SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7703419.stm


Seems like this Government and it's non elected prime minister would sooner get involved with ropey radio broadcasts than give our lads the kit they need.

You can bet if any of the ministers go out there they get the resources to make sure there are safe.

So yet more lies from a Government renowned for its lies. Lets face it the lads are out there because this government lied so whats one more bloody lie.

How long have our lads been fighting over there now ?, And its took this long for this bunch of muppets to do something. And how long will it take them to get the vehicles out there.

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

Well done for raising this, you beat me it! Yet another glowing example of HMG's 'total commitment' to our troops... :rolleyes:

Whilst they waste no opportunity to pronounce their respect for the dead and Darling makes a song and dance about waiving the VAT on a charity record, troops are getting blown to pieces because they're still having to use vehicles which weren't designed for and patently aren't suitable for the purpose. As for when they get the much needed replacement well I thought I heard 2010 quoted on TV last night ..... :confused:

I really wish more senior military personnel would put their heads above the parapet and force our duplicitous leaders to act!

Here's what John Hutton claimed a few weeks back:

http://www.mod.uk/defenceinternet/de...esecretary.htm

and more recently:

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/article52953.ece

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

the bbc gets thousands of complaints over the ross/brand saga i wonder how many will bother over this, either kit them correctly or bring them home.

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

MOD budget cuts and programmes put on hold are not going to help.

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

I used the snatch rovers on 3 of my tours of NI and they were crap then, How can this government allow them to be used still i have no idea :mad:

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

If I was in charge I wont care how much it costs you get the correct equipment out there when the troops first get there not ages after bunch of knobs our government

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

This government lets be honest has a track record on this they all come out and sing from the same sheet when something bad happens that they are directly responsible for and when the cameras bugger off so does the concern. While we can make a noise about it fact is it isn't gonna help our people who are out there and everyday have to face greater risks because of crap kit.

But here is the thing that makes me so angry we have some of the best trained troops in the world who have a pride in that then they have to put up with being the butt of every other nation jokes concerning equipment and this is not a new thing i can remember some *cough*discussions*cough* with americans nearly 15 years ago on this issue so it really is time to sort it out.

To the spineless morons that are our government if you want to take part in wars fine make sure the people you send have the kit they need to do that fighting or do us all a favour and you sod off and fight it god we could only hope.

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

I think this puts into perspective just how bad the situation is. You don't get into the SAS, let alone become commander by whinging unnescessarily, being weak-willed or undedicated/patriotic. For someone in his position to have to quit, it must be bad.

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

More info HERE

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

Training is an area where large cuts have been made, I *cough* understand *cough* that some traiing courses have been cut from months to weeks to save money over the past 5 years or so.

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

The Mastiff being a modified variant of the 6x6 Cougar Armoured patrol vehicle. The MoD have also ordered 160 of the 4x4 versions which will be modified and designated "Ridgeback", supposedly to become operational in spring next year. These new vehicles will be used in urban environments where a smaller vehicle is more appropriate and the existing Mastiff vehicles will be redeployed in rural areas.

There have also been an additional 70 Jackal patrol vehicles ordered which are more of a lightly armoured high mobility, special operations vehicle

This doesn't really help the lads who are stuck out there using the snatch landys at the moment though :(

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

Our armed forces have never had the equipment they need.......
it is down to Their skill and Know how they do so well...
I am Proud of them All............:)

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

All because the long winded procedures and requirements makes it impossible to just go out and buy a product straight off the shelf. The MOD work in reverse to most other organisation, they set out a specification and then after a long winded selection process the suppliers design and build to it to the MOD spec.

In many cases it would be far better to go out and see what is available off the shelf and meets x percent of your requirements. It would certainly get something far better out there for the troops to use.

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

We have always had to use some inferior kit, guys would buy their own if the powers would let them wear it. The SAS are allowed to choose what kit they wear, & what weapon they use.

What really gets squaddies annoyed, is that good kit is readily available. Kit fit for purpose, on issue to other forces, why spend money developing a weapon that will never be as good as one thats readily available. I don't know about the rovers in use today, but in my day the Rovers had their fuel tanks situated under the drivers & passengers seat. Anything going pop under that would deffo give you a bad day.

Civil servants, with no idea whatsoever, decide what kit is eventually ordered, & its all down to cost. We do have some good clobber, tried & tested, & other forces, to their credit have copied it. I remember one Rupert ripping into me cos I wore a pair of German boots. He didn`t last long. Surprised he could tell the difference.

The Chinook saga, the SA80, Nimrod, billions of wasted pounds. The list could go on. As has been said, for an SAS Rupert to jack it in is bad. Very bad. Boys are working day in day out, & pulling stag. Its not the best way to retain men. Our professional Army is fast becoming a professional pis*ed off army. Moral just took another nose dive.

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7704276.stm

And so it continues

Mr Davies should go out to Afghanistan and do a few patrols in one then.

The mans an idiot :mad:

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

Funny that. I know a couple of boys out there and 0 per cent of them are satisfied with the equipment. Either that or satisfied means still useless but a little less useless than before.

I suppose it could have been the coffee machine at the airport he was referring to.

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

:tu:

Trust me my lad is going back there and he WILL have to go out and buy his own kit. The kit the army issue is old and not fit for purpose.

He has to buy boots and webbing because the issue kit is no good in the environment they will be operating in.

.

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

You should (and anyone else in this position) should send an invoice direct to the MOD on behalf of our brave soldiers - it's a national disgrace!

