I admit Gordon O'Connor is my MP but I still think it's harsh to suggest he is incompentent because he got the number of cartridges in a magazine wrong. Obviously, he was thinking of the FN C1 magazine which is the rifle I also used back in the day. I heard the CFRA interview and O'Connor did promise to investigate why some soldiers were saying their kit was inadequate.
Anyway, considering the complete cluelessness of some of our past Liberal Ministers of Defence I think your headline is over-the-top.
The point here is getting lost in the detail. It matters not whether the # of cartridges is 200 or 2, 000; the issue is that the troops on the ground, in 'harms way', are being TOLD what they need by desk jockies, not BEING ASKED WHAT THEY NEED!
Posted at 2006-03-21 14:03:30 [PermaLink]In fairness, British and American soldiers are using a lot of their own kit on ops right now. Some of it is personal preferences being exercised, a lot is procurement systems having difficulty keeping up with changes in requirements. Plus ca change.
Posted at 2006-03-21 14:31:07 [PermaLink]Soldiers have always complained about their kit and always will. Complaints in this area should be taken with a grain of salt.
The CF has made great strides in the last 10 years getting better stuff for our soldiers. Anyone who wore the old (non waterproof) rainjacket can attest to that.
Although there are some problems with kit, some of it is personal preference. The best thing to fix this would be to move to a system similar to the British, where the troops have a number of choices of what type of kit (such as between 2 types of rucksacs) and pick one to use.
True, grunts will always complain one way or another about kit issue. The real problem here is O'Connor's bizarre assumption about ammo requirements.
One cannot assume safely that Haji Al-Kaboom and his cohorts are packing only four AKM mags on their persons. Even if they are, that's the convincing argument why our guys should be able to pack ten!
It is very true, as MB says above, that soldiers have always complained about their gear and always will. However, when soldiers are spending large sums of their own money to replace basic items in their kit, it suggests that there is a real problem. And, if the current issue gear is not up to the job and better gear is easily available, why not just buy it? Not enough money? Better boots for 500 men should not break the Canadian budget.
Posted at 2006-03-22 20:15:43 [PermaLink]