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fafnir19 · 1 month

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Sailing the other way

Lauritz' sister's fiance Samuel and him were very different. Samuel, the suave and sophisticated heir to a wealthy family, always seemed to have the world at his fingertips.

Lauritz, on the other hand, was a rebellious and free-spirited punker who didn't quite fit in with the conventional lifestyle his family wanted for him.

Despite their differences, Samuel and Lauritz got along surprisingly well. Their interactions were a peculiar blend of class and nonconformity that created a magnetic dynamic between them. It was on the cusp of Samuel's impending wedding that an unconventional idea began to take shape.

"Ey, Sam, let's do something wild before your wedding, mate," Lauritz proposed with a glint of mischief in his eyes. Samuel raised an eyebrow, unsure of what adventure Lauritz had in mind this time. "What did you have in mind, Lauritz? Last time your 'wild' idea led to us spending a night in a police cell in Amsterdam." Lauritz replied: “Vegas would be cool, but at the end of the day it’s your bachelor party. I'll do whatever you want!" Flashing a boyish grin, Samuel draped an arm around Lauritz's shoulders. "I want to take our boat out and sail across the Baltic Sea. It'll be an epic journey filled with freedom and salt-kissed air. You in?" Lauritz, with his unconventional mohawk and punk attire, looked askance at Samuel. "Sailing? That's a bit, you know, bourgeois for my taste," he quipped, adjusting the studded leather jacket slung over his shoulder. Smirking, Samuel continued, "Nonsense! It's summer, and what better way to enjoy some fresh sea air? Besides, it’ll be an adventure, and it'll please the in-laws to see you refining your tastes." Lauritz's parents, along with Samuel's family, were indeed relieved by the prospect. "Better than if you were hanging out with those punkers," his mother had remarked with a grateful smile. With their bags packed and spirits high, Samuel and Lauritz boarded Samuel's family's mahogany sailboat bound for Helsinki.

The sun's golden gaze kissed the cerulean waves, casting a mesmerizing glow upon the Baltic Sea. "Ah, this is the life, isn't it?" Samuel exclaimed, his gaze sweeping over the glittering expanse of the sea. Lauritz nodded, a wry smile playing on his lips. "It's not as terrible as I imagined. But still, wouldn't you rather be planning your wedding festivities than gallivanting with me?" Samuel chuckled, adjusting his nautical cap. "Oh, come now, my dear Lauritz. We have the rest of our lives for all that. Let's revel in the freedom while we can. Besides, you're not so bad to have around, even for a punker." Lauritz feigned offense, his blue eyes twinkling mischievously. "You wound me with your words, Samuel," he teased. As the ship cuts through the gentle waves, Samuel took Lauritz under his wing, teaching him the art of sailing. Despite his initial skepticism, Lauritz found himself unexpectedly enjoying the experience, reveling in the salty breeze and the rhythmic lull of the waves against the hull. Their journey led them to the enchanting city of St. Petersburg, where the juxtaposition of baroque architecture and Soviet-era relics offered a feast for the eyes.

As they wandered through the labyrinthine streets, the allure of the city enticed Lauritz to explore the more unconventional facets. "I've been thinking," Lauritz began, his voice laced with determination. "I want an eyelet in my ear, like the punks back home. It's about time I made my mark, don't you think?" he declared, pointing to a trendy piercing found amongst the punk subculture.

Samuel's face turned a shade of pale as he frantically tried to dissuade him, envisioning the cocktail of disapproving glares from his in-laws. "Lauritz, you can't just waltz back to the family estate with a hole in your ear. What would my in-laws think? Besides, piercings can lead to infections. How about something more inconspicuous? Like a nipple piercing?" Lauritz let out a laugh, his eyes dancing with mischief. "Oh, Samuel, always thinking about appearances. But where's the fun in that? I want something that screams independence! Something bold." Their banter was interrupted by a raspy cackle that seemed to echo through the narrow alley they were passing. They turned to see an old woman, draped in shawls and adorned with clinking trinkets. Her eyes glittered with an unsettling intensity as she fixed her gaze on the two friends. "You just have to hold him tight, then we'll circumcise him and I'll make a silver ring out of his foreskin," the old woman mused, her eyes glinting with whimsical certainty. "All you have to do is put this ring on your penis and Lauritz will visually adapt to your taste as long as you wear the ring." Samuel gasped, his mind reeling from the outlandish suggestion. But to his surprise, Lauritz entertained the idea, his eyes gleaming with curiosity. "We'll do that, Samuel," Lauritz proclaimed, casting a challenging grin. "After all, you wanted me to do something inconspicuous. What's more inconspicuous than a circumcision?" Despite Samuel's vehement protests, Lauritz remained resolute, and before long, the old woman performed the peculiar ritual, and to their astonishment, the excised foreskin transformed into a shimmering silver ring, which she bestowed upon Lauritz.

