British Army 'Screwed Up' After Taliban Attack on Camp Bastion Killed Two American Marines, Claims US General

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British Army 'screwed up' after Taliban attack on Camp Bastion killed two American Marines, claims US General

A Former US Military General claims the British army 'screwed up' after two US Marines were killed during a Taliban attack on Camp Bastion last year, it has emerged. The British army was responsible for security on the base when the attack - which also injured 16 soldiers - took place in September last year.

US Major-General Gregg Sturdevant, who was forced to retire following the attack , claimed today that the British army should have strengthened security at the military base, which houses around 30,000 coalition forces.In a statement released to The Independent, Major-General Sturdevant claimed he did not realize until after the attack that "there were unmanned towers out there... The Brits were embarrassed."  He added: "It took a while for the real story to come out. It was unfortunate, and it was not a pretty story. For the tower to be unmanned with the terrain out there, I questioned that."

Following the attack - which left eight American aircraft worth more than $200m either destroyed or damaged - the US took over responsibility for security.  Major-General Sturdevant added: "I told them that we were no longer willing to accept not being in charge of overall security.  "The attack definitely changed the environment. They knew that they had screwed up."  The claims were made in newly released documents by the US military which were previously secret.  It comes as British forces prepare to leave Afghanistan by the end of next year.

Following the claims, the Ministry of Defence said it is to "consider" the findings of the US review.  An MoD spokesman said: "Following the attack on Camp Bastion in December 2012 the UK has contributed fully to a number of Isaf, US and UK reviews. As a result, force protection measures at Camp Bastion have been reviewed and are appropriate to current threat levels.  "As stated in the US review, a concertina wire, a ditch, berm obstacle and a 30ft high boundary chain link fence were in place around Camp Bastion at the time of the attack.

"The US review further states that a separate internal perimeter fence would likely not have presented any serious challenge, barrier or impediment to the enemy on the day of the attack.  "The insurgents were repelled by US Marines and Royal Air Force Regiment personnel whose courageous actions prevented greater loss of life and equipment.  "While the US Review was intended to examine US actions only and not those of coalition forces, the UK will consider its findings in detail to confirm our earlier assessment that no further UK action is required."



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