| You get the idea that the Canadians are taking this NATO mission business seriously? More seriously than the Belgians? |
"They are going over to make up for vehicles that have been damaged and to augment our operational stock of vehicles in the theatre," said Major Daryl Morrell, a military spokesman. "We maintain an operational stock of vehicles overseas that are surplus to needs so that if you have one that breaks down, that is injured in some way, then we have got something right there to replace it."
Eleven of the machines have been seriously damaged during operations in Afghanistan, Major Morrell said. In the interest of keeping the information from the Taliban, he would not say how many of those can eventually be repaired and returned to service.
The LAV-IIIs cost about $2-million each, but that includes the cost of training and some ongoing maintenance. The Canadian army currently has 547 of the vehicles in service but will not divulge how many are in Afghanistan.