Back on the sailboat, Lauritz couldn't contain his mischievous glee as he gazed at the ring. "Now, it's your turn, Samuel. Put the ring over your... You-know-what," he demanded with a sly smirk. Reluctantly, Samuel acquiesced, only to find that, to his bewilderment, nothing seemed to happen.

As the mahogany sailboat gently cut through the azure waves, Samuel and Lauritz lounged on the deck, basking in the warm embrace of the sun. The sea stretched out around them, a shimmering expanse as far as the eye could see, carrying them toward the next port of their Baltic odyssey, the enchanting city of Tallinn. Lauritz sprawled out on the deck, his eyes half-lidded and gazing at the sprawling cityscape of Tallinn ahead, the gentle sea breeze ruffling his hair. Lauritz raised a hand to his shock of green mohawk, only to find something unexpected. Instead of the vibrant strands he had known for years, his fingertips grazed a neat, blonde faded cut with shaved sides.

He let out a surprised chuckle, turning to Samuel with an air of amusement. "Samuel, can you believe it? The old woman's prediction must have come true!" Lauritz proclaimed, a glimmer of excitement in his eyes. "This silver ring has really worked its magic. Look at this hair!" Samuel's eyes widened, examining Lauritz's transformed hairstyle with disbelief. "But I saw your green hair this morning. You must have cut it just to fool me," Samuel elucidated, struggling to reconcile the inexplicable transformation before his eyes.

Their banter was interrupted by the sight of Tallinn's spires unfolding on the horizon, a tapestry of architectural marvels rising from the coastline. The allure of the city's winding streets beckoned them, and they eagerly embraced the promise of new adventures. In the heart of Tallinn, the cobblestone streets echoed with the lilt of their footsteps as they wandered through the centuries-old alleys adorned with vibrant blooms. They eventually settled into a quaint street café, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee mingling with the gentle breeze. Lauritz, donning a sailing jacket, leaned back against his chair, relishing the warmth of the sun's embrace. With a casual air, he began unbuttoning his jacket, revealing the absence of his usual body hair, a curious discovery that piqued Samuel's interest.

"Lauritz, your... your hair! It's gone," Samuel exclaimed, his eyes widening in incredulity. Lauritz chuckled, his voice laced with a roguish charm. "The magic strikes again, my friend. Behold the power of belief and a touch of enchantment." Samuel watched in awe as the revelation unfolded before him, unable to completely dismiss the inexplicable occurrences that seemed to dance around Lauritz like a whimsical symphony. "You must've shaved this morning to jest with me," Samuel suggested, his tone tinged with skepticism. "This can't be real." "Ah, always the skeptic," Lauritz teased. "But I assure you, this is the handiwork of the ring. It's brought a dash of transformation to my life, hasn't it?"

As the sun dipped beneath the horizon, casting hues of amethyst across the sky, they sailed toward Stockholm. The promise of new adventures and unexpected marvels beckoned them as they set sail toward the Swedish capital. The following morning, Lauritz awoke to the gentle lull of the ship, the rays of the rising sun casting a golden glow upon the skyline.

As he prepared for the day's exploration, his reflection in the mirror above the sink evoked a bout of bewilderment. His eccentric punk ensemble had been replaced by an impeccably tailored ensemble—an unbuttoned shirt and sleek olive-colored pants that exuded an air of refinement and sophistication.

"What in the world?" Lauritz muttered, his eyes widening in sheer disbelief. "Samuel, you won't believe this!" Samuel emerged from the cabin, his eyes immediately falling upon Lauritz's stupefying transformation.

"Samuel, it's happened again! This silver ring is truly astounding," Lauritz exclaimed, his spirit alight with unadulterated glee. "Look at these clothes! I didn't expect the magic to work on my outfit too!" Samuel's incredulity was palpable as he regarded the sight before him. "Lauritz, you must have changed into this outfit while I wasn't looking," Samuel reasoned, his tone laced with skepticism. "It's impossible for a ring to cause all this. Whatsoever, I still think it’s good that you dressed more refined today. After all, we want to have breakfast today at the Grand Hotel, where the Nobel Peace Prizes are usually awarded.”

The mahogany sailboat bobbed gently as it sliced through Stockholm's sun-kissed archipelago en route to Visby on Gotland. Samuel manned the helm, while Lauritz was standing at the bow, his gaze trailing horizon. Suddenly Lauritz went through another unexpected transformation. Lauritz's black jeans and baggy T-shirt shifted seamlessly into a wide-open shirt and tight red shorts, his physique now exuding an athleticism that caught Samuel off guard.

Samuel's breath caught in his throat, his eyes widening in disbelief as he beheld the improbable evolution unfurling before him. "Lauritz, what... what in the world is happening? This—this isn't right," Samuel stammered, his voice trembling with an amalgamation of astonishment and concern. "I... I need to put a stop to this. I need to get rid of that ring." Lauritz, amusement dancing in his gaze, placed a supportive hand on Samuel's shoulder. "Come on, Samuel, don't be so quick to stifle the mystery. Embrace the uncertainty," he encouraged, a playful glint in his eyes. "Let's see what more this whimsical journey has in store for us."

