UK Apache Books

Saw this on-line this morning...

From Amazon UK:

An astonishing first book, Apache is a story of courage, comradeship, technology and tragedy, during the ongoing war in Afghanistan. 'Apache' is the first book to come from the cockpit of the most sophisticated fighting helicopter the world has ever known. Designed in the mid 1980s to take on the Soviets, these machines have proven themselves as the perfect tool for combat in Afghanistan. Ed Macy's account of the incredibly hard Apache selection process, tougher than that of the SAS, combined with his description of the sheer difficulty of flying one of these helicopters provides a fascinating insight into the relationship between man and machine fighting in the toughest conditions imaginable. The climactic build-up to the rescue mission at Jugroom Fort is both dramatic and deeply moving. The rescue of Lance Corporal Mathew Ford has been hailed as one of the most remarkable and daring rescues of modern wartime and Ed's bravery on the ground at Jugroom Fort led to him being awarded the Military Cross - one of the first in the Army Air Corps' history. Taking the reader right to the heart of the war in Afghanistan, 'Apache' offers an unprecedented degree of proximity to the action and horror that troops in the region are faced with on a daily basis. Gripping from the first page to the last, it is utterly compelling and impossible to put down.

I can't testify to the quality of this book or it's companion piece Apache Dawn, as I've only seen them on-line, but if your interested in this sort of thing it might be worth checking out.

As far as I know there aren't any US Apache books yet. (sarcastic)Most of us are functionally illiterate and had no other choice in life but to join the Army and fight in this awful war, so were waiting until we can find someone to dictate our story to and make it somewhat understandable and less vulgar...and maybe add some exciting stuff to make us look cool.(sarcastic)

A Sad, Sad Story From the UK

From The UK Times on Line

Hannah Fletcher
A hotel that refused a wounded soldier a room, forcing him to spend the night in his car, was backed into a “grovelling” apology yesterday after receiving a barrage of abusive phone calls.

Metro Hotel, in Woking, Surrey, had to call in the police as their lines were flooded with angry, abusive and threatening calls from members of the public.

The attack on the switchboards came after it emerged that Corporal Tomos Stringer, 24, had been told by hotel staff that it was company policy not to accept members of the Armed Forces as guests.

A soldier since the age of 16 and veteran of multiple tours in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan, Cpl Stringer had travelled to Surrey to help with funeral preparations for a friend killed in action...

You can read the rest of the article HERE

One of the most absolutely shameful things I have ever read...those people should be ashamed to show their faces in public.
Well, CPL Stringer is welcome here anytime.

The Best Thing Ever Done With A Prius

Not sure how I feel about the entire "Billy Bob" thing...and for a "Billy Bob" the wardrobe is all wrong, but this is pretty damn good none the less.

H/T The Jawa Report

Spur Ride Video

Here's the video of those UK Apaches giving a lift to their borthers in arms...



The BBC Report on the same event...



Good stuff...breezy as hell out there, I know someone who knows first hand. :)

Here's Something You Don't See Every Day

AH-64 versus Lotus...

Spur Ride

Via Ace of Spades

'Extraordinary heroism' of helicopter rescue bid
By Tim Hall
Last Updated: 1:38am GMT 18/01/2007
Four Royal Marines flew into a battle zone clinging to the outside of helicopter gunships in a bid to rescue a fallen comrade, the Ministry of Defence has revealed.

Unwilling to leave behind one of their number following a retreat, the commandos strapped themselves to the small stabiliser wings of two Apache helicopters and returned into the midst of a fierce gunfight with the Taliban in southern Afghanistan.

Details of the unprecedented rescue attempt were revealed as the MoD pieced together the final hours of fallen hero L/Cpl Matthew Ford.

L/Cpl Ford, 30, of 45 Commando Royal Marines, took part in a 200-soldier assault on a Taliban fort in Helmand province.

Following an intense gun and mortar battle, the commandos were forced back. When they realised L/Cpl Ford was missing, four soldiers volunteered to return.

Three Apaches were available for the mission, but the 200mph helicopters have no room inside for passengers. The soldiers made the snap decision to travel on the outside of two of the armour-plated aircraft, with a third helicopter providing covering fire.

The men flew right back into the gun battle, landing both inside and outside the enemy fort in the search for L/Cpl Ford.

They eventually found and retrieved the body of the section leader who had been killed by enemy fire.

The unnamed soldiers won high praise for the rescue attempt and for managing to return L/Cpl Ford’s body to base.

L/Col Rory Bruce, a UK Task Force spokesman, said the heroic mission had been a “leap into the unknown”.

For the rest of the story please click HERE

This has been done a couple of time by US Army Apaches, at least once the pilot who participated was in trouble until the ground unit came to his defence. By the way the title of the post came from the name we in the Apache community give to personnel extraction by riding on the outside of the aircraft...there's some "inside baseball" for you. :)

Good for the Brits..."NEVER LEAVE A MAN BEHIND."