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Defence in the media

https://modmedia.blog.gov.uk/2016/08/19/defence-in-the-media-19-august-2016/

Defence in the media: 19 August 2016

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Today’s defence related news includes images of a five-year-old Syrian boy who was rescued from the rubble following an air strike in Aleppo.

Syria

Front pages of The Times and The Guardian carry images of Syrian boy Omran Daqneesh saying he has become a symbol of Assad's war. The papers reference that the youngster is a survivor of a suspected Russian airstrike on the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo and, after the images have been seen around the world, they provide a new, iconic face of a largely unseen tragedy. 

Ministry of Defence Police 

The Times reports that ministers are considering removing a specialist unit of armed police that guards the MOD’s headquarters to save money. Our position is below.

The safety and security at all of our sites is paramount. We are reviewing the way we provide policing and guarding at the Ministry of Defence main building but no final decisions have been made.

Royal Marines 

The Daily Mail reports that female service personnel could share rooms with male Royal Marines under plans put forward by the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Philip Jones, which he said would boost team cohesion and equality.

A Royal Navy spokesperson said:

We continue to consider the policy to determine whether women could be accommodated in the same rooms as men, which includes ways of segregating areas to maintain privacy. No decision has yet been made.

Calais 

The Daily Express reports calls from British lorry drivers for military protection after a series of attacks by migrants in Calais, with concerns voiced that a trucker or tourist could be killed unless the Army is brought in to restore order.

Image of the day

Pictured at the Rock of Gibraltar is a Barbary Macaques ape and a Merlin Mk3 helicopter. The apes are a species of tailless monkeys and are the only free-living monkeys in Europe. Working from RAF Gibraltar, 2 Merlin Mk3 helicopters from 846 Naval Air Squadron based at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton in Somerset, have been consolidating their contingency deployment capability during Exercise Barbary Commando 16. August 7, 2016.
Pictured at the Rock of Gibraltar is a Barbary Macaques ape and a Merlin Mk3 helicopter. The apes are a species of tailless monkeys and are the only free-living monkeys in Europe. Working from RAF Gibraltar, 2 Merlin Mk3 helicopters from 846 Naval Air Squadron based at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton in Somerset, have been consolidating their contingency deployment capability during Exercise Barbary Commando 16. Crown Copyright.

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