Raider Magazine - the fastest growing independent British military publication. Free circulation to British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Back Issues

Back issues are available direct form the publishers at a price of £3.50, $7.10 and €4.61 per issue or any 6 copies for £15.00 + £5.96 postage (other countries please call for postal charges).

Back issue enquiries to paul@ebcon.co.uk

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Volume 4, Issue 9 (In stock)

January 2012

Welcome to 2012 and to a whole new year of Raider!

As many of you regular readers will have seen it has been my privilege to take over the Editorship of Raider recently, but I felt very strongly that Paul should stay at the helm of what he originally created and keep the Foreward for himself.

I've tried as hard as possible to make the content of Raider more pointed , whether it be in terms of gear, of special interest items, or about our basic mission which is to let everyone know what our servicemen and women are really up to at the "sharp end".

Obviously, as part of that process, you cannot help but put a little of yourself into what you write and report on, so Paul has now asked me to fully take over the reins.

I hope that you will have seen small changes happening in recent months; book reviews in the main have moved towards issues that I feel are pertinent to things going on in the world today.

You may also have seen Garreth Murrell from Veterans at Ease joining us in his regular column on PTSD issues; I'm delighted by this as I feel strongly that Raider is there for you, our readers, and if any of you are suffering in any way due to your service then it's vitally important that you know what help is available to you!

Operational news has widened in scope and will continue to do so; I have to admit that initially I had no idea how important these reports were to those of you who receive Raider in theatre. A chance meeting with a Company Sergeant Major taught me differently though; he thanked me for reporting on what they had done on their Tour in Afghanistan and how their families had been proud to hear what they were up to whilst they were there.

This was personally humbling, I have to tell you, and of course my response was to thank him for his service, and to please pass that on to all his soldiers!

Equipment Reviews will be moving up a notch too, with more and more of a focus on the "Tried and Tested" aspect. I've got some new faces lined up for the Team in 2012 so expect to be reading some pretty interesting reviews.

I'm going to sign off for this issue with a huge "Thank You" to all of you, especially those currently serving, who have, and continue to loyally support Raider. Although I may be the "caretaker" this is YOUR magazine.

Raider: Eye on the target, boots on the ground!

Volume 4, Issue 9 (In stock)

January 2012

Raider keeps on giving If you live in the South East and caught the evening news on Tuesday the 15th November you would have most probably seen the piece on the Danny Boy Trust? And the theft they had from one of their collection tins The trust was set up by the parents and family of Rifleman Daniel John Holkham of the 3rd Battalion the Rifles, who died in March 2010. The aim of the trust is to offer support to schools, youth clubs & children's organizations in Rifleman Holkham home town of Sheerness, Kent, The MOD reported on the 28 Mar 2010 that Rifleman Daniel John Holkham aged 19, died in an explosion that was caused by a suicide bomber who detonated a device near to the Sangin bazaar. Rifleman Holkham's family said: "The loss of our son Danny has left a huge hole in our lives and that of his brothers and friends that can never again be filled. He served his country faithfully and with great pride. Lieutenant Colonel Nick Kitson, Commanding Officer, 3 RIFLES Battle Group, said: "Daniel Holkham was a model Rifleman; robust, bright and dedicated, he was everything a commander could hope for and more. Joining us a year before our build-up training for this deployment, he had ample opportunity to show that he had both quality and potential in abundance. "There is no doubt that a bright future lay ahead of this young man and it is a tragedy that he has been robbed of the opportunity to fulfil it. I don't know about you guys? But we here at Raider were sickened by the report of the theft and strongly believed that we as a Military publisher had to do something We had a collection in the office and was able to replace the money that was stolen from the Danny Boy Trust We here at Raider hope that the low life scum bag who stole the money is caught and brought to justice

I'll leave you this month with a quote from the Danny Boy trusts web site "Education, Training, Life skills, Opportunity & Respect are we believe the soul of our communities past, present & future Laughter and fun filled Danny's life as a child, through the many clubs and activities he enjoyed, he then followed his dreams & with pride he served our country" If you would like to make a donation to the trust please visit http://www.thedannyboytrust.co.uk

Raider - Finger on the trigger, Boots on the ground!

