Another Big Hairy MoD Cock-up

Given the brouhaha about equipment and public expenses, you'd think the MoD might have a crack at getting something right, but that's not how the MoD works. They're constantly trying to hide the issues with Bowman radio system, but it seems they've had no alternative but to admit - in as many weasel terms as possible - that the Cormorant system is, well, shit.

We spent £114 million pounds on a system designed to be launched in 2002 and last 20 years, it eventually surfaced in 2004. 5 years into it's operational life, and it's already creaking to the point we're having to bring in Israeli technology to supplement it. Let's be honest, it's not going to make it to 2022 is it?

There's that old saying about the American military - "all the gear, and no idea" - usually highlighted in war games when the British tend to run rings around them, and it's a crying shame we cannot get our troops the correct equipment, or at least worthwhile equipment. We spend billions on crap.

In the 80's the Mujahadeen sent back our rocket launchers on the basis they didn't work very well. These are the same ones we equipped our troops with, something a bunch of angry goat-fuckers wouldn't tolerate. That's the level of caring the MoD have for our troops. You can feel the love.

Governments for years - Tory and Labour - have taken the piss our of our troops, equipping them with substandard equipment in order to maintain British and European jobs.

And it makes you wonder what kind of testing goes on. Take the SA80 family, riddled with faults for years until the A2 variant was finally modelled - the MoD tried to ignore the problems for years, deploying troops, with the rather important bit of equipment that is their rifle, not entirely up to the job.

Even now it has some issues in hot, dry sandy places. Like Iraq. Or Afghanistan.

I've never wanted to be in the military, and really seeing what our troops have to deal with, it just highlights what a wise choice I made being a civilian.