|
Article Archive |
||
8 May 2012, Telegraph, Who dares put our regiments to the sword?The scrapping of historic regimental names as part of defence cuts is a senseless body blow to the Army. Read more... 27 January 2012, Your Canterbury, How Col Tim Collins would change policing in KentIraq war hero explains what he would do as Kent's Police and Crime Commissioner. Read more... 2 October 2011, Mail, Iraq war veteran famed for stirring eve-of-battle speech plans to stand as police commissionerIraq war veteran Colonel Tim Collins, who gave a stirring speech to his men before going into combat in 2003, has revealed he plans to stand as one of Britain's new elected police commissioners. Read more... 2 October 2011, Telegraph, Inspirational Iraq War leader aims to shake up policeColonel Tim Collins, toe former Army officer famed for his inspirational eve-of-battle speech to his troops in the Iraq War, is to stand as one of Britain's new elected police commissioners. Read more... 22 September 2011, Telegraph, The making of the SAS, the men who dareA new book reveals the early history of the SAS in unprecedented detail and allows us insights into the modern regiment. Read more... 10 September 2011, Mirror, 9/11 anniversary: Did we win the war on terror?As the world prepares itself to remember 9/11, I wonder where we are after 10 years of fighting? Read more... 6 May 2011, Guardian, Osama bin Laden's death - killed in a raid or assassinated?Osama bin Laden's death prompted celebrations in the US .... Expert commentator Colonel Tim Collins, former Royal Irish Regiment commander and counterinsurgency expert ... Read more... 22 April 2011, The Sun, Tsunami of post-traumatic stress haunts our heroesOur Armed Forces often fall prey to the horrors of war years after returning from battle. And these invisible scars are as hard to bear as real wounds. Read more... 6 February 2011, Mail on Sunday, The drunken yob thought he was threatening a tramp - not an ex-SAS officerSpending a night on the streets for a Panorama documentary brought a new challenge for Colonel Tim Collins, whose eve-of-battle speech inspired the nation before the Iraq war. Now he must rally former comrades facing a different threat - drink, drugs and homelessness. Read more... 2 November 2010, Mail, Will we ever really trust the French?Horatio Nelson famously instructed his officers that, ‘you must hate a Frenchman as you hate the devil’. The Duke of Wellington proclaimed: ‘We always have been, we are, and I hope that we always shall be detested in France.’ Read more... 25 September 2010, News Letter, The modern world is sweeping UlsterNorthern Ireland will be a hard place to recognise by 2021. Politically, I think it will be radically different place with a less relevant regional assembly against the European backdrop and with parties we have long been accustomed to either having a different outlook from today, or possibly no longer in existence. Read more... 14 September 2010, Evening Standard, UK had 'no clue' what to do after Iraq invasionThe Government and military leaders had "absolutely no idea" what to do in the aftermath of the Iraq invasion, a prominent veteran of the 2003 war said today. Read more... 24 July 2010, Mail, Ten of the greatest: Inspirational speechesGeneral From Mahatma Gandhi's keynote speech in the struggle for Indian independence to Martin Luther King's powerful 'I have a dream' oration during the civil rights movement, here are ten speeches that changed the course of history. Read more... 24 June 2010, Scotsman, General Stanley McChrystal - A man of vision, but poor judgment let him downGeneral Stanley McChrystal was brought in to Afghanistan because the campaign was in a terrible state. The thing that stands out about Gen McChrystal is that he is a man of vision and his understanding of counter-insurgency is outstanding. It would be hard to find an equivalent commander who has the same degree of support from the Afghans. Read more... November 2009, Journal of International Peace Operations, Outsourcing Intelligence: Involving Private Actors in IntelligenceIt has been the accepted practice since the combat phase of the liberation of Iraq ended to devolve many aspects of military functions to the private sector. The obvious and sensible areas for outsourcing include administration, catering and billeting; equally sensible is the contracting out of functions such as personnel security and much low-level local national training. Read more... September 2009, Journal of International Peace Operations, The Spectrum of Subversion: Fighting Subversive ActivityAcross the globe, subversive groups are now recognised as the major threat to Western security