|
|
U.S.
Senator Member of the Agriculture, Energy and Veterans Affairs
Committees |
|
|
|
||
|
For Immediate
Release January 12, 2006 |
CONTACT: Cody Wertz – Press Secretary 202-228-3630 Jen Clanahan – Deputy Press Secretary 303-455-7600 |
|
|
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new Department of Defense study shows that up to 80 percent of fatalities in Iraq could be attributed to a lack of adequate body armor for American troops. More alarmingly, media reports indicate the data has been available since early 2003 but not acted upon by the Pentagon. In response, in a letter Monday United States Senator Ken Salazar urged Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to take immediate steps to deliver appropriate body armor to U.S. troops. “If these news stories are accurate, this is a shocking situation. Our fighting men and women deserve the best armor possible. I am sure you agree,” wrote Senator Salazar. “I urge you to take immediate steps to ensure that the appropriate armor is delivered in a timely fashion to our troops in harm’s way. In addition, I request information regarding what steps the Department of Defense is taking to correct armor shortfalls, and what obstacles are preventing the rapid procurement and distribution of that armor.” Last week, the New York Times revealed that a Defense Department study of Marines killed in Iraq between March 2003 and June 2005 showed that 74 of 93 fatal wounds were sustained in the shoulders, sides or torsos not covered by the ceramic body armor worn by a majority of military personnel in Iraq. The study estimated that thirty-one of these fatal wounds could have been avoided by enlarging the existing ceramic shields. According to the Times, “[T]he vulnerability of the military’s body armor has been known since the start of the war … Still, the Marine Corps did not begin buying additional plates to cover the sides of their troops until this September, when it ordered 28,800 sets.” The Times also reported that the Army is still trying to decide what to size plates to purchase. This morning, the Washington Post reported that the Army announced on Wednesday that “it will soon start producing 230,000 sets of side armor plates and field them over the year to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.” Through January 7, 2006, 2,199 American soldiers had been killed in service of Operation: Iraqi Freedom and another 16,420 had been wounded. This includes 32 fatalities from Colorado and 255 soldiers from Colorado being wounded. A PDF copy of Senator Salazar’s letter to Secretary Rumsfeld is available by clicking here. ###
|
||
