British soldiery Under Funded in Afghanistan

It was reported in the British press in March 2010 that British Soldiers in Afghanistan "would be alive" if they had the right equipment. The British Government had failed to increase the funding to the soldiery in real terms.

The relatives of the first female soldier Cpl Sarah Bryant who was killed in Afghanistan in 2008 believe that she and her colleagues would be alive today if the Labour Government had in case,granted her with the proper equipment and training.

News From Afghanistan

The verdict of the coroner was that they were killed unlawfully.

The coroner said that they did not have the proper equipment or training.

The Prime priest said on 10th March 2010 that the training and equipment was being improved but this is all too diminutive to late after all he has been the Chancellor of the Exchequer since 1997.

Cpl Sarah Bryant was killed in Helmand Province in Afghanistan on June 17th 2008. With her were killed Cpl Sean Reeve, L/Cpl Richard Larkin and Trooper Paul Stout when their Snatch Land Rover was hit by a roadside bomb. The Snatch Land Rover was not designed for Afghanistan. It had previously been deployed in Northern Ireland on tarmac roads, not sand in a desert. This vehicle has been complicated in at least 37 deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The inquest was told how British soldiers had repeatedly asked for Wmik Land Rovers which have much best off road ability where as the Snatch is designed for use on real roads.

When the British soldiers were informed that they would only have the Snatch Land Rover for their definite performance they greeted the news with some "disbelief" de facto soldiers had nick named these vehicles as "Mobile Coffins".

They were made to be used on regular roads as they could not drive off road.

They had used a metal detector to check a water policy for mines but sadly some 70 metres later the Snatch vehicle detonated a mine incommunicable in a shallow ditch. The blast was described as huge. All four died roughly instantly.

If they had been driving a Wmik Landrover they would very probably have driven whether side of the water policy and therefore would have had a far greater possibility of surviving. A former infantry commander has called the Snatch Landrover a "death trap" and Dr Richard North a defence specialist had advised that it was "totally inadequate" for dealing with mines and bombs.

Major Sebastian Morley the Sas squadron commander in Helmand province resigned four months after this terrible incident and he accused the Labour government of being "Cavalier at best Criminal at worst " over equipping troops. He accused Whitehall officials of or continually ignoring warnings that habitancy would be killed if they prolonged to allow soldiery to be conveyable in Snatch Land Rovers.

At the inquest into their deaths evidence was heard that they were forced to use this vehicle because of vehicle shortages and that they lacked training in the use of metal detectors.Rather crucial I would have plan when you need to detect mines that are made of metal.

The Labour Government has said that the defence funds is rising but that is the very least that one would expect if you have two wars to fight one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.

It seems that the Government failed to properly plan, act or equip the soldiery with the proper equipment

Therefore the deaths of these Soldiers must fall on their conscious. This is not a heritage that I would be proud of that is of soldiers being sent to war who are both poorly qualified and trained.

Only now, some two years after these soldiers death is the government arranging for new equipment to be delivered in the later half of 2010.

It is very sad that unlawful killing (the coroners' verdict) of British Soldiers is part of the Labour Legacy.

This is brought home to us every week as those lines of Black Hearses hike straight through Wooton Basset bringing back our dead heroes.

The Prime priest has now confirmed in the House of Commons that his evidence to the Chilcot inquiry was wrong in that the funding to the British Army had not increased every year in real terms as he had previously advised.

British soldiery Under Funded in Afghanistan

Related : todays world news headlines