'Our boys are so shattered' ... families plead for more Afghanistan troops

Relatives of British troops serving in Afghanistan's Helmand province have raised serious concerns over the safety of soldiers, claiming many are so exhausted they are finding it difficult to operate properly.
A growing number of wives, mothers, girlfriends and sisters have decided to speak out over the 'intolerable' pressures on loved ones amid fears that, unless more Nato countries agree to send extra troops, the situation will deteriorate further.

The women describe how soldiers they have spoken to have had one day off in eight weeks because of relentless fighting with Taliban forces and are surviving on just three hours sleep.

'They are absolutely shattered; after a 10-hour gun battle my son is so exhausted he can barely speak,' said one mother whose son has been stationed in the volatile Sangin region of Helmand for two months. Families also reveal that the supply of rations to the more remote British camps remains so erratic they are sending food parcels amid complaints troops are suffering weight loss.

One mother said fatigue was one of the most dangerous issues and that it was causing mistakes. Her 19-year-old son in the Household Cavalry Regiment had lost a close friend after an accident involving an armoured vehicle. Her son had been left stranded in Sangin after their Scimitar broke down and they could not obtain the right part. She said: 'Eventually they tried to repair the Scimitar themselves, but were absolutely exhausted. One man jacked it up on sand, went underneath the vehicle and it collapsed, crushing his head.'

The mother said her son twice rang the army's main base in southern Afghanistan - Camp Bastion - requesting help, but none was available: 'They were on their hands and knees trying to save him, but it was too late. They were absolutely traumatised.'

The concerns come as Ministry of Defence officials remain 'hopeful' that more nations in the Nato alliance will agree to send extra troops to Helmand when urgent talks are held this Thursday. Nato generals want an extra 2,500 troops for the operation in southern Afghanistan. Poland has promised to send 1,000 troops, but they will not arrive until February.

The Defence Secretary, Des Browne, will make an impassioned call to the Nato alliance at the Royal United Services Institute on Tuesday amid fears that, unless help is forthcoming, more British troops will be lost and Nato's credibility further damaged.

One mother, whose teenage son has been stationed in Sangin for the past five weeks, said: 'He has been surviving on three hours a sleep a night for five weeks, sleeping on rocks covered in cardboard. The men are absolutely exhausted.'

Sue Wallace from Brighton said her brother had been in a remote outpost in Sangin, scene of some of the bitterest fighting, for seven weeks without a break. 'They are not being rotated,' she said. 'They need rest and recuperation - and proper meals - if they want the job done properly,' she said.

One grandmother from Colchester has two 24-year-old grandsons fighting abroad, one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. It is the one based in Helmand whom she fears she may never see again. 'I nearly lost him two weeks go,' she said. 'They were ambushed, the sergeant behind him was hit and the bullet ricocheted into his spine. He still cannot move.'

Relatives also claim that loved ones are being put at risk by inadequate equipment.

One mother said her son had been fighting in Sangin for more than two months and had only received his upgraded body armour last week. 'For 10 weeks, he had no proper protection. That makes my blood boil,' she said.

Others told how troops are forced to ration water because of irregular supplies. Wallace said her mother was sending her brother 2kg food parcels to keep him going. He has lost two stone since arriving in Afghanistan.

'He is losing so much weight that he says his legs are pretty much bone. He does not sound happy on the phone.' So far they have sent £200 of noodles, nuts and crisps to help maintain his strength.

Other mothers say that, while they were initially apprehensive before their sons were sent to Afghanistan, they never imagined it would be so dangerous. Jeanette Reid said her son, James, 22, of the Royal Logistics Corps, had served in Iraq three times, but nothing he experienced there compared to Afghanistan. 'I always thought Afghanistan was going to be a bit more intense than Iraq, and I was right,' she said.

Britain has lost 35 soldiers in the past six months in Helmand. New MoD figures reveal that another 211 have been injured.
The Observer