Yemen evacuation threat shows value of navy – Admiral
ON STAND-BY RFA Cardigan Bay
THE former head of the Royal Navy has said the crisis in Yemen highlights the need for a maritime force in the face of defence cuts.
Admiral Lord Alan West said no other armed force would be suitable for carrying out evacuations.
It comes after reports that Royal Marines could be sent into Yemen to help evacuate British nationals.
Eighty marines are thought to be aboard naval support ship RFA Fort Victoria close to the Arab state.
And RFA Cardigan Bay could soon be joining them to provide support.
The 16,000-tonne auxiliary landing vessel returned to Portsmouth in January after a three-year deployment to the Persian Gulf.
It has been reported the ship will replace RFA Argus, which has been operating nearby.
Lord West said: ‘You need a maritime force if you are going to do things like this around the world.
‘By their nature they are expeditionary; you can’t do it with any other force.
‘If you’ve got aeroplanes they have got to land and if you’ve got soldiers they have to swim. I don’t know the details of what’s happening operationally. I wouldn’t be in the least surprised if we have put something there.
‘The benefit is you can put things there quite easily without anybody knowing.
‘You can move them there and nobody need know at all.
‘If I was running naval operations I would have the ship there. The alternative is to have aircraft come in and set up an airfield which would be more difficult.
‘That’s why maritime is so important.’
A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman confirmed British military assets were in the region but refused to say which or comment on their exact task.
Yemen has been hit by months of violence and political instability.
The country’s president since 1978, Ali Abdullah Saleh, refuses to leave office despite an uprising which threatens to unleash civil war.
RFA Cardigan Bay is part of the Royal Navy’s Response Force Task Group, which was conducting exercises in the Mediterranean.
It acts as the UK’s maritime contingency force, ready to respond to unexpected global events.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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Comments
There are 7 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
mlladler
Tuesday, June 14, 2011 at 02:14 AMComment removed by moderator
brantsmith118
Sunday, June 12, 2011 at 12:53 PMComment removed by moderator
FREEFALLTWAZT
Thursday, June 9, 2011 at 07:42 PMComment removed by moderator
bladesblue
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 at 11:47 AMThe current Sea lift people are not as fortunate as the last one out of Yemen, they managed to get a ride on HMY Brittania as it was passing.
MikeB
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 at 10:57 AMThe RFA are supply and support ships for the Royal Navy. HMS Ocean would be more suitable for this task whilst the Ark Royal would operate off Libya. The recent events in the Middle East have proven beyond any doubt that scraping the Ark Royal was a big mistake I'm sure the RFA and Royal Marines will do a great job,which is more than can be said of the Government. Lions led by Donkeys comes to mind.
MikeB
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 at 10:57 AMThe RFA are supply and support ships for the Royal Navy. HMS Ocean would be more suitable for this task whilst the Ark Royal would operate off Libya. The recent events in the Middle East have proven beyond any doubt that scraping the Ark Royal was a big mistake I'm sure the RFA and Royal Marines will do a great job,which is more than can be said of the Government. Lions led by Donkeys comes to mind.
MikeB
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 at 10:57 AMThe RFA are supply and support ships for the Royal Navy. HMS Ocean would be more suitable for this task whilst the Ark Royal would operate off Libya. The recent events in the Middle East have proven beyond any doubt that scraping the Ark Royal was a big mistake I'm sure the RFA and Royal Marines will do a great job,which is more than can be said of the Government. Lions led by Donkeys comes to mind.
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