PICKS135
26th Jan 2003, 17:22
From Scotland on Sunday 26/01/03
Tanks head off for war in wrong camouflage
STEPHEN FRASER DEFENCE CORRESPONDENT
DOZENS or armoured vehicles vital to the war in Iraq will be shipped to the Gulf in the wrong camouflage colours because army chiefs have run out of paint.
The Ministry of Defence has admitted that it only has enough special desert camouflage paint to cover a third of the 150 Warrior troop carriers being sent to the region before they leave their base in Germany.
Officers in the Black Watch were stunned to discover that their vehicles may not be painted until after they arrive in the Gulf. The problem has also hit Challenger II tanks, manned by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, and other tank regiments.
Britain is sending 120 Challenger tanks and 150 Warriors to the region in preparation for a possible attack on Iraq. US military planners are understood to be planning to use them to stage a ‘blitzkrieg’ advance into Iraq.
The tanks and personnel carriers are still in their green and black European camouflage, rather than the light brown and cream combination required for desert warfare.
As well as helping to disguise the armoured vehicles in daylight, the camouflage paint is specially designed to make them harder to spot at night by enemy forces using infra-red or thermal-imaging cameras.
The MoD’s admission that it has run out of paint follows a series of embarrassing revelations which have cast doubt on its readiness for war against Iraq. These include fears about the reliability of the standard-issue SA 80 rifle and a shortage of clothing and footwear. Last year Scotland on Sunday revealed more than half of all soldiers buy their own equipment because they do not trust army-issue kit.
‘They are taking the ‘just in time’ idea far too literally’
After being contacted by Scotland on Sunday, the MoD announced it had issued an emergency order for more paint to make up the shortfall.
An MoD spokesman said: "We have enough paint in Germany to cover a battle group, which is 50 Warrior personnel carriers. We will try and paint as many as possible before they are shipped. The remainder will be painted as soon as they arrive in theatre."
He added: "We have also agreed an emergency order for paint with our manufacturer. There is no question of our tanks or personnel carriers being asked to go into action, if that is what happens, without the proper camouflage ."
The spokesman declined to give details of the identity of the manufacturer, or the value of the contract, for "security reasons". The MoD has also not said exactly where the British troops are being deployed in the Gulf.
A source close to the Black Watch said senior officers had been left dismayed by the MoD’s admission. He said: "Everyone was expecting the regiment would be able to prepare the Warriors before being sent out, so that they would be ready for whatever might happen. But the regiment has been told there’s no paint around for them to use."
Last night Michael Codner, a defence analyst with the Royal United Services Institute, a private military think-tank, said the lack of paint was particularly surprising, given that there had been long-standing speculation about an attack on Iraq.
He said: "The Ministry of Defence has known for at least five years, ever since the Strategic Defence Review, that the Gulf was an area in which we were likely to have to operate.
"So it is very surprising, to say the least, that we do not appear to be prepared to deploy in desert conditions immediately."
Codner added that painting the vehicles in the Gulf would lead to a 24-hour delay before they could be asked to go into combat. "Any unnecessary delay is clearly a bad thing when it comes to combat," he said.
Last night Tory defence spokesman Bernard Jenkin called on the National Audit Office to investigate the MoD’s preparations for war in the light of the latest revelation.
"The National Audit Office should investigate just how much extra it has cost the taxpayer for the ministry to be so unprepared," he said.
Jenkin suggested it is likely the MoD will have to pay extra for an emergency paint order. He added that there is now a ‘just in time’ stores system in the MoD, introduced because the ministry does not want to have huge stockpiles of stores which are never used. "But I would say in this case they are taking the ‘just in time’ idea far too literally ," he said.
Tanks and personnel carriers cannot be painted during the long sea voyage from Germany to the Gulf because only a small number of the crew members who paint the vehicles will travel with them. Most will be flown to the Gulf.
Last night Professor Chris Bellamy, head of the global security programme at Cranfield University in Bedfordshire, said he believed troops would have time to paint the armoured vehicles in the Gulf during the air campaign which is expected in advance of a ground offensive.
He added: "This is a cock-up and it’s embarrassing, but it can be fixed as long as the paint does arrive in the Gulf.
