If you have been following the news from this troubled hot spot you will be aware that for some months there have been complaints and criticism from the troops, their leaders, and opposition MP’s that there is a lack of suitable equipment. It has been cited many times as a contributory factor in the premature deaths of our soldiers. Amongst the complaints have been unsuitable or inferior weaponry, lack of helicopters and Snatch Land Rovers which were unfit for purpose due to the fact that they had not been built and designed to withstand roadside bombs.
Eventually after much prevarication Gordon Brown has decided to purchase 262 American Built Navistar MXT-MVA vehicles at a cost of £600,000 each. This is to replace the controversial Snatch Land Rovers in which 37 British Soldiers have been killed by roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Good news for our troops you may well think, until you learn the real facts behind this debacle. These vehicles were in fact tested for their resistance to road side bombs by the Americans and failed to pass explosive survivability tests. In fact they were rejected by the Americans for use in Afghanistan. Yet the £600,000 vehicle known as a Husky will be used by British Army Patrols in Helmand Province. But the Pentagon has now ordered another armed off roader – the Oshkosh M –ATV at half the cost per vehicle – only £300,000.
Former army officer Patrick Mercer, chairman of the Commons sub committee on counter terrorism said, “If this vehicle is not good enough for the Americans, why should it be good enough for our men? The Husky is meant to be the solution to our men dying in roadside bomb attacks, but if it is not good enough then it does not make sense in trying to acquire it. Surely the MoD can see that if the American trials have found it wanting, then ours should as well.”
Despite all this, Britain has gone ahead and signed a £150 million contract to replace the Snatch Land Rover with a vehicle similar to the ones tested and rejected by the Americans.
Former army officer Patrick Mercer, chairman of the Commons sub committee on counter terrorism said, “If this vehicle is not good enough for the Americans, why should it be good enough for our men? The Husky is meant to be the solution to our men dying in roadside bomb attacks, but if it is not good enough then it does not make sense in trying to acquire it. Surely the MoD can see that if the American trials have found it wanting, then ours should as well.”
Despite all this, Britain has gone ahead and signed a £150 million contract to replace the Snatch Land Rover with a vehicle similar to the ones tested and rejected by the Americans.
Is the Glorious Gordon mad, bad or just insane?
No comments:
Post a Comment