http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1218174/Afghan-bomb-hero-ambushes-Ainsworth-lack-troops.html
When the Defence Secretary asked the frontline soldier what he needed most, he quickly replied: ‘More troops on the ground.’
His stark statement left Mr Ainsworth on the back foot, as he tried to justify delays in responding to calls for reinforcements from the top Nato General in Afghanistan, America’s Stanley McChrystal.
Mr Ainsworth acknowledged the need but said the Government could not ‘throw money’ at Afghanistan, adding: ‘We know that there is an ask for increased troop levels coming from General McChrystal. Yet it is very important that people recognise that we are not alone in this.
‘We cannot do it alone. It’s got to be a coalition effort. We have got to think how quickly we do it. It takes time.’
After the encounter, Staff Sergeant Hughes, 30, was unrepentant. He is a member of the Joint Forces Explosives Ordnance Device Group which has the job of dismantling Taliban bombs.
He said: ‘What was he going do, send me home? It’s been a ridiculously busy, ridiculously hard tour. We have lost two guys.
‘Clearly more troops are needed on the ground - but then the same could be said for equipment.’
Staff Sergeant Hughes, from Shropshire, added: ‘The teams are stretched. Ideally you would have more equipment and more troops - that would help a lot.’
His Commanding Officer, Major Eldon Millar, 35, added: “Inevitably you feel you could do with a little more help. We are so stretched across Helmand because it is such a large area.”