British troops in the urban environments of Afghanistan and Iraq are set to benefit from greater protection as the first "Cougar" vehicles begin their transformation into "Ridgbacks".Read It Here
(RG) Lets hope these `orders` actually materialise in real vehicles as they are well overdue.
© Mack (RG) The thoughts of a Falklands War Veteran.
Rogue_gunner_32_alpha@yahoo.co.uk
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Hi RG...
ReplyDeleteOne thing that did strike me - and you know I am a big supporter of troops getting the right vehicles - is that this picture makes the Ridgeback look like a mobile 'fort'...
Now, this worries me a bit - but then I'm not a soldier! - but isn't this moving slowly towards the kind of bunker mentality that was typified by the French in the Indo-China War?
What I mean is this - an important part of the duties surely is the contact the British troops have with civilians in zones like Afghanistan - if we start sealing our troops up in these metal boxes isn't this a form of retreat?
It seems the safer our troops are the more separated away from the civilians that they are supposed to be winning the hearts and minds of...
It's just a thought, and in no way is a denial that we need good protected patrol vehicles. As I say, I'm not a soldier, so it's easy for me to philosophise about such stuff!
I'm sure if I was actually there I would be saying 'bring on MORE armour'!
Cheers. Milgeek
www.milgeek.co.uk
I totally take your point about our troops and `hearts and minds` I also would rather see our boys interact with the local community. This way of soldiering has always set the British soldier aside from many other countries, however unfortunately we do not have the luxury of unlimited troops and protection must be a priority. The truth is to many of these isolated tribes people we are just another foreign army that will come and go like those before them.
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