 British soldiers have been scavenging the debris of war for Iraqi army boots because the British army variety are disintegrating in the hot desert sun.
Guardsman Lee Williams, 18, of the Desert Rats' Royal Scots Dragoon Guards battle group, found a new pair of boots in an abandoned barracks which he said were "lighter and more comfortable" than the British footwear. He added that he had been forced to swap his footwear because no replacements were available for his own disintegrating boots. Equipment shortages have affected British forces since their arrival in the Gulf. Army officers concede there have been problems with supplies, partly because of the relatively short time available between the announcement of British deployment and the soldiers' arrival in the Gulf. Guardsman Williams, accepted that his footwear problems would not prevent him fighting effectively, but said that he was disappointed that he was having to wear Iraqi boots. "The English boots I had on were not desert boots, and the sole on them was coming off because of the heat. "So I picked up a pair of the Iraqi boots for myself. There were lots of them, and they are more comfortable and lighter than the ones I was wearing. "I would not have believed it if you'd have said that I would be wearing Iraqi boots before I came out here." "The Iraqi army seems to be better clothed than we are. We are supposed to look like professional soldiers, but we don't. I look like a tramp." (Agenceis) | 伊拉克战场上的英国士兵们不得不在废墟中搜寻伊拉克士兵的靴子，因为他们自己脚上的本国军靴在沙漠烈日的烘烤下，全部都开裂了。 18岁的李·威廉是英国"沙漠之鼠"苏格兰皇家近卫团卫兵。他在一个废弃的兵营里捡了双崭新的靴子，跟自己的英国战靴比起来，他觉得新鞋"又轻巧又舒适。" 他还说，换上伊拉克靴子也是迫不得已，因为脚上的鞋早就开裂了，可补 给物资却迟迟没有到来。 事实上，在英国士兵到达海湾地区之后，装备短缺就一直困扰着他们。 部队军官承认供给确实有问题，他们说部分原因是英国下令派遣军队和英军开赴海湾战场的时间间隔太短，根本无暇准备军备物资。 威廉说这些困难并不影响他英勇作战，唯一使他感到遗憾的是他不得不换上伊拉克士兵的靴子。 他说："我穿来的英国靴子不适应沙漠气候，这里温度太高，鞋底全脱帮了。" "所以我找了双伊拉克靴子。这里到处都是，而且穿起来更舒服轻巧。" "来这儿以前，我决不相信自己有一天会穿上伊拉克人的靴子。" "看上去伊拉克士兵穿得比我们好。我们应该更像职业军人一些，可现在我们就像是流浪汉。" （中国日报网站译） |
Updated: 2003-03-31 01:00
