BBC News -
Inquest hears vehicle in Afghan blast 'not adequate'
Cpl Bryant, Cpl Sean Robert Reeve and Paul Stout
The vehicle's vulnerability to roadside bombs has been highlighted in the past

The sole survivor of a 2008 blast in Afghanistan has told an inquest he believed the vehicle he was travelling in was "not adequate for the job".

The special forces soldier broke down while giving evidence at the inquest of four UK soldiers who were killed, at Wiltshire Coroner's Court.

They were Cpl Sarah Bryant and three SAS reservists - Cpl Sean Reeve, L/Cpl Richard Larkin and Pte Paul Stout.

Cpl Bryant is the only British female soldier to have died in Afghanistan.

The four were in a Snatch Land Rover, a light vehicle in which at least 37 UK soldiers have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Known as Soldier E, the witness said he was told during pre-deployment training he would be travelling in Snatch Land Rovers.

"There was a lot of worry that these weren't the right vehicle, in our opinion, for the job in hand," he said.

"Having used the Snatch in our pre-deployment training, our concerns were heightened, especially when off-road. The mobility and flexibility of the vehicle came into question."

'Huge explosion'

He added: "It could go off-road, but as a platform to maintain operations, I believe it was not adequate for the job."

The witness said the soldiers were moving along their route after doing improvised explosive device (IED) checks when the Land Rover's back wheel hit an IED.
     
Jonathan Beale
Jonathan Beale, at the inquest
This inquest has once again posed difficult questions for ministers and the Ministry of Defence about the training and equipment given to British soldiers being deployed for combat in Afghanistan.

The inquest has already heard two witnesses, Soldier O and Soldier A, express strong concerns about the Land Rover Snatch. On day one, Soldier O told the court that when they found out they would be using the vehicles to patrol, it was met by "disbelief" among his men. Soldier E, the sole survivor in this incident, also says the Snatch was inadequate for the job.

There is a question, too, over the training they received before being deployed to Afghanistan. Both Soldier O and Soldier E say they had "limited" training in how to detect roadside bombs. There was also clearly a shortage of equipment. Soldier E says he had to go "cap in hand" to "borrow" a mine detector because at first they had not been issued.

This raises another important point. Were members of the Territorial Army - and this unit was made up of mostly reservists - at the back of the queue when equipment was being handed out?

After the soldier told of a "huge explosion", the coroner read the rest of his statement as he was unable to continue.

"The next thing I can recall is our vehicle was being catapulted into the air," he said.

"I remember seeing the ground, the sky, then the ground, the sky, and then the vehicle hitting the ground."

On Monday, Coroner David Masters said the six-day inquest would look at the soldiers' equipment, training and mine detection drills.

The back wheel of their Land Rover hit a 50kg to 100kg (110lb-220lb) pressure-plated IED, or roadside bomb, as they crossed a ditch.

Giving evidence, another witness - Soldier J - confirmed that in his original statement he had voiced concerns about the level of training they had received for IED searches - called Operation Barma drills.

The coroner asked: "You didn't feel you have received sufficient training to conduct these drills?"

Soldier J said: "That's correct, particularly as we knew the biggest threat in the country was from IEDs."

He said he had specifically requested time to practise the drill on dedicated mine lanes at Camp Bastion "but that request was refused".

Better armour

The deaths, in particular that of Cpl Bryant - a young, recently married member of the Intelligence Corps - attracted much media attention at the time.

The incident also attracted a lot of criticism, with one SAS major resigning his commission in protest.

Concerns about the Snatch Land Rover were raised as long ago as 2003.

The lightly armoured vehicle's vulnerability to roadside bombs and other explosives has led some soldiers to call it the "mobile coffin".

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has upgraded the Snatch with improvements to its armour and better electronic counter-measures to detect makeshift roadside bombs. But that work has yet to be completed.

In a statement, the MoD said its thoughts were with the families of Cpl Bryant, L/Cpl Reeve, L/Cpl Larkin and Pte Stout but it would not comment on ongoing inquest proceedings.

Woman soldier killed after MoD ignored Snatch Land Rover safety warning
Cpl Sarah Bryant, the first female soldier to be killed in Afghanistan, was sent on operations in a Snatch Land Rover after the Ministry of Defence ignored an SAS commanding officer’s warnings about the vehicle’s vulnerability, an inquest heard.

By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent
Published: 8:00PM GMT 01 Mar 2010
Woman killed after SAS officer warned of Snatch Land Rover risk - Cpl Sarah Bry
Cpl Sarah Bryant, the first female soldier to die in Afghanistan, and her husband Carl Photo: North News

The commander of 23 SAS, the Territorial Army regiment, had gone up the chain of command to highlight his concerns over a vehicle that soldiers nicknamed the “mobile coffin” before the death of Corporal Sarah Bryant and three of her colleagues.

