7 New Messages
Digest #4449
Messages
Wed Aug 1, 2012 5:34 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/serb-soldiers-killed-cluster-bomb-explosion-16902818#.UBkhv7R8A50
Associated Press
August 1, 2012
2 Serb Soldiers Killed in Cluster Bomb Explosion
BELGRADE, Serbia: Officials say two Serbian soldiers have been killed in the explosion of an old NATO cluster bomb on Serbia's border with Kosovo.
The defense ministry says the officers died Wednesday while clearing a mine field near their barracks on Mount Kopaonik in southern Serbia that was left over from the 1999 war in Kosovo.
Hundreds of mine fields, including unexploded cluster bombs, were left in Serbia following NATO's 78-day bombing campaign that ended the war and stopped the crackdown by Serb forces on Kosovo Albanian separatists.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008.
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Associated Press
August 1, 2012
2 Serb Soldiers Killed in Cluster Bomb Explosion
BELGRADE, Serbia: Officials say two Serbian soldiers have been killed in the explosion of an old NATO cluster bomb on Serbia's border with Kosovo.
The defense ministry says the officers died Wednesday while clearing a mine field near their barracks on Mount Kopaonik in southern Serbia that was left over from the 1999 war in Kosovo.
Hundreds of mine fields, including unexploded cluster bombs, were left in Serbia following NATO's 78-day bombing campaign that ended the war and stopped the crackdown by Serb forces on Kosovo Albanian separatists.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008.
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Wed Aug 1, 2012 5:47 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://en.rian.ru/world/20120801/174898264.html
Russian Information Agency Novosti
August 1, 2012
Turkey Supplies Syrian Rebels With Air Defense Missiles - TV
MOSCOW: Turkey has supplied the Free Syrian Army rebels fighting Presiden Bashar al-Assad's regime with nearly two dozen man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS), NBC News reported on Tuesday night referring to rebel sources.
There was no immediate confirmation of the information from the Turkish media.
According to NBC, the missile supplies were possibly initiated by Turkey, Saudi Arabia or Qatar which have repeatedly called for lending military support to the Syrian opposition.
The report did not provide details on the exact type of shoulder-fired missiles, though Turkey produces under license the Stinger missile which was used against Soviet helicopters in Afghanistan during the war there in the 1980's according to Globalsecurity.org. Turkey also used its predecessor, the older Redeye system, Globalsecurity says.
Such a weapon would be a significant threat to the helicopter gunships the Syrian government forces have deployed against rebel strongholds such as Aleppo, where intense fighting has raged for nearly two weeks.
Aleppo, a city of 2.5 million people, has remained the hotspot of Syria’s civil conflict since last week, when pro-government forces launched a massive assault on the city in a colossal push to regain control of key territories across the country. The Al-Watan newspaper proclaimed the fight for Aleppo "the mother of all battles."
Aleppo's southeastern district of Salaheddin remains the main bastion of opposition forces, mostly members of the Free Syrian Army.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told the Turkish Cumhuriyet daily in an interview in early July that Turkey “has supplied all logistic support to the terrorists who have killed our people.”
The Syrian conflict has already claimed up to 19,000 lives since it broke out in March 2011, according to UN data based on activist accounts. About 200,000 Syrians have fled to neighboring countries, including Turkey, which has registered 88,000 Syrian refugees so far.
----------------------------------------------------------
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_08_01/Free-Syrian-Army-gets-mobile-anti-missile-systems/
Voice of Russia
August 1, 2012
Free Syrian Army gets mobile air defense systems
The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) has got about ten mobile anti-aircraft systems, the NBC news network reported on Wednesday.
According to the NBC, the supplies were possibly initiated by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar which have repeatedly stressed the necessity of lending military support to Syrian opposition.
Western countries and the United States have, for their part, more than once warned against taking such a step.
The NBC said that the FSA militants may use the anti-missile systems against the government troops in Aleppo, Syria’s commercial capital and largest city.
