FRIDAY FOTO (May 2, 2014)

The British Are Coming

Defense Dept. photo by Claudette Roulo

In bearskin headgear known as a busby, the pipes and drums of the British Army’s 1st Battalion, Scots Guards, performs in the Pentagon courtyard Thursday (May 1, 2014). The Scots Guards is the oldest unit in the British Army, tracing its lineage back to 1642 in the service of King Charles I.

The pipe band is made up of 12 bagpipers, 10 drummers and two dancers (see photo below) and is led by a pipe major.

In between performances, James Townsend Jr., deputy assistant secretary of defense for European and NATO policy noted that in addition to being the oldest infantry battalion in the United Kingdom, the unit has skills in engineering and combined arms, which have been displayed on the battlefield. “So while we enjoy your musicianship here, we [also] know being good Scots Guards you enjoy a scrap” he added.

The Scots Guards served alongside U.S. Marines in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province in 2012-2013, said British Army Brigadier General Douglas Chalmers, liaison officer for the chief of the U.K. defense staff.

The dancer below is attired in a kilt with the Regiment’s official tartan, Royal Stewart. If you click on the photo and enlarge it, look for the traditional dirk, or dagger, tucked into the stocking on his right leg.

One of the two Highland dancers attached to the 1st Battalion, Scots Guards band performs outside the Pentagon.
(Defense Dept. photo photo by Claudette Roulo)

There doesn’t appear to be any video/audio of this event yet, but to hear what the full band (brass and woodwinds) sounds like click here.

Or click here to see a YouTube video of the pipes and drums leading the 1st Battalion’s 2013 homecoming parade through the streets of Glasgow after their deployment in Afghanistan. We suggest skipping to the 2:00 or 3:00 minute mark of the 14:00 video.

 

COUNTER INSURGENCY: Philippine Troops Battle Islamist Rebels

Battling Abu Sayaf

Members of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines work side-by-side with Philippine troops in a non-combat, training and advisory role in the battle against terrorism.
(Defense Dept. photo)

 Fourteen Islamist militants and a Philippine Marine were killed in a clash in a remote southern part of the Philippines this week (April 29-30), the Voice of America reports.

The fighting began Tuesday and continued into early Wednesday near the town of Patikul on the island of Jolo in Sulu Province. About 300 Abu Sayyaf fighters tried to retake a camp captured by the Marines on Monday. They attacked with mortars and rifle grenades, killing one Marine and wounding 19, officials told the BBC.

The Marines, assisted by reinforcements including artillery and helicopter support, were able to drive the rebels off.

The camp had been used as a training base for Abu Sayyaf’s new recruits and as a launching pad for frequent kidnapping raids, Reuters and AFP reported. Abu Sayyaf is suspected of abducting a female Chinese tourist and a Filipina resort worker from the neighboring Malaysian island of Sabah this month.

Formed in the 1990s with seed money from al-Qaeda, Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for terror attacks including kidnappings of foreigners and locals who are then held for ransom. Abu Sayyaf is one of many small Islamist groups in the southern Philippines opposed to a peace deal with the Philippine government recently signed by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The United States has been rotating about 500 Special Operations Forces experts in the southern Philippines for more than a decade to train the Philippine military how to fight Abu Sayyaf. Philippine law forbids foreign troops from engaging in combat on Philippine soil.