Volume 4, Issue 6 (In stock)

October 2011

A Hero passes We start this issue with the sad news that SAS hero John McAleese died recently of a heart attack. John Mac was thrust into the public eye as a member of the SAS, he led a crack team in the storming of the Iranian Embassy 30 years ago. The 62 year old died suddenly in his sleep whilst on holiday it was reported, however a source close to the family told us that he was a fit man with no heart problems and added that John never got over the death of his son whilst deployed in Afghanistan. Paul a senior NCO with 2nd Battalion, The Rifles, was trying to help a young injured comrade who was caught in the blast from an IED in Helmand province in August 2009. Sadly a secondary blast killed them both. Paul, left wife Joanne and four-month-old son Charley when he was killed aged 29 and we understand that he had hoped to follow in his dad's footsteps by joining the SAS. After the death of his son insiders have informed us that John called for then - Prime Minister Gordon Brown to provide British troops with better equipment or resign. John McAleese spent 23 years in the Army (Royal Engineers) of which 16 of them were in the SAS. The SAS raid, codenamed "Operation Nimrod", was broadcast live at peak time on a bank holiday Monday evening and was viewed by millions of people; making it a defining moment in British history and for the very first time in the UK the media highlighted the work of the SAS. Both the BBC and ITV interrupted their scheduled programming to show the end of the siege. RIP John

Volume 4, Issue 5 (In stock)

September 2011

Follow the leader As we continue to rack up on controlled FREE circulation I can't help but notice that others are following suit, which is good as it provides an invaluable service to our brave young men and women deployed, but we're not stopping there and that's because Soldiers, Sailors and Air crew that have been reading Raider in theatre for over 3 years now have been asking us if we can carry on sending the copies back at home. Our answer to that is an emphatic "YES" So if you are a member of our armed forces and want to receive Raider completely FREE then get your Mess Officers to contact us and we will arrange for copies to be sent directly to you Messes. Don't worry if your part of 16 Air Assault of 3 Commando because that's already happening. For us it's all about providing a service and doing our bit. You may have noticed that we have an ad sales team or deadline deals on advertising space, which in turn means that we have no targets to achieve, in fact the only targets we have on our radar is you - and we know that we are getting through because our advertisers tell us of the response they get to their ad space, you'll also notice that with this issue we have had to go up in size yet again! Stay a while and enjoy the ride - thousands do.

Volume 4, Issue 4 (In stock)

August 2011

On screen and over there and back in action

As the UK Hit WWII film Age of Hero's (released in cinemas in May) gears up to come out on DVD 30 Commando deploy for the first time in over seventy years to the front line. The film starring Sean Bean follows the exploits of an offensive naval intelligence unit made up of Royal Marines ventured into Norway to capture vital Nazi technology. Despite their successes in WW2, 30 Commando was disbanded shortly after the war, however in December 2010 the title was reintroduced when it was adopted by United Kingdom Landing Force Command Support Group (UKLF CSG), which better reflects the unit's role and continued use of the skills, techniques and methodology learnt by their forbearers during WW2. 30 Commando deployed to Afghanistan on Operation HERRICK 14, as part of 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines. The unit, made up predominantly of Royal Marines also includes Royal Navy, RAF and Army personnel. Their main job is to find information; understand the information to derive intelligence from it The modern day 30 Commando comprises four Squadrons (Communications, Support, Logistics and Y Squadron) who are each at the forefront of obtaining and processing intelligence. They are supported in Afghanistan by two Royal Artillery Batteries, who provide Intelligence Surveillance Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) assets and surveillance experts. See our full Unit profile on pages 28. Raider - Finger on the trigger, Boots on the ground!