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Russian Information Agency Novosti
August 1, 2012
Turkey Supplies Syrian Rebels With Air Defense Missiles - TV
MOSCOW: Turkey has supplied the Free Syrian Army rebels fighting Presiden Bashar al-Assad's regime with nearly two dozen man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS), NBC News reported on Tuesday night referring to rebel sources.
There was no immediate confirmation of the information from the Turkish media.
According to NBC, the missile supplies were possibly initiated by Turkey, Saudi Arabia or Qatar which have repeatedly called for lending military support to the Syrian opposition.
The report did not provide details on the exact type of shoulder-fired missiles, though Turkey produces under license the Stinger missile which was used against Soviet helicopters in Afghanistan during the war there in the 1980's according to Globalsecurity.
Such a weapon would be a significant threat to the helicopter gunships the Syrian government forces have deployed against rebel strongholds such as Aleppo, where intense fighting has raged for nearly two weeks.
Aleppo, a city of 2.5 million people, has remained the hotspot of Syria’s civil conflict since last week, when pro-government forces launched a massive assault on the city in a colossal push to regain control of key territories across the country. The Al-Watan newspaper proclaimed the fight for Aleppo "the mother of all battles."
Aleppo's southeastern district of Salaheddin remains the main bastion of opposition forces, mostly members of the Free Syrian Army.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told the Turkish Cumhuriyet daily in an interview in early July that Turkey “has supplied all logistic support to the terrorists who have killed our people.”
The Syrian conflict has already claimed up to 19,000 lives since it broke out in March 2011, according to UN data based on activist accounts. About 200,000 Syrians have fled to neighboring countries, including Turkey, which has registered 88,000 Syrian refugees so far.
------------
http://english.
Voice of Russia
August 1, 2012
Free Syrian Army gets mobile air defense systems
The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) has got about ten mobile anti-aircraft systems, the NBC news network reported on Wednesday.
According to the NBC, the supplies were possibly initiated by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar which have repeatedly stressed the necessity of lending military support to Syrian opposition.
Western countries and the United States have, for their part, more than once warned against taking such a step.
The NBC said that the FSA militants may use the anti-missile systems against the government troops in Aleppo, Syria’s commercial capital and largest city.
============
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Wed Aug 1, 2012 6:04 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2012/08/02/natos-secret-kurdish-war-turkey-prepares-iraq-style-attacks-inside-syria/
Stop NATO
August 1, 2012
NATO's Secret Kurdish War: Turkey Prepares Iraq-Style Attacks Inside Syria
Rick Rozoff
Recent reports detail a Turkish military buildup on the Turkish-Syrian border with various accounts mentioning the deployment of troops, tanks, armored personnel carriers and missile batteries two kilometers from Syrian territory, with 25 tanks from the Mardin 70th Mechanized Brigade engaged in exercises along the border.
The Turkish rationale for the military escalation is that forces of the Democratic Union Party, an ethnic Kurdish group that Ankara accuses of being affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party, have assumed control of the Syrian cities of Efrin (Afrin), Kobane and Amude (Amuda) near southeastern Turkey.
The secular, left-wing Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has been struggling for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey since 1978 and is labelled a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union.
The Turkish government has been waging a counterinsurgency war against the PKK for 28 years in Turkey, and over the past decade in northern Iraq, with the active support of the Pentagon and NATO. In fact, the campaign against Kurdish opposition groups is another, unacknowledged, American and NATO war, one to be added to a growing list that includes Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, Libya and now Syria.
In recent years, for example, NATO and the Pentagon's European Command and Central Command have become increasingly involved in supporting Turkish military attacks against the PKK and other Kurdish groups in Turkey and Iraq. (Turkey is in European Command's area of responsibility; Iraq is in Central Command's.)
In September of 2005 the joint top commander of U.S. European Command and NATO at the time, Marine General James Jones (later the Barack Obama administration's first national security advisor), met with
members of the Turkish general staff and signed a memorandum of
understanding for a NATO counterterrorism center in Turkey.
His comments at the time included these:
“We discussed specific Turkish concerns, obviously, with regard to the PKK.
