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ARE
OUR TROOPS RECEIVING THE BEST EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE?
Today, brave men and women are carrying on the American tradition of self-sacrifice around the world in an effort to protect our nation from terrorists and despots. They do so with assurances from us here at home that we will do everything we can to protect them as they prosecute the wars and the missions on which they are sent.
However, many recent reports from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan indicate that the Pentagon is not providing our troops with equipment critical for defending them against the guerilla-style attacks that are happening on an almost a daily basis in these countries.
Thousands of American soldiers are not being supplied enough protective gear, specifically Kevlar bullet-proof vests. Some Reserve armed forces are wearing either “flak jackets,” designed to stop fragmentation but not bullets, or Kevlar vests without the ceramic inserts that make the vests bullet-proof.
The situation is
so bad that some families are taking matters into their own hands.
One recent newspaper reported that the parents of some soldiers are
spending hundreds of dollars out of their own pockets and mailing body armor
to their sons and daughters in
As members of the House of Representatives have learned, some soldiers who receive the inserts in care packages from home do not even have the empty Kevlar vests to fill; they must duct-tape the lifesaving plates to their flak jackets and clothing. An injured infantryman told one of my colleagues here in the House that, “if I had had Kevlar, this wouldn’t have happened to me.”
Even more
disturbing is a report by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that over
8,000 vests have been promised to foreign troops by the Pentagon in an effort
to increase the commitment of troops from other nations. So our government is
giving this gear away to entice foreign troops while
I wrote Secretary
Rumsfeld last week seeking some answers. How
many soldiers who have been injured or killed in combat were wearing no
protective armor or protective vests other than the state of the art Kevlar
“Interceptor” vest? Will the
Administration ensure that all
We in Congress
have continually pledged to the President and others in the Administration
that we will provide every resource necessary to protect our troops and bring
them home safely. I hope the
Secretary will take these questions seriously.
The safety of our troops should be the Pentagon’s top priority.
As always, please let me know what you think about this and other important issues. Write to: Congressman Ted Strickland, 336 Cannon HOB, Washington, DC 20515; or call: (202) 225-5705.
