http://www.GeminiForces.co.uk/ en-gb Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:29:23 GMT http://www.GeminiForces.co.uk/News/July-2010/Army-marksmen-hit-top-spot-in-contest.aspx http://www.GeminiForces.co.uk/News/July-2010/Army-marksmen-hit-top-spot-in-contest.aspx Fri, 23 Jul 2010 11:55:33 GMT A team of sharpshooters has been named among the top 100 marksmen in the Army. The eight-man team from 16th Regiment Royal Artillery, based at RAF North Luffenham, in Rutland, took part in a four-day competition this month. During the contest at the National Shooting Centre, in Bisley, Surrey, team members collected five trophies. The Roupell Cup was won by Gunner Sam Gowin, while the team took the Parachute Regiment Cup. More than 240 Army crackshots competed. Staff Sergeant Colin Sutcliffe coached and managed the team and was among the competitors from North Luffenham. He said: "The whole competition is fast and furious. "It simulates life on the battlefield. It is all about marksmanship, but you have also to be able to perform and execute those skills under simulated battle stress. "I have competed in the Army 100 for six years. "With the teams I have coached before we have never managed to come away with a trophy and this year we got five. " It was a great result." For more information please visit: http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Army-marksmen-hit-spot-contest/article-2446730-detail/article.html http://www.GeminiForces.co.uk/News/July-2010/Marching-back-to-civvy-street.aspx http://www.GeminiForces.co.uk/News/July-2010/Marching-back-to-civvy-street.aspx Sun, 18 Jul 2010 13:17:34 GMT For the estimated 45,000 personnel due to leave the armed forces later this year, returning to civilian jobs could be one of the toughest battles they will face, says Lisa Bachelor (The Guardian) Chris Green has seen plenty of action during his 25-year service with the British army. Working in telecommunications, the 41-year-old has been involved on the front line in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Northern Ireland, to name just a few. In May, life took a fresh turn for him. He returned to the UK and started a new job and a new life based at the Ministry of Defence college in Shrivenham teaching IT applications to soldiers who are about to head out to Afghanistan. "After 25 years with only one job interview [for the Army] under my belt at the age of 16, it was quite daunting to be interviewed for the position," he says. However, despite his fears Green secured the job before he had even left active service. He is pleased to have secured paid work so quickly, and in a role with which he is so familiar, but he knows he is one of the lucky ones. According to some reports, 45,000 personnel will be leaving the armed forces later this year, putting major pressure both on those trying to find a job, and on the battered UK jobs market to provide them with employment. "Forty-five thousand forces personnel leaving the services is incredibly worrying, especially at a time when the economy remains in such a fragile state and the jobs market is becoming increasingly saturated," says Gethin Roberts, director of the British Forces Resettlement Services (BFRS), which was recently set up to help army personnel move from active service to the civilian jobs market. "Figures have highlighted that 25,000 are leaving through 'natural wastage' while 20,000 will be flooding the civilian jobs market due to major military cuts," Roberts says. The task of securing a job for someone fresh out of the Army, RAF or Navy can be arduous and daunting. Many soldiers and other military personnel will, like Green, not have had a job interview since joining the forces as teenagers and may never have written a CV. Colonel Richard Kemp, former senior British army officer and bestselling author, speaking at the first BFRS jobs fair in March, said: "In my experience, most former service people tend to very much undersell themselves. It is really important that they recognise the impressive range of skills and experience they have acquired in their military service so they can market themselves to employers." Harry Dean, who runs recruitment agency Gemini Forces, which provides help, advice and a placement service to both service leavers and former service personnel, recalls the case of a sergeant from the military police who came to see him with a CV that focused on his experiences as a police officer. "I helped him instead to identify the managerial skills he had used in that role and showed him how, in many ways, he had been working as a facilities manager. In other words, his skills could easily be translated into the civilian workplace," Dean says. "He had also had to manage 120 people, but he didn't even think of putting that on his CV." But it is not just practical skills that can make ex-military servicemen and women good employees, it is their personal qualities. And these need to be emphasised. "There are qualities such as dedication, loyalty, commitment and impeccable time management that can make these men and women stand out," Dean says. Even if a CV is successfully adapted and accepted by a civilian employer, the job interview can prove equally, if not more, problematic for many returning armed forces personnel. Dean points out that people do things automatically in the military and are used to following orders, so they can often come across as lacking confidence in an interview situation when they are suddenly