Are British Troops Properly Dressed For Winter In Afghanistan?

Afghan winter patrol: US Marines on a winter patrol in the Khowst-Gardez Pass in Afghanistan. Military Pictures

Furious Mother Blasts MoD Chiefs After Being Forced To Send Warm Clothes To Soldier Son Fighting In Afghanistan -- The Daily Mail

A mother had to send warm clothes to her freezing soldier son when the Army refused to issue more clothing.

The issue was taken up in the House Of Commons by Sharon Martin's local MP for Blaydon, Tyne and Wear, Dave Anderson.

Her son, Royal Engineer Alex Martin, 24, was serving in Kabul, one of the coldest parts of Afghanistan and suffered during freezing nights. This week temperatures are set to plunge as low as -6 degrees Celcius at night.

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My Comment: MoD failing the British soldier .... again.

UK Soldiers In Afghanistan Talk About Life On The Front Lines

Frontline U.K. Troops In Afghanistan 'Just Want To Go Home' -- The Telegraph

Marine Calvert, a member of the same Commando unit as Marine Adam Brown who was killed on Sunday, gives a bitter and disarmingly frank view of the front line.

From his remote and exposed operating base, Marine Calvert, of Charlie Company, 40 Commando Royal Marines, fights only for survival and thinks not of victory but only of going home to his girlfriend and young daughter.

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My Comment: My Canadian friends who have/are serving in Afghanistan have told me that this has been a 'tough slog' for the Brits in Afghanistan. Lack of resources, manpower, and an ambivalent view from the previous Labor Government in London has helped to sap a considerable amount of morale and spirit in the British forces.

Having said that, I also know that the British military is probably the finest in the world, and if given the proper direction and support from London, this sentiment of "wanting to go home" would probably disappear.

U.K. Forces Chief: Iraq And Afghanistan Is Too Much

British Forces in Afghanistan

From The Times Online:

Britain’s Armed Forces are stretched beyond their capabilities and cannot continue fighting two simultaneous wars, the Chief of the Defence Staff said yesterday.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup gave a blunt warning of the challenge presented by sustaining operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

“We are not structured or resourced to do two of these things on this scale on an enduring basis but we have been doing it on an enduring basis for years,” Sir Jock said. “Until we get to the stage when one of them comes down to small scale, we will be stretched beyond the capabilities we have.”

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More News On The U.K.Military:
Britain's Armed Forces 'stretched beyond their capabilities' by fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan -- The Telegraph
British soldier killed in Afghanistan, bringing death toll to 108 -- The Telegraph
British soldier killed in Afghanistan -- The Independent

My Comment: Long on promises, lack on delivering, has produced the situation that we are in now. Parliament never accepted the idea that this may be a long term commitment .... ignoring the advice of its own allies and specialists in the region.