Video: Welsh Guards Celebrate Centenary

From the MoD:

Welsh Guards celebrate 100 year history
26 February 2015


The Welsh Guards, the fifth regiment of Foot Guards, an icon of British military tradition in their red tunics and bearskins, celebrate their centenary today.


As war raged in Flanders during the First World War the Welsh Guards were brought into existence on 26 February 1915 by Royal Warrant of His Majesty King George V, in order to include Wales in the national component of the Foot Guards, which already included England, Scotland and Ireland. Many of those first Welsh Guardsman who formed the Regiment were Welshmen who transferred from The Grenadier Guards, eager to represent their nation at home and abroad.


Since their founding the Welsh Guards have fought in some of the most challenging conflicts of the modern age. From the First and Second World Wars to Egypt, Palestine, Aden, Cyprus, Northern Ireland, the Falkland Islands, Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, they have served with distinction, their guardsmen awarded numerous honours including 2 VCs.


The 1st Battalion Welsh Guards marched out of Wellington Barracks to mount its first King's Guard for Buckingham Palace on 1 March 1915 – St David's Day. A year later the battalion were at the Somme where they combined the first anniversary of their founding and the Welsh national day with their very first presentation of ceremonial leeks - an event which has become a Welsh Guards' annual tradition. Their first Victoria Cross was awarded in July 1917 for the bravery of the remarkable Sergeant Robert Bye.



The 2nd Battalion, Welsh Guards was created in 1939 and as WW2 raged, a third Battalion was raised in 1941. The 1st Battalion fought valiantly as part of the British Expeditionary Force in Belgium and France, before being part of the legendary Evacuation of Dunkirk that saw 340,000 troops return to the UK against all odds. The 2nd Battalion fought in Boulogne in 1940 and both Battalions joined the Guards Armoured Division, with the 1st Battalion being infantry and the 2nd armoured. The two battalions worked closely, being the first troops to re-enter Brussels on 3 September 1944 after an advance of 100 miles in one day in what was described as 'an armoured lash unequalled for speed in this or any other war'....

Much more interesting history here.


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 Welsh Guards Celebrate Centenary With Mega Marathon 

From British Forces News

Brian Terry Statue erected to Honor him

From FOX News:

Statue honoring murdered Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry unveiled
March 1, 2015

A statue honoring murdered United States Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was unveiled Saturday at the now re-named Brian Terry Patrol Station in Bisbee, Arizona.


 "That iconic image of Brian carrying his BordTac team member on his shoulders represents everything good about Brian, his strength, his determination, his attention to detail, his love for the Border Patrol and his love for his fellow agents," Terry's cousin, Robert Heyer, said.


 Terry's family established the Brian Terry Foundation to honor his memory and create a legacy in his name. The foundation provides emotional and financial assistance for U.S. Border Patrol agents and their families.


 Terry was killed in a 2010 gun fight between border patrol agents and members of a gang attempting to steal marijuana from smugglers. Authorities later determined that the gang's weapons were part of the Justice Department's botched "gun-walking" program Operation Fast and Furious...

More details here.

The Gurkhas are coming - again?

By Alec.

British Army to consider creation of Sikh regiment
 23 February 2015


A Sikh platoon at the Monument Aux héros de l’armée d’Orient des terres lointaines, Marseille during world war commemorations


The head of the British Army is examining proposals to create a Sikh regiment, the Armed Forces minister has said.



Mark Francois said the idea "may well have merit" as he told the Commons a reserve company is also under consideration.



The Tory front-bencher added the reserve company would inherit many of the "proud traditions of Sikh regiments" from the Army's past....

More here.

In reversing a decision made to counter claims of racial segregation within the British Army, although ignored with Ghurka regiments, the British lost a number of fine regiments with a proud history of dying bravely and equally on the field of battle.


I do feel this is a cynical move by a Government in response to counter the homegrown terrorist threat by recruiting from the same communities targeted by Islamic Fundamentalists.


However, provided they can recruit the right calibre of man, if they can at all, it's carried out with the full backing of the communities they wish to recruit from and can balance the proud traditions of past regiments with modern mans expectations and beliefs along with patriotism, this has the chance of being a fine moment for the British Army.



