SBT Issue 43

NEWS
THE VETERANS’ MAGAzINE
SBT newS May Edition info@sandbagtimes.com
UK Cautious Reaction To North Korean
Vow To Halt Nuclear Missile Testing
Britain has given a cautionary
response to North Korea’s
historic announcement to halt
its nuclear and missile tests.
The government said in a
statement: “A long term
commitment from Kim Jung Un to
The Harry S. Truman Carrier
Strike Group (HSTCSG)
entered the US 6th Fleet area of
operations yesterday as part of
what the US Navy call a
‘routine deployment in support
of NATO allies, European and
African partner nations,
coalition partners, and US
national security interests in
Europe and Africa.’ The
presence of the HSTCSG, they
halt all nuclear tests and ICBM
launches would be a positive step.
“We hope this indicates an effort
to negotiate in good faith. "We
remain committed to working
with our international partners to
bring about our goal of a
complete, verifiable and
US Naval Fleet Enters European Waters
RN Frigate Escorts Russian Warship Through Channel
A Royal Navy frigate from
Portsmouth escorted a
Russian warship through
the English Channel and
Dover Strait. The Type 23
frigate HMS St Albans
escorted the Yaroslav
Mudry (named after
Yaroslav the Wise from
Ukraine) round the UK
coastline. HMS St Albans
is the current Fleet Ready
Escort – and is therefore
charged with protecting
UK waters. The navy was
reacting to the Russian
warship sailing close to
the UK coastline.
Commander John Cromie,
Commanding Officer of
HMS St Albans, said: ‘As
the Royal Navy’s high
readiness unit in UK
waters, we are the first
responders to any potential
incursion into UK
irreversible denuclearisation of
the Korean peninsula, and to do so
through peaceful means.” The
reaction comes after the country’s
state news agency stunned the
world when it said: "From 21
April, North Korea will stop
nuclear tests and launches of
intercontinental ballistic
missiles.” The North Korean
leader said the country didn’t need
to continue testing its nuclear
capabilities because they have
been “verified”. In response, the
European Union's foreign affairs
chief said North Korea's
announcement to stop nuclear
tests was a positive step and called
for an "irreversible
denuclearisation" of the Asian
country. Read More Here
say, demonstrates the multimission
capability of the US
Navy’s globally deployed force
and is part of an ongoing
rotation of forward-deployed
forces to support maritime
security operations in the US
6th Fleet area of operations.
The HSTCSG includes the
Nimitz-class aircraft carrier
USS Harry S. Truman,
Ticonderoga-class guidedmissile
cruiser USS Normandy;
Arleigh Burke-class guidedmissile
destroyers USS
Farragut. Read more here.
waters and are highly
trained in this role. ‘Our
activation today in
response to the passage
of a Russian warship close
to the UK resulted in a
cordial interaction between
professional sailors based
on the recognised conventions
at sea. ‘We are
always standing ready, as
is the rest of the fleet, to
defend UK waters.
Young RAF Stewardess
Dies of Cancer, aged 25
A Royal Air Force worker who
lived long enough to fulfil her
bucket list dream of going to New
York City has succumbed to ovarian
cancer aged just 25. Emily
Kendrick, who served as a stewardess
for the RAF and spent time
in Afghanistan, was surrounded
by her family and friends when
she died on Friday. The young
woman, from Ystrad Mynach,
Wales, was just 23 when she
found a lump in her belly button
and surgery revealed it was ovarian
cancer. Due to generosity of
friends, family and strangers,
Emily was able to take her dream
trip to New York City with her
mother, sister and grandmother.
Now Emily's mother Sonia has
spoken of her pride at the way her
daughter lived her life since her
terminal diagnosis. Her family
were desperate to help her achieve
her dreams and strangers from
around the world donated more
than £7,000 to help them do just
that. Read More Here
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