The United States Office of Strategic Information
Posted on 03/07/2003 11:54:00 AM PST by Brian Allen
1. British soldiers preparing for war in the Gulf say they are underfed and ill-equipped.
The Americans have labelled them "The Borrowers" and "The Flintstones" because of their lack of key supplies, it emerged today. Soldiers who could be fighting Saddam Hussein within days say they still want for a whole range of necessitiesincluding proper clothing, vehicles and guns, forcing them to go cap-in-hand to US colleagues. Some even claimed to have no respirators to protect against chemical attack.
They were derided by Army commander General Sir Michael Jackson, in Kuwait today, who said his troops were ready for war, with the logistics operation in place within the next five days. "I am a little concerned it might be too comfortable," he added.
That was not the picture painted by the complaints which poured into the BBC from soldiers and their families today.
One Royal Marine commando, who has also served in Kosovo and Sierra Leone, sent an email saying that food supplies were still short and that weapons and other key equipment - from desert boots to life-saving camouflage for vehicles - had still not arrived. He went on: "Scrounging everything from the Americans. As it stands, people here will die."
Other servicemen, resurrecting a complaint which first surfaced weeks ago, have had to buy their own boots.
Complaints about shortcomings in the massive supply operation surrounding the troop build-up in the Gulf region first started some weeks ago, but were dismissed as teething problems by the Ministry of Defence. Yesterday Tony Blair called the complaints "misleading and irresponsible", while the MoD claimed early difficulties had been sorted out. But today the BBC said it had received more than 50 examples from families, only minutes after broadcasting an item on the subject.
One demanded: "The American troops refer to our troops as the Flintstones - how shameful is that, Mr Blair?" Another said: "My daughter tells me she has rice three times a day. The Americans call them The Borrowers. She says they (the Americans) have burger bars, Pizza Huts and shops. We have nothing."
General Jackson, Britain's most senior soldier, scorned suggestions that soldiers were poorly supplied and equipped. Asked about the conditions, he said: "If anything I am a little concerned it might be too comfortable," but added: "That was tongue-in-cheek. If they are required to do a dangerous job, they will do it."
Asked about complaints of lack of lavatory paper he retorted: "Any soldier who doesn't have a loo roll in his Bergen (pack) is not a very good soldier." A minority of the BBC messagesbacked the General's view. A veteran of the last Gulf war voiced agreement with Mr Blair, saying: "It is the nature of Tommy Atkins to swap (not necessarily scrounge) kit; it is also his prerogative to complain, but not to bleat to mummy."
The General was visiting men of the Royal Irish Regiment and other elements of 16 Air Assault Brigade, presently training at Camp Eagle in northern Kuwait.
He was asked about anxieties some soldiers have expressed about their ability to cope in case of war, and he said: "It's always difficult for families back home and we are in a period of uncertainty. Things will become clearer over time - hang on in there." He said Britain's soldiers had been properly trained and equipped to deal with the threat of nuclear or chemical attack. He said: "We are well prepared in terms of training and defensive equipment.
General Jackson, flying into the Kuwaiti desert in a sandstorm, told British troops: "If it's today - it's good to go." That brought a rapid note of caution from Downing Street, where Tony Blair's spokesman said: "As I am sure he fully acknowledges, the decision whether troops are ready is one thing. The decision as to their use is another."
Additional reporting: Colin Freeman
2. Messages home reveal the mockery
7 March 2003
Angry relatives of British soldiers serving in the Gulf are complaining that their loved ones do not have the food, equipment or weaponry to fight a successful war. These are some of the emails sent today to BBC Breakfast News, following an item about the supply problems:
"THE AMERICANS call us the Flintstones. This morning we have no running water. There's a dust storm outside and we have no sand goggles. Conditions are not glamorous here." Disgruntled pilot, Kuwait.
"Why does my son still not have a respirator or other bits of equipment that he needs? He has been in the Gulf for three weeks and he still has not had a shower." Donna, Essex.
"My daughter is in the Middle East and tells me she has rice three times a day. Sometimes they don't even know what is with the rice. The Americans call them The Borrowers. She says 'they have burger bars, pizza huts and shops. We have nothing.'" Shirley, Birmingham.
"My husband is in Kuwait and has lost two stone due to having only one small meal a day. He doesn't have the energy to fight. They need food desperately." Housewife.
"My son is a helicopter pilot in the Army Air Corps. You would think that protecting eyesight was paramount. Imagine my concern when I received a letter asking me to post him ski goggles because of the sand storms." Margaret, Tring, Hertfordshire.
"My two brothers are in the Gulf. One is a Marine Commando and he has written home complaining of not enough food, no hot running water, no electricity and sharing a marquee with 77 other men.
"Their weapons have jammed and they have nearly been hit by friendly fire from the Americans. How can this be right? We are sending food parcels but not sure if they are getting through and this country expects him to fight." Katie, Oxford.
"My brother is in the Gulf. We have sent him food packages. There are no proper shower or toilet facilities. I even had to send him sunscreen." Debbie, Cornwall.
"When my son was in Afghanistan I sent him luxury items only. This time he is writing home to ask that I send him the basics like soap and toothpaste. He and his colleagues are very concerned that they are just not prepared for what they are being sent into." John, York.
"My daughter's fiancé is with the 13th Air Assault in Kuwait. He went out on 14 February, he has sent lots of letters home to her but he has not had a single letter she has sent him.
"The British Forces' Post Office says it's getting 600 mail bags per day and they are all being sorted in a tent out there by a few people. He seems to have stopped writing now, because you could see his morale dropping lower and lower with each one." Anna Ramsden, Surrey.