[Related:  Gurkha History

UPDATE: Gurkha Warrior the lastest to feel the government budget knife

Gurkhas and ANA bring life back to the village of Piand Kalay

Video: Happy HAPPY Birthday SJP

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder,
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger,
May you never take one single breath for granted,
GOD forbid love ever leave you empty handed,
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.


I hope you dance....I hope you dance.


I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance,
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Livin' might mean takin' chances but they're worth takin',
Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth makin',
Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter,
When you come close to sellin' out reconsider,
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance.


I hope you dance....I hope you dance...


To infinity and beyond......that much and more...

Red Shirt Friday

Rest In Peace Lt. Col. Ernest Côté WWII Hero

From the CBC:

Ernest Côté, WW II veteran and home invasion survivor, dead at 101

Ian Bush faces attempted murder charge after senior was left bound, with plastic bag over his head


CBC News  Feb 26, 2015

Second World War veteran Ernest Côté, who survived a violent home invasion at his Ottawa condo in December, died Wednesday night at the age of 101.

Côté's family said in a French-language statement he died of natural causes at Ottawa's Montfort Hospital.

His family said the retired lieutenant colonel helped plan the Normandy landing and helped put together the World Health Organization charter. He received France's Legion of Honour award in 2004 for his service during the Second World War.

(Ernest Cote received his Legion of Honour Award from the Ambassador of France, Phillippe Guelluy at the French Embassy to Canada in Ottawa on Thursday, May 27, 2004. (Tobin Grimshaw/Canadian Press)

His funeral will be held at Ottawa's Notre-Dame Cathedral at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 7. His family is asking donations in his name be made to Montfort Hospital.

Members of Parliament gave Côté a standing ovation in the House of Commons after his death was announced by Ottawa-Orleans MP Royal Galipeau and Veterans Affairs Minister Erin O'Toole...
[...]
Côté made headlines after he was tied up and robbed inside his Ottawa apartment. He was left with a plastic bag over his head, but freed himself and called police.

"I was madder than a wasp, and I couldn't do a damn thing, and that's all I could do until he left," Côté said in January. "I was never afraid. I was madder than a wasp. Wasps ain't afraid; they're mad.

"Life is such that when you see these things happen to you, you try to get out. The important thing is to concentrate on how to get out of the position in which you happen to be. If you're afraid and paralyzed, you don't move. I was never afraid. I was not afraid of the landing, the D-Day landing. I was not afraid."...

Read more here about this amazing man.

Rest In Peace, Sir.

ISIS Cell Arrested in Brooklyn – Planned Attacks on Obama, US

From Clarion Project:

The FBI arrest of the three Islamic State members in New York is, in large part, due to a confidential informant at a mosque.


 RYAN MAURO Thu, February 26, 2015

From an Islamic State video depicting the beheading of Coptic Egyptians



FBI has arrested three Islamic State (ISIS) members in Brooklyn, New York, in large part due to a confidential informant at an unidentified mosque. The conspirators discussed carrying out an attack in America if they are unable to join the Islamic State in Syria.


 The three suspected terrorists are Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev, Akhror Saidakhmetov and Abror Habibov. Those involved made it clear that their violent intentions are not motivated by political grievances. They are motivated by the Islamist teachings that require Muslims to engage in violent jihad for the sake of a “global caliphate” and apocalyptic prophecies.



Juraboev is a permanent resident of the U.S. and citizen of Uzbekistan. It is unclear when he was radicalized but he told Islamic State members online that his family in Uzbekistan is not devoutly religious. He frequented an Uzbek website that implored Uzbeks to join the Islamic State and fight for its “global caliphate.”



On August 8, Juraboev wrote a post on the website under a pseudonym talking about his desire to “strike fear in heart of the infidels,” referencing the Quran (3:151). He asked if he could join the Islamic State while remaining in America and if it would be acceptable to become a “martyr” by trying to shoot President Obama.



The FBI saw the message traced the IP address to his Brooklyn address. He admitted to the authorities that he is a supporter of the Islamic State, would like to join the terrorist group in Syria. He said he’d kill President Obama or bomb Coney Island if the Islamic State asked him to and the “order had a basis in the Koran and the ‘Sunna’ (the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad).”

The indictment summarizes his explanation as follows:....

There is more here.


The evidence continues to mount that we DO have a major problem within our borders.


Pay attention.