faced with selling their skills. Green agrees. "I used to have to stand up in front of people to do presentations as part of my job, so I am relatively confident," he says. "But even I found it strange to be doing a job interview again." Thankfully, anyone faced with the prospect of leaving the forces for civilian life is not left to their own devices when it comes to finding a job. The CTP provides career guidance, vocational training and employment support through 10 regional resettlement centres – nine in the UK and one in Germany. Everyone leaving the services is entitled to a standard £534 retraining grant, though more money (into the thousands) is available for some longer serving military personnel. Non-government affiliated agencies such as Gemini Forces have sprung up over the years to complement the CTP service, while the White Ensign Association (WEA), a charity founded in 1958, caters specifically for returning Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel. Keith Ridland, chief executive of the WEA, agrees: "Ultimately, during a time of recession, if somebody comes out of the armed forces and is going for a job against someone who is from the sector that job is in, the employer obviously sees less risk in going for that other person. That is the principal problem all these returning armed forces personnel are going to have to fight against." A study published earlier this week should help their case. The study, carried out for the MoD and endorsed by the Chartered Management Institute, concludes that reservists deployed to Afghanistan gain up to £18,432 of relevant civvy street experience. It says that officers, who make up 14% of all reservists, gained the most valuable experience during a typical nine-month campaign, with warrant officers picking up training worth £14,682 and corporals clocking up £8,307 of relevant experience. It also estimated that in a typical year a reservist gains skills and experience from military training that would cost an average of £8,327 a year for their civilian employers to buy. Meanwhile, recruitment agencies are working overtime to build up more relationships with a wider variety of employers, as the long-established relationships have already proved so fruitful. Employers actively recruiting from the military include Siemens, E.ON, British Gas, Sellafield and Amec, plus BT, BAE Systems, Associated British Ports and Rolls-Royce through the WEA. Both Ridland and Dean think that some of the most marketable ex-army and navy personnel are those with a technical background. Gemini Forces works with a company called Venatrack, which supplies the technology for video analysis in sporting events such as Premier League football matches. The company has just recruited seven ex-military personnel including 32-year-old Kris McEvoy, a former Royal Engineer with the signals section of the British army. He finished serving in November last year. "I wasn't impressed by the standard of some recruitment agencies as they would contact me about jobs, put my name forward but then never get back to me," he says. "My first job was with the army and 12 years down the line trying to find work when you have been out of the market for that long is quite a task." He went on the CTP workshop but says he didn't find it very useful, but then found that he did need some unexpected help with his CV. "I put down my key achievements, some of which I thought had a real wow factor," he says. "But Gemini took one look at it and advised me to take them out and put in other things. They put my IT skills high up on my CV and also highlighted health and safety and NVQ qualifications I had never even though of including and drew attention to army skills, such as leadership," he says. His advice to other people about to find themselves in his position is to think hard about what they have learned in the army outside of the obvious, and to draw on those skills. "One thing you learn in the army, for example, is when to keep your mouth shut and when it's OK to speak up," he says. "You develop a lot of common sense in the army and it is easy for soldiers to forget just how valuable this can be." (Adapted with courtesy & thanks from The Guardian) http://www.GeminiForces.co.uk/News/July-2010/General-Richards-to-take-over-as-Chief-of-the-Defence-Staff.aspx http://www.GeminiForces.co.uk/News/July-2010/General-Richards-to-take-over-as-Chief-of-the-Defence-Staff.aspx Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:09:02 GMT General Sir David Richards will take over from Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup as the next Chief of the Defence Staff. General Sir David Richards KCB CBE DSO ADC Gen currently serving as the Chief of the General Staff will take up the post of Chief of the Defence Staff in October 2010. The appointment has been approved by Her Majesty The Queen. Gen Richards is one of the UK's most experienced military figures in terms of operational command. He saw service in the Far East and Germany, and commanded in East Timor and Sierra Leone, as well as completing three tours of Northern Ireland. He made his name in 2002 as commander of a British-led force which was sent to evacuate Britons and other foreigners from Sierra Leone during a violent civil war. He went beyond his mandate to successfully take on the rebels in what became seen as a textbook campaign. Describing himself as "a seat-of-the-pants soldier," Gen Richards is widely respected by soldiers, journalists, aid