US forces in Nepal for joint military exercise

By Surendra Phuyal

KATHMANDU, Jan 13:A team of the US Pacific Command forces is currently in Nepal as part of a joint military training exercise with the Royal Nepal Army soldiers, which will continue for a month beginning next week. A platoon each from both countries will take part in the exercise.

While this is a "kind of a routine, annual exercise" involving the US and the Nepalese soldiers, the exercise has three purposes: to enhance the operational capability of the US Pacific forces; to improve their inter-operability with other forces; and also to increase the tactical efficiency of the host nation, according to Constance Colding Jones, the US Embassy spokesperson in Kathmandu.

Dubbed ‘Joint Combined Exchange Training’, "the exercise also includes some medical trauma and emergency (drills) that may be needed during natural disasters," Jones told The Kathmandu Post. "The exercise is part of our on-going military exchange programme. It’s a business-as-usual kind of thing."

Such an exchange programme, she added, has been going on between the RNA and the US Pacific Command since mid-1990s. The United States has entered into agreements with a total of 25 countries in the Asia Pacific region to conduct such exercises.

The RNA officials, meanwhile, said the US Pacific Command forces comprising of a platoon will partake in the exercise together with a RNA platoon somewhere in central Nepal. "The exercise will start next week," an official told The Kathmandu Post.

The RNA has been involved in similar joint military exercises also with the British Army. Just a few months ago, a joint British Army-RNA combined military exercise for effective disaster management was conducted in Kathmandu Valley.

A few examples of similar exercises forces are, the "Baker Neptune", and "Hold Fast". While the former was conducted once, about nine years ago, the latter was done thrice all in the mid-1990s.

Widely acclaimed for its expertise in various UN peacekeeping operations, the RNA also participated in a multi-platoon training event with forces from the US, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The event was held at the RNA’s Peacekeeping Training Centre, Kavre-Panchkhal three years ago.

ALSO:

One girl dead, four others injured in cross-fire, other details

An eight-year-old girl died and four others were injured, including three of her sisters, in shoot-out between the armed police and Maoists at Dingla in Bhojpur 150 kms southwest of the capital Monday
afternoon, security sources said Tuesday.

Sabina Khawas died instantly and sisters Sharmila, 19, Pramila, 12, Binita,12, and Lal Bahadur Bika, 56, were injured at home in the cross-fire, the same source said. The injured have been airlifted for
treatment at Dharan. Sabina died immediately of chest injuries.

A platoon each from the US Army and the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) will conduct a routine month long joint military exercise mostly in central Nepal beginning next week to enhance capabilities of the two armies, a spokesman of the RNA said.

The exercise includes handling emergencies during natural disasters. nepalnews.com br Jan.14

Thanks but no thanks. Just ask the Afghani civilians how well the USA sent them tons of "aid" last year via USAF B-52s! Especially Warlord Don's carpet-bombing donations of Depleted Uranium.

You're a damn liar, DLI. DU is not used in bombs. Get your facts straight.

Speaking of simpletons, are you saying the more than 300 tons of DU in Iraq got there by "natural causes," rather than gifted by the murderous USAF? And you deny that the U.S. Dept. of War has used DU weapons in Afghanistan? Get your facts first before you speak with ignorance, Simple S...

can 'Simple Simon' afford to face facts?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
anticrisis

DLI and Link, go soak your collective ignorant heads. DU is not used in bombs. It is used in large-caliber bullets and in the APFSDS-T tank round. Nowhere else. No bombs.

And Link, why don't you conclusively prove that the poor wretch in your picture is the result of DU poisoning. Birth defects are common the world over. There are hundreds if not thousands of possible reasons for why that child was born that way.

technically.....

25 and 30 mm shells, bunker busting bombs and missiles [GBU-28, 15,24,27,31 and 37, AGM-130C].....