As the sailboat glided toward the shores of Gotland, the island exuded an alluring mystique, its ancient ruins and labyrinthine streets promising an adventure both whimsical and enigmatic. Their footsteps echoed through the quaint streets of Visby, framed by structures that stood as timeless testaments to ancient grandeur. The island cast its spell upon them, ensnaring their senses with the echoes of bygone eras and the whimsy of forgotten legends. As they ambled through the cobbled pathways, Lauritz noticed a peculiar shift in the way the islanders regarded him. Warm smiles and nods of acknowledgment replaced the guarded glances that typically followed his punk façade.

"Lauritz, did you notice that?" Samuel inquired, his tone laced with a tinge of wonder. Lauritz nodded, a spark of amazement gleaming in his gaze. "It seems the residents of Visby have taken a shining to me, haven't they? The magic of the ring... it's a wonder indeed." The day waned into a resplendent evening, the sun casting its golden embrace upon the island as a symphony of stars unfurled across the heavens. Samuel and Lauritz reveled in the evening's enchanting tapestry, their thoughts drifting toward the next leg of their Baltic odyssey

The melding of disbelief and marvel lingered in the air, enveloping them in a veil of intrigue, as they embarked on their final leg of the journey toward Copenhagen. Clad in polished tuxedos, they reveled in opulent indulgence. Since Samuel had studied in Copenhagen, he knew how to gain access to the most exclusive establishments with a practiced ease.

Amidst the effervescent allure of the Danish capital, the two friends embraced the revelry of their adventure indulging in the opulence that enveloped them. Their boisterous laughter and animated conversations resounded through the hallowed halls of the city's elite establishments, the allure of upscale soirées and lavish gatherings capturing their spirits in a whirlwind of decadence. "Ah, Copenhagen has a certain allure, doesn't it?" Samuel remarked, a smirk playing on his lips as they strolled through the city's resplendent evening. Lauritz nodded, the vibrant tapestry of revelry and sophistication intoxicating his senses. "It seems your world has its own brand of enchantment, Samuel. I can't deny its appeal."

Samuel watched with an inexplicable mix of astonishment and fascination as the vivacious Lauritz seamlessly embraced the lavish lifestyle that had once appeared incompatible with his punk ethos.

The morning of their departure from Copenhagen arrived, and the sailboat set sail once more, carrying them toward Helsingborg where Samuel will marry Lauritz’ sister. As the sailboat rocked gently over the calm water, Samuel brought up the topic that had been bothering him. “Lauritz, I think it’s time to take the ring off. After all, your sister expects you to look like a punk – even though I prefer your current, charming look,” Samuel announced with solemn weight in his words. Venturing into the cabin, Samuel endeavored to remove the ring, only to be met with an unforeseen predicament.

His fervent words reverberated with unrestrained urgency, "Lauritz, I can't... It won't... It's... I can't remove it! Lauritz, I can't seem to get it off," he called out in distress, his voice wrought with urgency. "It's stuck, and I don't know what to do." Lauritz sprang into action, his touch eliciting a peculiar sensation in Samuel, who found himself thrown off balance by an unexpected surge of arousal - Samuel sported a boner. Before their bewildered eyes, Lauritz's demeanor underwent a subtle shift, his gaze now infused with an alluring allure that took Samuel by surprise. As the unexpected surge of desire enveloped them, Lauritz dropped his shorts, parting his legs with a provocative air.

"Take this opportunity, Samuel. Let's embrace the unexpected," Lauritz uttered with a newfound confidence, the air thick with unspoken desires that coursed between them. Samuel was drawn by the sight and couldn't resist and took the opportunity to penetrate Lauritz. After they made love Lauritz turned to Samuel, a solemn glimmer in his eyes, and whispered, "Samuel, I... I want to stay like this. I don’t want to become a sleazy punker again." Samuel’s breath caught in his throat, his gaze locked with Lauritz's. "What are you saying, Lauritz?" In an unexpected twist of fate, the ring tightened around Samuel's cock, seamlessly merging with his flesh. As the transformation took hold, a sense of undeniable euphoria washed over him. Gazing at Lauritz, a knowing smile curled Samuel's lips. "Tomorrow, I will marry my dream girl. And as her dowry, I received her brother to have fun with. I couldn't be happier." Lauritz chuckled and teased, "I guess even a trip to Las Vegas couldn't have been wilder. Seems like your gay sailing trip turned us both bi.”

The following day, as Samuel stood at the altar, he exchanged vows with his beloved, the echoes of a union hitherto unforeseen threading through the tender fabric of his heart.

