An Aussie soldier in Afghanistan basically laid the responsibility for the death of Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney in the lap of the Army through lack of intel and inadequate support from aircraft and mortar.

The soldier stated they knew they were about to be attacked as locals were leaving the area. He states they are angry at media reports of it being an ambush, when it wasn't.

Also, he mentions that overall they are unable to adequately take on training responsibilities of the ANA and combat roles due to lack of manpower. The official Army stance on the allegations is that he is wrong....on all counts. They know more than the bloke with the rifle, apparently.

Interestingly enough, I heard Michael Ware say a while ago that the government are WOEFULLY irresponsible in reporting the realities of what Australian soldier on the ground is actually up too.

There's about a dozen topics in there, but what stands out for me is the apparent secrecy between the foot soldier and us due to the government, and the government's apparent conscious minimal commitment to the war effort which has allegedly cost Australian lives and continues to threaten more.

Why?.

what's also woefull is the way the government (doesn't matter which mob are in majority at the time)treats those who come home with career ending illness or injury, as the Dept of Veterans' Affairs appears to be in the business of stopping genuine applicants from accessing disability pensions and making it difficult for the lucky ones who manage to qualify after fighting miles and months - even years - of red tape and denial.
For those who have retired from the services and are living off pensions supplied by MilitarySuper (to which each recipient contributed during their service life) there is the added insult that the government will not budge from the pitiful indexation of their pension by the CPI. Yet those who contributed Sweet FA (age pensioners etc) have theirs indexed by the male average earnings system. One of Kevin07's election promises was to right this wrong but, three years later, we're still being shafted. Lindsay Tanner said, a few months back, that the government 'couldn't afford it'. What a crock. The government doesn't want to know.

Well, Rudd got shafted too.

But you're right, the government and military LOVE to bang the 'digger', 'ANZAC', and 'mates' drum, but when someone falls for that and joins up to do their thing for all three but suffer mentally and/or physically they are left like sewerage to float out into the great ocean of society to suffer alone. It sucks, but its always been that way.

Never mind Austin, the government may not be able to afford to give you a livable pension, but they can afford to bring you a fast Internet, so you can keep busy as you fade away.

It's not just the army that gets a sharp stick from our government, the navy gets one as well.

When they try to stop illegal boats, that refuse to stop, do they stick a round through their bow? Not bloody likely.

Rather than endanger the illegals with even a splinter of broken wood, they stick a few ratings into a rubber ducky, on the often rough open sea, & send them off to board the the thing.

Our government is more interested in the opinion of the bleeding heart brigade, than they are in the lives of our servicemen, & women.

I wonder how long it will be before we find them telling our army blokes they must be careful not to injure or frighten the Taliban, with their nasty guns.

I know what I'd like to do with a sharp stick.

It's because governments are only interested in appearing to fulfill the obligations of the US Alliance, but when it actually comes down to supporting soldiers they are AWOL. Support to soldiers is costly and if it means buying guns that actually work, shoes that are comfortable to wear, and practical support like air cover during raids, these do nothing for the window dressing of what Australian foreign policy has become.

Support to Veterans by both sides of politics has been woeful thus far and the joureny is fraught with red tape and blind beauracratic stubbornes, if they are lucky enough to receive a crumb they are well and truly exhausted by the end of their ordeal.