Britain to deploy 13,500 soldiers to protect Olympics

The British government announced on Thursday that it would deploy 12,000 soldiers to back up already extensive plans to protect the London Olympic Games and the Paralympics from terror attack. "Next year's Olympic and Paralympic Games are once-in-a-generation events for the UK. We want them to be secure so that all those competing and attending can enjoy the Games for the celebration of sporting achievement and cultural celebration that they are," Defense Secretary Philip Hammond said in a statement. The forces to be used include the high-profile deployment of the Royal Navy's largest ship, the helicopter carrier HMS Ocean, in the Thames right next to the Olympic Park in East London, and of another large naval vessel, HMS Bulwark, off the port of Weymouth where the Olympic sailing will take place. Helicopters would fly from HMS Ocean to provide air cover for the Olympic Park, backed up by Typhoon jet aircraft, which have only recently returned from military engagement in Libya. The military will provide 5,000 soldiers to back up the civil authorities, including bomb disposal teams. A further 7,500 troops will be used to support security at the Olympic venues, scattered across London. A 1,000-strong force will be held in reserve for a "civil emergency", which could include an outbreak of further rioting which London experienced for four nights in August. The announcement comes less than 24 hours after the leader of the British military, Chief of the Defense Staff Sir David Richards, spoke in his annual keynote speech at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) of an "especially unpredictable and unstable" 2012 in prospect. The Metropolitan Police, London's 36,000-strong police force, is the principal security service for the Olympics and it plans its biggest ever peacetime security operation. Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison, the Olympic Security Coordinator, said, "Our relationship with the armed forces has developed over a number of years and we have huge experience in working with them to deliver major events. Their support to our operation is built on these tried and tested practices. I know that they will also provide excellent support to the event organisers, LOCOG's, own venue security operation." "Delivering a safe and secure Games will only be achieved through a range of different agencies working closely together," he added.