Britain to send troops, ship and helicopters to Sierra Leone to combat Ebola

Blackleaf

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Being the product of an obviously broken education system as you are, I would expect nothing less.


You're just raving about unarmed people in nappies.

I bet you've got white foam dribbling out your mouth as you type.
 

JLM

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The world has to get out in front of this thing it could become more deadly than Spanish Flu
Most have probably forgotten about that nasty thing. It spread around the world in 1918 and
yes it reached North America as well For a time people were afraid it was a Mother Nature
reset and in a sense it was. Coming to grips with it now rather than in a few months from
now will make a huge difference. The Brits were not late again by the way they are just more
thoughtful in their approach every detail has to be examined in hopes the problem may tire
of itself and go away. It was the same for the Federal Liberals under Lester B Pierson
The joking slogan was, "kick it around and we'll always get by"


That Spanish flu may have touched closer to home than you think, Grumpy. A fellow I worked with 50 years ago from Winfield lost his mother to it.
 

Blackleaf

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Although, as somebody pointed out on Sunday Morning Live this morning, more people in the world will die of ordinary flu this year than will die of Ebola.
 

Blackleaf

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I would sure as hell hope so!


So despite all the scare stories, that stat just puts things into perspective.

The Western world (and it is mainly the Western world) in the early 21st Century is good at inventing doom-laden scare stories which never actually come to pass. Just think of the Millennium Bug, SARS, bird flu and Global Warming.

Each of those things were meant to kill hundreds of thousands of people and spell the end of humanity as we know it. But, of course, they all ended as damp squibs, with people wondering what all the hoo-ha was about. Ebola - which was first identified in 1976 - will probably go the same way.
 

Blackleaf

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The briddish are late as usual and showing up with little to help.


You're 40 years late, so I don't know what's you're banging on about. Where were you in 1976?

And we're sending 750 troops, three helicopters and a floating hospital, fully equipped with all the latest medical equipment, doctors and nurses. It is a very British, pragmatic and appropriate response, not complete, over-the-top, American-style overkill.
 

Blackleaf

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Always... each and every time.


It shouldn't make anyone wonder as it is so common.

We didn't need you in 1940, when we beat the Nazis in the Battle of Britain, preventing a Nazi invasion of Britain.

The Few saved Britain. Not the yanks (they were too busy sucking up to the Nazis in 1940 and hoping that Britain would lose).
 

EagleSmack

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The Battle of Britain in 1940, when Britain fought Germany ALONE, saved Britain from


But they didn't fight alone. They had pilots from all over the world including the US. Foreigners won the Battle of Britain and not the brits.
 

Blackleaf

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'Floating hospital' RFA Argus arrives in Falmouth for loading ahead of mission to Sierra Leone as the UK ramps up its efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak

Ship will sail fully-stocked to West Africa as part of Operation Gritrock
18,000-tonne vessel has 100 medical beds including a critical care unit
It will leave Cornwall on Friday with 750 servicemen and three helicopters
Death toll passes 4,000 as WHO warns spread in Europe is 'unavoidable'

By Dan Bloom for MailOnline
11 October 2014
Daily Mail

A Royal Navy 'floating hospital' with 100 beds and a state-of-the-art casualty unit has begun loading supplies as part of Britain's bid to halt the Ebola outbreak.

RFA Argus arrived today in Falmouth, Cornwall, where it is set to spend six days before sailing for Sierra Leone with 750 servicemen and three Merlin helicopters.

The ship's arrival came as the death toll from Ebola passed 4,000 and the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned its spread to Europe was 'unavoidable' following the diagnosis of a Spanish nurse.


Floating hospital: Navy ship RFA Argus arrived today in Falmouth, Cornwall, to prepare for its deployment to west Africa next week. The ship has 100 beds including some on high-dependency and critical care units


Loading up: Crew members receiving medical supplies to deliver aboard the ship. Today the WHO said the spread of the disease in Europe was 'unavoidable' after the diagnosis of Spanish nurse Teresa Romero


Critical: Crew members aboard the 18,000-tonne ship received boxes labelled 'urgent medical supplies'

Crew members received boxes labelled 'urgent medical supplies' today as the 18,000-tonne Royal Fleet Auxilliary ship prepared to deliver vital equipment as part of Operation Gritrock.

The 574ft floating hospital, which carries 80 personnel, can be 'uniquely tailored to deliver cutting-edge treatment afloat' according to the Ministry of Defence.

It has more than 40 medical and surgical specialities and is manned by crew members from the MOD's hospital units and Royal Marine Band Service.

