At any one time a third of the soldiers' personal radios were out of action. But the reports indicated that two of the most senior British commanders in K-For, the Nato force in Kosovo, thought the problems would have made entry into the province unworkable if the Serbs had put up stiff opposition. Colonel Gibson said his troops had to borrow guns, because many of theirs did not work properly. Soldiers had to use nicknames' Their radios were so insecure the Serbs could hear everything that was said. Commanders had to resort to using nicknames with each other to try to fool the enemy, said Colonel Gibson, and requests for better equipment went unanswered by Whitehall.
Communications are essential for the success and survival of light forces.
Colonel Gibson said the troops could not work properly after dark because they did not have enough night vision equipment. Soldiers had to buy their own camp-beds because the army does not provide them. War criminals let go' Colonel Gibson also criticised problems with the legal basis on which the Paras patrolled the province's capital Pristina, he wrote. As a result, several people they suspected of being serious war criminals had to be let go. Brigadier Freer was forced to let war criminals go Brigadier Freer said the headquarters of K-For commander General Sir Mike Jackson was too distant from the troops on the ground.