Post by 30sqnatc on Apr 17, 2011 10:29:15 GMT 12
NZ Troops Get Secret Airlift of Armoured Cars
ON THE QUIET: The LAVs' airlift was kept under wraps to reduce the risk to soldiers.
www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/4890310/NZ-troops-get-secret-airlift-of-armoured-cars
The Government is sticking by its plan to pull New Zealand troops out of Afghanistan by 2014, despite sending armoured cars and extra infantry to beef up their combat capability.
Five light armoured vehicles have been secretly flown to the provincial reconstruction team in Bamyan, and a further three presently operating with the SAS in Kabul will also be sent to the province.
The deployment coincides with the next rotation of troops to the PRT and follows the death of Lieutenant Tim O'Donnell in a roadside bombing last year.
The eight LAVs have been upgraded at a cost of $3.8 million with extra armour and roof-hung seats to protect against mines and roadside bombs.
Joint Forces Commander Air Vice-Marshal Peter Stockwell said the extra armour would also provide greater protection in accidents on the difficult roads - a danger highlighted by the February death of Private Kirifi Mila.
Extra infantry troops have also been assigned to the PRT, boosting the total numbers from around 100 to about 140 - the cap set by the Government.
The deployments come in the face of continuing restlessness in the province's north east, and raise questions about whether New Zealand can meet the 2014 date for withdrawal.
But Defence Minister Wayne Mapp insisted the deadline still applied.
"We have to protect our people in the meantime. The LAVs are significantly safer, particularly with the new seating arrangement."
The five LAVs sent from New Zealand arrived in Bamyan's north east yesterday. The three already in Kabul were freed up after the SAS deployment there was reduced.
Bamyan's north east has significant pockets of support for the Taliban and the Defence Force kept the LAV deployment top secret for fear the vehicles could be targeted on the way to the area.
Fairfax Media uncovered the airlift plan in February, but delayed publishing details till the LAVs were in place after the military raised concerns that an early report would risk an ambush by insurgents and put soldiers' lives in danger.
The vehicles were flown in two shipments on a Qantas 747, which was indemnified by the Government.
Air Vice-Marshal Stockwell said the Defence Force's C130 Hercules could carry only one LAV at a time on short-haul flights and tactical deployments, but not intercontinental airlifts.
He said the bomb that killed Lieutenant O'Donnell, who was in a Humvee, would have done considerable damage to a LAV, and he could not say for sure whether the young officer would have survived the blast had he been in one.
Ad Feedback "I'd hate to make a call on that. It would be pure speculation ... there is no 100 per cent protection with any vehicle."
However, the patrol would have been better placed to fight off the follow-up attack, which used rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire.
Labour Defence spokesman Iain Lees-Galloway, who is also the MP for Palmerston North, said the deployment reflected the increased danger Kiwi troops faced in Afghanistan.
"It's important that the army uses all the equipment that its got available to it to make operating in Afghanistan as safe as possible for our soldiers. It's a reminder, if we needed one after last year, that the environment over there is dangerous."
- By VERNON SMALL and MARTIN KAY
ON THE QUIET: The LAVs' airlift was kept under wraps to reduce the risk to soldiers.
www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/4890310/NZ-troops-get-secret-airlift-of-armoured-cars
The Government is sticking by its plan to pull New Zealand troops out of Afghanistan by 2014, despite sending armoured cars and extra infantry to beef up their combat capability.
Five light armoured vehicles have been secretly flown to the provincial reconstruction team in Bamyan, and a further three presently operating with the SAS in Kabul will also be sent to the province.
The deployment coincides with the next rotation of troops to the PRT and follows the death of Lieutenant Tim O'Donnell in a roadside bombing last year.
The eight LAVs have been upgraded at a cost of $3.8 million with extra armour and roof-hung seats to protect against mines and roadside bombs.
Joint Forces Commander Air Vice-Marshal Peter Stockwell said the extra armour would also provide greater protection in accidents on the difficult roads - a danger highlighted by the February death of Private Kirifi Mila.
Extra infantry troops have also been assigned to the PRT, boosting the total numbers from around 100 to about 140 - the cap set by the Government.
The deployments come in the face of continuing restlessness in the province's north east, and raise questions about whether New Zealand can meet the 2014 date for withdrawal.
But Defence Minister Wayne Mapp insisted the deadline still applied.
"We have to protect our people in the meantime. The LAVs are significantly safer, particularly with the new seating arrangement."
The five LAVs sent from New Zealand arrived in Bamyan's north east yesterday. The three already in Kabul were freed up after the SAS deployment there was reduced.
Bamyan's north east has significant pockets of support for the Taliban and the Defence Force kept the LAV deployment top secret for fear the vehicles could be targeted on the way to the area.
Fairfax Media uncovered the airlift plan in February, but delayed publishing details till the LAVs were in place after the military raised concerns that an early report would risk an ambush by insurgents and put soldiers' lives in danger.
The vehicles were flown in two shipments on a Qantas 747, which was indemnified by the Government.
Air Vice-Marshal Stockwell said the Defence Force's C130 Hercules could carry only one LAV at a time on short-haul flights and tactical deployments, but not intercontinental airlifts.
He said the bomb that killed Lieutenant O'Donnell, who was in a Humvee, would have done considerable damage to a LAV, and he could not say for sure whether the young officer would have survived the blast had he been in one.
Ad Feedback "I'd hate to make a call on that. It would be pure speculation ... there is no 100 per cent protection with any vehicle."
However, the patrol would have been better placed to fight off the follow-up attack, which used rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire.
Labour Defence spokesman Iain Lees-Galloway, who is also the MP for Palmerston North, said the deployment reflected the increased danger Kiwi troops faced in Afghanistan.
"It's important that the army uses all the equipment that its got available to it to make operating in Afghanistan as safe as possible for our soldiers. It's a reminder, if we needed one after last year, that the environment over there is dangerous."
- By VERNON SMALL and MARTIN KAY