in the postmodern world. Asymmetric warfare has become modern warfare. The global war on terrorist-inspired crime must take a wide view of the problem if it is to be defended against, countered and ultimately controlled. Read more... 28 July 2009, Telegraph, Colonel Tim Collins on freeing Afghanistan from the TalibanIn a Counter Insurgency struggle, it is crucial to ensure that the people look to the government and its allies for security rather than the subversive elements. In Northern Ireland when the terrorists lost the man to man battle they resorted to deploying mines, just as the Taliban are doing now. Read more... 11 July 2009, Independent, Afghanistan remains a worthy causeWith 184 men dead as a result of our involvement in the campaign in Afghanistan, many will now be asking: is it worth the effort? The bland riposte is always: "If we don't win the fight there we will have to fight it here." Unlike most spin that flows like a mighty river from the Government, this bit is actually true. Read more... 10 July 2009, Evening Standard, Events of the last week show reality of conflictThe crucial thing is to recognise that Afghanistan that must be fought. The situation there relates directly to the threat faced by the cities of Europe, including London, and all our homes. The subversives we are fighting - by whom I mean the Taliban and al Qaeda - have their eyes on a bigger prize and want nothing less than the destruction of our way of life and society. Read more... 3 July 2009, Telegraph, Commanders who lead from the frontWhen a senior officer such as Lt Col Rupert Thorneloe dies in action, the same questions are always asked: how far will this boost the enemy's morale, and how far will it lower our own? The answer is that the Taliban will certainly celebrate – but those celebrations will be premature. I recall the murder, last July, of another lieutenant colonel, this time in the US Marine Corps. Read more... 28 Jun 2009, Independent, Only a leap of faith will unite IraqAs US forces withdraw this week, the Shia-dominated ruling party's relationship with Kurds and Sunnis is crucial to its future. Conceived as a stabilising entity in the Middle East, Iraq was created by the British in 1920. Read more... 14 Apr 2009, Guardian, Sir Jeremy Greenstock and Colonel Tim Collins reflect on the Iraq warI think the whole scheme ultimately was probably ill-conceived. That was compounded by some poor decisions that were taken shortly after the invasion. There was no understanding of the conditions that we found and no clear strategy and that probably cost something in the order of three years of chaos before things could be restored. Read more... 11 Mar 2009, Mail, The deadly cost of tying police hands in Northern IrelandAfter the long tragedy of the Troubles, Northern Ireland had at last begun to build a future free of the bullet and the bomb. There is nobody here - nobody but a handful of fanatics - who wants a return to the grim cycle of slaughter that destroyed so many lives. Read more... 17 Jan 2009, Guardian, General David PetraeusGeneral David Petraeus encapsulates the modern warrior: thinker, diplomat and man of action. I venture his name will be remembered more as an approach - a Marshall, a MacArthur - than as an individual or simple soldier. He will stand among those who were part of the solution, not part of the problem, when the turbulent history of the post-9/11 world is recounted. Read more... 19 Oct 2008, Telegraph, I have no regrets about my Gulf War speechI recall the first day of the second Gulf War clearly. It was the day I made a speech that quickly became very famous, and which has now been criticised by a former soldier as having left my men "fearful of the dangers that faced them". The Americans had attacked Iraq with, once again, no warning to us, their British allies. Read more... 3 Jul 2008, Telegraph, Repressive law turns terrorists into martyrsLet's not kid ourselves: the struggle against terrorism - the fight for all our freedoms - will be an arduous, long-term battle on multiple fronts. I grew up in Belfast and served the British Armed Forces for 23 years, involved in counter-terrorism operations from Northern Ireland to Iraq. Read more... 14 Oct 2007, Telegraph, Be ashamed of how we treat our injured troopsThe Government's behaviour is a scandal, but the top brass should also hang their heads. One of the less attractive features of the UK in modern times is that the Government holds service to the nation rather cheaply. This becomes dazzlingly apparent if you are unfortunate enough to die for our nation, for the country loses interest in you and your family pretty damn quickly. Read more... 30 Sep 