8 NAVY NEWS, AUGUST 2007
Money alone
cannot help
THROWING money at Naval
recruitment and retention will not BBlack period for Orionlack period for Orion
get to the root of the problem, a
senior group of MPs warns.
The House of Commons
Public Accounts Committee,
T
HE ships of Task
of pilgrimage for many of
which scrutinises the way Force Orion – four
Atherstone’s and Hurworth’s
Whitehall spends your money, has
minehunters plus
sailors.
investigated how all three Services
So too was Balaclava and the
an RFA mother ship
fi nd fresh blood and attempt to
valley where the Light Brigade
hold on to existing personnel.
– have been scattered
infamously charged to their doom,
Its report says cash incentives across the Black Sea
just north of Sevastopol.
only act as short-term panacea
and Dardanelles as their
But for most of the sailors,
and do not address the real
simply wandering the streets of
summer deployment
reasons why many Service
a port steeped in history was
personnel opt to leave the Forces.
reached its climax.
sufficient – not least because
The Bulgarian city of Varna
just a decade ago Sevastopol was
The RN uses ‘golden handcuff’
was the first port of call for the
off-limits, not merely to visiting
payments to entice people into
warships – HM Ships Shoreham,
navies, but non-Sevastopolians
certain branches or arms of the
Walney, Atherstone and Hurworth
who had to apply for a permit
service, such as submarines, or
– after squeezing through the
to visit.
to hold on to key personnel who
Bosphorus, the historic boundary
The duo departed Sevastopol
are particularly expensive to train,
between Europe and Asia.
to rejoin Walney and Shoreham in
such as Harrier pilots, or in areas
This was not the first time the
Istanbul, the first stage on the long
where there are shortages, such as
Royal Navy had arrived in strength
journey home.
nuclear watchkeepers.
in Varna.
As Atherstone entered the
The committee says such
One hundred and 53 years
Bosphorus, the British Consul in
schemes do work to a degree
before, the port was a major
Istanbul Ms Barbara Hay climbed
– but for many sailors and
staging post for British and French
on board for the two-hour passage
marines choosing to return to
ships and ground forces engaged
of the famous waterway.
civvy street, money is not the
in conflict across the Black Sea in
She was safely put back on
issue: the inability to plan for the
the Crimea.
dry land when the four warships
future and the impact on family
Disease dogged the Crimean
linked up at the Golden Horn.
life are key areas which cause
War and 850 British servicemen
Some sailors decided to make
Servicemen and women to hand
from 26 regiments of the British
the (admittedly rather long)
in their notices.
Army and the Royal Marines fell
journey from Istanbul to Gallipoli
The Navy is still suffering (and
victim to cholera while stationed
and the Dardanelles peninsula to
will continue to suffer for at least
in Varna.
visit the battlefields of the Great
another decade) for a recruitment
They are honoured by an
War.
freeze, presently causing a
unassuming obelisk next to the
Others preferred to enjoy the
shortage of petty offi cers.
Bulgarian Naval Academy.
hospitality offered by the consulate
That short-term decision back
And it was there that Orion’s
who organised a sports day.
in the 90s to curb recruitment
Commanding Officer Cdr Chris
Then it was off to the northern
will actually cost the RN more
Davies and Britain’s Defence
Aegean to finally rejoin command
money to rectify in the long run,
Attaché Cdr Peter Morris could be
vessel RFA Cardigan Bay (size
the report warns – and will never
found laying a wreath in honour of
limitations prevented her from
adequately solve the problem.
men who set out to fight the
joining the mine warfare ships in
And although the Navy is
Russian bear but instead were
the Black Sea) to continue the
meeting its ‘harmony time’
struck down by illness.
passage home via Malta.
guidelines – the balance for sailors
“The local municipality has
Mine warfare duties have been
and marines between time spent
been fantastic at maintaining this
put slightly on the backburner
on deployments and time in the
tribute to men who died in the
on Orion’s return journey to
UK – the report says that ships
service of our country,” said Cdr
the UK, with Atherstone and
are sailing generally lacking one in
Morris.
Walney joining the war on terror
every eight sailors.
Varna proved to be a popular,
at sea by conducting maritime
The committee says cash
if brief, port of call (the force was
security patrols in the western
bonuses such as the £2,240
only in for three days).
