Army chief backs RAF
Nato soldiers are fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan alongside members of the Afghan army
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Saturday, 23, Sep 2006 07:56
General Sir Richard Dannatt, chief of the general staff, has defended the Royal Air Force (RAF) and its role in Afghanistan after criticism from within Army ranks last week.
He criticised the comments made by Major James Loden in a leaked email exchange that the RAF were "utterly, utterly useless" as "irresponsible".
"The way the RAF has performed in support of our operations in Afghanistan has been exceptional," said General Dannatt.
"Irresponsible comments, based on a snapshot, are regrettable," the country's top soldier continued.
He insisted that there was a harmonious relationship between the different branches of the armed forces throughout operations in Afghanistan.
"Following my recent visit, which happened after the incident described in the e-mails, the men of the battlegroup left me in no doubt as to the value of the RAF's support to their operations," he said.
Major Loden is serving in the Helmand province of Afghanistan with 3 Para, but a Ministry of Defence spokesperson insisted earlier this week that his messages "do not reflect the view of the vast majority of soldiers".
General Dannatt also denied claims in an internal army publication that casualty figures had been reduced by soldiers often being sent back out to fight after being hurt.
He said that any inaccuracies were due to a "confused and difficult" situation and that numbers would be rectified as soon as they became known.