Who's looking after army vehicles?

A HOST of engineers from different government services went to Xylophagou yesterday to inspect the wreckage of the ACMAT army truck that overturned on Tuesday, killing a reservist officer and injuring four reservist officers and a National Guard second-lieutenant. According to reports, the driver lost control of the truck even though he was not speeding when it flipped over.

Defence Minister Costas Papacostas ordered an investigation and said he was determined to find out what had gone wrong. Initial reports were that there was a major engine failure (the gear-box started to wobble, said one of the reservists) and it became impossible to control the car. In other words, all that remains to be established is the nature of the engine failure, because nobody could attribute the crash to reckless or dangerous driving.

The obvious question that everyone was asking yesterday is how well army vehicles are serviced. Were they properly maintained and regularly inspected for roadworthiness or was the servicing of the trucks left to the 19-year-old conscript drivers who are usually responsible for the vehicles?

Conscript drivers often have very little knowledge of motor mechanics and cannot be expected to carry out proper checks of army vehicles -- they could make sure there is enough water in the radiator and oil in the engine, but would not be able to spot a complicated engine problem.

As several people pointed out yesterday, army vehicles should undergo roadworthiness checks just like private cars. If there are not enough National Guardsmen qualified to do such a job, civilian mechanics could be drafted to carry it out until adequate numbers of the military are trained up. The good running order of National Guard vehicles cannot be left to teenage conscripts, who have only basic knowledge of car mechanics.

We hope that tragic loss of the reservist on Tuesday will act as a wake-up call to the defence ministry and National Guard command.

APOEL's hard work made us all proud

CONGRATULATIONS to our champions APOEL who made the whole country proud on Tuesday night, as they earned a draw in Madrid. Before the match, even the most die-hard supporters of the club were expecting an Atletico Madrid victory and were expressing the hope that defeat would be by a narrow margin. This was not defeatism, but a reflection of the big gulf in strength between the two sides.

But as Anorthosis proved last year in the same competition, with team-work, tactical discipline, fighting spirit and hard graft, Cyprus sides are capable of getting good results in the Champions League.

If APOEL's players show the same qualities in the remaining five fixtures, we are sure they will score a win as well, even though they are in a particularly difficult group.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2009

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