Secret shipment of LAVs follows Kiwi soldier's death in Afghanistan
by Vernon Small
Last updated 08:27 15/04/2011
Kiwi troops were supposed to be among the first foreign forces to withdraw from Afghanistan, but instead of winding down, numbers have been boosted and armoured vehicles sent to beef up firepower and defences.
The extreme secrecy that surrounded the airlift of five light armoured vehicles (LAVs) to Bamiyan province has highlighted the extreme danger that the 140-strong provincial reconstruction team (PRT) faces from insurgent attacks and natural hazards.
For nearly a decade now, the PRT has been patrolling the steep hills and rugged plains of Bamiyan as part of an international effort to rebuild Afghanistan after more than 30 years of conflict and civil war.
Although significant progress has been made in areas including constructing roads and electricity networks, schools, hospitals and the other building blocks of a normal, stable society, the risk of ambushes and roadside bombings remains frighteningly high.
In February, Defence Minister Wayne Mapp said that fear was a daily reality for the soldiers, along with the risk of death or injury from natural hazards.
The death of Lieutenant Tim O'Donnell in a roadside attack last year is understood to have heightened concerns that the Kiwi troops needed more firepower and defences in the face of persistent insurgency in the northeast of the province, where the Taleban has always found more sympathy among the locals.
The army quietly added extra infantry to the PRT, boosting the contingent from about 100 to almost the 140 cap imposed by the Government.
About the same time, a decision was taken to ship five LAVs with crews to Bamiyan, along with three more LAVs, which have been assigned to the Special Air Service unit in Kabul, which has been downsized.
The Defence Force's reaction when Fairfax Media started asking why the Government had indemnified Qantas for a 747 to fly freight internationally underscored the deep concerns about the continuing reach and power of the insurgency.
Fairfax agreed to not report on the shipment until the LAVs were in Bamiyan after the Defence Force said it feared the convoy could be ambushed and soldiers' lives put at risk on the road from Bagram airbase if news leaked out beforehand.
The northeast is seen as the most dangerous part of the province, although Joint Forces Commander Air Vice Marshal Peter Stockwell said the LAVs could also be used elsewhere.
They were sent to coincide with the next rotation of troops and all eight have been upgraded at a cost of $3.8 million to provide extra armour and roof-hung seats to protect passengers against mines and roadside bombs.
Although the LAVs will provide extra protection from attacks, the deployment appears to be just as much aimed at giving the PRT the ability to hit back at insurgents with more firepower than they have now.
The LAVs have good optical systems, especially at night, and a 25-millimetre gun.
Air Vice Marshal Stockwell said the decision to send them was partly a response to the death of Lieutenant O'Donnell. But he said the bomb that killed Lieutenant O'Donnell, who was in a Humvee, would have done considerable damage to a LAV, and he could not say for sure whether the young officer would have survived the blast had he been in one. "I'd hate to make a call on that. It would be pure speculation."
No vehicle would provide 100 per cent protection, he said.
However the patrol would have been better placed to fight off the follow-up attack, which involved rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire.
Air Vice Marshal Stockwell said the LAVs' extra armour could also provide greater protection than a Humvee in accidents on the difficult roads - a danger highlighted by the death of Private Kirifi Mila in a road accident in February.
DR MAPP said the main reason for flying the LAVs to Afghanistan was the protection of soldiers, although it was an operational decision for the military to make.
He said the intention was still to withdraw New Zealand's provincial reconstruction team by 2014, although it would not be "a sharp process", with 3 1/2 years to run.
"We have to protect our people in the meantime. The LAVs are significantly safer, particularly with the new seating arrangement.
"With the increased severity of the attacks, we were starting to increasingly ask, 'Is the Humvee the right vehicle?' "
Modifications meant the LAVs' seats were "top hung" and passengers did not touch the floor, giving them added protection from mines and roadside bombs.
He said Afghan President Hamid Karzai's call for Nato and United States- led PRTs to wrap up and leave the war- torn country was not aimed at New Zealand.
The PRT has been operating in Bamiyan since 2003, meaning it will have been in place for more than a decade by the time it is eventually withdrawn. It is easily New Zealand's most significant and dangerous overseas deployment since Vietnam and will have lasted almost twice as long as World War II.
Sixty troops - part of the next rotation of New Zealand forces - left for Afghanistan on Tuesday and 60 more will leave next week.
- The Dominion Post
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