Two soldiers' deaths highlight crisis in US morale

Monday October 2, 2006
By Cole Moreton

The troops are exhausted. They need reinforcements. Tanks are broken and there is no money to repair them. Fighting is fierce, morale low.

These sound like the complaints of British soldiers in Afghanistan - only last week an officer there declared he was quitting in disgust after his men had to borrow bullets from Canadians during a battle.

But the loudest complaints are not from the British. It is the US Army that is now in revolt. General Peter Schoomaker, its leader, is refusing to submit a budget to the Pentagon because he says his troops need billions of extra dollars to go on doing what is expected of them.

The news has shocked British squaddies, who are used to seeing the Americans as better equipped, better supported and better paid. If even the Yanks are in trouble, what hope can the Brits have?

Lance Corporal Jon Hetherington and Specialist Andrew Velez were both 22 when they died in Afghanistan this northern summer. They held similar ranks. Their lives and deaths reveal the differences between the allies, and puncture the myths.

The British Army says its soldiers are better equipped now than ever. The Ministry of Defence says troops on the frontline "have all got everything they need". Extra helicopters have been sent and the Army has spent $1.4 billion on new Mastiff vehicles to replace its ageing Land-Rovers.

The gear is arriving, even as the fighting has eased. But when troops like Lance Corporal Hetherington were deployed to Afghanistan this year, they were equipped to keep the peace and rebuild schools.

They coped, heroically, with the unexpected ferocity of the Taleban, some units fighting night and day for a month. But when equipment broke down under extreme use, roads became impassable and air support failed, they were in trouble. Reports suggest some ran out of ammunition, food and water.

Hetherington died in Musa Qala in the early hours of August 27. He had served his country for six years, a length of service which earns a British corporal $67,293 a year. A US equivalent, such as Specialist Velez, is paid around $70,246. The difference is that the US soldier in a war zone pays no tax. He may also have received up to $71,680 for enlisting, enough to lift a family from poverty. The British get no such payment, but the idea is being considered as recruiting levels fall.

The two forces have very different attitudes. British troops are now experienced peacekeepers, but those serving alongside Americans complain their allies believe "peacekeeping is for wimps". This has led to claims of excessive force.

The British Army has been based on regimental tradition, but some disgruntled soldiers say it is being dismantled by a reorganisation that has seen famous regiments such as the Black Watch absorbed into others.

Links with areas of the country where sons followed fathers into service were being broken, said a former Black Watch officer, along with the sense of belonging. "The Americans think, 'God, if only we had that system'. But now everything we value is under attack."

Few US soldiers can fault the immense investment in their kit, but the psychological demands on them appear greater. The British spend six months in action before returning to their home base to rest and train.

This has been eroded lately, but the intention remains. Americans must complete a two-year tour of duty before a year off. Some returning from Iraq have been stopped and told to go back.

The pressure got to Velez. In 2004 his brother, a corporal, was killed in the battle of Fallujah. He escorted the body home to Texas, asking his father, "Do you know how hard it was to talk to Fred when he was in a box of ice?" Despite hallucinations, he returned to the frontline. But on July 25, in camp in Sharon, he shot himself.

"Poor sod," said a British infantryman when told the story.

"We get bollock-all support from home, from the politicians and you lot in the media, but at least we get to come home, if we're lucky.

"What the Yanks expect from their boys, frankly, it shocks me."

THE GI v THE SQUADDIE - WHOSE KIT IS BEST?