“Turkey is ideally suited to host the Center of Excellence-Defense Against Terrorism. Turkey has the second largest armed forces in NATO, is strategically located, and has over 30 years [of] experience combating terrorism.”
The NATO Centre of Excellence Defence Against Terrorism had been inaugurated in Turkey on June 28, 2005.
In July of 2006 the Turkish head of state, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, called on NATO to openly join the anti-PKK counterinsurgency war, stating:
“NATO, which joined in the war against terrorism in Afghanistan, should also do the same here.
“It would be good to make tripartite efforts (Turkey, NATO and the US) and to get some results.”
The following month his request was partially realized when the U.S. appointed former top NATO and European Command commander Joseph Ralston as Special Envoy for Countering the Kurdistan Workers Party, which position he still holds.
Operational and logistical support rendered the Turkish armed forces in their decades-long war against the PKK and affiliated groups has not been limited to Turkey itself.
Ankara has been conducting regular large-scale incursions and deadly air strikes in Iraq as well. As the latter nation was occupied by the military forces of the U.S., Britain and the Multi-National Force – Iraq (which consisted overwhelmingly of NATO members, candidates and partners) from 2003 until the end of last year, Turkish attacks inside the country could only have been launched with the knowledge - and the authorization and cooperation - of the U.S. and NATO.
Turkey's military campaign in northern Iraq, a gross violation of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country, is an accurate model - and predictor - of what it could perpetrate in neighboring Syria.
To gain an appreciation of the scope of what such an operation could entail, in April of 2006 Turkey deployed 40,000 troops near the Iraqi border, joining as many as 250,000 soldiers already deployed in southeast Turkey.
Ankara has since then conducted ongoing air, artillery and ground attacks inside Iraq.
After a year-long hiatus, Turkey resumed air strikes inside the Arab nation last September following a PKK attack that killed nine Turkish soldiers the month before. By the 21st of the month the Turkish general staff announced that government F-16 fighter jets had destroyed 152 targets in the Qandil Mountains inside Iraq.
State Department spokeswoman (and former ambassador to NATO) Victoria Nuland said of the offensive:
"Hope springs eternal. You know where we are on the PKK. We believe that Turkey has a right to defend itself, that the PKK is a terrorist organization, and we continue to urge and try to facilitate good dialogue between Turkey and Iraq."
That is, the Iraqi government must accept armed attacks within its territory by America's NATO ally.
Last October 15,000 elite Turkish forces gathered on the border with Iraq to launch ground operations against Kurdish targets. On the 24th Turkish tanks and armored vehicles, backed by air strikes, crossed into northern Iraq.
The following month the Obama administration promised Prime Minister Erdogan to redeploy U.S. Predator drones from Iraq to Turkey for the anti-Kurdish campaign. At the time Radio Free Europe reported that "The drones are seen by Ankara as a decisive weapon in its battle against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the Kurdish rebel group."
In fact, a Turkish newspaper revealed that the U.S. had deployed four Predator drones at the Incirlik Air Base in late October, the same base where the Pentagon has an estimated 90 B61 nuclear bombs.
Turkey has also requested that the U.S. sell it more advanced Reaper drones, to replace Israeli Herons, for use against the PKK.
Radio Free Europe also stated that "Obama is rewarding Turkey for its support in the region, in particular its decision to participate in NATO's antimissile system, which Washington says is aimed at countering threats from rogue states including Iran."
At the same time the Pentagon confirmed that it had notified Congress of the proposed sale of three AH-1 SuperCobra attack helicopters to Turkey, with a Defense Department press release stating they "will improve Turkey's capability for self-defense, modernization, regional security, and interoperability with U.S. and other NATO members."
Last December U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden met with Turkish President Abdullah Gul in Ankara and Gul, speaking for both countries, affirmed, "Our fight against [the] PKK will continue in a strong way."