And in Lauritz, he found a cherished confidant—a companion bound by the threads of an unexpected journey that would endure far beyond the veil of tradition. As the evening unfurled in all its opulent splendor, Samuel orchestrated a future endowed with an unforeseen serenity. With unwavering determination, he ensured that Lauritz was granted a place at an elite university and provided the resources necessary to flourish—a life enraptured by boundless opportunity.

In the wake of unforeseen revelations, Lauritz embraced the life of a typical, self-assured scion, reveling in the embrace of newfound passions and embarking on an uncharted journey tinged with the allure of possibility.

#male tf #male transformation #personality change #mystery #straight to bi #sailing tf #magic ring #punk to prep

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planesawesome · 5 months

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A CF-18 Hornet from the Canadian Air Task Force Lithuania flies with a Portuguese F16 Flying Falcon over Lithuania on September 15, 2014 for the NATO Baltic Air Policing Block 36

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usafphantom2 · 4 months

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First scramble: @BeAirForce 🇧🇪 F-16 & 🇫🇷 Mirage 2000, currently on #NATO Air Policing mission in the Baltics, & 🇸🇪 JAS 39 Gripen scrambled when 🇷🇺 fighter jets flew close to Allied Air Space

The intercept was coordinated between NATO & Swedish 🇸🇪 air control

#SecuringTheSkies

@NATO_AIRCOM via X

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nocternalrandomness · 1 year

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Spanish Air Force Hornets serving as part of the NATO Baltic Air Policing over Lithuania

#NATO #Fighter aircraft #McDonnell Douglas #F-18 #Hornet #Military #Aviation #Spanish Air Force

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awesome-casuallyfamouscollector · 22 days

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The German Eurofighter Typhoons of NATO's Baltic Air Police performed a flyover of central Riga at 12:55 today to mark the occasion of Latvia's 20 years of NATO membership. Screenshot from unpublished private video made by D.P.

P.S. Thanks to Latvia's correct political decision, it has been possible to protect peace and save Europe from the invasion of the Kremlin's war criminal regime for 20 years...

#Latvia #Riga #NATO #european history #Eurofighter Typhoon #fighter jet #defense of europe #defense of freedom #made in Europe #russian defeat

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walkingthroughthisworld · 6 months

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Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment from Fort Hood, Texas and multinational partner forces engage in a Combined Arms Live Fire Exercise (CALFEX) that was attended by the U.S. Emassador to Lithuania, Robert Gilchrist, on Feb. 12, 202… (Photo Credit: U.S. Army)

PABRADE, Lithuania - Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 9th U.S. Cavalry Regiment from Fort Hood, Texas, working side by side with multinational and allied forces, concluded their Combined Arms Live Fire Exercise training Feb 13, 2020.

Dutch artillery, Croatian mortar, Lithuanian and Norwegian fire support and the Baltic Air Police were some of the major assets involved in the execution of this enormous military exercise.

"A successful CALFEX is when my company commander walks out of here with a standard operating procedure and every single one of my leaders, whether it's a tank commander, a Bradley commander, a squad leader, a team leader…They walk out of here understanding their SOP's, having codified the lessons that they've learned throughout the entire train-up," said Lt. Col. Stephen Johnson, commander of the 1-9 CAV.

This large scale combined exercise involved assets from across the entire battlefield spectrum operating in a seamless, synchronous fashion.

Mortar teams working cooperatively were no exception.

"The goal for mortars here is to enable the maneuver elements in the company CALFEX to be able to get onto their objectives with ease," said 1st Lt. Alexander Shuler, a 1-9 CAV mortar platoon leader. "The thing that's really cool about working with the European nations, including Croatia, is that they're so used to working with other nations. A large part of us coming here to Europe is building upon that interoperability."

Indeed, Croatian Soldiers were an essential component of the mortar exercises as they worked closely with 1-9 CAV Soldiers throughout the CALFEX.

"The non-commissioned officers that we work closely with were really helpful," said 2nd Lt. Ante Validzic, with the 3rd mechanized infantry of the Croatian Land Forces. "They assisted us with everything we needed. If we combine our strengths, and work on our weaknesses, we can be strong together."

Training in Lithuania offered the Soldiers many tactical benefits that are not as readily available back in the United States.

"One of the great things about the 1-9 being up here in Lithuania is that they have the training facilities right here at their doorstep," said Brigade Command Sgt. Maj. Alexander Yazzie. "During this exercise, they had the fuelers come, they brought in ammo, they executed a Logistics Resupply Point (LRP) after contact. They were able to not only incorporate the fire maneuver, the shoot - move - communicate portion, but they incorporated the sustainment portion as well which was great because that's the first time I've seen that done in a CALFEX."

Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Carey, the battalion command sergeant major was equally impressed with his Soldiers' ability to engage and take down potential enemy opposition.

"The one thing that really stood out to me was the violent execution of Battle Drill Six (room clearing exercise) by our infantry. There's a lot of training that leads up going into that live fire drill," said Carey. "They've trained for several weeks in preparation for this, and again the violence of action was very impressive. We're here to train and we're here to deter our adversaries. We don't have any distractors, that's our focus here."

