British military casualties

Again at PMQ today tributes to dead servicemen were made by all three party spokesmen. How hollow all this must seem to those on the ground fighting with both inadequate equipment and lack of effective support from our NATO partners within the EU. The following entry in a House of Lords report available in pdf format, from here, should surely make all in Westminster deeply ashamed at the treachery to the Nation now afoot. Money for such capabilities to be handed to the EU in 2010 must surely be impacting the defence budget this year - when our forces are still deployed in Basra and Afghanistan!!! =============================================================== The Committee requested details on the medical capabilities offered to the EU in the Headline Goal 2010 Force Catalogue 5. The medical capabilities offered to the EU in the Headline Goal 2010 Force Catalogue are summarised as follows: Strategic medical evacuation: — 3 strategic air transport aircraft (MEDEVAC); — 1 ship hospital (Maritime Medical Treatment Facility Role 31). Tactical medical evacuation: — 16 medium/heavy transport helicopters (MEDEVAC); — 11 companies of ground-ambulances (MEDEVAC); — 7 intra theatre airlift aircraft (MEDEVAC). Integrated health and medical treatment: — 11 companies providing medical logistics; — 13 teams providing a medical treatment facility (role 12); — 8 teams providing medical Communication & Information Systems; — 20 companies providing a medical treatment facility (role 23: light manoeuvre); — 8 companies providing a medical treatment facility (role 3); — 20 companies providing a medical treatment facility (role 2 enhanced); — 4 medical task force head-quarters; — 10 companies providing a casualty staging unit (CSU). The Committee requested details on Permanent Structured Cooperation in the area of the ESDP 6. The principle of “Permanent Structured Co-operation” was established with capability development in mind. It is designed to encourage the development of more eVective military capabilities amongst EU Member States and is in line with UK objectives for improving the capabilities available for EU-led operations. It has always been part of our thinking that improved military capabilities developed by the 21 Member States that are also members of NATO will also be available to the Alliance. 7. To join Permanent Structured Co-operation Member States need to commit to fulfil the entry criteria in the Protocol. The criteria include committing to more intensive and substantive capability development, including through the EDA, and contributing to a Battlegroup. Permanent Structured Co-operation was designed to create political pressure for further capability development. This is consistent with UK objectives of getting other Member States to develop better capabilities, enabling them to shoulder more of the EU’s burden in the areas of security and defence. 1 Deployed secondary treatment facility, four surgical teams, 50–200 nursed beds. 2 First stage of casualty treatment, usually integrated in a unit 3 Facilities that receive or collect casualties from Role 1, refine treatment, resuscitate and priorities casualties for onward evacuation to Role 3 facilities. ========================================================