Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
SYDNEY, Feb 11, 2006 (AFP) - Australian troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are using defective equipment, including combat jackets that glow in the dark, a report said Saturday.
The safety of troops had also been compromised by body armour that cracks easily, The Australian newspaper said, quoting Defence Department documents obtained under freedom of information laws.
New combat jackets issued to troops not only failed to offer camouflage protection but were "highly visible", appearing as "a bright glowing beacon when observed through night-fighting equipment," the report said.
The Defence Department documents are based on assessments of the equipment by the troops themselves.
The opposition Labor Party has demanded a full audit of the defence agency charged with buying combat clothing, saying the safety of front-line troops was being seriously compromised.
But Defence Minister Brendan Nelson rejected the allegation.
"The chief of the defence force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, has advised me that the troops have told him that they are the best equipped they have ever been," Nelson said in a statement.
"We would not deploy troops on operations without the best available clothing and equipment."
Australia has deployed some 900 troops in support of the US-led forces in Iraq, and 300 to Afghanistan.
The chief of the Australian army, Lieutenant General Peter Leahy, said they were well equipped.
"I'm not going to say that everything is perfect but what I can say is the equipment that we issue our soldiers to conduct operations, that is those soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, is among the best equipment in the world," he told reporters.
He said the documents obtained by the paper were part of a mechanism for troops to report any problems with equipment. The complaints were then investigated by the Defence Force.
The safety of troops had also been compromised by body armour that cracks easily, The Australian newspaper said, quoting Defence Department documents obtained under freedom of information laws.
New combat jackets issued to troops not only failed to offer camouflage protection but were "highly visible", appearing as "a bright glowing beacon when observed through night-fighting equipment," the report said.
The Defence Department documents are based on assessments of the equipment by the troops themselves.
The opposition Labor Party has demanded a full audit of the defence agency charged with buying combat clothing, saying the safety of front-line troops was being seriously compromised.
But Defence Minister Brendan Nelson rejected the allegation.
"The chief of the defence force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, has advised me that the troops have told him that they are the best equipped they have ever been," Nelson said in a statement.
"We would not deploy troops on operations without the best available clothing and equipment."
Australia has deployed some 900 troops in support of the US-led forces in Iraq, and 300 to Afghanistan.
The chief of the Australian army, Lieutenant General Peter Leahy, said they were well equipped.
"I'm not going to say that everything is perfect but what I can say is the equipment that we issue our soldiers to conduct operations, that is those soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, is among the best equipment in the world," he told reporters.
He said the documents obtained by the paper were part of a mechanism for troops to report any problems with equipment. The complaints were then investigated by the Defence Force.