2007, Telegraph, New Labour will do anything to cut Navy costsIt's a story as old as New Labour - do more with less. The Armed Forces are once more facing the squeeze and once again it looks like the Royal Navy will bear the brunt. Secret plans to slash the Navy. Read more... 4 Sep 2007, Mirror, Success? Not on a road full of bombsLieutenant Colonel Tim Collins earned worldwide praise for his inspiring eve-of-battle speech to the 1st Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment in Iraq in 2003, a copy of which hangs in the White House's Oval Office. He retired from the military in January 2004 and has since branded the war in Iraq a catastrophe. Here, he gives his views on Britain's withdrawal from Basra. Read more... 17 Aug 2007, Mirror, British forces too stretchedIn a nation struggling to cope with teenage thugs, a decline in national self-confidence and even confusion as to what it means to be British, the one thing we can regard with pride is our servicemen and women. Rightly recognised as among the best in the world, those who step forward to fight on our behalf deserve our utmost respect. It is for this reason that I support the Mirror campaign to "honour the brave". Read more... 21 Jul 2007, Mail, Rommel was a great leader of menRommel may have been playing for the opposition in the Second World War - but seven decades after the fight to the death for European supremacy between Churchill's England and Nazi Germany, every schoolboy still knows his name. That's because Rommel was a great leader of men. Read more... 24 Feb 2007, Mirror, War will be the making of you, HarryDear Harry, I am both delighted and proud that you have followed tradition by joining our noble profession and that you have dared to serve your nation in a way that the vast majority would never do. You have had your reckless days and now it's your birthright to begin a lifetime of service in your chosen profession. Read more... 4 Jan 2007, First Post, It's time for a new International BrigadeImagine a scenario where Sir Bob Geldof is on stage, urging a crowd to 'give me yer focken money - for guns'. The crowd is rocking to fund a war, while celebrities, writers and intellectuals flock to drill in an International Brigade. Unlikely? Sadly, for the people of Darfur, cursed to live on the wrong side of a predominately Arab boundary drawn by long-dead British and French empire-builders, it is only too improbable. Read more... 6 Nov 2006, First Post, The UN needs a new taskforceThe charity War on Want published a damning report on the world of private military and security companies (PMSCs) last week. It calculated there were now 48,000 "mercenaries" working in Iraq and painted a hair-raising picture of the "threat" they pose. But War on Want and the PMSCs are, by and large, in the same business - trying rapidly to relieve the burden on the world's poor, and attempting to make the Third World a better place to live. Read more... 19 Oct 2006, Telegraph, Blair and his mates have driven our military like joyridersThe timescale for any British withdrawal from Iraq will be a complex matter and one wholly dependent on our American and Iraqi allies. Observers and commentators have given warning of the danger of failing to robustly pursue the mission in Iraq or face the possibility of actually compounding the problem. Read more... 16 Oct 2006, First Post, The General defends his ArmyGeneral Dannatt's venture into politics last Thursday is not unprecedented. General Sir Frederick Maurice wrote to the Times in May 1918, soon after the 'Kaiser's battle' had nearly destroyed the Allies on the Western Front, complaining that the Government of Lloyd George had been spinning the truth about the vulnerability of British deployments. He was asked to resign. Read more... 3 Sep 2006, Telegraph, Government must find more funds or pull outIf the 14 British servicemen killed in Afghanistan died because of the mechanical failure of their Nimrod plane, then it confirms what I have been saying for months — that the UK's aircraft and helicopters are old and absolutely worn out. Read more... 6 Aug 2006, Telegraph, We've failed in Iraq: let's get it right in AfghanistanThe pessimistic assessment of the situation in Iraq by the outgoing UK ambassador, William Patey, which was leaked last week, warning that "a low intensity civil war" was more likely than a transition to a stable democracy, comes at a time when the situation on the ground in Iraq has never been so unstable. Read more... 4 Jun 2006, Telegraph, What the Army really needs is a MontyYesterday I stood in a hallowed location where an Armed Forces Federation, the services "trade union" that is now being mooted, was