Australian troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are using defective equipment, including combat jackets that glow in the dark, a report said yesterday.
The safety of troops had also been compromised by body armour that cracks easily, the Australian newspaper said, quoting Defense Department documents which it had obtained under freedom of information laws.
New combat jackets issued to troops not only failed to offer camouflage protection but were "highly visible", appearing as "a bright glowing beacon when observed through night-fighting equipment," the report said.
The Defense Department documents are based on assessments of the equipment by the troops themselves.
safety compromised
The opposition Labor Party has demanded a full audit of the defense agency charged with buying combat clothing, saying the safety of front-line troops was being seriously compromised.
But Australian Defense Minister Brendan Nelson rejected the allegation.
"The chief of the defense force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, has advised me that the troops have told him that they are the best equipped they have ever been," Nelson said in a statement.
"We would not deploy troops on operations without the best available clothing and equipment," he said.
Australia has deployed some 900 troops in support of the US-led coalition forces in Iraq, and 300 to Afghanistan.
`well equipped'
The chief of the Australian army, Lieutenant General Peter Leahy, said that they were well equipped.
"I'm not going to say that everything is perfect" he told reporters.
"But what I can say is the equipment that we issue our soldiers to conduct operations, that is those soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, is among the best equipment in the world," Leahy said.
He said that the documents obtained by the paper were part of a mechanism for troops to report any problems with equipment.
The complaints were then investigated by the Defense Force.
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