British soldiers in southern Afghanistan

I see that the BBC is placing a visit by the PM to troops in Afghanistan high up on the news agenda. That would be fine, were it not for the PM’s sake and a timely reminder of our troops’ ongoing stalemate in the country. The corporation is making a virtue of the fact that Gordon saw fit to “bunk down” in one-star accommodation while staying the night in the country.

You’ve got to be having a laugh – aside from the fact that there aren’t many five-star establishments in Helmand, I should jolly well hope so. The guys on duty in the province spend six months or more – night and day – in the country. Frankly, after what this government have done to our ability to properly carry out military operations, a Christmas visit and an overnight stay are just about the very least the PM can do for our soldiers. He certainly doesn’t deserve BBC plaudits.

More to the point, DC beat the PM there by a week. The corporation’s response was decidedly less sycophantic. The problem they have is that Cameron is a leader and knows where to be and when. Gordon is a follower who does whatever Mandelson/Campbell/insert advisor here tells him to. It would be interesting to hear the views of the troops serving in Afghanistan which man they would rather have making decisions for them. Until then, I guess we’ll just have to stick with the BBC’s opinion.

The fearsome Tirpitz

Today is the 56th anniversary of the part of Operation Source, the secretive mission to destroy German battleships in Norway, that saw direct hits on the Tirpitz .

It’s difficult to imagine getting into an X-Class midget submarine and being towed across the North Sea before being let loose and submerging. Then travelling at a painfully slow 2 knots towards a target many times bigger and more powerful than you before placing charges in a dangerous operation that leaves you vulnerable and escaping again as mind-crushingly slowly as you arrived, all the time looking over your shoulder and not knowing whether your pick-up craft has been lost.

There was no “Quit now” button for the crews to press, no shortcut out of that situation. Some men who went on the mission to destroy Tirpitz – a formidable battleship every bit as superior as her sister Bismark to anything the Royal Navy possessed – never returned and one craft’s fate remains a mystery to this day.

I think it is good sometimes to remember the people whose courage and duty, due to the missions they carried out, are not so widely recognised.