Two weeks later Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta was in Turkey to solicit its assistance in policing Iraq after the departure of American ground troops, and in reference to Russian and Iranian objections to Turkey's hosting of a NATO interceptor missile radar system, he said, "whether they like it or not, other countries are going to have to accept that." He also pledged continued, indeed intensified, U.S. involvement in the war against the PKK, saying:
"We provide some technology and assistance in the fight against the PKK. We try to improve in that capacity and continue to explore other steps."
The Predators operating out of the Incirlik Air Base are maintained by an American ground control unit and operated from the Creech Air Force Base in Nevada.
At the end of the December a Turkish air strike killed 35 civilians, the oldest of whom was 20, in a Kurdish village near the border with Iraq, the largest amount of Kurdish civilians killed by Turkish forces in one day in Ankara's 28-year counterinsurgency campaign. The victims had been identified - hence targeted - by a drone.
The Turkish military has continued drone-aided air strikes in Iraq this year.
It is patently obvious that Turkey is on the verge of repeating its Iraq policy in Syria. Unlike Iraq, though, air strikes and incursions by troops and armored vehicles in Syria will meet with a different response than they have in Iraq. That is, they will meet with a response.
As did the Turkish F-4 fighter jet that flew over Syrian territory and was shot down in June, leading to Turkey seeking NATO assistance under Article 4 provisions.
The first Turkish warplane that drops a bomb or fires a missile on Syrian territory will provoke a reaction far more severe than the violation of Syrian airspace in June.
With the "humanitarian intervention" and "weapons of mass destruction" ploys not having succeeded in provoking a war between Turkey - and through Turkey NATO - and Syria, exploiting the Kurdish "terrorist" subterfuge may be the next, perhaps at last successful, attempt to do so.
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Stop NATO
August 1, 2012
NATO's Secret Kurdish War: Turkey Prepares Iraq-Style Attacks Inside Syria
Rick Rozoff
Recent reports detail a Turkish military buildup on the Turkish-Syrian border with various accounts mentioning the deployment of troops, tanks, armored personnel carriers and missile batteries two kilometers from Syrian territory, with 25 tanks from the Mardin 70th Mechanized Brigade engaged in exercises along the border.
The Turkish rationale for the military escalation is that forces of the Democratic Union Party, an ethnic Kurdish group that Ankara accuses of being affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party, have assumed control of the Syrian cities of Efrin (Afrin), Kobane and Amude (Amuda) near southeastern Turkey.
The secular, left-wing Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has been struggling for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey since 1978 and is labelled a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union.
The Turkish government has been waging a counterinsurgency war against the PKK for 28 years in Turkey, and over the past decade in northern Iraq, with the active support of the Pentagon and NATO. In fact, the campaign against Kurdish opposition groups is another, unacknowledged, American and NATO war, one to be added to a growing list that includes Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, Libya and now Syria.
In recent years, for example, NATO and the Pentagon's European Command and Central Command have become increasingly involved in supporting Turkish military attacks against the PKK and other Kurdish groups in Turkey and Iraq. (Turkey is in European Command's area of responsibility; Iraq is in Central Command's.)
In September of 2005 the joint top commander of U.S. European Command and NATO at the time, Marine General James Jones (later the Barack Obama administration'
His comments at the time included these:
“We discussed specific Turkish concerns, obviously, with regard to the PKK.
“Turkey is ideally suited to host the Center of Excellence-Defense Against Terrorism. Turkey has the second largest armed forces in NATO, is strategically located, and has over 30 years [of] experience combating terrorism.”
The NATO Centre of Excellence Defence Against Terrorism had been inaugurated in Turkey on June 28, 2005.
In July of 2006 the Turkish head of state, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, called on NATO to openly join the anti-PKK counterinsurgency war, stating:
“NATO, which joined in the war against terrorism in Afghanistan, should also do the same here.
“It would be good to make tripartite efforts (Turkey, NATO and the US) and to get some results.”
The following month his request was partially realized when the U.S. appointed former top NATO and European Command commander Joseph Ralston as Special Envoy for Countering the Kurdistan Workers Party, which position he still holds.
Operational and logistical support rendered the Turkish armed forces in their decades-long war against the PKK and affiliated groups has not been limited to Turkey itself.