But he was told there were only a “finite” number available for operations. Troops were instructed to “get on with it” and “make do” with the equipment they had been given, the hearing was told.

Cpl Bryant died instantly alongside three special forces soldiers when their lightly-armoured Snatch drove over a “massive” IED (Improvised Explosive Device) hidden in a shallow ditch.

The incident has already been mired in controversy after Major Sebastian Morley, Cpl Bryant's SAS squadron commander on the ground in Helmand, resigned accusing the government of being “cavalier at best, criminal at worst” for ill-equipping troops.

Coroner David Masters said he would investigate the Snatch vehicle’s "suitability" for deployment in Afghanistan.

He said the overall commanding officer of 23 SAS, referred to a “Colonel A”, had to make "risk management" decisions using the resources available to him.

"Colonel A said he was aware of concerns and relayed these concerns up the chain of command but said they had only a finite supply of the vehicles."

He added: "The inquest should encompass the issues relating to concerns about the suitability of the Snatch Land Rover in reference to their capability.

"We will look at the damage the bomb would have done to another vehicle. We shall consider why this patrol was deployed in Snatch Land Rovers.

Soldier “O”, the first to give evidence, was asked by Mr Masters about the reaction of troops when they were ordered to use Snatch on operations.

The soldier, a staff sergeant in charge of the six Snatch vehicles on the patrol, replied: “It was met with disbelief from virtually everybody because we questioned whether it was suitable to use in that environment with regards to the type of work we would be doing.”

Senior officers passed the worries up the chain of command with requests for more manoeuvrable or better protected vehicles but the troops were told to “get on with it” and “make do” with the equipment they had been given, Soldier O said.

He later described the Snatch as “vulnerable” giving “inadequate protection for people inside it”.

Cpl Bryant, 26, Cpl Sean Reeve, 28, L/Cpl Richard Larkin, 39, and Trooper Paul Stout, 31 were killed by a “massive explosion” when their Snatch drove over an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) during a mission close to the Helmand town of Lashkar Gah.

The troops had used a metal detector to check a culvert but 75 metres further on the rear wheels of the Snatch detonated what was probably a pressure plate initiated IED weighing up to 100kg hidden in a shallow ditch in the village of Miralzi.

SAS soldiers were given no instruction on using metal detectors during pre-deployment training and went without them for four months in Helmand because of an equipment shortage, the inquest in Trowbridge, Wilts was told.

Asked what they used instead Soldier O replied: “We visually scanned the ground.” He also added that they picked up training “on the job”.

The patrol had set out from Lashkar Gah with the Afghan National Police officers they were training to pick up a dead Taliban fighter on June 17 2008.

Cpl Bryant was in the Psychological Operations Group of the Intelligence Corps attached to the SAS team to gather information on insurgents.

The MoD has been severely criticised for failing to rapidly address the vulnerability of Snatch after 37 fatalities in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since Cpl Bryant’s death Snatch has been withdrawn from nearly all operations outside bases in Helmand.

Major Morley, D Squadron commander in Helmand, accused the government of “gross negligence” when he resigned four months after the incident. He accused Whitehall officials and military commanders repeatedly ignoring warnings that people would be killed if they continued to allow troops to be transported in Snatch.

Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister, had previously pledged that soldiers would be given whatever equipment they requested.

The inquest continues.

Iraq inquiry: families demand Gordon Brown be questioned over Snatch Land Rovers
The families of British service personnel killed in poorly armoured Snatch Land Rovers have urged the Iraq Inquiry to confront Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, over his funding of frontline forces.
04 Mar 2010
There have been 38 deaths in attacks on Snatch Land Rovers since their introduction to Iraq in late 2003.

Grieving relatives are demanding answers because they claim they have never been provided an explanation as to why the vehicles were not replaced once it became clear that they were vulnerable to roadside bombs.

Jocelyn Cockburn, a lawyer acting for several of the families, wants Sir John Chilcot, the inquiry chairman, to focus on whether Mr Brown placed soldiers at risk by cutting military budgets, forcing them to rely on the vehicles.

Ms Cockburn, whose clients include Susan Smith, whose son, Phillip Hewett, was killed with two others by a roadside bomb while on patrol in Iraq in 2005, said: “Why were complaints by frontline soldiers not acted upon?”

In a letter to Sir John, she wrote: “We ask that you question Mr Brown about decisions he took as Chancellor of the Exchequer regarding funding of the Iraq war in light of evidence heard by your inquiry.

“Specifically, was he aware of concerns around the lack of armoured vehicles and did he receive any requests for funding (particularly in the period 1997-2006) to purchase armoured vehicles? What concerns, if any, were raised with him about the use of Snatch Land Rovers?”