"Nothing has changed, even the attitude of the politicians. As a former Royal Marine 1980-89 and having served in the Falklands, we had to take all our own kit (boots bergens, etc) and live on 24-hour rat-packs for more than the described period before fresh rations were issued.
"The MoD are again ill-prepared and don't care a hoot about the lads on the ground willing to lay down their life." Pete, Wirral.
"Things haven't changed. I was in the last Gulf war and I led a chemical recce team. It was two weeks into the war before we received our desert uniform. And we still had not received our specialist chemical vehicle at the end of the war." Chaz King, Nottingham.
"My brother is in the Air Assault Brigade and had to buy all his kit. It's scandalous." Stephen, Glasgow.
"I deploy to the Gulf tomorrow and have had to buy desert kit as none has been issued. The organisation is appalling and people will die, as we aren't ready." A concerned soldier.
"Exactly the same thing happened last time our troops were in the Gulf. My son was deployed then and I received the same letters that parents are receiving now. Within days many of the lads were ill and were begging and borrowing from the Americans. It's a disgrace." Jenny, Warminster.
"Our son sailed out to the Middle East and hasn't had enough to eat since leaving home. He has been living in very cramped conditions and is currently sleeping on the floor of the ship.
"He has been asking us to send food. Before he left he had to buy a lot of his own equipment." Robert, St Helens.
"My girlfriend was in the Gulf. The mail took over two weeks to arrive, sometimes longer." Sean "My son is a Marine. The conditions for the troops are dire - please make Mr Blair listen. It's not his son there." Jill, Worksop.
"I saw my brother (Parachute Reg.) off at the station yesterday as he travelled to Colchester ready to leave for the Gulf. He has minimal kit and has spent £500 of his own money. I fear for him and it's gutting to know my younger brother is putting his life under such conditions." John, Manchester.
"This brings back memories of the last conflict which I was a part of. No desert uniforms, boots or paint. All the kit I had to start with was issued by the US Marines. Even the grenades I was issued with were dated 1957." Keith, Wellingborough.
"The complaints being heard from soldiers in the Gulf region are undoubtedly a symptom of the general state of morale in the military." Bob, Daventry.
"I received a letter from my boyfriend today and it confirms everything stated on the programme about shortages of water, provision, loo paper and equipment. My boyfriend is an experienced soldier and would not say these things if they were not true." Anon phone call.
"A work friend is in the Gulf and he is not getting enough to eat or drink. We are thinking of sending over food parcels. I do not agree with the war but the troops should be looked after." Edward, Dartford.
"My daughter is on a ship, she has asked us to send out bottled water as they have run out and are using desalinated water to drink. Looking on the bright side, I suppose as least she has a roof over her head - many people we have heard do not even have tents to sleep in." Angela.
"I am a serving member of the RAF. All my compatriots in the Gulf were not issued with desert combats as 'there aren't any', so they are working in the normal green ones in the searing heat of the desert. Also they have been issued with the unmodified SA80 that does not work very well in the desert. We are not issued with anywhere near good enough equipment." RC, Norwich.
So General Sir Michael Jackson, sir, don't let them eat cake, eh?
And take care of base camp?
And then go home?
Just as in Afghanistan?
Why bother?
Why not simply squander the dough being wasted on half a job in the Gulf on more eye glasses and false teeth for your sorry socialist state's unemployed indolent; on appeasing the ira's mass-murderers and send Hong Kong Patten and the Brussells' Neo-Soviet another truckload for their Swiss bank accounts?
And let US and the world's other grown-ups focus on dealing with the world's terrorists and their enablers and harborers.
The United States Office of Strategic Information
I'd be seriously worried if I heard complaints about lack of ammo.
BTW, typical U.S. Army. "Pizza huts". Everywhere we go, we take the entire impedimenta of America with us.
But seriously, someone needs to step up about mail, food, and showers. I mean, the Royal Army can do the damn job, but it would be a hell of a lot easier on them if the logistics train were all straightened out.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
ROTFLOL! Me, too!
I wonder if there is a Brit equivelent of "Crap Game," the supply sergeant in Kelly's Heroes? The character had a bit of truth to him!
(But you're right, the US overdoes the fast food culture and the British troops are entitled to get their mail and a shower. Why can't the US set up some shower points and send over a few pizzas - we're allies, aren't we?)
Well at least the British are there and ready to fight, unlike the rest of you whining Kiwi coward’s.
The Royal Marines swept through the mountain passes when the 10th Mountain Division couldn’t. But at least they gave it a go, unlike the NZSAS who spent their time building the Germans an accommodation block.
I wish I could compare you Kiwi’s to the French - armed to the teeth and pacifist to the core, but the cowardly Kiwi’s aren’t armed to the teeth.
Brian is a devout anti-British Kiwi who doesn’t miss an opportunity to screw over the Brits. Even when 40 thousand British Servicemen and women put their lives on the line in support of their American Allies, Brian will find away trivialise their sacrifice, while the nation of his birth supports the FRENCH!
Your mean-spirited, envy-motivated, hesperophobic, hatred and rage-engined cynicism is exceeded only by the casual willingness with which you lie while abusing these boards to personally attack and defame those messengers who occasionally expose you to Truth.
As is the case with so many of the sub-species who do womyn's work for a "living," having you around is like having a pet piranha in a tank -- and tossing it scraps of eye fillet.
[And, as I did yesterday, the next time I want you to show US the black hole of self-loathing lying hatred that represents the content of your "character" I will, as carefully as I did with this piece, select another sample of once-great British reporting to punch up your anonymously-gutless, miserably-whinging-pommy-bastard buttons] Cordially Brian
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