Mediterranean.
tax-free handout to personnel
Aside from boasting fine
The minehunting force is due
deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan and
weather, fine architecture and
home this month; Shoreham
Bosnia announced last autumn
lively night-life, the city also
and Walney return to Faslane,
should be welcomed.
boasts fine beaches... which just
Atherstone and Hurworth to
But it adds that the MOD must
happened to be five minutes from
Portsmouth.
do more to help personnel plan
the naval base.
their careers and lives so that they
Bringing Orion bang up to date,
● HMS Atherstone sails
strike a happier work-life balance.
there were exercises for the force
gracefully into Varna
The committee also believes
with the Bulgarian Navy before
Picture: PO(Phot) Gary Davies,
much more could be done to
FRPU Whale Island
the British ships dispersed.
make the offi cer corps better
HMS Shoreham and Walney
refl ect society as a whole.
made for Istanbul, Atherstone
Six out of the ten most senior
and Hurworth made a leisurely
offi cers in the Senior Service
crossing of the Black Sea bound
attended public/independent
Iraq’s Navy back on patrol
for the great fortress and port of
rather than state schools.
Sevastopol.
The RN is promotes 100 men
Although now part of the
IRAQI sailors and marines are
and women from the ranks to Ukraine, the Crimean city is home
defending the oil platforms which
offi cer every year – a fi gure which to both the Ukrainian and Russian
are their lifeblood after passing
has remained consistent since the Black Sea Fleets.
their sternest test yet.
turn of the century. The port also, says Atherstone’s
A Royal Navy-led team of
Defence Minister Derek Twigg crew, does not share the decay and
experts has been providing training
accepted some – though not all run-down nature of some other
and guidance to the post-Saddam
– of the committee’s fi ndings and places in the Soviet Union.
Iraqi Navy since the toppling of
recommendations: “Our Armed And like Varna, Sevastopol is
the tyrant four years ago.
Forces have magnifi cently risen rich in Crimean War heritage –
The Naval Transition Team
to the challenge. I want to re- the city was besieged by British
(NaTT) helped design a gruelling
emphasise that the Government and French forces for 11 months,
series of challenges and tests – fi re-
is committed to listening to defiance celebrated by Franz
fi ghting, damage control, gunnery
our people, responding to their Roubaud’s huge panorama in
and force protection – to prepare
concerns.” a museum which was a place
the patrol boat crews for duties at
sea, defending coastal waters and
the oil platforms.
Having given four years of
instruction, the NaTT sailors
stood back and let their Iraqi
counterparts take charge, chiefl y
offering advice as the fl edgling
Navy was tested by Exercise
Smoking Barrel.
The exercise, observed by staff
from Combined Task Force 158 –
the group of international warships
which patrol the northern Gulf,
led by HMS Cornwall and Cdre
Registered Charity No. 1075015
Nick Lambert at present – was
PATRON: HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN
designed to see whether the Iraqis
could respond to a series of fast
The RN & RM Childrens is a National Charity
and furious tests, notably raids
by fast attack craft from the US
based in Portsmouth. We care for children
Navy.
of men and women who have served or are
With Smoking Barrel over, the
CTF 158 staff gathered the Iraqis
serving in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines.
and their NaTT mentors. Their
● An Iraqi sailor on the stern gun of a Iraqi Navy patrol boat in the Khawr Abd Allah
words after the opening ‘Pass’
Originally set up as an orphanage, Monique Bateman
were drowned out by the cheering Qasr, take full responsibility for the coming on in leaps and bounds success from leading hand up to
Iraqi sailors. security of their national waters. and are by far the most progressive lieutenant commander ranks or
we now assist children with a wide or Laurene Smith
“The NaTT has been working And that means that the of the Iraqi Armed Forces,” he equivalent.
range of needs and at times of
RN & RM Children’s Fund really hard with the Iraqi Naval NaTT will remain in Iraq for the pointed out. “Every single member of the
Training School over the past two foreseeable future, but its CO “The Iraqis are charming people, team has a key role to play here
family crisis.
311 Twyford Avenue
months and it’s a great day to see Capt Tim Stockings believes the battling to triumph in adversity, – some of my best mentors are also
Portsmouth
the Iraqi Navy back on patrol,” work of the team is perhaps not and we all fi nd the contact we my most junior,” Capt Stockings
Applications can be made at any
PO2 8RN said Lt James Taylor, one of two fully appreciated by the rest of the have with them is the real pleasure added.
time. Those seeking assistance
Telephone: 023 9263 9534
principal patrol boat mentors. RN/RM, not least because events of being in Umm Qasr and one of More details can be found at
The resumption of patrols by elsewhere in Iraq often cloud the greatest rewards on offer.” www.royalnavy.mod.uk/NaTT;
can contact the office direct for an Fax: 023 9267 7574
Iraqi boats is the fi rst step down people’s opinion of the country. The captain is looking for sailors looking to join the team
application form:- Email: rnchildren@btconnect.com
a long road which will eventually “The NaTT is an unalloyed volunteers from across the RN can e-mail Capt Stockings at co@
see the Iraqi Navy, based in Umm success – the Iraqi Navy are and RM to build on the existing natt-iraq.net.
0008_NN_Aug.indd 108_NN_Aug.indd 1 224/7/07 15:23:584/7/07 15:23:58
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