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

"I recently visited Afghanistan, and 100 per cent of those I asked said they were now satisfied with their equipment." Next time you go on a jaunt perhaps you should speak to some british troops and not american ones then because no soldier i have known for a very long time was satisfied with issue kit. Though a long time ago now i used to get a lot of basic kit from a place called sass dunno if they are still going but always had much better selection and better quality then the crap we were issued.

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7725133.stm

Now Hutton admits our forces are palpably overstretched but:

"defended the preparedness of troops currently in Iraq and Afghanistan, after recent criticism of equipment shortages and deficiencies, saying they were better equipped than for many years."

Anyway since Mr Hutton thinks our troops need some breathing space, perhaps he could ask the Taliban for a ceasefire while he and the MOD sort this mess out.... :rolleyes:

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

Are any of us so naive as to think this is a problem that politicians will admit too i think we all know better then that afterall they don't need to admit equipment shortages as long as there is plenty of ink and paper for them and of course secretary's.

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8144431.stm

It's about time HMG and the MOD sorted this out so best of luck to her.. :tu:

Meanwhile.... in a world all of his own.... Gordon Brown cynically carries on the spin and deceit:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8145364.stm

Yeah right! :mad: :mad:

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

Kit has been improved over the past year & most guys are satisfied, however, no soldier can have everything he or she wants, unless they buy it themselves. Boots are a common gripe amongst the lads. Gordon Brown & his cronies will tell you we have the best equipped Army in the world, & we all know its just BS.

SF have, & need, much more sophisticated gear then the ordinary soldier, costing thousands more. The Special forces budget is very high compared to the average infantryman.

I agree we should equip our forces with the best we can afford, the trouble is, a lot of the time, civil servants make the decision, based on cost, & not quality or efficiency, as to what they get.

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

A mate of mine who's currently serving says Whitehall bases cost on theoretical safety levels (ie perfect weather conditions etc) whereas what the forces really need is the equipment tested to actual safety levels.

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

Or it could have been the slop jockeys in the cookhouse he was asking.

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

More weasel words from Darling on the subject of equipment/resources and HMG's committment to our troops... :rolleyes:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8146082.stm

But I thought these people had been claiming for the past few years that our troops have eveything they needed.... :confused:

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

As long as we have politicians that have never served a day in their life we will have a lack of complete understanding of exactly what is needed. What you can always gaurantee is that no politician will ever go out of their way to find out the reality of any given situation.

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

For a SAS skipper to do this, there has to be something terribly wrong with our forces, in fact a very good friend of mine, has just joined the RAF, and he has been told to buy, his OWN uniform, BOOTS, and other essentials, which to me is disgusting.

This government is a damn disgrace, if they cannot buy what the forces need to fight for our freedom, he has been sent to a base in Norfolk, and he enjoys the life, the wages are crap, but he wants to do his bit, Gordon Brown and his pen pushers want to pull there fingers out of there arse, and give the troops the right equipment to do there job, otherwise get out there yourself and see for yourself, what they have to put up with.

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

Apparently, Sky news has announced that some of the troop carriers currently in use by UK forces, are U.S. rejects. Which, if true, doesn't surprise me one bit.:td:

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

I'd rather my taxes go towards sorting these heroes kit out that on waster work shy idiots here.

And while you're at it, don't forget to check out http://www.armedforcesday.org.uk/ (but late now but no matter).

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

Aha - this is more like HMG's real attitude:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8146546.stm

So basically between Darling, Brown and Ainsworth the message is that our troops are fully supported by the government and will get whatever help/resources they need....... unless, of course, those resources are helicopters (and very probably anything else which costs more than a few quid like decent armoured vehicles..)... :rolleyes: :mad:

We all know there are bound to be fatalities but what we do expect is that our troops have all the equipment they need to deal with the foreseeable risks and that any deaths aren't the result of MOD/governmental ineptitude and negligence. Sadly that isn't the case is it!

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

How can any one with a ounce of intelligence believe a word this man says after the expenses u turn.

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

how can he say that the armed forces have the equipment they need when troops have to buy a large portion of the kit themselves either because they don't get supplied enough or what they do get is of poor quality and cannot function in battle
He says there are 60%more helicopters in service now compared to 2006 is that because there are fewer planes /tanks, upto date radio equipment ect being supplied ? i think so

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

Brown chooses to use a percentage figure here because it sounds a lot more impressive than the actual number which is just 30 or thereabouts IIRC. A 60% increase from, say, 20 to 32 doesn't seem such a lot now does it....

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle6667333.ece

I'd have more sympathy if we'd only been fighting there for a few months but it's been years and during that time HMG plainly hasn't planned ahead properly for any eventuality which would require more helicopters. While fatalities were low they could get away with their 'make do and mend' policy but now the numbers are rising fast they've been badly caught out.

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

The Commons Defence Select Committee seems to think the lack of helicopters is a real problem:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8153129.stm

Not quite the picture Brown insists on painting eh?.. :mad:

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

Now General Dannatt confirms the need for more equipment:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8155101.stm

Will Brown and co stump up the cash or are their claims just so much hot air?..

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

...and now the Chief of the Defence Staff, Sir Jock Stirrup, has said that the deployment of more helicopters to Afghanistan would save soldiers' lives:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8155890.stm

Brown's too busy building his bunker to notice I reckon...

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

I 'guess' anything moved even a few miles there (equipment or soldiers) except patrols, use helicopters.

I would also 'guess' the reason it is difficult to get equipment moved around is due to the shortage.

Re: SAS commander quits 'over kit'
 

It's all going to be OK folks - the MOD has decided to send more troops to Afghanistan..

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8167615.stm

125 will make all the difference won't it.... :rolleyes: