Austalia awards first Victoria Cross

The Herald Sun reports that Australian SAS trooper Mark Donaldson has been awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia for actions in Afghanistan. He is the first person to receive the award since it was split off from the British Victoria Cross in 1975.

CF: Changes at the top

The Torch has a blog post about a series of recent changes at the top of the Canadian Forces.

That means new heads for two of the three services, and three of the four "commands" around which the CF is now organized

CF Howitzers Clear the Way

The Lookout has an article about Canadian Forces artillery clearing avalanches from passes in the Rocky Mountains.

For 50 years, the soldiers from CFB Shilo, Manitoba’s 1 Royal Canadian Horse Artillery (1RCHA) have rotated through the winter months, securing 105mm Howitzer guns to platforms and shooting into the mountains to stimulate an avalanche.

US Small Boat Sailors

The Virginian Pilot has an article about the US Navy's Special Warfare Combatant Craft units, or SWCCs. These are the small boat sailors who deliver SEALS to their targets.

The article has an interesting picture of a small craft being hooked to the underneath of a helicopter.

Obit: Colonel David Smiley

The Telegraph has the obituary of Colonel David Smiley. Smiley was a British Army officer who worked in special forces and intelligence from the Second World War onwards.

During WWII he served behind enemy lines in Albania, Greece, Abyssinia and Japanese-controlled eastern Thailand. After the war he ran operations in Albania and Poland then moved to the Middle East where he worked in Oman and Yemen.

He also found time to command the Royal Horse Guards and rode beside the Queen as the commander of her escort at her coronation.

Followup: The Independent also has his obituary.

USS Freedom

Danger Room has some articles (links below) about the new American littoral combat ship USS Freedom.

One, which has a picture of some of the workstations on the bridge, talks about how empty the ship seems. Another talks about the "hybrid sailors" that make of the crew - each is trained in multiple trades.

The Hampton Roads Pilot also has an article about the ship (with a small slide show of pictures). The article discusses the ships capabilities:

Combined with a semi-planed monohull and a mere 14-foot draft, which drops to 8 feet at higher speeds, the ship can practically fly across the water, as it did Monday on its way south. A black burp of diesel fumes wafted overhead, the Bay churning gray and white behind it. Top speed for the day: 47.2 knots.

Mentions the empty space:

On board, roughly 40 percent of the 379-foot ship is empty space, designed to accommodate myriad "modules" in a plug-and-play system. These modules vary by mission - for enemies on the surface, in the air or under water - and can live on the ship's flight deck or water-line deck.

And discusses the crew responsibilities:

With such a small crew, everyone has multiple jobs.

Lt. Rob Briggs, for example, is the ship's main propulsion assistant. He's also trained as a navigator and helps drive the ship. And he helps clean it and he does his own dishes after he eats, just like everyone from the commanding officer on down.

CF adds global supply bases

The Toronto Star has an article about the Canadian Forces opening a series of bases around the world to support future operations. The first base will be in Germany and negotiations are underway with other countries.

Dinner in Afghanistan

The Calgary Herald has an article about food preparation at Canadian bases in Afghanistan over the Christmas period.

Snipers

The Register has an overview article about modern day snipers. You'll have to overlook the snarky tone but some of the information, especially about the British side of things, is interesting.

New US Special Ops Robotic Helicopter

Danger Rooms has an article, with a picture, about a new unmanned helicopter to be bought by American special operations forces.

The Hummingbird is designed to fly 2,500 nautical miles with endurance in excess of 24 hours and a payload of more than 300 pounds. The autonomously-flown A160 is 35 feet long with a 36-foot rotor diameter," according to Hummingbird-maker Boeing's rather brief entry on the craft. "It will fly at an estimated top speed of 140 knots at ceilings up to 30,000 feet, which is about 10,000 feet higher than conventional helicopters can fly today.

Chinese Hospital Ship

Danger Room reports that the Chinese Navy have commissioned a hospital ship and then wonders what it is really for.

US Special Op Forces in Somalia

Danger Room is reporting that American Special Operational Forces have been operating in Somalia.

CF Deploys Anthropologists

Danger Room reports that the Canadian Forces have deployed anthropologists in Afghanistan. This is a similar idea to the American Human Terrain Project.

New Hovering Drones for US Military

The Register has an article, with a picture, of a new hovering drone being purchased by the US.

Portable Anti-sniper Device

The Telegraph has an article about a new palm sized device that can determine the location of a sniper as soon as they open fire.

The device, which costs around £2,500, works by isolating the crack of the sniper rifle thanks to four microphones, a GPS system and a powerful microprocessor.

It takes less than a tenth of a second and provides the results in audio and visual formats. It can even send a grid reference via radio to supporting artillery and aircraft.

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.