The Monkey God

Pleasure!

We're talking about the 1/4th Royal West Kents here.

You'll find a lot more about them here.

William

& thanks again William!!! Gordon.

Spin Baldak.

"The third Afghan War began in April 1919, the new Emir of Afghanistan, Amanullah, decided to bolster his popularity by invading India in order to seize the old Afghan provinces west of the River Indus. He believed that the British and Indian troops would be too war-driven to resist. Although there was a shortage of artillery and machine guns, a division from Peshawar defeated a superior Afghan force in the Khyber Pass and forced them back towards Jellalabad. The main Afghan attack took place in the Tochi-Kurram valley area where the Waziristan Militia deserted to the enemy. A large Afghan force beseiged two battalions of Sikhs and Gurkhas and a squadron of cavalry in Thal. Although under constant attack for a week until they were relieved by a different convoy. In Baluchistan the British stormed the Afghan fortress of Spin Baldak on May 27th. Spin Baldak guarded the road to Kandahar and its capture reduced the chance of an Afghan invasion by that route. Amanullah's invasion had failed but the peace treaty that brought the war to an end did recognize full Afghan independence. In the next 40 years another war was to take place on Afghan soil involving the world" (The Continuing Role of the Outside World in Afghanistan)

Thanks Archer, thats been of great interest!! To anyone whose interested, I`ve discovered the follow.....

The “first line” Territorials, however, were still abroad: indeed the 1/4^th had at last, after over 4 years of garrison duty, seen something of active service on the Indian Frontier. It had moved up to the Frontier early in 1918, being stationed at Quetta where it remained until detailed in May 1919 for operations against the Afghans. The chief action in which it took part was the capture on May 27^th 1919 of the Afghan position at Spin Maldak, about the strongest post in Afghanistan, in which the battalion was at last given a chance of disguising itself. It took its chances to some purpose, the position being stormed after an action lasting over eight hours in the hottest weather. The Afghan resistance was stubborn, but so well did the 1/4^th fight that the Brigadier, B-Gen J L R Gordon, presented it was the drums capture from the enemy as a memento. After this action the battalion remained on active service until the conclusion of the peace with Afghanistan in September. It then returned to Quetta and was placed on orders for home in October, eventually leaving for Karachi on October 30^th 1919, just years since its departure to India.

Hi Guys,

Anyone have an interest in the Third Afghan War?

Can you tell me what was happening at Spin Maldak, on the 29th May 1919?

Many thanks in advance.

Gordon.

Am curious whats this medal for?

MG

Here is the link to the Pak Army web page: "Images" http://pakistanarmy....es.aspx?rnd=498

If you scroll right to the bottom there is a link to "Glourious Resolve", the documentary I mentioned. I couldn't get it to load - it hung up my internet explorer, but I think it's my server, not the sitye per se.

I see in the Toronto paper today that a Pak. Taliban suicide bomber killed 30 officer cadets and an instructor, at morning 'exercises' [PT, at a guess.] The bomber seems to have been a child in school uniform, though the Taliban phoned ABC news and claimed it was a 'soldier'. Murderous bastards! And by that I mean suing children and the mentally impaired. It could be argued that soldiers are a legitimate target, however killed - I'm not taking that position myself BTW - but using kids is beyond the pale! Perhaps when the struggle ends, and it eventually will, almost certainly with a Taliban loss IMHO, the pakistanis will be able to award something to the brave 'jawans' who fought the fight.

Hi Peter, many thanks for that I couldn`t get it to work either, however, I found this on you tube, which I assume is the same thing, well worth watching if you`ve got 20 minutes or so...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=636z5FfPiJg&playnext=1&list=PLE30BA41973D408F0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdYsDRb_QnQ&playnext=1&list=PLE65744DE980F1BA0

Well, the Pakistan Army's web site, under "Accomplishments 2010" talks about sports medals awarded and a military competition in the UK in which a PA team placed first. There is also a reference to a video which apparently features 2 soldiers valiantly fighting off "1000 terrorists" in an attempt to 'eradicate terror from the land of the pure', but no mention there or in any news accounts I could find of awards for actions against the talebs and their allies. So, who knows?

Thanks again Peter, for taking the time to reply to my thread. Think its safe to say, if they were going to award a medal, then they`d have done so by now!

Just out of interest is there a link to the video?

I believe that at some point Maria dollars were legal tender in Kabal, can anyone confirm this for me?

Monkey God

Are you sure such a thing exists? Many armies are leery of issuing awards for 'civil insurrection' duties, as they tend to be political hot potatoes. It may be that soldiers and police serving in anti-Taliban operations qualify for the regular 'time served' / 'long service' awards of their respective services but I wonder whether there is [yet] a specific award for hard and bloody 'internal security' duties.

Any one else have thoughts on this one?

Peter

Peter, you make an interesting point that I hadn`t considered. I had assumed that Pakistan would issue medals to its soldiers & police in the same vein as Britain does (did) for such campaigns as Northern Ireland?

Hi Guys,

Can anyone point me in the right direction to where I might ascertain what if any medals Pakistan issues to its soldiers & police officers, for service in the current war againest the Taliban?

MG.

If you look at the back right-hand side of a Canadian $10 bill, you will see an old veteran standing at attention near the Ottawa war memorial. His name is Robert Metcalfe and he died last month at the age of 90.

That he managed to live to that age is rather remarkable, given what happened in the Second World War. Born in England , he was one of the 400,000 members of the British Expeditionary Force sent to the mainland where they found themselves facing the new German warfare technique - the Blitzkrieg.

