Sunday, July 23, 2006
Bombproof vehicles for troops in Iraq!
Read this About time to!I don't believe it,the MOD's actualy going to spend some money and,even more bizare,on something that works and the Army realy needs!Wonders never cease!-It's a shame this vehicle wasn't introduced two years ago though,when it first became apparent that the equipment in service was woefully inadequate for the job in hand.Dozens of British soldiers' lives could have been saved and hundeds spared avoidable wounds if we had been given these vehicles sooner.Having personally been forced to used both the "Wolf" and "Snatch" landrovers in Iraq in 2004 I can say that I was extremely aware,on an almost hourly basis,how useless and dangerous they realy were!Two out of every three "Snatches" broke down every day,some almost as soon as we drove out of the gates!The Snatch was top heavy,a bitch to drive,the brakes were bollocks and its so called "Armour" was a joke!We had to "bungee" the rear doors open because the catches were useless and we needed more firepower facing to the rear,the perspex screens around the "topcover" hatch were just an anoyance and we held them flat with small stones to keep them out the way,there weren't enough fire extinguishers to go around,which was a big worry,as the snatch went up like a bbq when lit and petrol bombs were common as flies in Basrah.All in all it was bollocks!As regards the "Wolf" landrover that was even worse!All the wolf is is a normal SOFT TOP "lanny" with a zooped up engine without the governers.The lucky ones had window protection kits which were basicaly grills purpose built that fitted over the windscreen and two side windows.(I forget the proper army name for these kits)Most didn't have any protection at all and we had to "Jery rig" our own kits out of bits of grill found around the base,I even saw chiken wire used!We cable tied bits of metal tracking along the sides,some teams even used stolen landrover doors!We had to steal breakdown kits,because there weren't enough to go around(after breaking down in the middle of the desert,miles from any help,without a working radio and having to rely on a mobile phone that only sometimes worked,we weren't going to take that chance again-All we needed that day,unbelievably,was a simple tow rope!)Let's hope the troops on the ground get this vehicle asap before more lives are lost or ruined by the government's "penny pinching" and incompetence!
