Military went off track on testing
I AM hot under the collar over the shambolic roll-out of the £3.5 billion Ajax armoured vehicle. It’s been revealed 310 soldiers are seeking medical attention due to hearing loss, back spasms and joint pain believed to have been caused by excessive noise and vibrations. From 1973 to 1990, I worked for the MoD testing tracked and wheeled vehicles. There was a purpose-built test facility on Chobham Common, Surrey, where there was a two-mile Tarmac road, and near Aldershot, Hants, there was a rough terrain testing ground that was muddy when wet and dusty when dry. Expert drivers like me would test military vehicles to assess their safety. Excessive noise, vibration or instability would be reported and investigated before further tests were carried out. In the 1990s, the facility was scaled back, staff were made redundant and testing taken over by private contractors. R. J. WALLEY, New Milton, Hants.