Defence 2007: A Year in Pictures

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The MOD website news team have once again picked out the images they think best represent our defence news coverage over the past year. A different image will be posted here each day until 24 December 2007.

Most of the featured photographs were taken by Service or MOD photographers between December 2006 and November 2007, and relate to events and activities involving UK Armed Forces or the Ministry of Defence during the year.

Picture 1 : HMS Tireless's crew take the air after the submarine surfaced through the Arctic ice [Picture: PO (Phot) Terry Seward]



HMS Tireless crew clear the ice off their submarine after she has surfaced through the Polar Ice Cap. HMS Tireless took part in Operation ICEX-2007, conducting classified testing on submarine operability and war fighting capabilities in the Arctic waters of the North Polar Ice Cap region. HMS Tireless surfaced for approximately three hours to drop off members of the Tigress video production company, who were onboard filming the crew of HMS Tireless for a documentary about submariners and a documentary to be shown on the National Geographic channel on the impact of global warming on the Polar Ice Cap.

Picture 2: The explosion that destroyed the Al Jameat Police Station in Basrah on Christmas Day 2006 [Picture: Cpl Russ Nolan RLC]



On Christmas Day 2006, British Forces carried out a major operation in Basrah to curtail the activities of a 400 strong police unit, known as the Serious Crimes Unit (SCU), which was known to have been heavily infiltrated by anti-coalition elements and was responsible for the detention of two British servicemen in September 2005. After removing some of the high ranking members of the unit during the previous week, British troops from 19 Light Brigade, supported by Iraqi Army soldiers embarked on Operation THYME at 0200 hrs. Royal Engineers, who breached the outer wall of the compound with their combat engineer tractor, were followed by Warrior fighting vehicles of the Staffordshire Regiment, backed up by more dismounted infantry, they stormed the three buildings on the site. Around 1,000 British troops were involved in the operation, including those manning an extensive cordon set up top ensure a robust response if those criminals targeted attempted a counter strike. Having secured the compound, Royal Military Police entered the house to detain the errant policemen who had all fled before the British arrived. Over 70 prisoners, many of whom were likely to have been falsely imprisoned, were found inside the house which was a symbol of oppression for many of the people of Basrah. After taking away the prisoners, Royal Engineers from 38 Engineer Regiment laid bar mines and plastic explosive against the major supports of the building. When detonated the Jameat police station erupted in a tower of debris and dust, removing a powerful symbol of oppression and corruption from the Basrah skyline.

Picture 3: Sappers take a welcome lunch break whilst shading from the sun at the hottest time of the day [Sergeant Will Craig]



A small team of twenty Army engineers from 30 Field Squadron, 26 Engineer Regiment, known as 'Sappers', were working every hour of the hot summer days, busy improving living conditions for soldiers working in
a desert forward operating base in Garmsir, Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan. The strategically located forward operating base (FOB) Dwyer, provides vital combat and logistical support to troops operating in the Province, driving out the Taliban as part of Task Force Helmand.

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Picture 4: RAF Search and Rescue winchman, Flight Sergeant Chris Scurr, winches a terrier dog onboard his RAF Sea King search and rescue helicopter from a house in Gloucester [Picture: RAF]




Personnel from the Royal Navy, the British Army and the Royal Air Force worked together to help with the flood relief efforts in June 2007 in the worst affected areas of the UK. The dog's owner had been rescued by
winch a few moments earlier. The RAF alone responded to 51 incidents and rescued more than 100 people trapped in a variety of situations by six inches (15cm) of rainfall which fell over the central midlands on Saturday 21 July 2007.

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Picture 5: Getting through: mail arrives at Lashkar Gah camp aboard a Chinook helicopter [Picture: Cpl Jon Bevan]




Llandudno postman Rob Jones, swapped a red Transit van for a Chinook helicopter, and the sand and deckchairs of North Wales for the heat and dust of Helmand. The Warrant Officer Class 2, a member of the Territorial Army, was on a six-month operational tour with 871 Postal Courier Squadron, handling classified and personal mail deliveries to Task Force Helmand HQ and the supporting
units based at Lashkar Gah.

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Picture 6: Soldiers from 10 Division the Iraqi Army on parade as Maysaan Province is transferred to Provincial Iraqi Control [Picture: Cpl Andy Benson, RAF]




Iraqi authorities took control of security enforcement in Maysaan Province, southern Iraq, on Wednesday 18 April 2007. The formal transition of responsibility for security was announced by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki after a thorough assessment of the local security and police forces.

