The Armed Forces of Malta have been left to their own devices so much that today we have an underfunded, demotivated and mismanaged military, like never before. Unfortunately, while our men and women on the ground give their 110 per cent to go beyond their call of duty, the lack of leadership that has characterised all of our disciplined corps is resulting in either extremely embarrassing episodes which hit the news to the chagrin of everyone, or worse, a regrettable episode waiting to happen.
Specifically, I am referring to a piece of information which the Minister for Home Affairs was forced to reveal in Parliament after a Parliamentary Question, whereby he confirmed that the government has abandoned the AFM so badly, that today, it has just one singular operating helicopter in its fleet of five.
In fact, the only functioning helicopter, capable of safe flight is an Augusta Westland AW139, from three of the same type, while both of the other Alouette IIIs are out of commission, and cannot be used.
It is very understandable that these complex machines will require maintenance from time to time but getting to a point where four out of five are not in functioning order is not acceptable.
Having functional helicopters in our army's arsenal of machines is no frivolous matter. We know that with Malta being a small island nation that values its neutrality, it does not require an army compliment which is comparable to that of large military powers. However, this boils down to a matter of dignity, as well as proper preparedness in the case of accidents.
We are blessed by hundreds of dedicated men and women in uniform who put their lives in harm's way to save the lives of others. Many of them come from the rank and file of our armed forces, who work closely with our other disciplined corps, who perform miracles to keep our country safe, given the limitations they are imposed upon.
With the summer months with us, families are known to be spending more time outdoors, perhaps even on their boat out at sea, or hiking to remote places, in search of some peace and quiet. This also means that our search and rescue resources need to be in the ship shape to respond to any calls for assistance, at any circumstance.
Having just one solitary helicopter from a fleet of five that is in functioning order is not what I would describe as being in ship shape. Perhaps it is the most far-removed state to be in, actually!
This situation is rendered even more alarming when learning that Airbus Helicopters, which is the mother company that operates Alouette III helicopters, in 2022 retired all certification for that type of helicopter from the market. It is within this context that I make a pertinent question. How come these helicopters have been left operational after this statement? What is the relation between this statement and two serious accidents that happened on 7 March 2024 and 28 July 2024, which luckily did not result in serious injury or fatality?
These are the very uncomfortable questions we need to ask, to try to understand why our Armed Forces have been left to descend to these pathetic levels. We need to ask how underfunding, lack of proper leadership and vision have brought us to this point, where our military cannot function properly, to the risk and detriment of our people.
Malta and Gozo deserve better. They deserve to be served by a dedicated army that is motivated and equipped to snap into action, whatever the circumstance.
It is not a lot to ask for.
Dr Darren Carabott is the Opposition's Shadow Minister for Home Affairs, Security and Reforms, and President of the Public Accounts Committee