Poland to upgrade military equipment

WARSAW, Poland, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Poland said it will spend $420 million on new equipment for its NATO-led troops after a general alleged Poles were an easy target in Afghanistan.

Poland is to purchase 60 mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles designed to survive improvised explosive device attacks and ambushes, a staff general told Polish Radio Wednesday.

Gen. Mieczyslaw Stachowiak, deputy head of the Polish armed forces' general staff, said the government also plans to buy at least five new helicopters and two mid-range unmanned surveillance aircraft.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, after visiting the Polish contingent of 2,000 troops in Afghanistan Saturday, decided to change expenditure procedures so the needed equipment can be purchased immediately, the radio network reported.

Gen. Waldemar Skrzypczak, commander of Polish land forces, has criticized the Defense Ministry for failing to provide more and better equipment, which the contingent in Afghanistan has demanded for the past two years.

Skrzypczak claimed that if the troops in Afghanistan had proper equipment the death of a 32-year old captain could have been avoided.

Capt. Daniel Ambrozinski was killed by a Taliban sniper in an Aug. 10 ambush in eastern Afghanistan.