Australian Infantry Frustrated With Non-Combat Roles
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DirtyDawg
You have to be in Combat to die in it..Pretty hard to happen when your wrapped up in cotton wool by your Government and in the green zone 99% of the time....
My mates are peed off over there with their hands tied.
Conversly they are loving the Stan...lots of firefights ,lots of kills most field force soldiers love doing the real soldier thing.
Had a BBQ two months ago and some of the stories coming back are awesome, not to many Afghannies killed, mostly Packies down south.
I found this interesting piece on Internet ,
Afghanistan Conflict Monitor: Australia
"Australian infantry soldiers are ashamed of their low-risk missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and are scorned by troops of other nations, two seasoned officers charged in comments published Tuesday." (AFP). According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the head of the Australian Army, Lieutenant-General Peter Leahy "acknowledged that morale has suffered as the infantry has shifted to increasingly low-risk, non-combat roles in Afghanistan and Iraq." However, infantry soldiers remained highly trained and well-prepared but were not fulfilling their traditional role of close combat and holding territory... 'What we are seeing now is that we are required to work in different populations to work to protect, to support and persuade.'"
'Major Jim Hammett, 'We Were Soldiers Once... The Decline of the Royal Australian Infantry Corps?' Australian Army Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Autumn 2008): 39-50
EXCERPT: "Australia’s contributions to both Iraq and Afghanistan have been derided and scorned by soldiers and officers alike from other nations who are more vigorously engaged in combat operations. [...] Why do people join the Infantry Corps? The answer is simple: to fulfil the role of the Infantry; or to use simpler terms, to fight. But the Infantry are not fighting; they are trained to fight, equipped to fight, and being indoctrinated to expect to fight—they are doing many other things, but not fighting. [...] The restrictions placed on deployed elements as a result of force protection and national policies have, at times, made Infantrymen ashamed of wearing their Australian uniform and regimental hat badge."
Captain Greg Coltan, 'Enhancing Operational Capability: Making the Infantry More Deployable', Australian Army Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Autumn 2008): 51-64
EXCERPT: "[T]here is a growing sense of frustration within the ranks of the Infantry that regular infantry units are only receiving perceived second rate operational taskings, while the government and Army hierarchy seem to favour Special Forces for deliberate offensive operations and tasks."