Ankara has been conducting regular large-scale incursions and deadly air strikes in Iraq as well. As the latter nation was occupied by the military forces of the U.S., Britain and the Multi-National Force – Iraq (which consisted overwhelmingly of NATO members, candidates and partners) from 2003 until the end of last year, Turkish attacks inside the country could only have been launched with the knowledge - and the authorization and cooperation - of the U.S. and NATO.
Turkey's military campaign in northern Iraq, a gross violation of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country, is an accurate model - and predictor - of what it could perpetrate in neighboring Syria.
To gain an appreciation of the scope of what such an operation could entail, in April of 2006 Turkey deployed 40,000 troops near the Iraqi border, joining as many as 250,000 soldiers already deployed in southeast Turkey.
Ankara has since then conducted ongoing air, artillery and ground attacks inside Iraq.
After a year-long hiatus, Turkey resumed air strikes inside the Arab nation last September following a PKK attack that killed nine Turkish soldiers the month before. By the 21st of the month the Turkish general staff announced that government F-16 fighter jets had destroyed 152 targets in the Qandil Mountains inside Iraq.
State Department spokeswoman (and former ambassador to NATO) Victoria Nuland said of the offensive:
"Hope springs eternal. You know where we are on the PKK. We believe that Turkey has a right to defend itself, that the PKK is a terrorist organization, and we continue to urge and try to facilitate good dialogue between Turkey and Iraq."
That is, the Iraqi government must accept armed attacks within its territory by America's NATO ally.
Last October 15,000 elite Turkish forces gathered on the border with Iraq to launch ground operations against Kurdish targets. On the 24th Turkish tanks and armored vehicles, backed by air strikes, crossed into northern Iraq.
The following month the Obama administration promised Prime Minister Erdogan to redeploy U.S. Predator drones from Iraq to Turkey for the anti-Kurdish campaign. At the time Radio Free Europe reported that "The drones are seen by Ankara as a decisive weapon in its battle against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the Kurdish rebel group."
In fact, a Turkish newspaper revealed that the U.S. had deployed four Predator drones at the Incirlik Air Base in late October, the same base where the Pentagon has an estimated 90 B61 nuclear bombs.
Turkey has also requested that the U.S. sell it more advanced Reaper drones, to replace Israeli Herons, for use against the PKK.
Radio Free Europe also stated that "Obama is rewarding Turkey for its support in the region, in particular its decision to participate in NATO's antimissile system, which Washington says is aimed at countering threats from rogue states including Iran."
At the same time the Pentagon confirmed that it had notified Congress of the proposed sale of three AH-1 SuperCobra attack helicopters to Turkey, with a Defense Department press release stating they "will improve Turkey's capability for self-defense, modernization, regional security, and interoperability with U.S. and other NATO members."
Last December U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden met with Turkish President Abdullah Gul in Ankara and Gul, speaking for both countries, affirmed, "Our fight against [the] PKK will continue in a strong way."
Two weeks later Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta was in Turkey to solicit its assistance in policing Iraq after the departure of American ground troops, and in reference to Russian and Iranian objections to Turkey's hosting of a NATO interceptor missile radar system, he said, "whether they like it or not, other countries are going to have to accept that." He also pledged continued, indeed intensified, U.S. involvement in the war against the PKK, saying:
"We provide some technology and assistance in the fight against the PKK. We try to improve in that capacity and continue to explore other steps."
The Predators operating out of the Incirlik Air Base are maintained by an American ground control unit and operated from the Creech Air Force Base in Nevada.
At the end of the December a Turkish air strike killed 35 civilians, the oldest of whom was 20, in a Kurdish village near the border with Iraq, the largest amount of Kurdish civilians killed by Turkish forces in one day in Ankara's 28-year counterinsurgency campaign. The victims had been identified - hence targeted - by a drone.
The Turkish military has continued drone-aided air strikes in Iraq this year.
It is patently obvious that Turkey is on the verge of repeating its Iraq policy in Syria. Unlike Iraq, though, air strikes and incursions by troops and armored vehicles in Syria will meet with a different response than they have in Iraq. That is, they will meet with a response.