The CALFEX is an enormous undertaking in scale and scope. This exercise allows leadership to assess and increase the military readiness and lethality of all the joint participants. Combining forces on such an enormous scale showcases our interoperability, and promotes regional stability, thereby enhancing relationships with our allies.

"We actually got to shoot gunnery with the Germans and the Norwegians, just being able to interact with them - I actually got to grade them, I got to VCE (Vehicle Crew Evaluator) them through their gunnery," said Staff Sgt. John Waite, an M1A2 B Co., 3rd platoon tank commander. "They were phenomenal. Their platforms and tank crews were amazing. They're always just thirsting for knowledge, the same as us. It's been one of the most amazing experiences during my time in the army."

The CALFEX is a very fast paced, multi faceted, strategic exercise. The ability of Soldiers to adapt and adjust to a fluid, ever changing battlefield environment is key to their success.

Of course, everything doesn't always go as planned.

"A Platoon leader's track (U.S. Bradley Fighting Vehicle) went down, just cut off on him. He worked through it, and what was great is the battalion commander let him work through it, he didn't give him the answer," said Yazzie. "So when a platoon sergeant's vehicle goes down, you have to jump track. Ultimately, he worked through it, he did really well and continued on with the mission."

Countless hours of training, endless logistics and the Soldiers' collective fighting spirit make for a very formidable fighting force that continues to protect the freedoms and independence of all within the European theater.

"This was just a world class amazing exercise, and I'm really proud of the Soldiers. Moving forward, we're going to document all the lessons learned. We're going to make sure that we don't make the same mistakes that we learned from this time, and that we can pass them off to the future leaders," said Johnson. "We all transition. We're going to switch out leaders, we're going to switch out Soldiers and they've got to be able to pick up where we left off. We're going to continue to be lethal, we're going to continue to train and continue to get better."

#check out the name on that last tank #hilarious

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mariacallous · 1 year

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Beginning on Feb. 3, only three weeks before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, the Russian navy held military exercises on the edge of Ireland’s territorial waters. The Russian maneuvers took place above the densest concentration of undersea communications cables linking North America and Europe. Six months later, more Russian warships, including the cruiser Marshal Ustinov, were spotted acting unusually in the waters of Ireland’s exclusive economic zone.

There is a lot of nervousness in Western capitals about possible Russian sabotage of critical energy and communications infrastructure following a series of mysterious incidents—explosions destroying several Russo-German gas pipelines at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, Norway’s declaration of a military alert after drone sightings over strategic sites, and the disruption of key internet cables near the Shetland Islands. Russian President Vladimir Putin, that much is certain, is seeking additional ways to raise the discomfort level for the West to undermine its support for Ukraine.

Don’t count on Ireland to have any part in countering or deterring real and potential Russian threats. With a token navy of six active patrol vessels, not a single submarine to cover its vast marine zone, and annual defense spending of barely more than 1 billion euros (about 0.3 percent of GDP), Ireland stands out as the worst-prepared European country to meet any meaningful threat—or even anything less than a meaningful threat.

While Europe is not short of nations that have shirked their military responsibilities and lack a credible security policy, the war in Ukraine has exposed Ireland as perhaps the biggest shirker of them all. Dublin’s blatant disregard for its own security and defense is bad enough for Ireland—which is entirely dependent on open trade routes and has major offshore gas fields. Ireland’s lack of an effective military also has a wider potential fallout. Given Ireland’s strategic location at Europe’s edge in the North Atlantic Ocean, few countries are as important in securing Europe’s vast Western borderlands.

Forget Germany and Europe’s other defense laggards—we need to have a serious conversation about Ireland, Europe’s worst security policy free rider.

Ireland lacks the basic abilities to defend its sovereignty. In a February report, the government-appointed Commission on the Defence Forces starkly exposed Ireland’s military shortcomings. The absence or near-absence of crucial capabilities—including intelligence, cyberdefense, radar, intercept jets, and heavy airlift planes—render the Irish forces “unable to conduct a meaningful defence of the State against a sustained act of aggression from a conventional military force.” That makes Ireland—and the 75 percent of trans-Atlantic undersea cables passing through or near Irish waters—totally defenseless.

Ireland’s mini-navy—six active vessels with roughly 800 total personnel and no subsea capabilities—is supposed to be responsible for policing 16 percent of the European Union’s territorial waters. Yet its staffing shortage is so serious that not even all six ships are available for deployment at any one time. Routine maritime operations are regularly canceled. Additional specialists are being hired from the private sector just to keep the ships afloat.

Pay and conditions are so bad that entire classes of naval service graduates are being bought out of their contracts by private employers seeking their technical skills. Even the cruise ship industry, hardly known as a workers’ paradise, has been able to poach Irish navy staff with better pay and conditions.