workers and others as an excellent communicator, as well as a risk-taker. He will come to the post at a tough time for defence and for the mission in Afghanistan. The Ministry of Defence will not be protected from far-reaching cuts, which could even see the size of the British army slashed by almost 25%, bringing its fighting strength down from around 100,000 to just 75,000. All three services are expected to suffer, with the Treasury suggesting current defence expenditure must be cut by a third of its present level within three years. Dealing with those deep cuts - while ensuring that Britain's armed forces remain world-class - will be one of the first challenges the new Chief of the Defence Staff will have to face. Gen Richards already has wide support within the Army for his clear articulation of the current strategic choices facing allied forces in Afghanistan and elsewhere. http://www.GeminiForces.co.uk/News/July-2010/Thousands-of-jobs-to-be-created-by-new-EDF-plant.aspx http://www.GeminiForces.co.uk/News/July-2010/Thousands-of-jobs-to-be-created-by-new-EDF-plant.aspx Mon, 05 Jul 2010 14:07:21 GMT One of the UK’s leading energy companies has announced plans to build the country’s largest nuclear plant in the South West of England. EDF Energy will invest £500 million into the construction and operation of the site at Hinkley Point. At least local 500 firms will be handling contracts to aid with the building of the twin reactors. Up to 5,000 people will be employed during the construction process whilst 900 permanent jobs will be created during the 60-year operation of the plant. Furthermore, the London-based energy firm will help the local community prepapre for the job creation by developing a construction skills centre in Sedgemoor and an apprenticeship skills hub in West Somerset. Humphrey Cadoux-Hudson, Managing Director of Nuclear New Build, EDF Energy says: “These are difficult economic times for businesses in the South West as everywhere and I am delighted that we will be outlining the opportunities to local companies this week. There are major opportunities not just for local companies such as builders, plumbers and electricians, but also for support services such as caterers, hoteliers, car hire firms and trainers. “We are also committing to help local people make the most of the job opportunities our project will create, and to do this we will develop a construction apprenticeship learning hub in West Somerset, and a construction skills training centre in Sedgemoor.” http://www.GeminiForces.co.uk/News/June-2010/Tourism-employers-urged-to-consider-exservicemen.aspx http://www.GeminiForces.co.uk/News/June-2010/Tourism-employers-urged-to-consider-exservicemen.aspx Wed, 30 Jun 2010 08:53:17 GMT TOP tourism employers in York have been invited to a lunch in the city today to demonstrate the value of taking on ex-service personnel. The lunch is being hosted at the new five-star Cedar Court Grand Hotel and Spa by Visit York, which has 650 tourism partners in the city. Visit York is hoping its bigger partners in the city can offer jobs to the 800 people who annually leave the army and airforce, many of them in Yorkshire. The message that will be driven home by Visit York and Brigadier David Maddan, commander of HQ 15 (North East) Brigade will be that the leavers offer a range of managerial, technical and practical skills. He said: “Every year some 800 army personnel leave the service and seek employment in the North East. They offer a wide range of managerial, technical and practical skills and moreover have the time to develop a full second career.” Sue Frumin, Visit York’s business engagement manager, said: “This is the first time we have had an opportunity to work with the MoD and the local hospitality and tourism industry employs 23,000 people. “We hope today’s lunch will raise awareness within the industry that there is this pool of phenomenal skill waiting to be tapped.” For further information please visit - www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/business/news/8239376.Tourism_employers_urged_to_consider_ex_servicemen/ http://www.GeminiForces.co.uk/News/June-2010/Building-a-graduate-career-through-the-armed-forces-25-June-14pm.aspx http://www.GeminiForces.co.uk/News/June-2010/Building-a-graduate-career-through-the-armed-forces-25-June-14pm.aspx Thu, 24 Jun 2010 08:54:47 GMT Attention! The armed forces offers a range of career options which put shipshape graduates on a quick march to learning a range of skills beneficial throughout their working life. Specialist training is offered to personnel and graduates can apply for a range of different career paths with plenty of potential for progression. When staff come to the end of their service, these skills and achievements can often be transferred into different sectors. A recent poll offered encouraging news to armed forces leavers looking to take their career to 'civvy street' - 39 per cent of ex-military staff surveyed said they had found jobs within a week of leaving, according to recruitment company Gemini Forces. More than half of those who took part had found work in less than two months. So whether you are trying to decide whether the military is for you, or you are about to complete your service or have already left and need help deciding what to do next, we've lined up a panel to advise you about building a graduate career through the armed forces. The discussion is now open, so post your questions now to be sure of a reply. The