Its facilities include a full emergency department, resuscitation and surgical facilities, a radiology suite with a CT scanner, a critical care unit, a high dependency unit and a 70-bed general ward.

Once the ship is off the coast of west Africa, personnel will help train doctors and nurses as well as running treatment centres, with 200 military staff set to run a WHO-led training centre.


Once the ship is off the coast of west Africa, personnel will help train doctors and nurses at treatment centres


Base: The ship will also support three helicopters as they move people and supplies to hard-to-reach areas


Preparations: Crew members in Falmouth today. Liberia has been by far the worst-affected country in the disease's deadliest ever outbreak, with 2,316 deaths compared to 930 in Sierra Leone and 778 in Guinea


The government says the training is vital - as among the 4,000-plus people who have died of Ebola, more than 230 have been doctors and nurses struggling to treat people with the disease.

THE NAVY'S 'FLOATING HOSPITAL': FACILITIES ABOARD RFA ARGUS

LENGTH: 574 feet
WEIGHT: 18,280 tonnes
CREW: 80 personnel
BEDS: 100, with 70 on general ward
Fully-stocked emergency department
High Dependency Unit
Critical Care Unit
Radiology suite with CT scanner
Surgery and resuscitation facilities


The ship will also be a forward base for the three Merlin helicopters, whose aircrew and engineers from 820 Naval Air Squadron will ensure 'the rapid movement of key personnel to areas where they are required', a Navy spokesman said.

Troops, meanwhile, will help build a treatment centre in Sierra Leone's Kerry Town to help meet the British government's target of providing 700 new beds in the region.

A spokesman said: 'This package will further support the country’s stretched public health services in containing the disease by helping up to nearly 8,800 patients over a 6-month period.'

Liberia has been by far the worst-affected country in the outbreak, with 2,316 deaths compared to 930 in Sierra Leone and 778 in Guinea.

The number of deaths dwarfs the previous most deadly outbreak, which killed 280 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976.


Precaution: A funeral yesterday near Sierra Leone's capital Freetown. Many people contracted the disease by handling bodies of loved ones, and more than 230 of the 4,000-plus deaths have been of health workers


Unstoppable: Health authorities have warned it could be difficult to halt the disease if it is not contained soon

Today the WHO said the spread of the disease in Europe was 'unavoidable' after the diagnosis of Spanish nurse Teresa Romero.

She became the first European to contract the disease outside west Africa after coming into contact with 75-year-old Spanish missionary Miguel Pajares, who was flown home for treatment and later died.

'Such imported cases and similar events as have happened in Spain will happen also in the future, most likely,' said WHO's European director Zsuzsanna Jakab.

'It is quite unavoidable... that such incidents will happen in the future because of the extensive travel both from Europe to the affected countries and the other way around.'

Defence secretary Michael Fallon said it was vital that Britain helped the international fight against the disease.


International aid: A U.S. soldier in training practices the decontamination process at Fort Campbell, Kentucky


The current outbreak, the deadliest since the virus (pictured) emerged in 1976, has killed about half its victims

'The Ebola outbreak in west Africa is already a global threat to public health and it’s vital that the UK remains at the forefront of responding to the epidemic,' he said after a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee.

'We are stepping up significantly the UK's contribution and leadership in work to tackle the outbreak on land, in the air and at sea.

'At the heart of the package is the commitment to provide more than 750 personnel to help with the establishment of Ebola treatment centres and an Ebola training academy.

'We are deploying troops, helicopters and a ship – army medics and Merlin helicopters supported by RFA Argus – to provide direct support and reassurance.




Read more: 'Floating hospital' RFA Argus arrives in Falmouth for loading ahead of mission to Sierra Leone as the UK ramps up its efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak | Daily Mail Online
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Blackleaf

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But they didn't fight alone. They had pilots from all over the world including the US. Foreigners won the Battle of Britain and not the brits.

2,353 were British and just 574 were foreign. Just 11 were Yanks.
 

CDNBear

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The Battle of Britain in 1940, when Britain fought Germany ALONE, saved Britain from

The US military should be winning wars, not fighting Ebola » The Spectator
LOL...

But they didn't fight alone. They had pilots from all over the world including the US. Foreigners won the Battle of Britain and not the brits.
I blame the poor state of the British education system.

This notice began to appear in American newspapers during July and August. (This particular advertisement appeared in the New York Herald Tribune):
LONDON July 15: The Royal Air Force is in the market for American flyers as well as American airplanes. Experienced airmen, preferably those with at least 250 flying hours, would be welcomed by the RAF.