As did the Turkish F-4 fighter jet that flew over Syrian territory and was shot down in June, leading to Turkey seeking NATO assistance under Article 4 provisions.
The first Turkish warplane that drops a bomb or fires a missile on Syrian territory will provoke a reaction far more severe than the violation of Syrian airspace in June.
With the "humanitarian intervention" and "weapons of mass destruction" ploys not having succeeded in provoking a war between Turkey - and through Turkey NATO - and Syria, exploiting the Kurdish "terrorist" subterfuge may be the next, perhaps at last successful, attempt to do so.
============
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http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
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============
Wed Aug 1, 2012 6:04 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-08/02/c_123510795.htm
Xinhua News Agency
August 2, 2012
4 NATO soldiers killed in blasts in Afghanistan
KABUL: Four NATO soldiers were killed in separate bomb blasts in Afghanistan on Wednesday, the military alliance confirmed in separate statements issued here.
"An International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) service member died following an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in southern Afghanistan today," the NATO-led ISAF said in a statement.
Earlier Wednesday, the NATO confirmed losing two service members in an IED explosion in eastern Afghanistan. "A local Afghan interpreter, contracted by ISAF, also died following the IED attack." in eastern part of the country, the ISAF statement said.
Another ISAF soldier was killed in similar incident also in restive southern Afghanistan.
The brief press release gave neither the nationalities of the victims nor the details about the incidents under the ISAF policy.
A total of 50 countries are contributing 130,000-strong forces in Afghanistan with over 90,000 of them American mainly stationed in the east and south, followed by 9,500 from UK mainly based in southern Afghanistan.
The casualties bring to 270 the number of foreign soldiers who have been killed in Afghanistan so far in 2012.
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Xinhua News Agency
August 2, 2012
4 NATO soldiers killed in blasts in Afghanistan
KABUL: Four NATO soldiers were killed in separate bomb blasts in Afghanistan on Wednesday, the military alliance confirmed in separate statements issued here.
"An International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) service member died following an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in southern Afghanistan today," the NATO-led ISAF said in a statement.
Earlier Wednesday, the NATO confirmed losing two service members in an IED explosion in eastern Afghanistan. "A local Afghan interpreter, contracted by ISAF, also died following the IED attack." in eastern part of the country, the ISAF statement said.
Another ISAF soldier was killed in similar incident also in restive southern Afghanistan.
The brief press release gave neither the nationalities of the victims nor the details about the incidents under the ISAF policy.
A total of 50 countries are contributing 130,000-strong forces in Afghanistan with over 90,000 of them American mainly stationed in the east and south, followed by 9,500 from UK mainly based in southern Afghanistan.
The casualties bring to 270 the number of foreign soldiers who have been killed in Afghanistan so far in 2012.
============
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http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
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Wed Aug 1, 2012 6:28 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-19079762
BBC News
August 1, 2012
Near misses over Scotland during Nato war games
Two near misses involving military aircraft occurred over Scotland during Europe's largest military exercise, it has emerged.
A Tornado GR4 jet and a Merlin helicopter were involved in the first incident over Skye and a Tornado and a C130 plane in the other over Moray.
The incidents came during Exercise Joint Warrior in April.
Both were investigated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) UK airprox board.
Joint Warrior is held twice a year - in April and October - and sees Nato armies, navies and air forces training around Scotland and the rest of the UK.
Of the two near misses, the incident on 24 April near RAF Lossiemouth, in Moray, was categorised by the board as the most serious.
A Tornado crew flew about 25-50ft above and about 100-300ft away from one of two C130s coming into land at the air station after a training mission.
The transport planes were understood to be with the US Air Force.
Earlier, on 19 April, a Tornado GR4 flying out of Lossiemouth passed less than a mile away and 250ft above a Royal Navy Merlin.
The airprox board said the jet crew flew close enough to cause the helicopter pilots concern.