panel (more names to be added): Lieutenant Paul Reeves is a Marine Engineer Officer (Submariner). Paul is currently responsible for specialist outreach for engineering roles, which involves inspiring young people and graduates to consider a role with the Royal Navy. He has been in service for 16 years, during which time he studied for a degree in mechanical engineering at Southampton University. Dominic Hamberg, south-east area manager for Gemini Forces - recruitment specialists for armed service leavers and recruiters looking to hire ex-military staff. Dominic is a Manchester Metropolitan University Graduate who served for nine years in the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Major Tom Smith is currently serving as a staff officer at the British Army's recruiting headquarters. His services career to date includes becoming an instructor at the Infantry Training Centre and at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Liz Norman is a regional manager for the Career Transition Partnership (CTP), which provides resettlement support for armed forces leavers on behalf of the Ministry of Defence. Services offered by the CTP include careers advice, vocational training and job-finding assistance. Liz has more than 25 years experience in career management in both the corporate and education sectors. Hugh Andrée - is the creator of ForceSelect, a recruitment consultancy which offers opportunities and mentoring for ex-service personnel. Hugh served as an infantry officer for 10 years after training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Nick Lyons is regional director for the Wiltshire and Gloucestershire branch of Forces Recruitment Services, which helps find work for both those who have left the services, and those who are planning to leave shortly. Nick is a retired RAF squadron leader with nearly 20 years service on his CV. David Bateson is director of Heyman Woodworth, a company which specialises in placing people with an armed forces background in executive leadership and managerial positions. David served in the armed forces before pursuing a career in the commercial sector. http://www.GeminiForces.co.uk/News/June-2010/Lorraine-Kelly-launches-Scotlands-Armed-Forces-Day.aspx http://www.GeminiForces.co.uk/News/June-2010/Lorraine-Kelly-launches-Scotlands-Armed-Forces-Day.aspx Fri, 18 Jun 2010 09:50:05 GMT Television presenter and forces sweetheart Lorraine Kelly launched Scotland's Armed Forces Day 2010 yesterday with a busy morning, taking in a variety of modes of transport on offer with the three services. Lorraine was flown in by military helicopter, carried across the water by the Royal Navy's finest, and drove an armoured vehicle to raise awareness for this year's national Armed Forces Day. Armed Forces Day takes place in the UK on 26 June 2010 with people across the country showing their support and appreciation for serving members of the Armed Forces and for veterans who have served in the past and are not forgotten. The first Scottish event kicks off at the Stirling Military Show on 19 June 2010 with the main celebrations taking place in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow on 26 June 2010. Launching the Scottish events yesterday, Loraine Kelly started off at RAF Leuchars where Air Officer Scotland handed her the Armed Forces Day flag. She then flew by rescue helicopter to Scotstoun where she was winched down into the shipyard to meet sailors on the Navy's latest Type 45 Destroyer HMS Diamond. She was joined on the ship's flight deck by the Deputy First Minister and Glasgow Lord Provost, then taken by fast rigid inflatable boat up the Clyde towards the Armadillo (with helicopter escort) to meet at the riverside Brigadier David Allfrey and a soldier from 1 Scots who helped her to raise the flag on an armoured vehicle. They then drove the vehicle along the quayside to outside the science centre tower where her journey ended. Lorraine said: "I'm proud to be supporting Armed Forces Day again. These men and women serve our country with loyalty, bravery and professionalism, at home and abroad. I've felt honoured this year to meet some of these amazing people, young and old, and think they thoroughly deserve to have a special day in their honour. "I urge local people to go along to local Armed Forces Day events across Scotland, to enjoy the activities and meet our troops and veterans - we can all learn a lot from their courage and determination." 51 (Scottish) Brigade Commander, Brigadier David Allfrey, added: "Councils and communities across Scotland have really fallen in behind the armed forces and are working tremendously hard to provide celebrations and action packed days. It means a great deal to us. I hope that members of the public who don't normally make contact with the military, take this opportunity to come along and get to know us a bit better. "Many of the military units based in Scotland are regularly deployed on operations in Afghanistan, making personal sacrifices to defend the UK from terrorism and contribute to international peace and security. They are very grateful for the incredible support that the people in Scotland show to them and their families - it gives them strength and helps them focus in the job in hand." Lord Provost Bob Winter said: "The people of Glasgow are very proud of their armed forces. These are men and women who have been deployed in conflicts around the globe demonstrating great courage, skill and self sacrifice. It is great