The widely-used Lockheed Martin GBU-28 5,000 lb. 'bunker-buster' bomb with a BLU-109 penetrator head carried only by the Air Force's F-15E's and B-2s, contains 1.5 metric tons of depleted uranium, compared to only five kilograms in the 120 mm shell. According to the GBU-28 Bunker Buster animation on USA Today the warhead is "classified".....

tomahawk, etc...

another face?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
anticrisis

First of all Link, let’s start with this:

You left out Professor Mark W. Herold’s title, which will no doubt shed light on his expertise in this arena:

Mark W. Herold
Departments of Economics and Women's Studies
Whittemore School of Business & Economics
University of New Hampshire

Yep, Economics and Women’s Studies. Regular Jane’s Defense Weekly man. Knows more about munitions than anybody. Says so in his article. Which is meticulously footnoted. But what about those footnotes? The footnotes pertinent to GBU 28 and GBU 37 are numbers 6 through 10. Let’s review them, shall we?

6. See

http://www.usatoday.com/graphics/news/gra/gbuster/frame.htm

No Mention of DU. Curious.

7. "PGU-14/B API Armor Piercing Incendiary 30 mm Ammunition," at FAS site http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/pgu-14.htm

Has nothing to do with to the subject. Refers to 30 mm Ammunition, not bombs. Curiouser still.

8. Vernon Loeb, "Concrete-Piercing Bombs Hammer Caves," Washington Post [December 13, 2001]

http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2001/011213-attack02.htm

Above is the article. No mention of DU. My, even more curious.

9. "US Deploying Chemical, Biological Weapons: Taliban," Agence France-Presse [October 22, 2001 at 14:39 IST]

10. Sayed Salahuddin, "Taliban Claim U.S Using Chemical Weapons," Reuters [October 29, 2001]

These last two articles concern the claims of the Taliban that the United States was using chemical and biological weapons. Besides the obvious point that the Taliban’s pronouncements should be taken with a grain of salt, DU is a RADIOLOGICAL weapon. Not a chemical or biological one.

Here is a link to a site which describes the GBU 28 and GBU 37 bombs. Enjoy
http://www.invisible-defenders.org/programs/b2/01WAR/bunker_buster.htm

So, link, we’ve got an economics and women’s studies professor who claims to know that a bomb is made of DU, yet his footnotes don’t say ONE FREAKING WORD about DU. Golly, that’s embarrassing.

Bullets and the APFSDS-T round only, my dear.

http://www.miltoxproj.org/DU/DU_Titlepage/DU_Titlepage.htm


DOD Munitions containing DU at Seneca Army Depot and other areas
7.62 mm
.50 caliber
20mm MK149 70 grams - .15lbs.
25mm PGU-20 148 grams - .32lbs.
25mm M919 97 grams - .21lbs.
30mm PGU-14 298 grams - .66lbs.
105mm M774 3364 grams - 7.41lbs.
105mm M833 3668 grams - 8.08lbs
120mm
155mm Special Artillery
Various missile components

http://www.ngwrc.org/Dulink/du_link.htm

Kinetic Energy Tungsten Core (KE-T) Round
The KE-T round features armor-piercing, fin-stabilized, discarding sabot tracer capabilities with a tungsten penetrator.

M829 APFSDS-T Round
The M829 is an armor-piercing, fin-stabilized, discarding sabot tracer round. (NSN 1315-01-226-7418-C786)

M830 HEAT-MP-T Round
This multipurpose round employs a shaped charge warhead to defeat targets. (NSN 1315-01-232-4638-C787)

M831A1 TP-T
Training round used to simulate the M830 tactical round. (NSN 1315-01-369-6612-C784)

M865 TP-T
Training round used to simulate the M829 tactical round. (NSN 1315-01-288-5545-C785)

http://www.atk.com/defense/descriptions/products/120mm-tank-ammo.htm

GAU-8/A Ammunition
Currently in use with the 30mm Gatling gun on the U.S. Air Force A-10 close-support aircraft and Goalkeeper

http://www.atk.com/defense/descriptions/products/medium-cal-ammo/gau-8.htm

http://www.iacenter.org/depleted/du.htm

http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/faq_17apr.htm

http://www.tv.cbc.ca/national/pgminfo/du/

http://web.ead.anl.gov/uranium/

http://www.antenna.nl/wise/uranium/dfac.html#AMMFAB

http://www.cadu.org.uk/whatisdu.htm

more technical details.....

