Australian Army Maj. David Bergman and Sgt. 1st Class Jayson Blunck, stand with village elders over a tunnel that allows Coyote Creek to run under the flight line at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, Oct. 25, 2008. U.S. and Australian soldiers had conducted a controlled burn in the creek area five days earlier to allow for de-mining of the section and to get ready for a silt-removal operation to restore water flow. The silt build up had been causing flooding in some villages, while preventing other villages from having water. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Mary L. GonzalezRead Afghan Shortage: Copters,
Spy Planes (Updated) -- The Danger Room
Spy Planes (Updated) -- The Danger Room
We've heard U.S. commanders ask over and over again for more troops in Afghanistan. But there are other, major military shortages in Afghanistan, too. Like today may be helicopters and spy planes. "For soldiers in Afghanistan, who often patrol at altitudes of 10,000 feet, helicopters are vital for troop movements, medical evacuation and avoiding roadside bombs," the Washington Post reports.
A shortage of rotary-wing aircraft to transport U.S. and allied forces is "fundamentally one of the problems we have in Afghanistan," Michael G. Vickers, assistant secretary of defense for Special Operations.
NATO itself is "grossly under-resourced" in helicopters and intelligence equipment, further taxing the United States, said a former senior military official who served in Afghanistan. "The shortage of full-motion video reduces the amount of enemy that you can monitor; it reduces your eyes."
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My Comment: I would still also add TROOPS to the list.