that Lorraine is giving our armed forces her support. It's a really wonderful way to celebrate all that our brave soldiers, sailors and airmen do." Over a period of two weeks there will be events over the whole of Scotland: at Dundee, Perth, Inverness, Kingussie, Kirkcaldy, Lerwick, Greenock, East Kilbride, Ayr, Keith, Dumfries, Castle Douglas, Kelso, Paisley, Spean Bridge, Wick, Dingwall, Montrose, Alloa, Stirling, Edinbugh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Kirkwall. http://www.GeminiForces.co.uk/News/June-2010/Bloody-Sunday-Soldiers-may-face-prosecution-over-unjustifiable-killings.aspx http://www.GeminiForces.co.uk/News/June-2010/Bloody-Sunday-Soldiers-may-face-prosecution-over-unjustifiable-killings.aspx Tue, 15 Jun 2010 19:32:31 GMT David Cameron apoloises for killings by British paras as Saville report opens possibility for prosecution of soldiers Prosecutors in Northern Ireland are considering whether to bring charges against British soldiers involved in the Bloody Sunday killings after a damning report by a senior judge concluded the shooting dead of 14 people in Derry 38 years ago was "unjustified and unjustifiable". David Cameron issued the first formal apology on behalf of the British state as he announced the publication of Lord Saville's long-awaited report into the day that became the catalyst for 30 years of violent conflict in Northern Ireland. Drawing on the conclusions of the 5,000-page, 10-volume report, Cameron said the government was "deeply sorry" for the conduct of the soldiers who opened fire while trying to police a banned civil rights march on 30 January 1972. On the day, 13 marchers died and another 15 were wounded, one of whom died later in hospital. The prime minister said the Saville inquiry showed soldiers lied about their involvement in the killings, and that all of those who died were innocent. He said the inquiry was absolutely clear and there were no ambiguities about the conclusions. "What happened on Bloody Sunday was both unjustified and unjustifiable. It was wrong," Cameron told the Commons. The prosecution service in Northern Ireland said tonight it was considering the implications. "The director of public prosecutions, together with the chief constable, will consider the report to determine the nature and extent of any police inquiries and investigations which may be required to enable informed decisions as to prosecution to be taken," it said in a statement. Cameron began his Commons statement by saying he was deeply patriotic and did not want to believe anything bad about his country. But he said the conclusions of the 12-year inquiry were absolutely clear. The Saville inquiry found that the order sending British soldiers into the Bogside should not have been given, he said. It concluded that none of those killed by British soldiers was armed with firearms and no warning was given by the soldiers. Cameron said the casualties were caused by the soldiers "losing their self control". Relatives cheered as they watched Cameron's statement, relayed to screens outside the Guildhall in Derry. Denis Bradley, a former priest who was on the Bloody Sunday march and played a key part in secret talks that brought about the IRA ceasefire of 1994, said he was amazed at how damning the findings were against the soldiers. "This city has been vindicated, this city has been telling the truth all along." In his report, Saville uses the word "unjustifiable" repeatedly to describe the fatal shootings carried out by the parachute regiment – a judgment that opens up the possibility of legal action against the soldiers involved. But the report does not hold the British government at the time directly responsible, saying there was "no evidence" that it encouraged the use of lethal force against the demonstrators. Most of the damning criticism of the military was directed at the soldiers on the ground who fired on the civilians. Saville said that Lance Corporal F – who was identified as shooting between four to six of the victims – had falsely claimed that he had shot a nail bomber. "Lance Corporal F did not fire in panic or fear ... we are sure that he instead fired either in the belief that no one at the rubble barricade was posing a threat of causing death and serious injury," the report said. Saville finds that one senior officer, Lieutenant Colonel Derek Wilford, ignored orders from his brigadier that he should order troops beyond a barrier deeper into the Bogside. The report says that on Bloody Sunday there had been "a serious and widespread loss of fire discipline among the soldiers". Saville also concludes that many of the soldiers lied to his inquiry: "Many of these soldiers have knowingly put forward false accounts in order to seek to justify their firing." Under the rules of the inquiry the soldiers were granted immunity from prosecutions resulting from their evidence, but they could be prosecuted for perjury. The report also focuses on the actions of two republican gunmen and said that the Official IRA men had gone to a pre-arranged sniping position. But Saville found that their actions did not provoke in any way the shootings by the parachute regiment. On the actions of Martin McGuiness, now the deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, Saville said that he "was probably armed with a Thompson sub-machine gun" but there was no evidence he fired the weapon and this provided no justification for the soldiers opening fire. Amnesty International raised the