No more excuses

IT is now almost eight-and-a-half years since Sgt Steven Roberts became the first British soldier to be killed in action in Iraq, but vital lessons from his death have still not been learned.
By The Newsroom
Published 19th Aug 2011, 07:00 BST

Severe kit shortages meant the Shipley soldier was forced to hand back the enhanced body armour which would have saved his life, just days before he was killed. And, even in March 2003, the problem was hardly a new one.

For the past quarter of a century or more, the Ministry of Defence has been repeatedly condemned for a series of dismal supply chain failures.

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Today’s scathing report from MPs, revealing that the MoD’s creaking IT systems – some of them more than 30 years old – could lead to shortages on the front lines of Afghanistan and Libya is only the latest in a long line of highly-critical reports.

How many more times must it be said that it is unacceptable to send our troops into battle without the correct equipment?

These are not failures of funding – they are failures of management, for which there is simply no excuse. The battlezones may change, but the grim picture of an under-supplied Army has long remained the same.

Related topics:IraqIT systemsMPs