====================================================================
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BBC News
August 1, 2012
Near misses over Scotland during Nato war games
Two near misses involving military aircraft occurred over Scotland during Europe's largest military exercise, it has emerged.
A Tornado GR4 jet and a Merlin helicopter were involved in the first incident over Skye and a Tornado and a C130 plane in the other over Moray.
The incidents came during Exercise Joint Warrior in April.
Both were investigated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) UK airprox board.
Joint Warrior is held twice a year - in April and October - and sees Nato armies, navies and air forces training around Scotland and the rest of the UK.
Of the two near misses, the incident on 24 April near RAF Lossiemouth, in Moray, was categorised by the board as the most serious.
A Tornado crew flew about 25-50ft above and about 100-300ft away from one of two C130s coming into land at the air station after a training mission.
The transport planes were understood to be with the US Air Force.
Earlier, on 19 April, a Tornado GR4 flying out of Lossiemouth passed less than a mile away and 250ft above a Royal Navy Merlin.
The airprox board said the jet crew flew close enough to cause the helicopter pilots concern.
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
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============
Wed Aug 1, 2012 6:30 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://en.trend.az/regions/scaucasus/georgia/2052090.html
Trend News Agency
July 31, 2012
Command staff exercises end in Georgia
N. Kirtzkhalia
Tbilisi: The Georgian armed forces ended the command staff exercises Didgori 2012 at the National Training Center in Krtsanisi.
The closing ceremony was attended by Defense Minister Dmitri Shashkin and the head of the Joint Staff, Lieutenant-General Devi Chankotadze, who presented certificates to the participants of the exercises, the Georgian Defense Ministry told Trend.
Didgori 2012 was organized and conducted with the support of U.S. partners. The purpose of the exercise was to improve command links management skills.
====================================================================
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Trend News Agency
July 31, 2012
Command staff exercises end in Georgia
N. Kirtzkhalia
Tbilisi: The Georgian armed forces ended the command staff exercises Didgori 2012 at the National Training Center in Krtsanisi.
The closing ceremony was attended by Defense Minister Dmitri Shashkin and the head of the Joint Staff, Lieutenant-General Devi Chankotadze, who presented certificates to the participants of the exercises, the Georgian Defense Ministry told Trend.
Didgori 2012 was organized and conducted with the support of U.S. partners. The purpose of the exercise was to improve command links management skills.
============
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Stop NATO website and articles:
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Wed Aug 1, 2012 6:36 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://www.usafe.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123312211
U.S. Air Forces in Europe
August 1, 2012
Exercise Screaming Eagle IV continues, improves Poland, US, partnership
By Senior Airman Aaron-Forrest Wainwright
86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
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The partnerships built between Poland and the U.S. during this exercise and others have paved the way for a new aviation detachment to be established in
Poland to support quarterly joint training exercises with F-16's and C-130's.
With the advent of the new 33rd A detachment Dec 8, the two countries plan to continue to strengthen bonds as allies while preparing their armed forces for joint contingencies.
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POWIDZ, Poland:- Ramstein Airmen from the 435th Air Ground Operations Wing and 86th Airlift Wing continue to train together along with Polish military members in exercise Screaming Eagle IV, here July 24th through August 3rd.
"Poland is one of our strongest and closest allies in the world and is a leader in Europe," said President Barack Obama. "What we want to do is to create an environment in this region in which peace and security are a given. That's not just good for this region. It is good for the United States of America."
Screaming Eagle is an annual exercise at the 33rd Air Base here, that allows pilots from the 37th Airlift Squadron to conduct training with the C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, while facilitating training for several other units.
"Poland provides an excellent place for our aircrews to increase proficiency on several different flying scenarios, as well as training opportunities for maintainers, aerial porters, and the airborne personnel we have here with us," said Capt. Dean Brown, exercise mission commander and 37th AS pilot. "In addition, we get to learn from and share information and tactics with the Polish while integrating partnerships."
The 435th Contingency Response Group used this opportunity to work together with the 37th Airlift Squadron at this location to complete night vision goggle qualifications that are otherwise difficult to maintain at home station.
