Bruce in West Oz
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>The Advertiser 29/12/1999
Accidental soldiers in firing line
By Ian McPhedran
Lack of discipline and poor weapons training are being blamed for a dangerously high number of accidental rifle discharges by Australian soldiers in East Timor.
According to some sources, up to 50 so-called unauthorised discharges have occurred since Australian troops arrived in the territory late September.
Defence refused to discuss the extent of the problem, claiming that the number of accidental discharges in an operational area was confidential due to "operational security".
A defence spokesman would not confirm or deny reports that a very senior officer had been docked a week's pay after he shot a round through his office ceiling
He would not be drawn on claims that one round had been accidentally fired through the fuselage of a Hercules C130 transport aircraft.
The spokesman also would not say whether any injuries had been sustained from unauthorised discharges.
Penalties for discharges in an operational area can include loss of pay and restricted duties as well as remedial training.
A government source said the high rate of UDs had nothing to do with the controversial Australian-made Steyr rifle but was due entirely to a lack of training and discipline.
No one has been killed in East Timor by an unauthorised discharge, but in Somalia in 1993 the only Australian fatality came from an accidental discharge.
Lance Corporal Shannon McAliney, 21, died in April, 1993, when the rifle he was asked to hold for a comrade discharged, hitting him in the chest.
Another two soldiers were slightly injured when a Steyr discharged in the back of a behicle early in the Somalia deployment.
The mostly plastic Austrian designed Steyr rifle has been dogged by controversy and complaints that it does not perform well in wet, tropical conditions.[/quote]
That the Oz-made Steyr can fire seemingly at will, even when a finger is nowehere near the trigger, has been known for some time. Some years back the "Army" magazine ran an article which indentified the problems that surrounded the Steyr. This article included comment on the huge number of "unintentional" discharges that occurred when troops were live-firing the firearm.
Forgetting the mechanics of the firearm, it is a disgrace that the penny-pinching politicians of both major parties have over the years cut military spending. Australia now has some troops that are not handling
small-arms correctly, creating a danger to both themselves and others.
The SAS refuse to use Oz-made Steyr rifles, because of their inherent unreliability, just like they refused to take delivery of "environmentally-friendly" Land-Rovers that wouldn't pull your sister off a sailor!!
B
Accidental soldiers in firing line
By Ian McPhedran
Lack of discipline and poor weapons training are being blamed for a dangerously high number of accidental rifle discharges by Australian soldiers in East Timor.
According to some sources, up to 50 so-called unauthorised discharges have occurred since Australian troops arrived in the territory late September.
Defence refused to discuss the extent of the problem, claiming that the number of accidental discharges in an operational area was confidential due to "operational security".
A defence spokesman would not confirm or deny reports that a very senior officer had been docked a week's pay after he shot a round through his office ceiling
He would not be drawn on claims that one round had been accidentally fired through the fuselage of a Hercules C130 transport aircraft.
The spokesman also would not say whether any injuries had been sustained from unauthorised discharges.
Penalties for discharges in an operational area can include loss of pay and restricted duties as well as remedial training.
A government source said the high rate of UDs had nothing to do with the controversial Australian-made Steyr rifle but was due entirely to a lack of training and discipline.
No one has been killed in East Timor by an unauthorised discharge, but in Somalia in 1993 the only Australian fatality came from an accidental discharge.
Lance Corporal Shannon McAliney, 21, died in April, 1993, when the rifle he was asked to hold for a comrade discharged, hitting him in the chest.
Another two soldiers were slightly injured when a Steyr discharged in the back of a behicle early in the Somalia deployment.
The mostly plastic Austrian designed Steyr rifle has been dogged by controversy and complaints that it does not perform well in wet, tropical conditions.[/quote]
That the Oz-made Steyr can fire seemingly at will, even when a finger is nowehere near the trigger, has been known for some time. Some years back the "Army" magazine ran an article which indentified the problems that surrounded the Steyr. This article included comment on the huge number of "unintentional" discharges that occurred when troops were live-firing the firearm.
Forgetting the mechanics of the firearm, it is a disgrace that the penny-pinching politicians of both major parties have over the years cut military spending. Australia now has some troops that are not handling
small-arms correctly, creating a danger to both themselves and others.
The SAS refuse to use Oz-made Steyr rifles, because of their inherent unreliability, just like they refused to take delivery of "environmentally-friendly" Land-Rovers that wouldn't pull your sister off a sailor!!
B
