A Question about the Army to do with the 7th Armoured Brigade because thats the regiment my step brother is in and i'm worried

[mumatuks]

Hi, I don't know how many army relatives are on here, but I just wondered if my Q. is possible to answer.

My Step Brother has only just gone out to Iraq about 7 days ago max. He is in the 7th Armoured Brigade , the same one that had 1 soldier killed and three others injured. He is an officer.
I don't know much about the army, how big these regiments are.

My Dad and Step Mum are back home up north and both at work, I don't know if they've even heard the news today. I don't want to text either of them to ask if he's okay or not and cause panic.

Can anyone help me here?

Thank you.

Is there anyway you could just talk to your Dad first? Then he could tell your step mum?
FWIW they almost always get in touch with families very very quickly often before the news breaks on Reuters

afaik a brigade is huge. not that that makes a differnce.

DH used to tell me when he went to Iraq that if anything should happen to him, i'd know, and his mum would know b4 the press were told.

I suspect your SB will be fine - fingers crossed, god willing.

will get DH to come on tonight if u'd like? he was based in shiabar (sp) where the injured lads have gone.

I've just text my Dad. He is a teacher, so will be somewhere between finishing last lesson and the kids going home.

Thanks for your messages they have hepled, I'll let you know as soon as I do.

My Dad text me back.. everything is fine.

Thankgod for that.

Yep, a brigade is massive, anything up to 1500 people. And generally, no news is good news. The casualty notification process is as good as the Army can make it. The only problems are caused by unofficial journalists and film crews being at the locations of incidents before anyone else (often they are locals and have inside knowledge) and their broadcasts cannot be stopped. But really, no news is good news.

Blimey, spoke to DH last night who said that 7 Armd Bde is more like 8500 people and basically encompasses almost all of the British soldiers in Iraq, so I hope that you can take a bit of comfort in that if, god forbid, we hear of another British casualty. I know exactly what it's like, though, as my dh has just returned from his 6 month tour.

Hi Piffle, Munz and Satine,

Just a little update since my brief message yesterday.

When I got in contact with my Dad he told me my SB is in the REME (royal electrical and mechanical engineers) division. I know he is /was? at Sandhurst and is an Officer. SB has told his Mum and my Dad that they don't need to worry as he has a "desk job" anyway. I don't know if he just said this is stop his Mum worrying or what, I know absolutely zilch about the army.

Thanks again to all who answered. Thank god he is alright, I could only think about his Mum and Fiance back here. I'm just sorry for all the other families.

Hi mumatuks! Your sb would have been at Sandhurst for his training, and may have gone back to do another job there later (as an instructor, possibly). In Iraq he might be working in a big barracks that is some way away from Basra and which is relatively safe, as the soldiers there don't, on the whole, go out on patrol. In fact other soldiers go there from other locations for a rest! So if that's the case, he's about as safe as he can be over there. HTH.

I heard this on R4 this morning and I wondered why they felt it necessary to mention the 7th Armoured Brigade at all, when they said at the same time that the soldier's family hadn't yet been informed - most people (me included) won't have a clue how big a brigade is so I bet a lot of people were as worried as mumatuks today .

Glad he is OK anyway but very for all those who have died.

glad ur SB is OK. tbh as long as he stays in a base camp he should be fine. do u know where's he's posted to out there? I used to worry more when DH was going to kuwait/omm qasar (sp) because of the travelling. I know my DH used to play it down quite a bit what he did there, but he also had a desk job - (was the brew queen! lol - so it's relativly safe)

like the others I do feel it's wrong they release any info b4 the family's are told, we did have an incident when DH was there - made worse cos they were on a no contact 48 hrs so he couldn't ring/email, it was then he said i'd know b4 anyone else. it's a worrying time, and I really feel for those who have lost ppl over there.

Hi Munz.

my SM just rang anf said SB had rung he is fine. He gets 20mins per week to phone home. We can also email him if we wish, he gets 40mins to check that every week too.

His job is checking in any supplies that come in (sorry can't say what) and then making sure they go to the other parts that need them. He is also teaching lads who are finshing their courses too.
He is out there for another 11 weeks before he comes home. He did add that if anything did happen that we'd know within 2 hours.

He trained for this and wanted to go out there! ..Yes, something we all don't understand either.

lol - I know hon my DH volenteered - god knows why?? anyhow, sounds like logistics which is good - everyone likes those boys cos they deliver the post! lol.

count the weeks down and plan stuff for when he's back, don't think about what he's up to out there that helped me a lot. we were lucky in the respect DH paid an extra $10 p/w on his credit card for an extra 60 mins of talk time (but we did have to pay for it) and he was fortunate to have a phone in the office he could use. lots of letters/emails, any luck they'll do free postage for easter as well.