But as bad as things are in the barely patrolled Irish Sea, they may be even worse in Irish airspace. With barely 700 staff, the Irish Air Force (known as the Aer Corps) lacks the capability even to track aircraft across Irish skies. Irish parliamentarian Tom Clonan, a former Army officer, noted that Ireland is “the only country in the EU that cannot monitor its own airspace by primary radar. Nor can Ireland patrol its own airspace with even the most basic jet interceptor.”

The last Irish combat jets, decrepit French Fouga CM170 Magisters first built in 1952, were retired in 1998. Since then, the Aer Corps has comprised a motley collection of just over 20 helicopters and planes. Only two maritime patrol aircraft (the Spanish-Indonesian Casa CN 235, which doubles as a regional airliner) guard Ireland’s exclusive economic zone in the North Atlantic, an area of approximately 132,000 square miles.

The absence of combat or heavy airlift planes has left the Irish begging other European air forces for help in emergencies, most recently during the evacuation of Western personnel from Afghanistan. The Aer Corps’ lack of expertise means it has to send junior pilots to the United States and Australia to complete their basic training. Often, they train in modern aircraft models that the Aer Corps will likely never fly.

The effectiveness of the Irish Army—around 7,000 soldiers and staff and falling—is constrained by both its tiny size and lack of equipment. It has no heavy tank and no long-range artillery—just two batteries of medium-range guns. Ireland’s inability to transport any of its army quickly via air or sea renders it a largely static force.

So what exactly have the Irish been thinking all these years?

At the core of the problem lies a generational political neglect, which has led to a continuous deterioration in the effectiveness and morale of serving troops. Ireland—which is not a NATO member—has long been unwilling to develop its military forces as part of a credible security policy, including deterrence. In absolute terms, Ireland spends more on defense than each Baltic country, but the latter have a keen sense of their security needs, conduct regular exercises, and, as NATO members, host additional troops and equipment from allies.

Ireland also appears to feel little security obligation to its European Union partners. This partially reflects Dublin’s view of the obligations of EU membership in purely transactional economic terms. Finally, Ireland has long clung to a policy of military neutrality—a perfect political cover for neglect and a major reason why few Irish would countenance any direct role in military conflict.

Instead, Ireland has outsourced its security to Britain. The two countries have an agreement that effectively cedes control over Irish air space to the British Royal Air Force, including for tracking and intercepting aircraft. The benefit to Ireland is obvious: It keeps its airspace safe and secure without having to pay a single cent.

The war in Ukraine hasn’t jolted the Irish from their security-policy slumber. Unlike Sweden and Finland—also traditionally unaligned—Ireland has not reassessed its neutrality. Unlike Germany, Ireland has not had a sudden epiphany that a new era with increased security requirements has dawned.

Recent polls suggest the Irish are fine with this state of affairs. Two-thirds of Irish voters do not want to see any change to Ireland’s policy of military neutrality, a position that political leaders are loathe to seriously challenge. Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin and Defence Minister Simon Coveney have snuffed out any timely discussion by pledging to reflect on and redefine Irish neutrality at some unspecified future date. Prevarication continues to overrule all else in the Irish neutrality debate. If anything, Irish public discourse suggests that the political project of enshrining neutrality in the Irish constitution is anything but dead.

Even the Russian navy’s military exercises on the edge of Ireland’s territorial waters haven’t prompted a rethink. In fact, Irish defense spending will continue its long decline in 2023, at least in real terms: The planned increase of 5.6 percent—or just 67 million euros—is far below the current Irish inflation rate of 9 percent. The only discernible upgrade until 2028 is the acquisition of a basic primary radar system. All other weaknesses remain willfully ignored.

The reality is that neither Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine nor heightened worries about protecting Europe’s undersea communications and energy infrastructure will lead to any reordering of Ireland’s security and defense priorities in the medium term. Only direct experience of military conflict, possibly in the form of a Russian attack on Ireland’s undersea infrastructure, would have any chance of pushing Ireland into action.

In the words of Irish parliamentarian and former Army ranger Cathal Berry, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has exposed Ireland as Europe’s weakest link.

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anra-thejourneyman · 1 year

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YOU would think it nothing short of sadism to pluck a man from the tropics and parachute him into the biting chill of a Scottish winter. As I write, it is 28 degrees in Belize and minus 17 in parts of Scotland. It is, as they say, Baltic. Even if you shaved 10 degrees off it here, it would be a nightmare of an acclimatisation. Add to that the 5000 mile-journey by boat from the Caribbean, zigzagging away from U-boats, in wartime; as well as jerry-built huts and inadequate clothing at the end of it, and you’d have to be extremely hardy to survive.

The 900 men who came to Scotland from British Honduras, now Belize, were as tough as old boots. They had to be to thole sub-zero temperatures when they were used to the sweltering heat of rainforests.

