Maltese soldiers escort food ship to Somalia
An AFM detachment has successfully escorted a ship chartered by the UN's World Food Programme to deliver food to Magadishu.
The soldiers, from 'C' Special Duties Company, are serving in the UN/EU-mandated mission EUNAVFOR ATALANTA, offering protection from pirates around the coast of Somalia.
The Maltese team, which also includes elements from the AFM's Rapid Deployment Team, boarded the MV Baltic Cruiser in Mombasa and accompanied the ship to Mogadishu, Somalia.
The team then returned to the Dutch Navy vessel HNLMS Zuiderkruis, its home for the operation.
This is the second year that the AFM is conducting joint operations with the Dutch Navy.
In the eventuality of a pirate attack, teams such as this assist the ship's master in conducting counter measures to prevent boarding by pirates and can also act to prevent pusuit by the pirates. Throughout this operation HNLMS Zuiderkruis was in the vicinity to add additional anti-piracy capabilities. The AFM team was trained for 18 months in order to acquire the skill- set required for such operations.
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Victor Vella
Nov 8th 2011, 19:21
Adriano Spiteri. Allow me to tell you how to know if a person is spineless or not.
A spine less person utilises gentlemen like our soldiers to stand guard with people who are employed in labour corps, or to send 4 or 5 of these gentlemen to stand guard with each and every house he owns.or calls these people useless and blood suckers for never doing a days work.That was Mintoff.
A spinless person would shy away from commiting himself on the trouble in Libya or asks the goverment to advertise Malta as a holiday spot when the troubles hit Tunisia, a spineless person profits himself over a poor worker who happened to write to him to tell him that she was unhappy at her place of work, the same spineless person would clamour to be what he is unable to be and follows others with thier protest instead of leading them.
Now a peson who has a good spine would not send his meen to escort poor people to their untimely deathsm but rather utilise them to show the flag with their work and courage, a person with a strong spine would help other nations and international organisations to help the unfortunate.
Now if what you say is the shape of things to come then I have to say that we are simply going to loose what we gained if Pl wins the next elections.
Peter Agius
Nov 8th 2011, 21:07
Well said Mr.Vella. We are not spineless. WE HAVE guts.
Fleur Spiteri
Nov 8th 2011, 19:06
Why does everything have to be turned to politics ?? Just think of it as being humanitarian aid and stop commenting aimlessly !
Ms.D. Galea
Nov 8th 2011, 16:57
We are proud of you.
Adriano Spiteri
Nov 8th 2011, 16:51
Our small military should leave such tasks for other countries and escort illegal immigrants back to their own instead. OR to Libya since the International Community claims it is safe now.
But this cannot be accomplished with a spineless PM at the helm.
H. Psaila
Nov 8th 2011, 17:15
Spineless, you are calling this a spineless humanitarian aid? You are so out of your mind and so political motivated. I know that Labour supporters don't have any sense of humanitarian sense, all they have is vengenance sense.
M. Mifsud
Nov 8th 2011, 19:52
@ H. Psaila
I suggest to you that you refrain from making such blanket statesments. Just because one commentator (which by the way you don't know if he's a PL supportee or not) makes a comment with which you do not agree, you cannot claim that you know that " Labour supporters don't have any sense of humanitarian sense, all they have is vengenance sense". These type of comments are the type of comments that increase hatred and antagonism among our people. Unfortunately these are the type of comments that appear from time to time in these pages that continue to fument the intolerable atmoshere of political division that exist among our people. These type of comments are unwarranted and not acceptable.
Come on Mr. Psaila let's grow up. Let's mature. Leave these type of comments to some commentator/journalist filled with vengeance towards everyone that does not agree with him/her. We should try to rise above such behaviour and refrain from resorting to such antics.
Come on let's grow up.
Peter Agius
Nov 8th 2011, 21:16
Just meet me and you will know what a spine is.
Joseph Calleja
Nov 8th 2011, 16:38
Well done AFM, keep up the good work.
J. Scicluna
Nov 8th 2011, 16:29
Well-done to our lads (and lasses) in Green :-)