Volume 4, Issue 3 (In stock)

July 2011

Gotcha! With this issue comes the news that US Navy SEAL's conducted a raid in Pakistan, which resulted in the death of Osama bin laden. The Raid (a kill or capture mission) according to US law chief was designed that way as the US military believed that bin laden would not be taken alive (which he had publically stated in the past) and that there was a possibility that bin laden may have been wearing a suicide vest? We here at Raider feel that US President Obama took the right course of action by ordering the "hit" and inserting a SEAL team to carry it out, which was a bold move especially when you consider that reports suggested only half his national security team favoured a SEAL insertion. When you think about it, this riskier option was in our opinion the only option that the US President could take. An air strike which would have been on the table, would not have given the US and for that matter the world visual confirmation that America's "Most Wanted" was dead? One question we have been asked by a number of our readers relates directly to bin laden's sea burial, and the reasons behind it? We here at Raider would suggest that there is no shrine or grave that the followers of al-Qaida can flock to. We guess you'll just have to ask the sailors aboard the USS Carl Vinson (which played a major top secret role in bin Laden's burial at sea) and as we suspect also the insertion of the SEAL team. Raider - Finger on the trigger, Boots on the ground!

Volume 4, Issue 2 (In stock)

June 2011

Anyone want to buy a ship? If you have been keeping up with the news you would have no doubt seen that the Iconic Flag Ship (HMS Ark Royal) of the British Navy is up for sale after 25 years of service. This, the fifth Flag ship to carry the name lead the UK's naval forces during the invasion of Iraq. The first ship carrying the name saw action way back in 1588 against the Spanish Armada. The scrapping of the Ark which was brought forward by several years has been highly criticised and leaves the Navy without the capacity to launch fixed-wing aircrafts until at least 2021 when its replacement will be commissioned. There have been a number of reports that this grand old lady of the sea may end up as a commercial heliport in London or even a nightclub or school in China, however we suspect that the "Ark" will be unceremoniously dragged off to a breakers yard and sold for scrap, but one thing is for certain we as a Maritime nation have a vastly depleted fleet without the capability of launching aircrafts at sea. Now you may argue that the global threat to our nation's security has shifted and that we don't need to park a carrier fleet just of the shores of an aggressor's nation! All we at Raider can say is "Take a look at Operation ELLAMY (which by the way is featured in this issue) to see how important (in our humble opinion) it is that our Navy (that once ruled the waves) has a carrier at its disposal&.. Only time will tell.

Raider - Finger on the trigger, Boots on the ground!

Volume 4, Issue 1 (In stock)

May 2011

With this month's edition of Raider, you'll not only notice that we have effortlessly moved into our 4th volume, but you'll also notice a slight change in Raider. This has simply been done to accommodate the new advertisers Raider has attracted. Why? Because Raiders circulation is unique and gets into the hands of people that matter, which in turn drives business to our supporters. This naturally creates a healthy publication, which is creating a stir in certain sectors of our industry. Normally competitors (yes we have a few) are professional enough to take our growing success on the "chin" and one recently complemented us on our growth and unique circulation. Competition is a good thing, but if it unleashes the "Green Eyed Monster" effect then this is very sad. Success isn't handed to you on a plate you have to work for it and NOT expect the world owes you a living. On a brighter note the recent IWA show in Germany was a raging success, with a record foot fall and higher exhibitor levels than previous years. You can read all about our patrol at the IWA in this issues "On Patrol". One exclusive that was on our radar well before the IWA was the all new A-TACS camouflage, we were pleasantly impressed to see how many different manufactures were present with A-TACS clothing and accessories. We have been working closely with the guys at DCS to bring you an exclusive on this all new must have camouflage system. Raider - Finger on the trigger, Boots on the ground!

Volume 3, Issue 12 (In stock)

April 2011

Outrageous

Raider has recently learnt that the British Army is sacking its employees via email. Although the Army has apologised to the 38 soldiers (one currently deployed to Afghanistan) who received the email. This huge cock up comes shortly after Raider learnt that a staggering Â¼ of Trainee RAF pilots will not have a job as the RAF cuts 1 in 4 in the latest stage of defence cuts.

The 38 warrant officers all have at least 20 years' service received the email, which read "I write to notify you that with regret, I must issue you with 12 months' Notice of Termination. As I'm sure you are aware the Army has to make significant cutbacks and we... are expected to play our part in reductions." One senior soldier (the Sun Newspaper claimed) received his marching orders whilst on deployment. Defence Secretary Liam Fox went on record to say it had been "a completely unacceptable way" to treat the 38 troops who had received the email. He added: "The correct procedure was not followed and I want to reiterate the unreserved apology already made by the Army.

