Go Ministry of Defence!

[MKSheppard]

Link One

Troops killed 'by lack of basic equipment'
By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent, and Caroline Gammell
Last Updated: 2:49am GMT 16/02/2008

Two separate inquests heard criticism of the decision to let troops fight without the necessary protection. One coroner demanded a review into Government defence spending.

To make matters worse, Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, was accused of "massive insensitivity" after announcing new night vision technology on the same day that the glaring gaps in provision were highlighted.

Capt James Philippson, 29, of St Albans, Herts, was the first British soldier to be killed in Helmand province. He and his colleagues were sent to fight the Taliban without night vision goggles and without adequate machine guns or grenade launchers. Oxford coroner's court heard that the soldiers, who had been dispatched a rescue mission of colleagues, were forced to share three Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) between at least 20 men before being ambushed in June 2006.

Andrew Walker, the coroner, said the "totally inadequate" resources led to them being "outgunned by a bunch of renegades". "The soldiers were defeated not by the terrorists but by the lack of basic equipment," he said.

"To send soldiers into a combat zone without basic equipment is unforgivable, inexcusable and a breach of trust between the soldiers and those who govern them."

Asked if they could have matched their attackers if they been supplied with Minimi machine guns and under-slung grenade launchers, Major Jonathon Bristow, the commander of the patrol, told the court: "It would have made a hell of a difference. We lost the initiative through a lack of firepower and thus the Taliban had a greater weight of firepower."

The patrol stumbled on a group of Taliban in the dark and Capt Philippson was killed with a shot to the head in the opening salvoes of the battle. He was not equipped with NVG. Sgt Jason Tomlinson, a patrol member from the Royal Green Jackets, described the lack of kit as "disgusting" and "inexcusable".

Capt Philippson's father, Tony, said: "I hold the MoD responsible for my son's death but in turn they were starved of cash."

The MoD said: "It was deeply regrettable that a failure to follow the correct staff procedures between a requesting unit and headquarters Helmand Task Force resulted in a 25-day delay in providing night vision goggles. The department has accepted and implemented all of the Board of Inquiry's recommendations. Night vision goggles are standard issue for infantry soldiers in manoeuvre companies."

A separate inquest in Trowbridge, Wilts, heard how L/Sgt Casey, 27, from Aldershot, Hants, and L/Cpl Redpath, 22, of Romford, Essex, died when their Snatch Armoured Land Rover was hit north of the Rumaylah oilfields last August. The inquest heard that the platoon commander had asked for the more heavily protected Mastiff vehicles to be used that day but they were all being used elsewhere.

David Masters, the coroner, said: "I have a meeting next week with the Armed Forces Minister and this is an issue I intend to raise with him. I need to be satisfied that this is an issue that has been understood and dealt with."

After the inquest Mr Redpath's girlfriend, Sharon Hawkes, 50, said: "It was underfunding by the Government that killed him."

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Wounded troops finally win better care from army

Following an Observer investigation into the treatment of soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, Britain's top military doctor has now revealed improvements that will give troops 'quality of survival'. Mark Townsend reports on the latest measures - and on what still needs to be done

A sweeping package of improvements to improve the welfare of injured British troops has been finalised to prevent a repeat of healthcare failings for soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A military hospital ward, a specialised polytrauma centre for dealing with multiple injuries, and 'life-saving' kit improvements to reduce battlefield casualties are among a range of new measures. Neurosurgeons are also being introduced into Afghanistan for the first time, amid mounting concern over the extent of brain injuries caused by high-powered explosions.

Speaking ahead of tomorrow's publication of a parliamentary inquiry into medical care for troops, Britain's most senior military doctor said that dozens of men who would have died in previous conflicts now survive because of improvements in body armour, but Surgeon-General Lt-Gen Louis Lillywhite added: 'Now we have to make sure the quality of survival is there.'

The Defence Select Committee investigation into military medical care followed one by The Observer last March after letters passed to the paper by concerned senior officers exposed a shocking picture of neglect and care for wounded troops in British hospitals. They revealed how 19-year-old Jamie Cooper from Bristol was injured in Iraq and spent a night lying in his faeces in a British hospital after staff allowed his colostomy bag to overflow. Another described waiting more than 14 hours in agony without pain relief because no relevant staff were on duty. Families described 'grubby' surroundings and inadequate visiting facilities.

Within two days, ministers announced a full parliamentary investigation and began a fundamental reappraisal of the Ministry of Defence welfare system. Among the improvements are revamped accommodation and travel expenses from anywhere in the world for families visiting injured troops, but the select committee is expected to reveal that, while treatment for soldiers has improved, issues still remain.

The Royal British Legion, in evidence to the parliamentary inquiry, said that families should be funded for the entire time their relatives receive emergency treatment, rather than just two days. The organisation warned that those travelling from abroad can find themselves stranded in the UK when their funding is 'withdrawn'. The Legion has accused the government of failing to honour the military covenant, the duty of care between the government and the armed forces.

