A PROPOSAL to replace Army Reserve armoured vehicles with the Australian-made Bushmaster troop carriers will be a point of discussion in Federal Parliament next week.
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Under the plan, the 40 M1-13 armoured vehicles maintained by the 12/16th Hunter River Lancers could be transferred to the Regular Army Infantry and replaced with Bushmaster troop carriers, which are manufactured in Bendigo.
Hunter River Lancer Honorary Colonel Rod Davis, who is attached to the Tamworth, Armidale and Muswellbrook-based regiment, has opposed the plan because reservists would no longer gain experience in operating fully-fledged armoury, but rather armoured troop carriers.
Colonel Davis said the regiment could loss prestige as it would no longer be classed as an Armoured Corps Unit.
He said the Bushmaster also lacked vital turrent and command capabilities, which the M1-13
possessed.
Member for New England Tony Windsor said the move would see the proficiency levels of reservists' drop because the Bushmaster was basically a truck.
A major difference between the vehicles is the Bushmaster has tyres, while the M113s runs on tracks like the Abrams and Bradley tanks, which will front the new-look Royal Australian Army battery when aging Leopard tanks are replaced.
Another concern was the question of how mechanically-trained reservists could possibly be prepared to step into the armoured divisions of the Regular Army if all they had learned to do was change tyres?
Manufacturer of the Bushmaster, ADI Limited said the armoured troop carrier provides high-speed, armoured mobility for up to 10 fully-equipped troops.
Well-suited to cross-country travel the air-conditioned and ergonomically designed Bushmaster is said to protect its occupants against land mines, mortars and small arms ammunition.
Mr Windsor said while Defence Minister Senator Robert Hill had indicated the Bushmaster would be used to motorise an Infantry Brigade, there was a firmly held belief within the Army that the replacement of Reserve armoured combat vehicles would take place.
"It is very hard to believe that in these uncertain times, Australia is downgrading the skills level of those people who would be required to round out the regular army units by removing the Armoured Fighting Vehicles, a vehicle used to train reservists to the level of armoured crewmen, a level that takes the Army a considerable time to fully train to," Mr Windsor said.
"I have already conveyed to the Minister the concerns people involved have raised with me and I intend to raise the issue in Parliament next week," he said.
