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NY’s 42nd
Infantry In Iraq Lack Protective Equipment
Congressman Owens Obtains Frightening Photographs
BROOKLYN, NY-- Members of the National Guard 42nd Infantry Division from
Fort Drum, New York and now serving in Tikrit, Iraq are struggling to obtain the
basic vehicle armor and protective equipment they need to conduct their
missions. "The failure to provide such basic protection qualifies as criminal
dereliction of duty on the part of the military brass as well as Secretary
Rumsfeld and must be corrected immediately" Owens said in a letter to Defense
Secretary Rumsfeld and co-signed by several members of the New York delegation.
Military personnel and others familiar with the situation contacted Congressman
Owens recently, detailing the armor and equipment needs of the 42nd Infantry
Division and describing a series of failed attempts by members of the Division
to obtain even the most basic items. According to these contacts, the Division’s
current equipment conditions do not protect sufficiently against enemy attacks
on military vehicles.
“Even though the Bush Administration is spending $5 million dollars every
hour on the Iraq War, thousands of our National Guard soldiers lack essential
truck and body armor to protect them during daily missions. This failure to
provide New York Guard units and others with vital protective equipment is worse
than negligence.” Owens said.
Some of the Division’s current equipment problems include:
• Vehicles that lack adequate armor that could protect soldiers from roadside
bombs;
• Trucks that lack safety straps for gunners to hold them in the vehicle in the
event of explosion or roll over,
• Vehicles with seatbelts too short for soldiers wearing body armor;
• Vehicle doors held together with bungee cords;
• Night vision goggles that do now allow for use of prescription glasses or
contact lenses;
• Vehicles that lack gun turret locks,
• Severely oxidized vehicle parts where tape is being used to hold pieces of
metal together;
• And, a lack of gun mounts so that old oxygen tanks are sometimes being used as
gun mounts, reducing accuracy and risking troop safety.
Photographs of equipment conditions of the 42nd Infantry Division can be found
at: http://www.house.gov/maloney/humvees.htm
http://www.house.gov/maloney/press/109th/20050303humvees.htm
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