' so for some lads this is a very favourable source of income too, although hand on heart this is not what motivates anyone i have met, but it is a very nice sweetener.
most lads would do this without any payment anyhow, because it is a worthwhile task and they are happy to help.Comment
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Official MOD take on Reservists being deployed:
Reserves deployed to bolster flood relief efforts
Thousands of military personnel continue to contribute to flood relief efforts across affected parts of the United Kingdom.
These include reservists from 7th Battalion The Rifles (7 RIFLES) who have been boosting manpower and providing specialist capability in southern England.
After spending Saturday morning reinforcing the dam around an electrical substation near Reading, reservists from 7 RIFLES flew by Chinook helicopter to support flood relief operations on the Isle of Wight. The aircraft also delivered vehicles and equipment to the island.
Friday night’s storm had resulted in further tidal and ground flooding in areas across the island. The reservists assisted the civilian authorities and local communities by distributing sandbags and providing engineering services to help bring some respite to those affected.
read more: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/r...relief-efforts
well done 7RIFLES, and some of my own Riflemen who are heavily involved.Comment
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some more pictures of our Riflemen on Operation Pitchpole:
the dam and other flood defences we built managed to protect a power sub-station serving electricity to over 40,000 homes.Last edited by RoyalGreenJacket; 23 February 2014, 00:02.Comment
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