"Arrangements have already been put in place to ensure this does not happen again and the Army are already investigating the particular circumstances."

The MOD were fast to point out that this error was not the fault of the civil servants or ministers, but a sequencing error made by the Army.

All we can say here at Raider is "way to go guys"- nice one!

Raider - Finger on the trigger, Boots on the ground!

Raider is proud to support Combat Stress http://www.combatstress.org.uk

Volume 11, Issue 3 (In stock)

March 2011

Continued Growth For a while now we've been looking at better ways to satisfy your demands for Raider (especially) our gear content. First we launched our popular face book page, now we bring you our all new and exciting blog Add screen garb http://raidermag.blogspot.com/

The idea behind this resource is to bring you breaking news (when it happens) and real time reports from all of the military shows that we attend each and every year not just here in the UK but for instance the Shot Show in the US and the IWA in Germany. Here at Raider we feel its important to report these not just to bang the "Raider Drum" although this is important, but more significantly it's all about bring you the latest and greatest in tactical gear and accessories and ultimately things that matter to you in the real world.

Raider - Finger on the trigger, Boots on the ground!

Add signature Paul On the cover

Raider is proud to support Combat Stress http://www.combatstress.org.uk

Volume 3, Issue 10 (In stock)

February 2011

Upwards and Onwards We kick this issue off with the news that we have a new member of the team joining us (Bill Thomas) you've seen a few articles published by him in recent editions, but he is now getting stuck in at the sharp end and taking over the reigns as Editor of this beast that we have created. Bill is a general Military expert and also a technical guru in fabrics and layer systems (yes Military ones). We've got some great editorial planned, which over a very short period of time will add a more in-depth coverage to the amazing, exclusive editorial that we already publish, which in turn will see Raiders issue grow in size. We've received a whole heap of emails from you guys our readers asking us about a survivalist section in Raider. We're not about swallowing things to regurgitate them in the slim chance that you're going to be abducted, or the whole world turns into Zombies and you stand alone, but what we are going to do (in 2011) is publish a series of supplements/specials on things that really matter - for you guys that means informative subject's that make a difference in the real world. At this point in time Raider has the privilege of having the highest penetration of any publisher into troops in Afghanistan (source Higgs International) and its FREE, why do we do that? Because we care! We're not in it to make a fast buck or for that matter turn a profit, but to provide a service, in fact any profits we make are ploughed right back into the publication and that can certainly be seen with the growth of our global readership.

Paul

Raider is proud to support Combat Stress http://www.combatstress.org.uk

Volume 3, Issue 9 (In stock)

January 2011

Yes I know this is our January issue and yes I know our December issue is already out there, but you know what? Its Christmas&! It only seems like yesterday that I was saying that for the 2009 Christmas edition, time has certainly flown by this year. I don't know if that's because I'm old, but years don't seem to be as long as they once were. However time seems to stand still for the families of deployed service men and women, that six or seven month tour seems to last forever - conflicts rip families apart, but life has to go on and it's especially hard at special times and Christmas is certainly that. I was recently talking to a young girlfriend of a member of 40 Commando who in her own words said "I missed him whilst he was deployed" and added " I wouldn't be able to cope if he was away at Christmas", but families do just that, they cope, they have to. So whilst you're spending Christmas with your loved ones at home this year, give our brave young men and women a thought, because not only are they away from their loved ones, they choose to put themselves in harm's way to protect their loved ones at home and ultimately our great nation. We here at Raider are exceptionally proud of the men and women that make up our armed forces (that's why we publish Raider).

To all of our deployed troops we wish you a Merry Christmas and a safe deployment. Paul

On the cover Two soldiers train at the new Afghan facility at Bastion Picture Cpl Mark Webster RLC

Raider is proud to support Combat Stress http://www.combatstress.org.uk

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Raider magazine is published by Ebcon Publishing
Tel: 01622 692885
Email: paul@ebcon.co.uk