General Sir Peter Wall, the Chief of the General Staff, said a 'resurgent' Taliban and al-Qaeda could see combat troops being redeployed in Afghanistan - photo EMA
The head of the Army is retiring with a warning to the Government. He talks exclusively to Con Coughlin
In an Army career spanning 41 years, General Sir Peter Wall has seen his fair share of modern conflict. When he passed out from Sandhurst as a young officer in the Royal Engineers, the threats facing Britain ranged from the Cold War stand-off with Moscow to the bitter struggle with the IRA. Now, as he retires from a career that has seen him rise to the Army’s highest position as Chief of the General Staff, Sir Peter cannot help but reflect on the similar types of threats Britain faces today.
A soldier has been honoured with the British Army's first promotion in the field since 1953.
Rifleman Gigar Das, from 1st Battalion The Rifles (1 RIFLES), was honoured a promotion in the field for his service to Mali while serving as part of the EU Training Team.
The Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Peter Wall, accompanied the head of the French Army, General Bertrand Ract-Madoux, to witness soldiers from 1 RIFLES delivering infantry training to their Malian counterparts.
Both generals were hugely impressed with Rifleman Das as they observed him conducting a lesson in marksmanship principles. Astounded to see that the soldier was a rifleman, the Chief of the General Staff decided to promote him there and then, after briefly consulting with Rifleman Das’s company commander.
General Sir Peter Wall (right) watches as Rifleman Gigar Das receives his lance corporal's stripe from General Bertrand Ract-Madoux [Picture: Crown copyright]
In front of the entire EU training team, Rifleman Das, who has served in the Army for 8 years and deployed on 3 tours of Afghanistan and 1 of Iraq, was presented with his lance corporal’s stripe by the head of the French Army.
On receiving his promotion, Lance Corporal Das said:
I wasn’t expecting anything like this to happen today when I got out of bed this morning. It is extremely unexpected and I couldn’t be more proud of this honour.
The newly-promoted lance corporal’s company commander, Major Sam Cates, said:
I am extremely proud of Lance Corporal Das, this is absolutely no more than he deserves. He has been one of the most outstanding riflemen I have ever had the privilege to command.
He sacrificed the opportunity to attend the last 1 RIFLES [junior non-commissioned officer] cadre to take his place on this operational deployment, and to be recognised in this unique way is some reward for his dedication.
Major Sam Cates congratulates the newly-promoted Lance Corporal Gigar Das [Picture: Crown copyright]
Lance Corporal Das’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Karl Hickman, added:
I was delighted to learn of Lance Corporal Das’s promotion in the field, which he thoroughly deserved for his sterling service in Mali and for his significant operational experience in Iraq, including his notable contribution to the campaign in Afghanistan.
That the Chief of the General Staff should recognise Lance Corporal Das’s exceptional quality in the field shows that, as a thinking rifleman, he follows in the finest traditions of the Rifles, a regiment whose motto is ‘Swift and Bold’.
Lance Corporal Das is normally based at Beachley Barracks in Chepstow.
22.06.2020 source DCSSA À l'occasion de la fête nationale, qui aura lieu le mardi 14 juillet 2020, une collecte de sang exceptionnelle en soutien aux armées sera organisée, à Paris, Hôtel national des Invalides Paris 7e, de 10h à 17h30. Rendez-vous annuel,...
source: FED Manifestation biennale créée en 1989 à l’initiative conjointe de la CCI Val-d’Oise/ Yvelines et de la DCMAT (Direction Centrale du Matériel de l’Armée de Terre) devenue en 2010 la SIMMT (Structure Intégrée du Maintien en condition opérationnelle...
18.06.2019 Ministère des Armées A l’occasion de la 53ème édition du Salon International de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace, nous vous proposons de découvrir la maquette grandeur réelle du futur hélicoptère interarmées léger, exposée sur le stand du ministère...
photo Thales
17 juin 2019 CP Thales Thales lance IVEN, la première plateforme digitale assurant la mise en relation entre industriels de l’aéronautique et de la défense et fournisseurs de pièces détachées. Avec IVEN, l’acheteur bénéficie d’un tiers de...
Spy’Ranger 550 photoThales
18 juin 2019 CP Thales Thales présente le Spy’Ranger 550, son nouveau système de mini drones tactiques de surveillance et de renseignement. Il complète la gamme de systèmes de mini drones proposée par Thales. Déployable en vingt...
photo Armée de l'Air
16.06.2019 Ministère des Armées Ce mois-ci, les équipes du Journal de la Défense vous font découvrir les coulisses de l'arrivée du dernier-né de l'armée de l'Air : le Phénix. Conçu sur la base d'un A330, l'appareil européen permet...
photo Naval Group
Paris, le 23 mai 2019 CP Naval group & ONERA Dans une continuité de l’accord signé en mai 2016, Naval Group et l’ONERA ont décidé de renforcer leur coopération dans le domaine du développement de l’autonomie décisionnelle contrôlée des...
23 Mai 2019 CP Thales Lors de la première phase du programme ARTEMIS, Thales et Sopra Steria ont réalisé en 2018 avec succès la conception et la réalisation d’une preuve de concept pour une plateforme Big Data. Pour la deuxième phase du programme, la...
photo DCSSA
source DCSSA Les vacances de pâques et les jours fériés du mois de mai ont entraîné une forte tension des stocks en produits sanguins. Les réserves en produits sanguins notamment de groupe O, sont passées sous le « seuil d’alerte ». Si ce...
photo Naval Group
23.04.19 2019 CP Naval Group Le 18 avril 2019, Naval Group a mis à flot la frégate multimissions FREMM Alsace. Première des deux frégates de défense aérienne du programme FREMM (FREMM DA) destinée à la Marine nationale et dotée des mêmes...