DEPLETED URANIUM IN BUNKER BOMBS

"US Patents confirm Uranium warheads"

"Uranium weapons in 2001-2003"

pitifully non-updated page:

"....DOD Munitions containing DU at Seneca Army Depot and other areas..... Various missile components...." (search for word: 'components' on this page)

better updated

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
more than technical detail

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
anticrisis

Marc, you’re gonna have to read some of what you post before posting it. It would help if you read the posts above, too.

Here’s your list. What did I say above? Bullets and APFSDS-T tank round only. OK, here we go:

DOD Munitions containing DU at Seneca Army Depot and other areas
7.62 mm (BULLET)
.50 caliber (BULLET)
20mm MK149 70 grams - .15lbs. (BIG BULLET)
25mm PGU-20 148 grams - .32lbs. (EVEN BIGGER BULLET)
25mm M919 97 grams - .21lbs. (JUST A BIG OLE BULLET)
30mm PGU-14 298 grams - .66lbs. (MY, THAT’S A BIG BULLET)
105mm M774 3364 grams - 7.41lbs. (APFSDS-T TANK ROUND)
105mm M833 3668 grams - 8.08lbs (APFSDS-T TANK ROUND (IMPROVED)
120mm APFSDS-T TANK ROUND (FOR 120mm SMOOTHBORE ON M1A1/2/3 TANK)
155mm Special Artillery (SUBMUNITION ROUND- LOTS OF BULLETS)
Various missile components (UNKNOWN)

Now, to continue, Marc, why did you list the following?

Kinetic Energy Tungsten Core (KE-T) Round
The KE-T round features armor-piercing, fin-stabilized, discarding sabot tracer capabilities with a tungsten penetrator.
M829 APFSDS-T Round
The M829 is an armor-piercing, fin-stabilized, discarding sabot tracer round. (NSN 1315-01-226-7418-C786)
M830 HEAT-MP-T Round
This multipurpose round employs a shaped charge warhead to defeat targets. (NSN 1315-01-232-4638-C787)
M831A1 TP-T
Training round used to simulate the M830 tactical round. (NSN 1315-01-369-6612-C784)
M865 TP-T
Training round used to simulate the M829 tactical round. (NSN 1315-01-288-5545-C785)
GAU-8/A Ammunition
Currently in use with the 30mm Gatling gun on the U.S. Air Force A-10 close-support aircraft and Goalkeeper

The KE-T round uses a steel penetrator, no DU. While it is an APFSDS-T, it is not the DU one.
The M829 or ‘Silver Bullet’ is the APFSDS-T round I’ve been talking about.
The M830 is a High Explosive Anti Tank (HEAT) round, which uses a shaped chemical charge to defeat armor (it goes ‘boom’). No DU.
The M831A1 and M865 are TRAINING rounds. They are smaller and lighter than real rounds, colored blue, and have no DU. The M831A1 is a HEAT simulated round, so even if it was live, it wouldn’t have any DU.
The GAU-8 is a 30mm gatling gun used on the A-10. It shoots bullets.
Link, you’ve got me. An environmentalist site and a Leftist French newspaper say it’s so, so it must be. So far how many of your ‘sources’ have I successfully discredited? 2? 3? 4? You going for a dozen?
Now, in all fairness, the Seneca site does admit that some missile components are made of DU. Tell me, is a bomb a missile?

Oh, and it's hilarious to see someone like yourself suddenly concerned about the fate of the unborn.

"Now, in all fairness, the Seneca site does admit that some missile components are made of DU....."

-- 'Simple Simon'

Change your name all you want, you'll always be my little anonymous volunteer. Lovely picture. Someone you know? Let me guess: She picked up a handful of DU and rubbed it in her eyes and that's how she got that way. That DU crap is everywhere. Can't get those kids to stop playing with it.

Or, looking at the remarkably good condition of the rest of the child, one might surmise that this picture is bogus, much like most of AV/Link/Baby's sources.