Major Sebastian Morley, a reservist commander with the
Special Air Service (SAS), blamed a chronic lack of investment
in equipment for the deaths of some of his soldiers...
...He described the failure to equip his troops with heavy
armoured vehicles as "cavalier at best, criminal at worst", the
paper reported.
The Ministry of Defence and the government have faced
repeated criticism from senior officers and politicians over
equipment shortages in Iraq and Afghanistan.
And things get worse:
Last month, a coroner said defence chiefs should "hang their
heads in shame" over the lack of proper equipment and training
that contributed to the death of a British soldier during a
rescue in an Afghan minefield.
The Telegraph report said Morley thought his soldiers were
needlessly put at risk because they were forced to travel in
lightly armoured Land Rovers rather than heavier vehicles.
He blamed "chronic underinvestment" for the deaths in June
of four British soldiers killed by a landmine which destroyed
their Land Rover in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan.
One of those killed was Corporal Sarah Bryant, the first
British female soldier to be killed in Afghanistan.
Typically, from what I've seen, Special Forces (regardless of service) get the latest and greatest in field equipment and overwhelming support from non-SF forces (when requested). Many times these SF teams can acquisition non-standard, non-issued, civilian versions of equipment if necessary. Either way, SFs normally get what they want and should. Likewise, SF missions are normally given the highest priority to support via all means necessary for mission completion and success.
Maybe it's time for this Prince to get back into the action. He received all-around kudos early this year in Afghanistan for putting bombs on bad guys.
I know Prince Harry is the "spare", but I've got two words of advice for the Prince of Wales: Hip Holster.
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