British Army personnel have deployed to assist civil authorities with the provision of flood relief to local communities in West Yorkshire, say the MoD.
According to a press release, with Storm Dennis expected to bring heavy rainfall, 75 personnel from 4th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland, will be aiding the Environment Agency in constructing barriers and repairing flood defences in Ilkley and Calderdale.
“An additional 70 Reservists from 4th Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment, have also been tasked with providing support where required. Military assistance is expected to last throughout the day.”
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:
“Our Armed Forces are always ready to support local authorities and communities whenever they need it. The rapid response of the Army today will help with provision of flood relief to local communities in West Yorkshire. The Government won’t hesitate to use all means at its disposal to mitigate the effects of Storm Dennis.”
Colonel Nigel Rhodes, Deputy Commander of 4th Infantry Brigade and HQ North East said:
“4th Infantry Brigade and troops from the 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland and 4th Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment have deployed overnight to West Yorkshire in support of the Environment Agency, local authorities and emergency services to bolster flood defences and mitigate the effects of Storm Dennis in Ilkley and the Calder Valley.
Troops will remain on task as long as required. 4th Infantry Brigade is based in Catterick and serves the communities of Yorkshire and the North East and are happy to be doing our bit and contributing to the swift response from the civil agencies.”
Good! There are many ways to defend a Country.
145 troops have been mobilized to support. That’s the best the UK can do?
The UK can do more. I suspect that for the job in hand 145 are sufficient.
Yaaaaaawn, any and every childlike opportunity to whine.
What exactly do you want: 10,000 troops swooping down? A few battalions of tanks and armoured vehicles with air cover from Apaches and Typhoons? Get a couple of Astutes to provide long-range support with Tomahawk missiles?
They’re helping with flood defences, not rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina. 145 is plenty.
🙂
145 Brits is sufficient
Better than 10’000 yanks scratching their heads wondering why the floods are not receding after firing endless rounds of ammunition into the water
If it weren’t for those head scratching Yanks you’d be counting those rounds in German and wondering why you don’t have any ammunition for your rifles.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/02/18/storm-dennis-flooding-uk-weather-news-latest/
Oh, yes, 145 is sufficient.
Ahh the old we would be speaking German myth
Dunkirk, Battle of Britain, D Day, American entry in the war
Can you provide any bit of evidence that any of those things not happening or being unsuccessful would result in German Occupation, but not just German Occupation, the kind of occupation that changes an entire language
Please?
But let me explain something to you because I know over the years I have absolutely owned you on here when you have been shown up to be clueless
And I know this will be fun because you get an email telling you everything I say
If it were not for Britain, it’s highly likely you would not even exist as a person, and if you did you would not be speaking English, we made you, you are a descendent of British colonisation and it doesn’t matter where your background is from because it all connects
What is a stone cold fact is the only reason you are commenting on here is because of the British Empire, your red white and blue and entire history stems from being a British colonial project
Have a nice day and remember to think of your ancestral Queen when you speak English
It is, after all, the British language, that you use, every day, and what your wife and kids speak, the Queens English, even if you call it “American English” that is a dialect, the language is English, and it’s ours, and you use it, because you are a colonial project
Have a nice day pkcasimir and remember….
God save the Queen
Talk about someone living in a fantasy land where Britannia rules the waves! Had the US not entered the war the UK would have had to come to terms with Germany because the UK was totally incapable of reentering the continent and defeating Germany. The UK couldn’t have fought the Germans without American financing and arms and neither could the Soviet Union. Those are the facts. Deal with them. They own you.
There are twice as many Americans of German origin than English. Apparently you are ignorant of that. So take your nonsensical rhetoric about how Americans owe the English and throw it on the garbage heap of history with your othr myths.
The present 50 states are a long way away from the original 13 colonies and owe very little to the British. The revolution was founded on the concept that all men are created equal and that have G0d given rights. Their rights don’t come handed down from some head of an obscure German family that struts around the world pretending to be superior to everybody and demanding that people bow down to them. Well, I’ll stand up straight and not bow down to anybody.
I can’t wait for the day when you have to substitute “God Save the King” and bow down to that narcissistic nincompoop and deadbeat doofus and his condescending, supercilious lecturing.
Are you saying, that the USA would still Not have entered WW2 if Japan had still attacked USA, or Not? Highly likely Japan would attack!