"Here we are able to train CRG aerial porters to operate in complete darkness using NVG," said MSgt Jeffery Platz, NVG instructor, 435th Air Mobility Squadron. "At Ramstein, we cannot get the flightline completely dark, so the training we conduct here is more realistic."
This training gives the pilots and the ground crew critical experience on possible future contingencies where landing on an airfield under the cover of darkness is essential to mission success.
Also benefiting from the training opportunities in Poland are two Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape specialists from Ramstein who are jumping side-by-side with ten members of the Polish special forces during the second week of the exercise. The U.S. jumpers and Polish special forces conducted high altitude, low opening jumps multiple times during the days and nights.
"Anytime we have a chance to build partnerships and enhance the interoperability between our respective forces is an opportunity that should be taken advantage of to the utmost," said Staff Sgt. C. Brandon Fountain, 435th CRG SERE specialist and air advisor.
The partnerships built between Poland and the U.S. during this exercise and others have paved the way for a new aviation detachment to be established in
Poland to support quarterly joint training exercises with F-16's and C-130's.
With the advent of the new 33rd A detachment Dec 8, the two countries plan to continue to strengthen bonds as allies while preparing their armed forces for joint contingencies.
U.S. Air Forces in Europe
August 1, 2012
Exercise Screaming Eagle IV continues, improves Poland, US, partnership
By Senior Airman Aaron-Forrest Wainwright
86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
====
The partnerships built between Poland and the U.S. during this exercise and others have paved the way for a new aviation detachment to be established in
Poland to support quarterly joint training exercises with F-16's and C-130's.
With the advent of the new 33rd A detachment Dec 8, the two countries plan to continue to strengthen bonds as allies while preparing their armed forces for joint contingencies.
====
POWIDZ, Poland:- Ramstein Airmen from the 435th Air Ground Operations Wing and 86th Airlift Wing continue to train together along with Polish military members in exercise Screaming Eagle IV, here July 24th through August 3rd.
"Poland is one of our strongest and closest allies in the world and is a leader in Europe," said President Barack Obama. "What we want to do is to create an environment in this region in which peace and security are a given. That's not just good for this region. It is good for the United States of America."
Screaming Eagle is an annual exercise at the 33rd Air Base here, that allows pilots from the 37th Airlift Squadron to conduct training with the C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, while facilitating training for several other units.
"Poland provides an excellent place for our aircrews to increase proficiency on several different flying scenarios, as well as training opportunities for maintainers, aerial porters, and the airborne personnel we have here with us," said Capt. Dean Brown, exercise mission commander and 37th AS pilot. "In addition, we get to learn from and share information and tactics with the Polish while integrating partnerships.
The 435th Contingency Response Group used this opportunity to work together with the 37th Airlift Squadron at this location to complete night vision goggle qualifications that are otherwise difficult to maintain at home station.
"Here we are able to train CRG aerial porters to operate in complete darkness using NVG," said MSgt Jeffery Platz, NVG instructor, 435th Air Mobility Squadron. "At Ramstein, we cannot get the flightline completely dark, so the training we conduct here is more realistic."
This training gives the pilots and the ground crew critical experience on possible future contingencies where landing on an airfield under the cover of darkness is essential to mission success.
Also benefiting from the training opportunities in Poland are two Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape specialists from Ramstein who are jumping side-by-side with ten members of the Polish special forces during the second week of the exercise. The U.S. jumpers and Polish special forces conducted high altitude, low opening jumps multiple times during the days and nights.
"Anytime we have a chance to build partnerships and enhance the interoperability between our respective forces is an opportunity that should be taken advantage of to the utmost," said Staff Sgt. C. Brandon Fountain, 435th CRG SERE specialist and air advisor.
The partnerships built between Poland and the U.S. during this exercise and others have paved the way for a new aviation detachment to be established in
Poland to support quarterly joint training exercises with F-16's and C-130's.
With the advent of the new 33rd A detachment Dec 8, the two countries plan to continue to strengthen bonds as allies while preparing their armed forces for joint contingencies.