The British Honduran Forestry Unit (BHFU) came in two contingents for the “war effort” : in September 1941, 500 men went to camps in Haddington, Duns, and Kirkpatrick Fleming; then 400 were billeted in November 1942, in Golspie, Kinlochewe and Achnashellach.

Not everything was a bed of roses.

A welfare officer from the Ministry of Labour and National Service described the camps as “a public scandal”. There was inadequate heating and lighting, inadequate sanitation, no insulation in their huts, and inadequate clothing for men who worked like Trojans making pit props and stobs for the war against racism.

(It strikes you as bravado or jocular stoicism one of them recording later that felling spruces was like making matchsticks -- they’d cut their teeth on mahogany back home.)

Enter Rudolph Dunbar, a conductor, clarinettist and journalist from British Guyana, who was the first black man to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic (in 1946).

He’d his conductor’s stick in his knapsack during the Liberation of Europe when he was a war correspondent.

Dunbar was way ahead of his time in his concerns about the treatment of ethnic minorities in Britain.

He wrote, of the BHFU: “The men are living in a deplorable condition. They are deprived of all forms of entertainment and the harsh treatment of most of them by the authorities does nothing to alleviate their sufferings. A great portion of the men are miserable and desperate ...and wish to return home.”

In his 1984 memoir Telling the Truth, Amos A Ford wrote: “The huts at Duns had huge holes in parts of the floorboards and walls, and openings in the ceilings. But letting in the biting winter night air was not the only thing that was to make life in the camps a misery. The furnishing was barely adequate and provision for recreation strident by its absence.

“ The huts had single cylindrical wood-burning stoves in the centres to warm a hut accommodating around 20 men each in a building. In it the men piled logs repeatedly to stem the cold outside. Sometimes the stoves burned so fiercely that they emitted sparks and an inordinate quantity of smoke, much to the annoyance of the local RAF people resulting in a number of complaints.”

Incompetence rather than racism was probably the reason for the cack-handed way they were treated.

Ford claimed the camp doctor rarely visited but, when he did, he’d a pink pill for everything.

The locals around most of the camps welcomed these exotic men far from their homes and were kind, as long as they kept their hands off their women. They didn’t, and there were police raids in the camp in Duns, where women were found hiding under beds.

There were definitely racial tensions from the usual suspects, the gentry. The then Duke of Buccleuch wrote to the Ministry indicating his displeasure that local women were being over zealous in welcoming the lumberjacks.

Whitehall records show the following document:

“The foreman in charge of each camp, should be a white man. I think this is most important as we must respect not only the feelings of the proprietors of the estates on which the men will be camped but we must also consider the feelings of the people living in the surrounding villages and cottages.”

Correspondence between the Duke of Buccleuch and Harold McMillan (then Colonial Office Minister) reveals institutional racism.

Buccleuch: “I do feel sorry for these people [but] I also feel unsophisticated country girls should be discouraged from marrying these black men from Equatorial America.”

McMillan: “We try to protect them from undesirable women, as well as to protect women from undesirable members of our coloured units. This can never be a completely successful policy. All we can do is to mitigate the evil as far as possible.”

Notwithstanding the pressures, many men found love and friendship, and settled in towns close to the logging camps. Ignoring the efforts of officials to keep black and white people apart, there were several marriages, and many children.

There were tragedies. In the blackout Army convoys etc continued. In April 1942 Ruben Law was killed instantly while trying to help a local woman, Jane Goldie, to cross the road. She died the following day and is buried alongside Law, and three foresters who died of natural causes in their 20s!! , C A Trapp. O Leon V Baker.

On July 25, 2022, the Commonwealth Foresters’ Memorial was opened at Pollok Park in Glasgow.

Amos Ford went to the great forest in the sky in 2015, aged 98.

“Wee Sammy” Martinez was a survivor, who outlived a hurricane that took two of his brothers, by clinging on to a tree. He was a well-known figure in Wester Hailes, Edinburgh, where he made his home. He was known as a very patient and positive man. He and his wife Mary had six children.

You had to be patient to be a Hibs fan. He died in 2016, aged 106, months after seeing his beloved team life the Scottish Cup. He was the last of the lumberjacks.

"Life has been good to me, “ he once told journalists.

“Healthy but poor. But if you’re healthy, you’re rich. That’s how I look at life, nice and easy. Don’t worry over things that don’t matter. Don’t fight with people, don’t argue with people. Peace, perfect peace. Because life is only once, that ticket only goes one way and there’s no return.”

THE TREE FELLERS by Andy Murray

Hard as nails

knee-deep in the first snow

they’d ever seen

they rocked back and forth

with their crosscut saws.

as metronomes do.

They hewed mahogany

in their tropical homeland.

The Scottish spruces were like matchsticks

to these hardy woodsmen

who hunched over stoves

in their jerry-built huts,

though warned that Heinkel pilots

would see the sparks

flying out of their chimneys in the dark.