possibility that Saville's conclusion that the shootings were unjustified could lead to legal action against the soldiers. Kate Allen, Amnesty's UK director, said: "We shall be examining the detailed findings of the report. But the right to redress of the victims and their families is only partly met by establishing the facts about what happened that day; full accountability for any unlawful actions by state agents will also need to be ensured." Cameron sidestepped the question of prosecutions when pressed by the acting Labour leader, Harriet Harman. He said the decision should be "entirely independent" and up to the director of public prosecutions. Harman said a comprehensive process of reconciliation had to be able to address the "legacy issue of the Troubles". She asked Cameron whether he had been asked to consider the questions of immunity from prosecution "if we are instead to take things forward by a wider process of reconciliation?". Sir Reg Empey, the Ulster Unionist leader, called for an end to Bloody Sunday-style inquiries: "Northern Ireland cannot endure an endless list of Saville-type inquiries. We cannot continually be dragged back to our darkest years. The question now facing Northern Ireland is whether we continue to pursue costly individual cases or are we, as a society, to concentrate on building a shared future, freed from the mistakes of the past?" Lord Maginnis of Drumglas, an Ulster Unionist peer, said the report was "one-eyed" in its emphasis on just 14 of the 180 violent deaths in the province in the preceding year. But Mark Durkan, the Derry MP and former SDLP leader, said the findings had finally cleared the names of the dead and wounded. "This is a day of huge moment and deep emotion in Derry. The people of my city didn't just live through Bloody Sunday, they lived with it since. "This is a day to receive and reflect on the clear verdicts of Saville and not pass party verdicts on Saville." Referenced with full acknowledgement ‘The Guardian.’ Please visit http://gu.com/p/2hyte for the full story and more compelling news stories. http://www.GeminiForces.co.uk/News/June-2010/Marines-use-new-Sharpshooter-rifle-in-Afghanistan.aspx http://www.GeminiForces.co.uk/News/June-2010/Marines-use-new-Sharpshooter-rifle-in-Afghanistan.aspx Tue, 08 Jun 2010 09:18:33 GMT Royal Marines in Afghanistan have begun using a new long-range rifle in their fight against the Taliban. Members of 40 Commando have deployed the Sharpshooter on the front line in Helmand province for about a fortnight now, the Ministry of Defence said. The semi-automatic weapon - the first new infantry combat rifle in more than 20 years - is more accurate over long distances with higher calibre rounds. More than 400 were bought in January as a £1.5m urgent operational requirement. The Sharpshooter will be used alongside the Army's standard issue SA80 A2 assault rifle, and each weapon shared amongst three or four soldiers. Sgt E. of 40 Commando said: "I have fired over 1,000 rounds on the rifle in training; accurately hitting targets over 800m (2,625ft) away. "The new Sharpshooter rifle provides quick and accurate fire, with the flexibility of using it in the assault rifle role as well. It's hoofing." Members of 40 Commando have begun using the Sharpshooter rifle in battles with the Taliban in dangerous Sangin in Helmand province. The new semi-automatic weapon fires a 7.62mm round, larger than the SA80's 5.56mm bullet. Col Peter Warden, from Defence, Equipment and Support, said: "It is a versatile weapon which will give our units a new dimension to their armoury." http://www.GeminiForces.co.uk/News/June-2010/About-Armed-Forces-Day.aspx http://www.GeminiForces.co.uk/News/June-2010/About-Armed-Forces-Day.aspx Fri, 04 Jun 2010 08:28:46 GMT Armed Forces Day is Saturday 26 June 2010. The day is an annual opportunity for the nation to Show Your Support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community: from currently serving troops to Service families, and from veterans to cadets. Across the country people are getting involved: communities are holding local events and businesses are showing their support. In 2010 the National Event is to be held in Cardiff, so you can learn more about the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. You can also meet members of local units. Cardiff is just one event being held in support of Armed Forces Day. If you want to know more about how to get involved and what’s going on in your area, Visit http://www.armedforcesday.org.uk/Events.aspx to find out how you can celebrate Armed Forces Day in support of our nation. About the Armed Forces Your support for the Armed Forces provides a much valued morale boost for the troops and their families. Why not take a moment to find out what they are doing and why? The UK Armed Forces defend the UK and its interests. They are busy working around the world, promoting peace, delivering aid, tackling drug smugglers and providing security and fighting terrorism. The current main UK military effort is in Afghanistan (http://afghanistan.hmg.gov.uk/en). We are operating there successfully, with lots of other countries, to provide a more stable and secure Afghanistan to help ensure a safer Britain and world. Visit http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/InDepth/ to find out more about operations the UK Armed Forces are involved in around the world, or visit the official sites of the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force