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Australian soldier killed in middle-east (1 Viewer)

Wooz

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SAS soldier killed in Mid-east
From: AAP
November 07, 2005


Tragic ... the Digger was hit by a vehicle during a training operation / File AN Australian soldier has been hit and killed by a vehicle while training in the Middle East ahead of his deployment to Iraq.

The soldier, a member of the elite Special Air Service, had been in the army for 25 years, said chief of the Australian Defence Force, Angus Houston.
A full investigation will be carried out into the accident, in which the soldier was struck by a vehicle, defence officials said.

Fellow soldiers provided first aid but could not save his life.

The ADF would not say where in the Middle East the accident occurred and was today refusing to release details about the man at the request of his family.

But it said it would provide more information when appropriate.


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Air Chief Marshal Houston said he had offered his condolences to the soldier's next of kin and family as well as to other members of the ADF who knew the soldier.
"At times like these we need to be strong and to offer our full support to the family and friends of the deceased soldier," he said.

"Until the incident has been investigated fully, it would be inappropriate of me to provide details of the circumstances surrounding this tragic accident.

"I can say however, the team was involved in a routine training activity and during that activity the soldier was struck by a vehicle."

About 1320 Australian military personnel are deployed to the Middle East under Operation Catalyst, the Australian Defence Force's contribution to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Iraq.
From: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,17163704-2,00.html

It's tragic that there have been many accidents resulting in death because of negligence in the military and training.
 

loquasagacious

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I agree its tragic however accidents happen, such is life. Really the only reason that this is particularly notable is that casualties in combat are so few these days....
 
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Wooz said:
From: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,17163704-2,00.html

It's tragic that there have been many accidents resulting in death because of negligence in the military and training.

Ah, no mention was made of negligence on the part of the training supervisors, and I doubt that anyone of some standing would make such a claim so lightly. Keep in mind that the soldier was a member of the SAS, and their training methods, though secretive, are regarded as being rather dangerous and demanding, and that's to be expected given the nature of their role.
 

Wooz

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Sorry, my bad i was talking about other training accidents and preventable disasters in the miltary such as the soldier who died in the Northern territory after the army ignored warnings in a medical report given to then just weeks before about possible heat exhaustion and death in training in hot conditions and how a recruit was killed when a weapon accidently discharged a round. There has also been the sea king disiaster in Indonesia it crashed because the mantinance crew could not replace a 50c bolt.
 

loquasagacious

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In relation to the deaths in training:

Heat: Soldiers must fight in heat, training must be as realistic as possible to create the best fighting force. Hence soldiers must train in the heat. It is deeply regrettable that a soldier died because of this, however I will note that everyone else there that day did not die. Either the soldier had a pre-existing weakness/illness/etc that was exacerbated and lead to death or he failed to properly hydrate/etc. As I said unfortunate however unavoidable, if we want an army we have to accept that sometimes soldiers in it will die.

Accidental discharge: The accidental discharge of weapons is nothing new, some guns are more prone to it than others this is unfortunate. It has been happening since guns were around. In this case it is a specific problem with all modern guns (bolt action) if not secured properly the bolt can be jogged as a result of some force (jumping out off a lorry or a car hitting a pothole usually). When this happens it may fire the chambered round. If set to auto this may then chamber and fire the next round and so on and so forth. Again there isn't really too much that can be done, the WWII British Sten gun was a big offender in this department because of its design, these problems have been rectified in subsequent guns however accidents still happen. These can only be avoided if correct protocol is followed that is rounds are not kept chambered unneccasserily, safety is on when not in use, auto is not set. Again I must conclude regrettable but unavoidable.
 

soha

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ok how many times have i read "training" in relation to the death of an american or australian
hmm
 

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loquasagacious said:
I agree its tragic however accidents happen, such is life. Really the only reason that this is particularly notable is that casualties in combat are so few these days....
soha... it's catching on.
 

Guzak

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I'm just wondering, do you think it looks bad for us that our only soldier who died in the conflict died as a result of out OWN trining, or does look good because we havent had a casualty as a result of the conflict and therefore more effectively trained?
 

loquasagacious

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It indicates that we have fought well.

On the other hand it also indicates that we havn't done much fighting.
 

Arbeit~!

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loquasagacious said:
It indicates that we have fought well.

On the other hand it also indicates that we havn't done much fighting.
I agree..........
 

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