Info) January 14, 2009: Quentin Davies, Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, has visited British Forces in Afghanistan and heard first-hand views from those on the front line on the quality and availability of equipment on operations.
In addition to seeing the Commander of Regional Command South, Major General Mart de Kriuf, Mr Davies received a briefing at Kandahar Airfield from the British Joint Force Support, where the news of a significant increase in equipment coming to Afghanistan operations was relayed. At Camp Bastion Mr Davies met General Dutton, Deputy Commander ISAF (International Security Assistance Force), and visited the Joint Helicopter Force who have the challenge of flying and maintaining the helicopter assets, without which operations would grind to a halt. He also visited the Equipment Support Group where he inspected the vehicles used by British Forces in Afghanistan.
Mr Davies also paid his respects at the sunset vigil service for Corporal Elms of 2 Company, 45 Commando Royal Marines, and Serjeant (spelling with a 'j' unique to The Rifles) Reed of 6th Battalion The Rifles (Territorial Army). He later learned of the efforts to treat wounded personnel on a visit to the Camp Bastion field hospital.
Later, on his visit to Task Force Helmand Headquarters in Lashkar Gah, Quentin Davies met with the Commanding Officer of Task Force Helmand, Brigadier Gordon Messenger. He was briefed on the recent operation, Sond Chara, and met servicemen from 1st Battalion The Rifles and 42 Commando who had played a vital part in its success. Many had been out on the ground for weeks, enduring gruelling weather conditions and fighting pitched battles with insurgents – testing their equipment to the full.
Praising their achievements, Mr Davies said:
"Operation Sond Chara was a truly heroic effort. I've been hearing how you all saw a lot of action, but you've done a fantastic job in the conditions. After the tragic losses we have suffered, it is good to hear that such progress, and such momentum, has been achieved."
Discussing their equipment, he heard praise from J Company, 42 Commando Royal Marines Fire Support Group, for their WMIK Land Rovers – their speed, mobility and the firepower they were able to bring to the operation. J Company had been heavily involved as part of Battle Group (South)'s efforts in the operation.
A variant of TUM is the Weapons Mount Installation Kit (WMIK) for use as reconnaissance and close fire support vehicles. WMIKs are manufactured jointly by Land Rover and Ricardo Vehicle Engineering and feature a strengthened chassis and are stripped down, fitted with roll cages and weapon mounts. Typically the vehicle will carry one 12.7 mm Heavy Machine Gun, 7.62 mm General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) or on occasion the MILAN ATGM, on the rear ring-mount, with an additional pintle mounted GPMG on the front passenger side. In late 2006, the MoD announced it was purchasing 40 new belt-fed Automatic Lightweight Grenade Launchers (ALGL) made by Heckler and Koch (HK GMG) that can fire up to 360 grenades per minute with a range of up to 1.5 km.; they are to be mounted on WMIKs in Afghanistan. Land Rovers from 16th Air Assault Brigade preparing for an evening raid near Basra, Iraq. The vehicles have become a symbol of British forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. In keeping with their hearts and minds philosophy they were chosen for patrol duties instead of armoured fighting vehicles such as the Challenger 2 MBT and the Warrior infantry fighting vehicle. Following a spate of incidents, there has been concern that the unarmoured nature of the Wolf exposes the crews to excessive danger, and they are being supplemented by more heavily armoured vehicles such as the Vector and Mastiff Protected Patrol Vehicles. The Land Rover is also being supplemented by the now British built and Alvis Panther in some utility and liaison roles and the new Supercat MWMIK due to a shortfall of WMIKs. There are reports that some of this equipment may have to be sold at below cost once operations in Iraq are completed as the Treasury has refused to cover the cost of replacement. In Afghanistan "an average of one of these vehicles a week" is being lost, and with replacements often arriving late; a "fifth of the fleet" of WMIKs is currently "damaged or has been destroyed by enemy fire".
Sergeant James Melhuish RM of J Company, 42 Commando Royal Marines, said: "The WMIK is a fantastic bit of kit; as a mobile fire platform they were a battle-winner in Op Sond Chara."
He also praised the Javelin missile, saying: "Javelin is a fantastic battle-winner – we were using it on an almost daily basis out on Op Sond Chara. It's perfect for when we need to make a surgical strike, particularly against large groups of enemy or where they are well protected – its accuracy and speed is awesome, without the need to wait for Close Air Support or Apaches."
42 Commando were keen to discuss helicopters, particularly the availability of strategic lift. In response, Mr Davies said:
"There have been developments in Iraq which will see Merlins coming to Afghanistan for the first time. Furthermore, we are re-engineering 12 Lynxes – they will be able to work harder than before and there will be no issue with hot and high conditions. This will bring new capacity to Afghanistan."
While some of the troops were keen to raise compatibility of new equipment with old as an issue, all were in agreement that progress had been made, in particular with the provision of night-vision equipment.
Sergeant Major Russ Taylor RM, J Company, 42 Commando Royal Marines, said: "There has been a marked improvement with night-vision, everyone now has some form of capability. It has been the big development of the last few years and is a real progression."
Mr Davies was also briefed on the practical implications of new equipment – the training bill that comes with it, the timescales involved and the need for synchronicity of the new with existing equipment:
"Coming here and hearing your experiences and your opinions is important and helps me – I tried on your issue equipment yesterday and I know that with the protection it offers comes the challenge of weight. This issue must be one of our major priorities. In addition to informing our own programmes, I'm very keen to make leverage with the Americans so we can make use of their research and development – let's not reinvent the wheel.
"I've had very good discussions with the Brigadier as to what he sees are the requirements – from strategic lift, mobility on the ground and force protection. Along with what I have heard today from those serving with The Rifles and 42 Commando, I will take this away, and it will help inform future decisions."
Whilst in Lashkar Gah he also visited the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team who daily face the risk of unexploded ordnance and the IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) which have tragically claimed the lives of so many British personnel. He received briefs on the efforts being taken to negate the risks such devices pose and learned more about how intelligence and precise targeting were helping to expose the weaknesses of the enemy, whilst minimising the risk for civilians.
He added:
"I've been most impressed by the professionalism and thoroughness of all the work going into our operations here and I am sure that is why we are chalking up an increasing number of successes.
"The overall message from my visit is that British fighting forces have never been better equipped – there is a constant flow of new equipment, including personal issue kit, ISTAR [Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance] and electronic equipment as well as armoured vehicles. Generally, the training and support packages that goes with this equipment is working very well. But this doesn't mean we must be complacent, and I return to London with a number of issues which I want to take up as a matter of priority.
"I have been immensely impressed by the efforts of everyone out here and know that further success will follow."
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