Australian Navy gets 62 day Christmas break

The Guardian reports that the Royal Australian Navy (except for deployed units) will get two months off for Christmas.

Commanders have ordered all ships not on overseas operations to return to port over the holiday, while docked vessels would have only a skeleton crew to maintain on-board security.

Royal Navy in Firefight with Pirates

The Times reports that a Royal Navy boarding party has traded small arms fire with Somali pirates. No RN personnel were injured and the pirate vessel was subsequently boarded.

In the ensuing gunfight, two Somali pirates in a Yemeni-registered fishing dhow were killed, and a third pirate, believed to be a Yemeni, suffered injuries and subsequently died. It was the first time the Royal Navy had been engaged in a fatal shoot-out on the high seas in living memory.

Naval Reserve benefits from current economy

The Windsor Star has an article about how the Canadian Naval Reserve is hoping for an increase in recruits given the current state of the economy.

Combat Deafness

The Times has an article about how increasing numbers of British servicemen are being effected by deafness after tours in combat.

Nearly one in ten soldiers serving with one regiment have hearing defects that could bar them from further frontline service and affect their civilian job prospects, The Times has learnt.

Old Canadian subs to be scrapped

The Chronicle-Herald reports that three old Canadian submarines are to be scrapped. The submarines, which date from the 1960s have been tied up at a dock for the past seven years.

Canadian Bomb Disposal Team in Afghanistan

Canoe.ca has an article about Canadian bomb disposal teams in Afghanistan.

Different regions of Afghanistan favour different types of bombs. If it's a region he's not familiar with, he'll ask local Afghan police or army officials for information. Remote means are used to gather as much information as possible on the bomb.

Autonomous Helicopter Lands on Ship

Aviation Week reports that a robotic helicopter has successfully landed on a French warship.

SAS in Northern Ireland

The Washington Post has a column that mentions several operations run by the SAS against the IRA.  The one involving the laundry sounds plausible but I'm not sure about the car bugging.

US Marines don't like MRAPs

Danger Room reports that US Marines in Afghanistan do not like the MRAP mine resistant vehicle.

Obituary: Don Blakeslee, American fighter pilot

The Telegraph has the obituary of Colonel Don Blakeslee who was a Second World War fighter pilot who served with the RCAF, the RAF and the USAAF.

His greatest asset was his outstanding ability as a leader in the air. One eminent aviation historian wrote: “He was everywhere in the battle, twisting and climbing, bellowing and blaspheming, warning and exhorting. His ability to keep things taped in a fight with 50 planes flying at 400mph was a source of wonder.” One of his pilots described Blakeslee as “George S Patton Jr in a P-51 Mustang”.

New US Air Force ground combat uniform

The Air Force Times has an article about the US Air Force's new ground combat uniform.

Canadian Reservist returns to Afghanistan as civilian

The Canadian Press has the story of Luc Saint-Jean a Canadian Army reservist who completed a tour in Afghanistan then returned as a civilian aid worker to continue to help Afghans.

Roleplaying Iraq

The Times has an article about an American training base where actors play the parts of everyday Iraqi's and insurgents.

What happens over the course of the 14-day training period depends on how a unit behaves from day to day.

If US troops storm a calm village, kicking down doors and shooting on sight, for instance, they’ll face snipers and IEDs the next time they visit. If they hire an interpreter (using real dinars shipped over from Iraq) and respect local customs, though, they might just learn about an Al-Qaeda cell shipping guns into the area.

US Navy to stay away from shore

Danger Room reports that the US Navy has decided not to go closer than 25 miles to the coast when putting US Marines ashore.

Comparing the Canadian and US Armies

Stars and Stripes has a short article which anecdotally compares the Canadian and US armies.

For example, the Canadians assume that they must be observing a route for it to be "clear" whereas the Americans consider it clear once it has been checked for roadside bombs.

And the armies have different caveats constraining the way they operate downrange. Americans allow any soldier to question a person who has been detained, whereas the Canadians have trained personnel charged with questioning detainees, Callis said.

Man locates father's rifle

The Associated Press has an article about a man who, while looking for a birthday present for his father, found the rifle that the father had used in the Korean War.

French troops retake yacht captured by pirates

The International Herald Tribune has an article about French troops storming a yacht that had been captured by pirates off Somalia.

Reservists go north

The Kingston Whig-Standard has an article about local reservists taking part in an exercise in the Arctic. A dozen members of Princess of Wales' Own Regiment were part of a 100-strong army reserve contribution to Operation Nanook.

Unlike most exercises, the lack of roads and uncertain air support meant the reservists in platoons were working autonomously in a way unlike anywhere else in the country, making their way on foot and in small boats and cramped Twin Otters rather than the more familiar heavier equipment.

US Navy on humanitarian mission to Latin America

The Washington Times has an article about a recent US Navy humanitarian mission.  The navy used the USS Kearsarge, an amphibious assault ship which usually carries US Marines, to transport medical workers to various points in Latin America.

Life at Kandahar Air Field

The CBC has an article about the amenities on the base in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

The Telegraph-Journal has an article about working at the Tim Horton's in Kandahar.