Betrayed, UK Soldier Quits

Army officer quits in disgust over Afghan shambles & reveals: Our troops are called The Borrowers because they have to cadge ammo The heat is so intense that guns are melting British food is being stolen by Taliban lootersBy Nick OwensA SENIOR soldier is
Sunday Mirror
Sep. 24, 2006

The officer decided to leave after Tony Blair told exhausted troops they were in the war-torn country for "reconstruction".

He told how he and colleagues were furious with the message - because they had spent all their time in vicious battles with Taliban rebels.

The officer - a member of 16 Air Assault Brigade - has now turned whistle-blower to give a shocking account of how shortages have hit troops on the frontline.

He reveals how British soldiers were reduced to borrowing ammunition from Canadian forces also serving in the lawless Helmand province.

He says guns are melting in intense 50C heat, leaving soldiers unable to use them to defend themselves. Lives are being put at risk, he claims, because vital communication kits are being rationed. He also tells how Taliban fighters steal soldiers' food supplies because there aren't enough British troops to guard them.

The officer says he decided to speak out after they were told by Tony Blair in June: "This mission is a reconstruction mission - supported by the military." The officer said: "I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It is not a reconstruction exercise in Afghanistan. Every day lives are put at risk on the frontline. But we haven't got the proper equipment.

"Hearing that message was a kick in the guts for me and the rest of the boys. The truth is not being told and there is anger on the frontline about the lack of supplies."

The officer is the second in three weeks to quit the Army over the Afghanistan campaign. Earlier this month Captain Leo Docherty - aide to Colonel Charlie Knaggs, commander of British operations in Helmand - resigned claiming our strategy was "barking mad".

And this week the RAF's role in Afghanistan also came in for criticism - in leaked emails - by Major James Loden who condemned the force as "utterly, utterly useless".

Our whistle-blower arrived in the southern Helmand district believing troops would be restoring key services like schools and supplies of food and water.

But instead they were caught up in battles with Taliban snipers and militant Afghans trying to protect opium plantations.

The officer said: "Morale was good, but it quickly emerged that there was a shortage of weaponry and equipment for that battle." He told how during a ferocious daytime battle with Taliban fighters British troops realised their ammunition in 50 Calibre machine guns was not working properly. Canadian troops had to lend the desperate British soldiers 5,000 rounds. "It really hit the morale of our troops," he said.

Speaking of their SA 80 guns, which melted in the heat, he said: "You would go to pull the trigger and a piece of the gun would come away in your hand."

Night-time battles brought further dread to the troops. "There is a chronic lack of thermal image equipment, which allows you to plot the enemy at night," he said. "Without it you fight blind in a vast desert you don't know."

Communication equipment, including Harris 117 radios, which allow soldiers to call HQ for help and backup, was also being rationed. The officer revealed that Snatch Two Land Rovers, used to transport troops and kit in battle, often broke down. "They were not made for battles in the desert. Every day, two or three vehicles were being repaired because axles were breaking under the strain. It made you an open target."

A shortage of troops also meant Afghans were paid £1,000 a journey to transport British food, water and mechanical supplies across Helmand. "The Taliban were stopping drivers and looting vehicles every week. I dread to think how much money the British Army is losing from supplies going missing," the officer said.

Soldiers were sent to steal photocopying paper from American troops, because the British didn't have any. "It sounds ridiculous but we had to do it. The Americans started nicknaming us The British Borrowers," he said.

And he added: "I think dozens of soldiers and higher personnel will walk away from the Army after Afghanistan. I thought long and hard about my decision to leave. But there is a chronic lack of understanding from the Government and Ministry of Defence about the frontline in Afghanistan."

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "We don't believe these views represent a widespread problem on the ground in Afghanistan.

"The weapons and equipment are constantly reviewed and procedures are in place to meet the demands of troops on the frontline."

'PM's message.. the final straw'












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