Nine hundred came

to cut pit props and stobs

from ice-blown lowland firs.

They thinned out when the war ended.

Some returned. Some married.

Wee Sammy from Wester Hailes waved

a Hibs scarf and an infectious smile.

A kenspeckle figure.

"When we arrived, the kids shouted 'here

come the coalmen'," he said.

The man who’d survived a hurricane,

that took two of his brothers,

by clinging to a tree. He lived to 106.

He died lately after watching his team

win the Scottish Cup.

The last of the lumberjacks

from British Honduras.

POSTSCRIPT: Here is a short but very moving and beautifully made documentary on the British Honduras.

https://vimeo.com/364780261

#history #dumfries and galloway #forestry #edinburgh #hibernian #scottish borders #highlands #social history #poetry

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militaryleak · 7 days

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Portugal and Spain Air Forces Now Securing the Skies on Baltic Sea

Portuguese and Spanish Air Force fighter detachments are now at the helm for NATO’s Baltic Air Policing operating out of Šiauliai, Lithuania; within days, Spain conducted their first alert scramble. Both detachments will execute the mission until the end of July. Moreover, Spanish Eurofighters just joined NATO Air Shielding in Romania for a two-week Agile Combat Employment. The Spanish F-18 detachment is augmented by Portuguese Air Force F-16s detachment, who combine their forces under the 65th rotation of Baltic Air Policing at Šiauliai. Portugal has also been deployed in the scope of enhanced Air Policing and Assurance Measures in Romania and Iceland since 2014 underscoring cohesion and solidarity among NATO Allies. Within days of arriving and taking over the mission on April 1, the two detachments showed they hit the ground running: The Spanish F-18 detachment, comprising jets and airmen from both 12th and 15th Wing launched for their first alert scramble on April 4, while the Portuguese F-16 pilots from Air Base 5 at Monte Real have already flown more than 40 hours practicing operational capabilities and improving interoperability with other NATO forces in the region.#military #defense #defence #militaryleak

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brookstonalmanac · 26 days

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Events 3.25 (after 1920)

1924 – On the anniversary of Greek Independence, Alexandros Papanastasiou proclaims the Second Hellenic Republic. 1931 – The Scottsboro Boys are arrested in Alabama and charged with rape. 1932 – The famous Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is unveiled in Athens. 1941 – The Kingdom of Yugoslavia joins the Axis powers with the signing of the Tripartite Pact. 1947 – An explosion in a coal mine in Centralia, Illinois kills 111. 1948 – The first successful tornado forecast predicts that a tornado will strike Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. 1949 – More than 92,000 kulaks are suddenly deported from the Baltic states to Siberia. 1957 – United States Customs seizes copies of Allen Ginsberg's poem "Howl" on obscenity grounds. 1957 – The European Economic Community is established with West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg as the first members. 1959 – Chain Island is sold by the State of California to Russell Gallaway III, a Sacramento businessman who plans to use it as a "hunting and fishing retreat", for $5,258.20 ($52,784 in 2022). 1965 – Civil rights activists led by Martin Luther King Jr. successfully complete their 4-day 50-mile (80 km) march from Selma to the capitol in Montgomery, Alabama. 1971 – The Army of the Republic of Vietnam abandon an attempt to cut off the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos. 1975 – Faisal of Saudi Arabia is shot and killed by his nephew. 1979 – The first fully functional Space Shuttle orbiter, Columbia, is delivered to the John F. Kennedy Space Center to be prepared for its first launch. 1988 – The Candle demonstration in Bratislava is the first mass demonstration of the 1980s against the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. 1995 – WikiWikiWeb, the world's first wiki, and part of the Portland Pattern Repository, is made public by Ward Cunningham. 1996 – The European Union's Veterinarian Committee bans the export of British beef and its by-products as a result of mad cow disease (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy). 2006 – Capitol Hill massacre: A gunman kills six people before taking his own life at a party in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. 2006 – Protesters demanding a new election in Belarus, following the rigged 2006 Belarusian presidential election, clash with riot police. Opposition leader Aleksander Kozulin is among several protesters arrested. 2018 – Syrian civil war: Following the completion of the Afrin offensive, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) initiate an insurgency against the Turkish occupation of the Afrin District.

#Events

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head-post · 2 months

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Danish police: Investigation into Nord Stream pipeline sabotage halted due to lack of grounds

Denmark stated on Monday that it had dropped its investigation into the 2022 explosions on the Nord Stream pipeline carrying Russian gas to Germany, becoming the second nation to close the investigation after Sweden, Reuters informed.

The investigation has led the authorities to conclude that there was deliberate sabotage of the gas pipelines. However, the assessment is that there are not sufficient grounds to pursue a criminal case in Denmark.

The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines that transport gas under the Baltic Sea were ruptured by a series of explosions in the economic zones of Sweden and Denmark in September 2022, releasing huge amounts of methane into the air.