He was treating a wounded comrade when he was hit in the legs by shrapnel.

En route to hospital, his ambulance came under fire from a German tank, which then miraculously ceased fire. Evacuated from Dunkirk on HMS Grenade, two of the sister ships with them were sunk.

Recovered, he was sent to allied campaigns in North Africa and Italy . En route his ship was chased by the German battleship Bismarck .

In North Africa he served under General Montgomery against the Desert Fox, Rommel.

Sent into the Italian campaign, he met his future wife, a lieutenant and physiotherapist in a Canadian hospital. They were married in the morning by the mayor of the Italian town, and again in the afternoon by a British padre.

After the war they settled in Chatham where he went into politics and became the warden (chairman) of the county and on his retirement he and his wife moved to Ottawa . At the age of 80 he wrote a book about his experiences.

One day out of the blue he received a call from a government official asking him to go downtown for a photo op. He wasn't told what the photo was for or why they chose him. 'He had no idea he would be on the bill,' his daughter said.

And now you know the story of the old veteran on the $10 bill.

Cheers Huck, thats been of great help & interest!!!

Also if a Navy bod leaves the service then gets recalled, would the medal be named RN or RNR? & do RNVR guys have there medals named such or would it be RN?

OM(W)1 is (or rather, was) the equivalent rank of an Ableseaman. OM (W) = Operator Maintainer (Warfare). The Navy brought in the OM branch around 1993 to combine the Weapon Engineering & Operations branches. It wasn't a success and in the past few years it has reverted back to being two separate trade branches, Warfare Specialist and Engineering Technician (Weapons Engineering).

Thanks Huck, so the various letter would mean something to a navy person, how does a none navy guy decode them all I assume they don`t use the Ableseaman, Leading Hand, Petty Officer, etc any more?

During this clip they make mention of qualifying for a submarine shooters badge & wearing it with pride. What is it & what does it look like. Have surfed the net, but can`t find it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnsPbt-LORw

Hi Guys,

Can anyone shine any light on modern namings on Royal Navy medals...........

I`ve seen an Iraq medal named OM(W)1 with the name & number of the guy, but I`m unsure how you ascertain what rank he was, can anyone assist?

Check out this link: http://www.csp.navy.mil/about_us.shtml "Submarine Force U.S. Pacific Fleet"

(Reference paragraph 14)

Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, USS Key West was within the Fifth Fleet Operating Area and was the first ship to arrive off the coast of Pakistan, firing Tomahawk cruise missiles into Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Ed

Thanks Ed. Cracking link!!!

Can anyone tell me whether any USN submarines fired missles into Afghanistan? I know the RN did, but can`t fire any evidence to confirm whether the USN did?

That is VERY interesting, what was the Oppossum up to?

& when was she deployed?

Hi, Can anyone tell me whether this badge is still awarded?

The Submarine Combat Patrol Insignia is a uniform breast pin worn by officers and men of the United States Navy's Submarine Service who have completed war patrols. Such patrols were conducted during World War II.

The pin shows the broadside of a Gato-class submarine. A scroll beneath the submarine holds service stars, one bronze star for each successful patrol after the first or a silver star for five successful patrols. Successful patrols are those so designated by fleet commanders.

The Submarine Combat Patrol Insignia is considered a "secondary insignia" and is typically worn in conjunction with a primary warfare badge, such as the Submarine Warfare Insignia. Personnel eligible to wear other secondary insignias, such as the SSBN Deterrent Patrol Insignia or the Deep Submergence Insignia, may only wear one insignia at a time according to their personal desire.

A number of the TLAM fired by TURBULENT were gifted to them by the USN, because their war stocks were so small.

I`ve been posting on another forum, along the same lines. I was very interested to learn that a crew memeber of the Turbulent, qualified for both the OSM & the Iraq medal for this 10 month deployment, but didn`t get the clasp for either medal?

I believe these boats deployed during the second Gulf War.

USS Boise (SSN-764) (Surged)

USS Key West (SSN-722)

USS Montpelier (SSN-765)

USS Louisville (SSN-724) (Extended Deployment)

USS Toledo (SSN-769) (Surged)

USS Columbia (SSN-771)

USS Augusta (SSN-710) (Deployed Early)

USS Cheyenne (SSN-773)

USS Providence (SSN-719) (Deployed Early)

USS Pittsburgh (SSN-720) (Surged)

USS Newport News (SSN-750) (Deployed Early)

USS San Juan (SSN-751) (Extended Deployment)

Is it common knowledge which US submarines, deployed during the first Gulf war & if so which?

Iranian naval forces have detected a US nuclear submarine in the Persian Gulf waters, amid growing concerns over the safety of one of the most important energy routes in the world.

An Iranian patrol spotted the nuclear-armed and -powered submarine in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which allows the passage of 90 percent of the oil produced by Persian Gulf states to Asia, the US and Western Europe.

There are currently 48 logistic and 18 combat US vessels in the Persian Gulf waters, among them the USS-Eisenhower aircraft carrier.

Experts say aside from the risk of ecologically disastrous accidents, the presence of a nuclear submarine in a narrow waterway also poses a threat of nuclear pollution.

In 2009, a US Navy Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered submarine collided with a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock in the strait. The incident caused a spillage of nearly 25-thousand gallons of diesel fuel.

In 2007, a submerged US nuclear vessel collided with a huge Japanese crude tanker in the south of the strait.

The US is yet to comment on the report.

Well I never!!!

Has anyone got any more knowledge of submarines from any nation carrying gold at any time?