Army denied vital equipment in Iraq and Afghanistan, claims former SAS head

By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent Published: 10:21PM GMT 04 March 2010

Previous of Images Next The coffins of Private Martin Kinggett, Sergeant Paul Fox, Private Carlo Apolis and SAC Luke Southgate carried onto an RAF C17 at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan Photo: MoD/GETTY Sir Graeme is regarded as one of the Army?s infancy successful officers Photo: EDDIE MULHOLLAND

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In a curse comment of the "doomed" state of the military, the not long ago late Lt Gen Sir Graeme Lamb pronounced that the SAS had been denied even Vietnam-era apparatus that could have saved lives.

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Resources remained deficient to quarrel stream and destiny conflicts, with infancy of the Armys apparatus "either damaged or lacking", he warned.

Sir Graemes attack, in a discuss to comparison officers, is disclosed as Gordon Brown faces questions at the Chilcot Inquiry in to the Iraq war.

The exploration has been told that the Armed Forces were forced to cope but a far-reaching range of apparatus given of a miss of supports from the Treasury when Mr Brown was chancellor.

General Lord Gurthrie of Craigiebank, who was arch of the counterclaim staff from 1997 to 2001, additionally pronounced soldiers died in Afghanistan given Gordon Brown carnivorous the Army of appropriation when he was Chancellor.

"Not entirely appropriation the Army in the approach they had asked ... positively cost the lives of soldiers. He should be asked since he was so unpleasant towards counterclaim and so sensitive to alternative departments," he told The Times.

Senior counterclaim sources sought to extent the repairs caused by the attacks.

They claimed that Sir Graemes views were "outdated" and did not simulate the "dramatic" changes that had taken place given General Sir David Richards took over as Chief of the General Staff in August.

Sir Graeme supposed that, underneath Sir David, Afghanistan had been pushed to the tip of the bulletin and he had forced "the gait of change".

The former executive of special forces is regarded as one of the Armys infancy successful officers. During a renowned career, he was in assign of both the SAS and the Special Boat Service prior to timid 3 months ago to take up a post with the American General Stanley McChrystal as head of the counter-insurgency bid in Afghanistan.

In his speech, Sir Graeme pronounced that politicians and the Civil Service gimlet "considerable blame" for the decrease of the military. He pronounced that the Iraq dispute had "tarnished" Britains station and, until recently, Afghanistan had been "stumbling towards failure".

The Armed Forces were "pretty infancy cursed on the stream march and thinking" and would turn the "dumpster of irrelevancy" unless they altered citation in essence and gained the right apparatus to quarrel todays wars, he said. The concentration on investing in ships, aircraft and armoured column had involved lives given it had left forces such as the SAS insufficiently versed with simple equipment, he claimed.

He warned that the Armed Forces were "clearly in decline" and were increasingly seen as "irrelevant" by the open and politicians. Sir Graeme disclosed that the miss of apparatus had compromised the Bravo Two Zero SAS raid in to Iraq in 1991, that enclosed the soldier-turned-author Andy McNab. Helicopters were not versed with a simple infra-red device to concede pilots to see at night - a square of Vietnam-era pack - that meant that the eight-man unit was left on the belligerent at the forgiveness of Saddam Husseins army. Three men died. A decade later, helicopters were still not versed with the infra-red equipment, that roughly led to the loss of dual Chinooks as special forces attempted to overpower the Taliban in Afghanistan. This was an e.g. of a troops that could do zero some-more than "band-aid prevention", pronounced Sir Graeme.

The Ministry of Defence was shopping apparatus "we probably do not need" and unless it "mothball, terminate or mangle the buying overdraft or lay down and reshape the force we so desperately need, we are doubtful to do anything", he warned.

"The destiny is full of blood grave possibly way," he said, "and the Reaper, unless you are rebuilt to forestall him, is probably going to stick on us for dinner." Sir Graeme pronounced that the troops had to share the censure for the situation. The officer, well known for his straight-talking, pronounced that the Armys care indispensable to "look no serve than the counterpart to brand the guilty party".

Sir Graeme, who has been credited by the American General David Petraeus as a key designer in defeating the Iraqi insurgency, pronounced that the Armys care was at a "crossroads" where possibly "you fool around protected and stick on us old blokes or cry massacre and do your duty". "We in uniform, the Armed Forces of this nation, are at error for unwell to recognize the becoming different impression of the threats we face and afterwards to do the avocation and to set the store by the counterclaim of this realm: all in all a rather ban indictment," he said.

He added: "What you face is simply a dignified challenge, a exam of will and joining that if you hold that all is not well shift it; do not combat with the total of your fears; but welcome the march you hold to be right and assign down it; shape metal the route and draw towards the rest with you."

Sir Graemes discuss comes at a time of heated discuss in to how the Armed Forces should be structured to face tomorrows threats.

The Army, that has finished the infancy of the fighting over the past decade, is at loggerheads with the Navy and RAF who wish to keep the costly warship, submarine and aircraft programmes.

The Army says it requires infancy larger investment in land forces to quarrel wars that will be identical to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Sir Graeme after pronounced that given the crew in all 3 services were "exceptional" they deserved to get "what they need to encounter both the hurdles we face and will face".

Defence sources pronounced last night that the Army would bear a vital renovate if Sir David won the evidence for some-more of the counterclaim bill to be diverted to land forces.

Responding to Sir Graemes comments, Sir David said: "The views voiced by Lt Gen Lamb simulate those of a renowned but late ubiquitous vocalization at a private, off-the-record entertainment with the target of causing discuss and inspiring debate. In that he was successful though his comments were not supported. I would similar to to have it transparent that, as I saw in Afghanistan recently, the Army is fit, equipped, encouraged and ready for any challenge.

"Furthermore, it is transparent from await for troops events and charities via the nation that the people have never hold the Army, or in truth the wider Armed Forces, in higher regard."

The bodies of 4 British servicemen killed inside of 6 days in Afghanistan were flown home on Thursday.

Sgt Paul Fox, 34, of twenty-eight Engineer Regiment, Rfn Martin Kinggett, 19, of 4 Rifles, SAC Luke Southgate, 20, of II Squadron RAF Regiment, and Rfn Carlo Apolis, 28, additionally of 4 Rifles, were repatriated to RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire.

The MoD declared a British infantryman shot passed on unit in Afghanistan on Tuesday as Cpl Richard Green, 23, of 3 Rifles Recce Platoon.