3rd March 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Avalon is not just the title of a 1980s Roxy Music album. It’s also an airport in Melbourne which hosts an important aerospace and defence show every two years. That’s quite fitting really as, in Arthurian legend, Avalon is the mythical place where King Arthur’s sword Excalibur was forged, so the name has a longstanding […]
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1st March 2013
Washington DC, USA
On Wednesday evening we gave a reception at the British Embassy for scientists, soldiers and senior government officials from the US and the UK. The event was organised around a workshop presided by Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman of King’s College, London and Professor Eli Berman of UC San Diego, with the support of Research Councils […]
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5th February 2013
Washington DC, USA
The following is a guest blog by Lance Corporal Rob Howe from the Band of the Scots Guard. Lance Corporal Howe is currently taking part in the Pipes and Drums of The Black Watch and the Military Band of the Scots Guards 2013 US tour. One of the many wonderful aspects of life in The […]
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30th January 2013
Washington DC, USA
The following is a guest blog by Major Andrew Halliday from the Black Watch. Major Halliday is currently taking part in the Pipes and Drums of The Black Watch and the Military Band of the Scots Guards 2013 US tour. This is his first post as they roll into Philadelphia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. […]
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22nd January 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Foreign Secretary William Hague, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond and a team of senior officials and military were in Perth for the annual Australia-UK Ministerial meeting, AUKMIN, last week. They had wide-ranging discussions, including Asia, Indian Ocean and Defence reform, as well as talking about the UN Security Council, which Australia has just joined for the […]
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14th January 2013
Paris, France
I want to talk today about the events of the last few days in Africa, starting by saying that our thoughts go to the families of the French soldiers and the hostage who have lost their lives in Mali and in Somalia.
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9th January 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Once again we spent New Year’s Eve watching the spectacular fireworks in Sydney Harbour, from the 16th floor office of our Sydney Consulate General. The city was packed with revellers. I was very impressed with how easy it was to get back afterwards, as public transport was running late into the night and free of […]
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20th December 2012
Washington DC, USA
Yesterday, the UK Prime Minister announced to Parliament plans for a reduction in UK military forces in Afghanistan in 2013. The decision to “draw-down” our forces from 9,000 to around 5,200 reflects the significant progress in transitioning security responsibility to the Afghan government. This is a positive outcome and testament to the effort put in […]
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7th December 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Yesterday I went to hear the Chief of Army, Lieut. Gen. David Morrison, launch a book by one of his officers, our friend Malcolm McGregor. The book “An Indian Summer of Cricket” is about a love for cricket and for the army. It also tells the story of his brave gender reassignment over the last […]
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7th November 2012
Washington DC, USA
Sunday marks the ninety-fourth anniversary of the Armistice which ended the First World War. The guns on the Western Front finally fell silent at eleven o’clock on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918 after four years of fighting which had claimed the lives of sixteen million and maimed a further twenty million. […]
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