Digger blames poor support

[dodger39]

Digger blames poor support and bad intelligence for the death of Jared Mackinney in Afghanistan

Ian McPhedran

September 20, 2010 10:10PM

A SOLDIER who fought alongside dead Digger Jared MacKinney in Afghanistan says his mate would still be alive if the troops had received adequate fire support and better intelligence.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/digger-blames-poor-support-and-bad-intelligence-for-the-death-of-jared-mackinney-in-afghanistan/story-e6frf7l6-1225927009994

 

[dogger1936]

Who ever leaked the email should be beaten. I know personally I've ranted about situations that shouldnt have happened with friends online, due to them being posted away. I really feel for the families of the fallen, and the young soldier who wrote the letter.

I've (we have) seen things that make you wonder if KAF even knows theres a war going on, but thats things you take to the grave.

 

[Pusser]

Hindsight is always 20/20.  How does this guy know what was going on elsewhere?  Maybe the fire support was simply not available (e.g. deployed elsewhere and out of range?).  Many things happen in the fog of war and things frequently go awry.  It's tragic that someone is dead because things went wrong, but warfare is not a Tom Clancy novel where everything works properly all the time.

 

[dogger1936]

Hindsight is always 20/20.  How does this guy know what was going on elsewhere?  Maybe the fire support was simply not available (e.g. deployed elsewhere and out of range?).  Many things happen in the fog of war and things frequently go awry.  It's tragic that someone is dead because things went wrong, but warfare is not a Tom Clancy novel where everything works properly all the time.

And guys who lost friends dont always sit back and take everything in. And many times peoples careerisims and collateral damage UAV feed being required as they dont trust people on the ground cause people to die. Call it fog of war or incompetance at a higher level. People copy and pasting old orders from previous tours...cause it worked then...I could go on and on. However as I said that stuff belongs between the members.

Either way it was one soldier venting about a shitty situation to another. And who ever leaked it should be ashamed.

 

[dodger39]

More bits from the email here 
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/national/diggers-email-from-frontline-says-australian-army-let-troops-down-in-afghanistan/story-e6frea8c-1225927066209?from=public_rss

Take note of this comment

"Every (expletive) is too scared about collateral damage."

Isn't this Vietnam all over again. Soldiers having to fight with one arm tied behind their back.

 

[dodger39]

Government is always quick to tell us, our troops are the best equipped, best trained, and of course the best looked after, in theatre, at home and most certainly the worlds best looked after when it comes down to repatriation issues.  There would appear to be some very glaring examples of things not being quite right at the "Battle Group".

Not knowing the ins and out's of how things run over there, I would still have to ask why, and for that matter which commander sends our patrols out with no air support, artillery or battalion mortars?, either in place or at least on standby. Surely such tactics in this sort of environment would be suicidal and most definitely against any sound battlefield doctrine. I.e., pre registered drop zones etc etc.

What sort of command structure would allow anything less, than an aggressive base and asset protection plan/regime to be in place, including fortifications, depth in defence and aggressive perimeter defences, as was intimated by the now civilian contractor and ex ADF member, to be the case.

Finally, why is it that intelligence is being gathered and used in the manner described.

To my way of thinking something just aint,t right here. Is it the command structure, the terrain/environment , the limitations imposed on engagement, the adequacy of air support/artillery/mortars etc or is it to do with the various nations involved and perceptions/politics of roles to be played?.

 

[tomahawk6]

The Digger is probably telling the truth,hope he covered his rear end because NDHQ doesnt like to look bad.

 

[dodger39]

Defence shoots down bungled firefight claims

By online political correspondent Emma Rodgers

Defence Force chiefs have strenuously rejected claims that troops were left short of support and firepower as they fought for their lives during a battle against Taliban insurgents.

Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney was killed during the lengthy firefight near Tarin Kowt in Uruzgan province on August 24.

In an email made public today, a soldier who fought alongside Lance Corporal MacKinney criticises the Australian Defence Force for a lack of air and artillery support during the battle.

He also accuses the ADF's intelligence of not being up to scratch and says the ADF is "too scared" of inflicting "collateral damage" in Afghanistan.

Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Mark Evans today fronted the media to deny the claims.

"The allegations made in the Australian media that the [Mentoring Taskforce] did not have the required support for this engagement are wrong and ill informed and quite frankly not helpful," he said.

"It's caused some consternation with the unit and undermined the excellent work being done at the tactical level by our troops."

Lieutenant General Evans says the purpose of the mission - involving about 20 Australian and 20 Afghan National Army Troops - was to find and fight insurgents then "withdraw on its own terms".

"The fighting patrol on August 24 did everything it had planned to do," he said.

He says the patrol was well supported by ASLAV light armoured vehicles, Apache helicopters arrived when called for, and there was artillery support.

Around 100 insurgents were involved in the fighting and Lieutenant General Evans says the patrol inflicted "heavy casualties".