Other concerns submitted to the select committee include evidence from the British Medical Association, which highlights a 'severe shortfall' of 55 per cent for trained medical officers.

Medical improvements for infantry in Iraq and Afghanistan before the resumption of the offensive in Helmand province include new bandages to aid blood clotting, advanced tourniquets and new equipment to prevent hypothermia.

So far, 261 British service personnel have died and almost 2,000 have been seriously wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, but Lillywhite said that at least 24 soldiers are alive whose injuries would usually have been fatal. 'Partly this is down to personal protection [body armour], which has meant that people who in the past would have died are surviving,' he added. 'Normally you would expect a quarter of those injured to have died, yet only 13 per cent of those injured have done so.

'We have learnt from the Americans, who have lost 3,000 lives in conflict [Iraq], and what is statistically valid for what saves lives and what doesn't.'

Even so, latest MoD figures reveal that wounded British troops are being evacuated from the battlefield seven times more slowly than the US army managed in Vietnam in the 1960s (although MoD officials point out travel distances there were considerably smaller). Lillywhite said that the average time of getting a wounded soldier in Afghanistan to hospital was two hours 56 minutes. Medical modifications being introduced to Helmand province, where 7,800 British service personnel are preparing for fresh hostilities against the Taliban this spring, include a tourniquet that can be applied with one hand. Extensive MoD trials reveal it could 'have a major effect on saving lives', particularly in the critical first few minutes after injury.

The arrival of neurosurgeons in Afghanistan was prompted by the MoD's discovery that, since 2003, about 500 servicemen and women had suffered 'mild traumatic brain injury' which can lead to memory loss, depression and anxiety. Another development is weekly video conferences between war zones and UK-based specialists to discuss methods of reducing lasting disability for soldiers who survive wounds that once would have killed them.

Possibly the most vital breakthrough is that the army can now produce blood platelets, vital for trauma recovery, in Afghanistan. Previously, they have been flown on journeys where they must be kept at 25C and constantly agitated. Platelets have a life-span of five days, and the ability to produce them in war zones allays concern of a shortage in the event of a large number of casualties.

Lillywhite rejected criticism that Britain did not have sufficiently equipped helicopters in Afghanistan by explaining that CH-47 Chinooks carried teams of anaesthetists and specialists to keep soldiers alive in the crucial 'golden hour' after injury.

A military inquiry last month, whose results are yet to be published, is believed to have found that paratrooper corporal Mark Wright, 27, bled to death in Afghanistan largely because the helicopter summoned to help did not have a winch. The inquiry is understood to reveal that no British helicopters were equipped to get soldiers out of a minefield.

Further elements of the overhaul of medical welfare for troops include a military ward, which can be increased beyond 20 beds, to be incorporated at the expansion of the University Hospital Birmingham (UHB) alongside the largest 'critical care' facilities in Europe.

Within weeks of the parliamentary investigation into welfare provision for soldiers being announced last March, the government closed its last dedicated military hospital at Gosport, Hampshire, The select committee report is expected to condone this closure. However, under the new plans four-bed rooms staffed by military nurses are proposed, with the MoD already increasing numbers of military nurses from 12 to 39 in the UHB-run Selly Oak hospital. Brigadier Chris Parker, commandant of the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, which looks after the military aspect of care for soldiers, said every effort was being made to make them feel they were being treated by the military while under the care of the NHS.

'One minute they are on patrol in Sangin, Helmand, the next they are in a bed in the NHS. It is important that people understand where the casualties have come from,' he said.

Meanwhile, research at the Porton Down military testing establishment is continuing to help improve surgical techniques for 'high velocity' battle wounds. The government is also reviewing the level of support offered to the armed forces, their families and veterans, with a Command Paper strategy.

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Three tidbits stand out:

Even so, latest MoD figures reveal that wounded British troops are being evacuated from the battlefield seven times more slowly than the US army managed in Vietnam in the 1960s

and

Oxford coroner's court heard that the soldiers, who had been dispatched a rescue mission of colleagues, were forced to share three Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) between at least 20 men before being ambushed in June 2006.

and

A military inquiry last month, whose results are yet to be published, is believed to have found that paratrooper corporal Mark Wright, 27, bled to death in Afghanistan largely because the helicopter summoned to help did not have a winch. The inquiry is understood to reveal that no British helicopters were equipped to get soldiers out of a minefield.

I get the feeling that if it was an American unit, most likely the evac helo would hover above the minefield at 5 feet AGL; until the guy is loaded in and/or land and have a wheel blown off, load the guy, and then fly to the hospital; and be pushed off the helopad at the hospital with a bulldozer and melted down for scrap...

[Sidewinder]

So not only are the British aping the "WAR GOOD! FIGHT MORE!" attitudes of America's Republicans, they're aping the "NO MONEY! VETERANS GO AWAY!" shit that denied thousands of military veterans health care and disability payments? Fuck.