A personal account kept by Warrant Officer Sean Upton before he was killed last year suggests that two missions had to be called off due toa shortage of mortar rounds.
WO2 Upton, of the Royal Artillery, wrote that his men fired so muchammunition in one battle with the Taliban it was the equivalent of sixdays' allocation.
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His unit was then left with a dire shortage of ammunition when ahelicopter carrying fresh supplies was shot down and it took over 48hours for more to arrive.
The 35-year-old revealed the situation in an entry on his laptop diaryfor June 29 last year – a month before he was killed by a bomb.
In it, he referred to calculations by the Permanent Joint Headquarters(PJHQ) about how much ammunition was needed for troops in contact (TiC).
The father of two wrote: "Patrol was cancelled due to lack of ammunitionafter yesterday's contact.
"Apparently PJHQ have worked out a calculation on approximately how muchammunition should be used in a TiC. We used six TiCs worth yesterday."
Two days later WO2 Upton who was, serving with the RA's 5th Regiment inSangin, wrote: "Today's patrol got cancelled as ammunition still had notarrived."
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His diary, which was made public as the inquest into his death opened inRichmond, North Yorks, also suggests that another patrol was cancelledafter they ran out of water.
Another had to be called off because a soldier tasked with marshallingair cover went on leave and was not replaced, he claimed.
His widow Karen, 33, told The Sun: "Reading it makes me feel like he wasa sitting duck.
“This lifts the lid on how poorly supported troops have been on thefront line.
"They used up so much ammunition fighting the enemy and didn't know whenthe next lot would arrive.”
"He never kept a diary before in his life.
"I think he did it to reveal what was going on if he was killed. I thinkhe knew he was going to die."
An Army spokesman said: “Commanders on the ground in Afghanistan have tomake tough choices every day and it is not uncommon for them to varyoperational tempo and activity based on a wide range of factorsincluding the balance of risk and tactical considerations.
“In the summer of 2009, supply routes in the Upper Sangin Valley wereplaced under pressure after a civilian resupply helicopter was shot downover Sangin.”
WO2 Upton, of the Royal Artillery, wrote that his men fired so muchammunition in one battle with the Taliban it was the equivalent of sixdays' allocation.
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*
MoD 'could cancel kit orders amid budget cuts'
*
Shortage of helicopters undermining 'protection' of troops inAfghanistan
*
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*
Eight British soldiers killed in Afghanistan: thousands payrespects in Wootton Bassett
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Coroner calls for Government review of armoured vehicles
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AK47 and ammunition found at home of 'false medal citations Major'
His unit was then left with a dire shortage of ammunition when ahelicopter carrying fresh supplies was shot down and it took over 48hours for more to arrive.
The 35-year-old revealed the situation in an entry on his laptop diaryfor June 29 last year – a month before he was killed by a bomb.
In it, he referred to calculations by the Permanent Joint Headquarters(PJHQ) about how much ammunition was needed for troops in contact (TiC).
The father of two wrote: "Patrol was cancelled due to lack of ammunitionafter yesterday's contact.
"Apparently PJHQ have worked out a calculation on approximately how muchammunition should be used in a TiC. We used six TiCs worth yesterday."
Two days later WO2 Upton who was, serving with the RA's 5th Regiment inSangin, wrote: "Today's patrol got cancelled as ammunition still had notarrived."
Hi All
His diary, which was made public as the inquest into his death opened inRichmond, North Yorks, also suggests that another patrol was cancelledafter they ran out of water.
Another had to be called off because a soldier tasked with marshallingair cover went on leave and was not replaced, he claimed.
His widow Karen, 33, told The Sun: "Reading it makes me feel like he wasa sitting duck.
“This lifts the lid on how poorly supported troops have been on thefront line.
"They used up so much ammunition fighting the enemy and didn't know whenthe next lot would arrive.”
"He never kept a diary before in his life.
"I think he did it to reveal what was going on if he was killed. I thinkhe knew he was going to die."
An Army spokesman said: “Commanders on the ground in Afghanistan have tomake tough choices every day and it is not uncommon for them to varyoperational tempo and activity based on a wide range of factorsincluding the balance of risk and tactical considerations.
“In the summer of 2009, supply routes in the Upper Sangin Valley wereplaced under pressure after a civilian resupply helicopter was shot downover Sangin.”
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