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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Australian Soldiers In Iraq Remove Vehicle Armour |
| 2005-04-27 |
| Australian troops in southern Iraq have removed added-on armour screens from their Australian Light Armoured Vehicles (ASLAVs) because they are worried they may contribute to road accidents. The move follows intense controversy in Australia over the adequacy of protective measures for the ASLAVs heading to Iraq. Internal spall liners, external bar armour and remote weapons stations were hurriedly fitted to the ASLAVs for the Iraq mission. Australian troops in the southern Iraq province on Al Muthanna now believe the risk of attack - compared to the risk of a collision in city traffic - is low enough to allow removal of the bar armour. The special protective metal grilles or screens bolted to the outside of the vehicles are designed to defeat attack by rocket-propelled grenades. Their job is to detonate the rockets before they reach the vehicle's body. However the grilles make the 13-tonne ASLAV's much wider and the troops were concerned at the consequences of a road accident. Commander of Australian forces Lieutenant Colonel Roger Noble said the armour had been unbolted and left in the carpark at their base for the troops' initial trip into the provincial capital of Samawah. "Basically what we have done is assess the threat all the time. One of the things we are worried about is road traffic accidents," he told ABC radio. "So one the way to cut that down was to take them (the bar armour) off." Unit Regimental Sergeant Major Warrant Officer Bob Aboud said the visit revealed people going about their business, including shopkeepers and store owners. He said the Australians received plenty of waves from the children and others. "As you drove past the stalls, everything seemed to be full up with goods and so forth. It looked pretty good," he said. Lieutenant Colonel Noble said he had met the commander of the local Iraqi National Guard force which will take full control of security in the province when the Australian force leaves in a year. "He (the Iraqi commander) wants like all good military men, he wants as much as he can get for his men. We are well positioned to give him just about everything he wants," he said. "The soldiers are all looking pretty sharp so they are obviously on an upward curve already without us." |
| Posted by:God Save The World |