At that level the bureaucratic inefficiency, the inability to spend money, even though it was there, and the frustrations that this caused were immense. This was compounded by US commercial practices as their system of contracts seemed designed to exclude all other but US business.

The whole system was appalling. We experienced real difficulty in dealing with the American military and civilian organisations who, partly through arrogance and partly through bureaucracy, dictate that there is only one way: the American way.