The
deployment of the LAVs is partly a response to the death
of Lieutenant Tim O'Donnell who was killed last August
when his smaller and lighter armoured Humvee was hit by
a roadside bomb.
Defence
Minister Wayne Mapp said over the last couple of years
there have been substantial upgrades to the roads in Bamiyan
and "as a consequence we are now able to deploy them".
The
Defence Force chartered a Qantas 747 in March to take
the five LAVs into Afghanistan. It has been searching
for a Humvee replacement since June last year.
Three other LAVs that were being used by the SAS (Special
Forces) in Kabul have also been sent to Bamiyan.
Air
Vice Marshal Peter Stockwell, the Joint Forces Commander,
said the deployment means a range of options will be available
to troops.
"There's
now going to be a mix of vehicles. So there'll be the
light armoured vehicle, there'll still be Humvees, there'll
still be Hiluxes, because we need to be able to get over
some of the more difficult routes."
While
the LAVs are bigger and better armoured, they also require
an extra two dozen people to operate, taking the number
of Kiwi soldiers in Bamiyan back up to the government's
cap of 140.
Mapp
says the government remains committed to a 2014 withdrawal
from Afghanistan.
