What do you need? Do new equipment and supplies always take this long?

[Melietcetera]

Hi Everybody,

I just read that the new tanks the Tories are about to get for you in Afghanistan probably won't get there during the summer, leaving you guys to roast like turkeys in the oven.  Even when supplies and equipment for you is ordered, does it always take so long?  I thought the tanks might take a while to show up, but completely missing the summer?

What else do you need that you aren't getting? 

Melissa, worried Canadian.  ???

PS: Sorry if this has been addressed somewhere else, but I couldn't find it with multiple searches and the internet service to my university/this site is really slow.

 

[armyvern]

Hey we're government. It's taxpayers money being spent.

Ergo the long slow process.  :-[

Absolutely...normal.

 

[geo]

Melissa,
While the Leopard tank they are talking about leasing bears the same name as the Leopard tank we currently have in Afghanistan.... it's nowhere near the same beast...
What we have is a Leopard1 C2 which dates back to 1970 or so while the Leopard2 A6M has come out in the last couple of years.  Only a small part of the German amry has the A6M - and that's what we're talking about leasing.

Once the lease is signed, we have to get our Tank crews trained on them AND most importantly, get our maintainers trained on how to look after them... deploying the beasts before we have all our ducks lined up in a row would be irresponsible and would put our people at risk.

BTW - getting something new & deployed in less than 12 months is downright speedy.

 

[Melietcetera]

Oh, that makes sense...and if this is comparatively speedy, I'll worry a little less.  I hope that you are getting what you need, though.  It seems that the current government is doing much better than previous governments in helping the military.  When they didn't give much more money in the last budget I wasn't sure if I should be concerned about that, too...

 

[geo]

Current Gov't VS previous Gov't......
A large proportion of people on this forum are Avid Conservative fans.
The military has benefited recently from Gov't largesse but, if you look back at what was happening under the last liberal minority gov't, many of the programs which have been delivered upon - were initiated or under discussion under MND Bill Graham.

Before that... the country was living it up after having cashed in it's peace dividend - after the dreaded Soviet Empire crumbled into nothingness.

 

[KevinB]

and while a CPC member -- I do recall that the Mulrooney and short lived KimC gov't's where not exactly the friendliest of military spenders either.  People in and out of gov't naively believed that the crimbling Warsaw PAct made the world safer -- not more dangerous

 

[geo]

My point exactly Kev (Tks!)

That dastardly peace dividend certainly gave us quite the hangover

Chimo!

 

[Lerch]

Once the lease is signed, we have to get our Tank crews trained on them AND most importantly, get our maintainers trained on how to look after them... deploying the beasts before we have all our ducks lined up in a row would be irresponsible and would put our people at risk.

I remember reading somewhere that the German company that makes the Leopards has an engineer team in Afghanistan to help with repairs...so would they be taking care of us aswell?

 

[geo]

The german contractor has / had enough techs to look after the German army's kit.  Add more kit (Cdn) and you need more technicians.

Germans and Techs are (or should be) in Kabul ... up north - while we are down south.

German techs might have something in their contract that prevents them from going beyond the wire.... where bullets are fired and bombs detonate - these are civy techs after all.