"Clearly the size of the deployment has caught people within the military on the hop, as it is far larger than had been expected."
Tanks head off for war in wrong camouflage
STEPHEN FRASER DEFENCE CORRESPONDENT
DOZENS or armoured vehicles vital to the war in Iraq will be shipped to the Gulf in the wrong camouflage colours because army chiefs have run out of paint.
The Ministry of Defence has admitted that it only has enough special desert camouflage paint to cover a third of the 150 Warrior troop carriers being sent to the region before they leave their base in Germany.
Officers in the Black Watch were stunned to discover that their vehicles may not be painted until after they arrive in the Gulf. The problem has also hit Challenger II tanks, manned by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, and other tank regiments.
Britain is sending 120 Challenger tanks and 150 Warriors to the region in preparation for a possible attack on Iraq. US military planners are understood to be planning to use them to stage a ‘blitzkrieg’ advance into Iraq.
The tanks and personnel carriers are still in their green and black European camouflage, rather than the light brown and cream combination required for desert warfare.
As well as helping to disguise the armoured vehicles in daylight, the camouflage paint is specially designed to make them harder to spot at night by enemy forces using infra-red or thermal-imaging cameras.
The MoD’s admission that it has run out of paint follows a series of embarrassing revelations which have cast doubt on its readiness for war against Iraq. These include fears about the reliability of the standard-issue SA 80 rifle and a shortage of clothing and footwear. Last year Scotland on Sunday revealed more than half of all soldiers buy their own equipment because they do not trust army-issue kit.
‘They are taking the ‘just in time’ idea far too literally’
After being contacted by Scotland on Sunday, the MoD announced it had issued an emergency order for more paint to make up the shortfall.
An MoD spokesman said: "We have enough paint in Germany to cover a battle group, which is 50 Warrior personnel carriers. We will try and paint as many as possible before they are shipped. The remainder will be painted as soon as they arrive in theatre."
He added: "We have also agreed an emergency order for paint with our manufacturer. There is no question of our tanks or personnel carriers being asked to go into action, if that is what happens, without the proper camouflage ."
The spokesman declined to give details of the identity of the manufacturer, or the value of the contract, for "security reasons". The MoD has also not said exactly where the British troops are being deployed in the Gulf.
A source close to the Black Watch said senior officers had been left dismayed by the MoD’s admission. He said: "Everyone was expecting the regiment would be able to prepare the Warriors before being sent out, so that they would be ready for whatever might happen. But the regiment has been told there’s no paint around for them to use."
Last night Michael Codner, a defence analyst with the Royal United Services Institute, a private military think-tank, said the lack of paint was particularly surprising, given that there had been long-standing speculation about an attack on Iraq.
He said: "The Ministry of Defence has known for at least five years, ever since the Strategic Defence Review, that the Gulf was an area in which we were likely to have to operate.
"So it is very surprising, to say the least, that we do not appear to be prepared to deploy in desert conditions immediately."
Codner added that painting the vehicles in the Gulf would lead to a 24-hour delay before they could be asked to go into combat. "Any unnecessary delay is clearly a bad thing when it comes to combat," he said.
Last night Tory defence spokesman Bernard Jenkin called on the National Audit Office to investigate the MoD’s preparations for war in the light of the latest revelation.
"The National Audit Office should investigate just how much extra it has cost the taxpayer for the ministry to be so unprepared," he said.
Jenkin suggested it is likely the MoD will have to pay extra for an emergency paint order. He added that there is now a ‘just in time’ stores system in the MoD, introduced because the ministry does not want to have huge stockpiles of stores which are never used. "But I would say in this case they are taking the ‘just in time’ idea far too literally ," he said.
Tanks and personnel carriers cannot be painted during the long sea voyage from Germany to the Gulf because only a small number of the crew members who paint the vehicles will travel with them. Most will be flown to the Gulf.
Last night Professor Chris Bellamy, head of the global security programme at Cranfield University in Bedfordshire, said he believed troops would have time to paint the armoured vehicles in the Gulf during the air campaign which is expected in advance of a ground offensive.
He added: "This is a cock-up and it’s embarrassing, but it can be fixed as long as the paint does arrive in the Gulf.
"Clearly the size of the deployment has caught people within the military on the hop, as it is far larger than had been expected."