Also, Germany was facing catastrophic defeat On the Eastern Front.
pkcasimir. Personally I think that it was a joint effort. Certainly the US allowed the Allies to re-take Europe. However if it had not been for British efforts in Western Europe, Africa and Asia during 1940-1941 it is likely that the Axis powers would have swept the Soviet Union, Middle East, Africa, China & Australia. Even possibly South America. With those resources the Axis powers would have been difficult to stop. In time the US would have been under threat and surrounded. Hitler wanted to cleanse the world of those he detested wherever they were. NATO is a monument to a simple truth learnt during WW2. United we stand – divided we fall!
I absolutely understand that the Armed Forces can’t turn back the weather and that the primary role of the Army is combat in our defence. I just think the MOD are missing a trick here; we need ‘our army’ to reconnect with the people, for recruitment and national awareness reasons, love to have seen far more troops out, building defences, delivering food & doing all the aid to the civil power stuff. I know it is cynical but this is a situation where the British Army can really reconnect with the British people – Get the county Army Reserve out to help their own people.
Here here! Well said Rob. Repairing that dam a few months back is another prime example.
M@
You know if this was Virginia, for example, the National Guard would have been called up and the aid effort would be largely delivered through the military. Stupid Britain, we have troops doing training cycles while the people who pay for them are in need. I bet (know actually) that they would feel better delivering cups of tea or moving furniture for those who need help. Needs some proper leadership to make fairly obvious decisions.
Totally agree.
Bravo.
I suspect it’s mainly down to cost. Mobilising the army is expensive in itself and then the materials used to build defences costs on top of that. Then there is the cost of taking it all away after since it would be a temp fix. This country needs to invest a little more in perm flood defences, the sort of thing is happening every year pretty much.
Hi Steve,
I’d say you have hit the nail squarely on the head. UK infrastructure spending – only 1% on flood defences. No wonder the Environment Agency are failing to deliver. Climate Change needs to be taken seriously at Government level so that the departments get to right priorities with budgets to match.
As for deploying the Army it certainly is an opportunity to connect with the country again, but I’d agree it is not cost effectove to do it routinely. I think that we’ll need to develop a civil defence force, perhaps by setting up local civil defence HQ centers with authority to direct local emergency services and volunteer units e.g. RNLI, mountain rescue, St Johns etc. It could be developed into an independent volunteer civil force rather like the old observer corps, but with sand bags and perhaps access to heavy equipment that could be called up form local construction firms in an emergency. I’d start small and grow it as circumstances evolved over the next few decades – oh I forgot, that would require strategic thinking…
During WW1 Scouts volunteered as coastal observers watching for the Imperial German Navy! I kid you not! If they did the night shift they got the next day off school. I’m not suggesting we go that far, just that when it comes down it we can be pretty good at rallying around! Usually at the last moment, of course.
But Steve it isn’t down to cost really because moving furniture upstairs and making tea doesn’t cost a penny for a regular army. I’m not saying the Army can turn around the weather and not apportioning any political blame. I just find is crazy that an army, struggling for recruits and a connection with the people, isn’t allowed to deploy (yes, as long as they do more good than get in the way) to help the very people who pay for them.
Get the guys & girls out to help our own people, god knows if this happened somewhere else, the British Army would be jumping in. Don’t need attack helicopters or artillery but people do need a few squaddies to get them sorted and feel part of the national community.
Example: Monmouth is flooded yet the Royal Monmouthshire Engineers haven’t been asked to do anything. If the Royal Monmouthshire Engineers can’t deploy to save their own parent’s homes, when can they deploy?
A glimpse at the future? More and more of defence assets will need to be committed to climate change as global storms intensify. I can see CC influencing the design of certain types of naval vessels that cater to mass evacuations and relief. The QE Class carriers will be superb at bringing relief assets to stricken countries, and at the same time, retaining elements of its defensive capabilities. Serious design changes may be required to future warships and auxiliaries, to enable meaningful dual-purpose operations?
The US Army has identified climate change and resource competition as one of 12 major trends affecting future warfare. Here’s a video outlining these ideas.
https://youtu.be/0VsikOe_-wg
And foreign aid delivery just like the type 26s huge bay was designed for!!!
Cam, the flexibility of the 26’s is the right direction, but will that be enough? Duel purpose operations will be the way forward, and future warship design will need to cater for a rapidly changing world.
I think, the Uk would Not be able to do much on climate change, we only contribute a small amount of CO2, compared to China.
So the focus in our part of the World should be on Weather Control, maybe possible to change the Jet Stream direction etc.?