not needed. I was at the Commonwealth War Grave at El Alamein, where rows of gravestones mark the last resting place of free men, volunteers, who had stopped an army of Fascist conscripts. Read more... 9 May 2006, Mirror, British forces too stretchedHuge and dangerous cracks are beginning to show in the Basra security operation, and it is not the fault of the British Armed Forces. It's clear that a great deal of luck was involved in containing the riot at the weekend - and that luck may not hold next time it turns nasty. In Northern Ireland we had a ring-fenced support back-up if anything went wrong. We don't have anything like that system in Iraq. Read more... 30 Mar 2006, Telegraph, A public inquiry would add nothing to reform of trainingThe Blake review rejects the idea that the four recruits who died at Deepcut were bullied to death and concludes that there is no need for a public inquiry. I agree. A public inquiry would add nothing to the reform of training. This is the 17th inquiry into Deepcut or the wider training environment. Enough is enough. Read more... 12 Mar 2006, First Post, It's time to abolish the RAFIt was a Labour Government under Harold Wilson that perfected the ruse of taking pressure off the defence minister by setting the three Armed Services against one another. The art was encapsulated in a doctrine known as 'equal pain', in which defence cuts and savings would be imposed equally across the three services. Read more... 1 Feb 2006, Mirror, What now?After leading us into Iraq on a lie, Blair must tell us how he plans to get out.. and fast. When I heard the 100th British soldier had been killed in Iraq, I thought of home. I thought of Northern Ireland and remembered the landmark 100th death in that violent conflict. At the time it was seen as a high-tide mark. People believed the killing could not go on much longer. Read more... 29 Nov 2005, Mirror, Former Colonel Tim Collins on new shame of troopsThe Royal Marines have traditionally enjoyed eyebrow-raising antics off-duty hard to explain to the public in the cold light of day. Raised as an independently dependable force to keep discipline on ships when sailors were mostly pressed men and kept in line by the sheer fear of the Royal Marines, they have found unconventional ways to bond among themselves off duty. Read more... 24 Nov 2005, Mirror, Sorry, but sometimes we have to use white phosphorusMilitary veterans with combat experience will be all too familiar with the effects of white phosphorus. It can deliver terrible burns, penetrating to the bone. But in war, with tons of high explosive and high velocity weapons raking the battlefield, the truth is that it is just another weapon. Read more... 11 Nov 2005, Mirror, Do not forget themOn Wednesday night I walked through the field of remembrance outside Westminster Cathedral. As I strolled between the simple wooden crosses and poppy wreaths I was struck by the range and diversity of those commemorated. From the Gurkhas of Nepal to the drivers from London Transport to the aristocracy in the Household Division, the face of the nation at war is represented here. Read more... 18 Sep 2005, Guardian, This is a mess of our own makingWhen I led my men of the 1st Battalion the Royal Irish Regiment across the border into Iraq we believed we were going to do some good. Goodwill and optimism abounded; it was to be a liberation, I had told my men, not a conquest. In Iraq I sought to surround myself with advisers - Iraqis - who could help me understand what needed to be done. Read more... 19 Sep 2005, Mirror, Pull our boys out of Iraq says Col Tim CollinsTHE death last week of Major Matthew Bacon brought to 95 the number of British servicemen killed in Iraq. Yesterday, Defence Secretary John Reid said more British troops were ready, if needed, to go to Iraq to bolster the 9,000 already fighting the insurgency. Read more... 18 Sep 2005, Telegraph, Iraq on the slide: is there time to save it?Until recently I was optimistic for the future unity of Iraq. I was optimistic because the Iraqis I know, of all ethnic and religious groups, were determined to keep the nation together and always talked to me of "Shaab al Iraqi" - people of Iraq - and never as one of the factions, Shia, Sunni, Kurd or Christian. They rejected talk of civil war. Read more... 28 May 2004, Independent, Why Machiavelli is one of my heroesHeroes exist in our society. Some are sporting heroes, some are fashion icons or pop icons. Very few of them are military heroes in the modern age, and none of them are politicians. But people do need heroes. Read more... To read Colonel Tim Collin's biography, please click here. |
||
| ©2009 - 2012 New Century |  |