The vehicles were first used in Northern Ireland in the 1970s and are designed to withstand attacks by bottles, bricks and hand grenades.

But it rapidly became clear when used on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan that they were vulnerable to roadside bombs used by insurgents.

Thirty-eight British service personnel have been killed while on patrol in the vehicles since operations began in Iraq in 2003.

They are now being replaced by Mastiff armoured vehicles, which are better protected.

Mr Brown is due to give evidence to the inquiry tomorrow.
    

Edited by Elaine - 04 Mar 2010 at 4:24pm

Kidderminster Suttle -

SOLDIERS working with a Cookley SAS reservist who was killed in Afghanistan had serious concerns about the failure rate of the 'flimsy' Ebex bomb detector, an inquest heard.

Lance Corporal Richard Larkin, 39, was taking part in an operation east of Lashkar Gah when the Snatch Land Rover he was driving was hit by a mine.

The huge blast “devastated” the vehicle, killing L/Cpl Larkin, a nurse and father of three, of Castle Road, Cookley.

Also killed were the first female soldier to be killed in Afghanistan,Corporal Sarah Bryant, 26, of the Intelligence Corps and SAS reservists, Corporal Sean Reeve, 28 and Trooper Paul Stout, 31.

An inquest heard there were widespread concerns among troops about the Snatch Land Rovers - nicknamed 'mobile coffins' - and the lack of metal detecting devices to spot roadside bombs.

The inquest also heard frontline troops found the Ebex unreliable, prone to failure and had inadequate training in their use.

Soldier K was working as a top cover sentry on another vehicle in the convoy containing L/Cpl Larkin and his comrades on June 17 2008.

The former soldier, who was then serving as a Private in Afghanistan, said: ''About four months into the tour we were concerned with the lack of training on Ebex.

''We spoke to an explosives expert who was at the same camp as we were and he organised some training for us.

''We also arranged for some official training at Camp Bastion which we undertook about four months into the tour.

''We had to request training and it did not happen until April. It did not happen on our reception week.''

Soldier K also said that they received no training on how to detect the battery life of an Ebex metal detector and did not know how to monitor this.

On Tuesday, Soldier J had told the inquest that he had been refused training on the use of Ebex metal detectors while stationed at Camp Bastion in Helmand Province.

Major Harry Clark, of the 5th Royal Scots, was the officer commanding the Lashkar Gah Operations Company, which was working alongside the specialist unit to patrol the roads out of Lashkar Gah.

He told the inquest that he had concerns about the lack of Ebex metal detecting devices allocated to the group.

He said: ''I was not comfortable that we had the ideal number of Ebex metal detectors.

''In my view, two Ebex per manoeuvre group was ideal. Sometimes we had to resort to one Ebex per group and even then the equipment could fail.

''I do not believe that we had enough Ebex to commit Operation Barma as it was set out on the page.

''I had significant equipment failure with breakages across the stock. Ebex themselves are liable to break down. The equipment is not robust enough to manage being hauled in and out of vehicles.

''The equipment is difficult to put together and is cumbersome and difficult to put together. As it became prone to failure it did not encourage people to use them.''

Major Clark told the inquest that his operating group had both Snatch and Wimick vehicles but that Wimicks were more suited to the rural terrain around Lashkar Gah.

He said: ''The Wimick has increased mobility, firepower and the communications system was a much better fit for rural areas because it has a long-range radio system.''

Soldier I, a Corporal who had been working as a top cover sentry and later a driver for another vehicle in the same convoy containing L/Cpl Larkin, also criticised the use of Snatch vehicles during the operation.

He said: ''The Snatch is not a great vehicle. It is not mobile or agile enough. It is too heavy and for its size it is top heavy as well.

''As a top cover it is an unstable vehicle and an unstable platform. I had concerns and these were raised up the chain of command within the multiple.''

Asked if the Snatch had difficulties moving in and out of the irrigation ditch where the explosion took place, Soldier I said: ''I knew that the engine was being driven quite heavily. I could see the exhaust fumes.''

Asked if he would have taken the same route if he had been in the lead vehicle, in which L/Cpl Larkin and his comrades were killed, Soldier I said: ''I believe I would have taken the same route if I had been in the lead vehicle.

''I would not have been able to go either side of the path because the ground was too soft.

''If I had been in a Wimick or other vehicle then I could have taken another path because it is a lighter vehicle. I would have gone around the area.''

The Ebex has since been replaced by more substantial metal detecting devices and is no longer in operation in Afghanistan.

The Snatch is now being replaced by the Snatch Vixen which possesses more power and provides better protection for soldiers.

But this work is yet to be completed and older Snatch models are still in service in Afghanistan.

The inquest in Trowbridge, Wilts, continues.

    About time too,pity they didnt listen earlier .