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Picture 7 : Surgeon Lieutenant Bryony Southorn is one of a team of dentists seeing up to 200 people a day [Picture: Cpl Russ Nolan RLC]




A team of British Army medics, from 19 Squadron, 16 Close Support Medical Regiment, based in Colchester, supported by engineers and specialist drivers helped to improve the lives of villagers living in some of the most remote areas of Kenya. The medics were doing their bit to try and eradicate childhood diseases by running an immunisation programme for thousands of Kenyans living in remote and inaccessible communities. The immunisation programme, part of a much wider scheme which also includes building wells to help prevent the spread of water-borne diseases, is carried out every year by the British Army. The delivery of this vital medical treatment is run with the co-operation of the Kenyan Ministry of Health, the Kenyan Army and the Kenyan Expanded Programme for Immunisation and Samburu Aid in Africa.

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Picture 8 : Some shelves at the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency, LLangennech, reached by lifts, are nearly 40 feet (12 metres) above the ground [Picture: Allan House]



Staff at the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency, LLangennech handle all MOD's printed material, and much more, including a 40-foot long
(12 m), 20-tonnes drive shaft for a Type 42 destroyer and a couple of 38-tonnes spare drive shafts for nuclear submarines. There are 65,000 shelf locations to search and its several massive roofs cover 209,000 cubic metres of space. The Royal Navy provide these storage facilities at Llangennech, near Llanelli at the end of the M4.


Picture 9: Captain Mackenzie Green, Officer Commanding 10 Troop, sends a situation report during the initial breech (entry) into enemy compounds during Operation VOLCANO, southern Afghanistan [Picture: LA (Phot) Gaz Faulkner]



Troops from M Company, 42 Commando, were employed clearing compounds, around the villages surrounding Kajaki, from which they regularly received enemy small arms fire, mortars and rockets. Operation VOLCANO was mounted to clear insurgents from firing points in the village of Barikju, north of Kajaki, northern Helmand Province, which was completely deserted except for insurgent forces. The Commandos cleared a Taliban base, consisting of 25 compounds, near the Kajaki hydroelectric dam, in an effort to help bring stability and power to Afghanistan. The area had been the site of regular insurgent mortar attacks and civilians were forced from their homes, leaving the dam largely unserviceable. The clearance was part of an
ongoing operation to create a safe-zone around the dam to allow
engineers to re-enter the area and bring the dam back up to full power. Once fully operational the dam will bring electricity to 1.8 million people.


Picture 10: Children in the Falkland Islands watching the firework display that marked the 25th anniversary of the conflict [Picture: Harland Quarrington]



The 25th anniversary of the end of the Falklands Conflict was commemorated across 8,000 miles (12,875km) and five time zones, in London and the Falkland Islands on Sunday 17 June 2007. Central to the main events in London and the Falkland Islands were the personal recollections of veterans and Islanders as they told their stories in their own words. The events in the Falkland Islands, led by a ceremony held at San Carlos Water, were part of a live link attended by the HRH The Earl of Wessex and Minister for the Armed Forces Adam Ingram. In London, 10,000 Falklands veterans and their families were present at the main event which took place on Horse Guards Parade. A traditional "Drumhead" ceremony and March Past were held, attended by HRH The Prince of Wales, HRH The Duke of York, The Duke of Kent, The Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Defence Des Browne and Veterans Minister Derek Twigg. They were joined by senior political and military figures past and present including Baroness Thatcher, Sir John Nott and Falklands Military commanders as well as many veterans and their families.

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Picture 11: British troops return to the Contingency Operating Base following the handover of Basra Palace to the Iraqi palace protection force [Picture: Cpl Follows]




On Monday 3 September 2007, the 4 Rifles Battlegroup repositioned from Basra Palace to the Contingency Operating Base at Basra Air Station. The move was the result of a planned operation which saw responsibility for
the palace pass to Iraqi Security Forces. This activity completed part of the agreed transition process developed in conjunction with the Iraqi Government and indicated the increasing willingness and capability of the Iraqi Security Forces to take responsibility for security in Basra. Basra Palace had been in coalition control since 2003, and the 4 Rifles
Battlegroup had been based there since May 2007.