• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

UK's top bomb disposal officer resigns over Afghan concerns

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, May 24, IRNA -- Britain's top bomb disposal officer Colonel Bob Seddon has resigned, the Ministry of Defence announced after he raised concerns over the pressures his team faces in Afghanistan.

An army spokesman said in a brief statement on Sunday night that Seddon, the army’s principal ammunition technical officer, would be leaving the service in January

"He remains a serving officer and will not be commenting. The army remains committed to the counter-IED (improvised explosive device) effort, which is the number one priority in Afghanistan," the spokesman said.

Seddon’s sudden resignation comes after he told the BBC's Panorama program he needed more people on the ground and raising fears over the job's psychological impact.

In the program, to be broadcast on Monday night, he said the army was looking to bring more people into disposal teams to tackle improvised explosive devices, but the measures would take "some time".

"It means the existing cohorts are going to be under pressure. I'm very concerned that in the longer term some of my people who have done phenomenally difficult and dangerous work in Afghanistan may pay a deeper psychological price for the work that they've conducted."

The death of majority of the 286 British soldiers so far killed in Afghanistan have been caused by roadside bombs. Two recent deaths have included Explosive Ordnance Disposal officers during their last tour of Helmand.

In his interview for the program, the colonel said the army was looking to launch a detailed study into the psychological impact of bomb disposal on its operatives.

Britain’s new defence secretary, Liam Fox, has said that countering the IED threat in Afghanistan was a "top priority" for his coalition government.

"I will make sure that everything possible is done to ensure that our forces have all they need to deal with this indiscriminate threat. They deserve nothing less,” said Fox, who is using his first visit to Afghanistan to promise better recompense for soldiers.

In an interview on Friday, he also said that the priority was to withdraw troops as soon as possible, saying they were not there "for the sake of the education policy in a broken 13th-century country” but because British people and its global interests are not threatened.