British troops farcically ran out of ammunition during a military exercise held in the United states earlier this year according to latest reports that have emerged.
Lieutenant General Ben Hodges who used to lead the American army in Europe made the revelation during a Commons select committee appearance. UK troops had been taking part in a “realistic” combat exercise along with the US and French forces.
However, according to Lieutenant General Hodges, soldiers from the British 3rd Division exhausted their ammunition supply and ran out of the exercise.
Addressing the defense select committee, he said: “In about eight days of exercises, every bit of important ammunition was expended in the entire British Army’s inventory.”
The incident took place during the Warfighter exercise which was concluded in May.
The UK contributed 1,300 troops to the exercise which involved over 17,000 soldiers and military advisors in total.
The British contingent came from the 3rd Division and 7th Infantry Brigade which were deployed to Fort Hood and Fort Bliss in Texas.
General James McConville, US army chief of staff said the exercise had been “quite an achievement” overall.
He commented: “This is one of the largest exercises we’ve ever done of this type in the United States, and we had two countries coming to the U.S. during this challenging period.
“I’m very proud of what they did. They overcame some significant obstacles to include COVID and because of their untiring efforts they were able to produce a world-class exercise that makes us a stronger Army, and quite frankly makes us a stronger ally and partner with two very important partners and allies.”
