British commander in Afghanistan quits - source

[Barrett808]

Source: Reuters

LONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - A commander of Britain's elite special forces in Afghanistan has resigned, a defence source said on Saturday, declining to give further details.

Major Sebastian Morley, a reservist commander with the Special Air Service (SAS), blamed a chronic lack of investment in equipment for the deaths of some of his soldiers, according to the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

He described the failure to equip his troops with heavy armoured vehicles as "cavalier at best, criminal at worst", the paper reported.

The Ministry of Defence and the government have faced repeated criticism from senior officers and politicians over equipment shortages in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Last month, a coroner said defence chiefs should "hang their heads in shame" over the lack of proper equipment and training that contributed to the death of a British soldier during a rescue in an Afghan minefield.

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L1121634.htm

[Ghost Dog]

1. The Telegraph's "exclusive" is here:

The commander of Britain's SAS troops in Afghanistan has resigned in disgust, accusing the Government of "gross negligence" over the deaths of four of his soldiers.

...

Major Sebastian Morley claims that Whitehall officials and military commanders repeatedly ignored his warnings that people would be killed if they continued to allow troops to be transported in the vulnerable Snatch Land Rovers.

As a result, he says Cpl Sarah Bryant – the first female soldier to die in Afghanistan – and three male colleagues, the SAS soldiers, Cpl Sean Reeve, L/Cpl Richard Larkin and Paul Stout were killed needlessly.

All four died when their lightly armoured Snatch Land Rover split apart after hitting a landmine in Helmand province in June.

In his resignation letter, Major Morley, the commander of D Squadron, 23 SAS, said "chronic underinvestment" in equipment by the Ministry of Defence was to blame for their deaths.

The Old Etonian officer, a cousin to the late Diana, Princess of Wales, is understood to have described the MoD's failure to buy better equipment as "cavalier at best, criminal at worst". The resignation of Major Morley, the grandson of the newspaper tycoon Lord Beaverbrook, follows those of Col Stuart Tootal, Brig Ed Butler and a commanding officer of 22 SAS.

/... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/onthefrontline/3332417/Exclusive-SAS-chief-quits-over-negligence-that-killed-his-troops.html