Northwood Headquarters (a.k.a. H.M.S. Warrior), located a mile from Northwood town centre in leafy suburbia, is the UK military's Permanent Joint Forces Headquarters and home to NATO regional command Allied Maritime Component Command Northwood (AMCCN). The site, much of it contained in a network of underground bunkers, is the nerve centre for British joint military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere and Britain's submarine-based Trident nuclear missile system.

For the first year of the vigils, Catholic Worker Scott Albrecht, a former U.S. soldier, would stand alone outside the base, but reveals he used to suffer regular intimidation and brutal repression from the guards - many of them apparently veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - so he decided to relocate the vigil to the town centre to engage more with the general public. During Thursday's hour-long vigil, anti-war / pro-peace placards were displayed and flyers distributed to passers-by (see text below), who are generally much more sympathetic and receptive than in the past, Scott explains.

Members of the Catholic Worker Farm community  http://www.thecatholicworkerfarm.org , located in nearby Rickmansworth, work "to support and accommodate destitute women... These are vulnerable homeless women and children disentitled to benefits or work permits," the website reveals. "The house is located on a working farm, restored to suit the needs and comforts of our Guests, where we try to live each day by the love and values of Jesus Christ". The community also currently includes several interns, from the U.S., Sweden and Germany, who took part in the vigil having spent the morning making compost at the farm.

On the weekend of October 17-18, a two-day peace walk (around 10 miles (16 km) per day) from Northwood to the London Peace Pagoda in Battersea Park is planned as part of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence, which runs from October 2, 2009 to January 2, 2010  http://www.theworldmarch.org . The World March calls for the abolition of war and nuclear weapons and an end to all forms of violence, both physical and non-physical, visible and hidden. Various events are planned around Britain, Ireland, the rest of Europe and the world to coincide with this major global initiative.

The World March has been endorsed by many prominent personalities and groups, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Noam Chomsky, Tony Benn, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Alex Salmond MP MSP, Norman Baker MP, Clare Short MP, the Archhbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, Peter Tatchell, Mark Thomas, George Monbiot, Yoko Ono, President Evo Morales of Bolivia, many Nobel peace laureates, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, actors Viggo Mortensen, Penelope Cruz and Julie Christie, director Pedro Almodovar, musicians Lou Reed, Bryan Adams and Art Garfunkel, Daniel Berrigan, Mayors for Peace, Abolition 2000, World Without Wars (the initiators of the project) and Trident Ploughshares.

If you would like to take part in the London walk, whether for the whole journey or just for a day or part of the day, and whether on foot or by bicycle or car, please get in touch (contact details below). It would be particularly helpful to know as soon as possible if you need accommodation and if so for which nights (Friday, Saturday, Sunday).

E-mail: vd2012-worldmarch [at] yahoo.co.uk
Mobile: +44 (0)7506 234 091



Text of flyer distributed during today's vigil:


The Catholic Worker Farm
thecatholicworkerfarm [at] yahoo.co.uk
07983 477819


NO MORE WAR!

Northwood Permanent Joint Headquarters

Northwood History

Local associations in history include that of the only English Pope, Nicholas Breakspear with Harefield; Cardinal Wolsey and the Duke of Monmouth with Moor Park;
Finally it was recorded in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I that "Five Ruislipians and eight Uxbridge men with unknown malefactors to the number of a hundred, assembled themselves and played a certain unlawful game called football, by reason of which there arose a great affray, like to result in homicides and serious accidents."

Northwood Base Now

The team at Northwood Permanent Joint Headquarters on the other hand can be summarized as follows:

As part of the Defence Crisis Management Organisation, they provide politically aware military advice to the MOD to inform the strategic commitment of UK forces to overseas Joint and Combined operations.

When directed by the Chief of Defence Staff, practice operational command of UK forces assigned to overseas Joint and Combined operations, either led by the UK or another nation, in order to achieve Ministry of Defence UK's strategic objectives.
In conjunction with the Front Line Commands and MOD, develop the UK's Joint war-fighting capability. The HQ has some 630 personnel from the 3 Services and the Civil Service.

The HQ is responsible for directing, deploying, sustaining and recovering UK joint forces. Northwood was the "Nerve Centre" for UK forces in the Falklands war (1982), the bombing of Serbia and Kosovo (1999) and the attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq (1998, 2003, 2009). Many of the soldiers on armed guard duty are veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A £2.15 billion contract for the redevelopment, management and operation of facilities on the Northwood Headquarters site was announced by Ministry of Defence Minister. With £1.15 Billion one could build five hospitals, or pay off approximately 80% of the damage claims that followed the summer 2007 floods.

The 25 year contract for Northwood has been finalised with Eastbury Park Limited, a joint venture between Carillion Private Finance (Defence) Limited and HSBC Infrastructure Fund Management Limited. It will see the significant redevelopment of the 43 acre site at Northwood, Middlesex, the home of the Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ), which runs all UK military operations worldwide.

Northwood and Afghanistan

Whilst we mourn the loss of every human life, we can not see the continuing conflict as inevitable; nor as an excuse for the exploitation of suffering by the Anglo-American military-industrial complex. In the words of Pope John Paul II, "War is always a defeat for humanity".

Leaders without vision have dragged Britain into an illegal and immoral war with no definable end point, and it's all directed from Northwood.

According to a [November 2008] BBC poll, 68% of the British public said that all British troops should be withdrawn from Afghanistan within 12 months.

We believe the UK and US governments should work towards the following:

Diplomacy: Work to bring together Afghanistan's warring factions for a multi-party peace conference, as well as efforts to involve Iraq's international neighbours in the peace process.

Redevelopment: Provide funding and other support for reconstruction to be done by Afghans in ways that benefit Afghans.

Responsible Withdraw [sic]: Begin immediate cessation of offensive U.S. military operations and withdrawal of combat troops, and commit to not having a long-term U.S. presence in Afghanistan.

An Alternative Vision

The Prophet Isaiah says "nation shall not lift their sword against nation" and invites men to "beat their swords into ploughshares, spears into pruning hooks and study war no more". We feel that the ground beneath Northwood should be put to use for the common good. That energy, manpower and materials used in creating the buildings and war making infrastructure should be used to create peace and joy for all our children.

What you can do

Write to your MP asking whether he or she supported the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, whether they the support the presence of coalition troops there today, and whether they would support a similar unilateral invasion of Iran. If they would, let them know you will not be voting for them next time! If you live in Ruislip-Northwood, your MP is Nick Hurd. He can be reached at Nick Hurd MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA.

Join our weekly vigils!

[Boxed] Up to 100 civilians were killed in the [May 2009] U.S. air strikes in western Afghanistan, Afghan officials said. Houses were reduced to rubble in Bala Boluk. The majority of dead were said to be women and children, with many more, such as this child [pictured] injured.


[Photo is Copyright © 2009 D. Viesnik but may be reproduced free of charge if for non-commercial and non-intelligence-gathering purposes and credited to D. Viesnik. For free high resolution version or commercial use, please e-mail vd2012-imc [at] yahoo.co.uk ]