A former senior British commander who was based in Bahrain has been recognised for his efforts, alongside sailors who faced down missile and drone attacks in the Middle East, in the combined New Year and Operational Honours approved by UK’s King Charles.
Commander David Armstrong spent close to a year as deputy commander of the Bahrain-based Combined Task Force (CTF) 150.
“The 10 months Commander David Armstrong spent as deputy commander of an international naval group in the Middle East spanned the most successful in the history of CTF-150 with 22 tonnes of illegal narcotics seized by coalition warships, including British frigates HMS Montrose and Lancaster,” said a Royal Navy statement.
Now in command of HMS Iron Duke, which returned home to Portsmouth from patrols just five days before Christmas, Commander Armstrong receives the King’s Commendation for Valuable Service for ‘a consummate performance’ during his stint in Bahrain where ‘he proved to be an outstanding diplomat combined with his ability to bring the best out of the team’.
CTF 150 operates in an area that spans more than two million square miles, covering the Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea, Red Sea and the Northern Indian Ocean. It was created to counter terrorism, prevent trafficking and uphold law and order through maritime security operations.
One of the highlights of Commander Armstrong’s mission here was a massive drugs haul in April 2023, worth an estimated street value of $23m, from a fishing vessel transiting international waters in the Indian Ocean.
The GDN reported that a total of 507kg of heroin was seized by the task force following the interdiction.
A total of 32 men and women from across the Senior Service have been named in the end-of-year honour’s list – including nine officers, with different ranks, who were deployed in the Red Sea and Gulf of Yemen (who served 2022-2023) in the region.
They have been singled out for their efforts, either in the line of fire of Houthi rebels’ indiscriminately attacking shipping, or directing the complex operation to protect merchant vessels and keep the link between the Middle East and Mediterranean open.
Among them is Commander Pete Evans who was the Commanding Officer of HMS Diamond during an historic deployment that saw the Type 45 destroyer shoot down nine drones and a Houthi missile.
He earns an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his leadership under constant threat of attack during an operation which moved at a relentless pace.
“I’m incredibly proud of HMS Diamond ship’s company, who showed an incredible amount of professionalism and bravery in the Red Sea,” said Commander Evans.
“It was their actions which kept the merchant mariners in the region safe. We were told to stop merchant ships coming to harm and we definitely did that.”
The Type 45 destroyer returned to Portsmouth in July last year after an historic six-month deployment in the Middle East, helping safeguard vital international shipping lanes against indiscriminate attacks on merchant vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden – through which 11 per cent of global trade passes.
The ship’s momentous mission saw her sail nearly 44,000 miles, spending 151 days at sea and, in one night last year, shoot down seven drones aimed at merchant vessels by the Houthis in Yemen – the most aerial threats neutralised by a Royal Navy warship in modern times in one day.
Several former members of HMS Diamond’s crew have also been recognised in the honours.
Among them is Able Seaman Warfare Specialist M Winton who picked out an enemy drone, took aim and destroyed it with the 30mm cannon.
This manual aiming of the weapon system, unaided by targeting technology, undoubtedly saved the lives of civilian sailors on board a merchant ship, according to the Royal Navy.
The GDN reported last week that British archaeologist Professor Timothy Insoll was named in King Charles’ New Year honours list for his work in Bahrain over two decades. He has been awarded Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to archaeology in the kingdom and UK-Bahrain relations.
Mr Insoll is an expert in the archaeology of rituals and religions with particular specialism in sub-Saharan Africa, the Arabian Gulf and Arabian Peninsula.
He is Al Qasimi Professor of African and Islamic Archaeology and founder and director of the Exeter University’s Centre for Islamic Archaeology in the world-leading Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies.
His research team, including colleagues from Bahrain, uncovered one of the earliest Christian buildings (in Samaheej) in the Arabian Gulf in Bahrain in 2019 – the first physical evidence of a long-lost community there who were followers of the Church of the East, sometimes also called the Nestorian Church.
Honours are typically awarded by King Charles, Prince of Wales or Princess Royal, at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle or the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
Recipients can select their investiture’s date and location but not which member of the Royal Family will preside over the ceremony.
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