Capitol Monitor ....
Congressman J. Randy Forbes, Fourth District of Virginia 

March 27, 2004

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In this Issue

1. Point of View: Logistics Warriors

2. A Consumer's Guide to Online Shopping

 

 

::  Point of View  ::

Driving south on I-95 just a few miles beyond Richmond, you will pass Fort Lee, home to the Army’s Quartermaster Corps. Fort Lee’s mission is to provide the technical know-how to deliver the support needed to sustain our combat troops in battle. As closely as I have worked with Fort Lee, and as many times as I have been there, it was not until I traveled to Iraq and saw our logisticians from Fort Lee in action firsthand that I truly understood how important this military installation is and how easy it is to take these soldiers for granted.

What hit me most distinctly while I was in Iraq was the dual nature of a Quartermaster soldier. Not only are these soldiers required to be proficient in their area of logistics, but because of the ever-changing nature of the front lines in Iraq, these soldiers are also responsible for carrying a heavy share of the combat burden of the mission. In fact, support soldiers have suffered the highest percentage of casualties during the war in Iraq. It struck me that these individuals are not logistics soldiers, nor are they combat soldiers, they are both – they are logistics warriors.

It is actually quite surprising that our logistics warriors don’t receive more attention considering that for every soldier or Marine firing a weapon at the enemy, there are at least nine logisticians helping make the fight possible. Past wars required even more, historians say. All too often the voices searching for things that went wrong with the war in Iraq drown out the great successes of this mission. Seeing these soldiers in action in Iraq, however, it was strikingly clear that our logistical accomplishments are among the greatest successes of the war in Iraq. 

I would like to share with you some of the remarkable successes of our logistics teams: 

- They constructed and maintained a supply line stretching 350 miles from Kuwait to Baghdad. Along the roads between Kuwait and Baghdad there were, at any given time, 2,500 logistics and support vehicles. 

- Each U.S. soldier in Iraq consumed at least a liter of water an hour. In order to keep our troops hydrated, logistics troops transported about a million and a half liters of water each day.

- For our aircraft to fly the number of military sorties needed to support our operations took approximately two and a half million gallons of fuel each day. Every gallon of that fuel had to be transported through treacherous supply lines and into the fuel tanks of our equipment.

- Instrumental to the success of the combat phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom was the construction of the Army’s Inland Petroleum Distribution System. This was a 220-mile long tactical fuel pipeline, the longest ever constructed by the Army. In excess of 66,000 pipe sections were hand-laid to construct this critical system. This pipeline is still in service supporting the restoration of Iraq.

- Our logistics warriors transported about a third of a million Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) each and every day.

- Two million tons of spare parts and equipment were moved around the battlefield each day in order to fill supply points and keep our equipment in good working order to allow operations to continue, uninterrupted.

Fort Lee was instrumental in helping the Army:

- Deliver 186 million gallons of fuel - enough to fill the tanks of 40,000 cars.

- Serve 53 million meals – enough to feed the entire population of Virginia a balanced meal everyday for over a week. 

- Provide 330 million gallons of water – enough for a daily shower for a half million individuals.

- Deliver nearly 8 million pieces of mail – equivalent to over 13 pieces of mail for every single one of the 600,000 people in Virginia’s Fourth Congressional District.

General John Abizaid, Commander of U.S. Central Command, commented on the achievement of our logistics warriors testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, saying: “It's really remarkable the great strength of the United States Armed Forces … in this unmatched logistical capability to move from the United States of America at any point on Earth, get mountains of equipment to the right place at the right time and move against a fairly sophisticated enemy in a very quick amount of time and achieve great results and then have no one really talk about it.”

Those men and women who are behind the lines, yet still on the front, still in harm's way, are every bit as vital and dedicated to their mission as the soldiers in battle that we see in combat pictures. They aren't only the logisticians; they are the medical teams, the clergy, the communications teams, and so many others who support our soldiers on the ground. They are our unsung heroes and I am honored to pay tribute to them. Maybe the next time you see one of our soldiers from Fort Lee, you will join me in saying "thank you" for their role in keeping America free.


:: A Consumer's Guide to Online Shopping ::

The Internet has taken its place beside the telephone and television as an important part of people's lives. But just as consumers are increasingly using the Internet to shop, bank and invest online, so too, are thieves increasingly looking to the Internet as a place to steal identities. 

Here are some tips from the Federal Trade Commission about how to make your online transactions as safe and secure as possible. Keep these tips in mind as other forms of electronic commerce, like mobile and wireless transactions, become more available.

"Paying" It Safe

The FTC encourages you to take steps to make sure your transactions are secure and your personal information is protected. Although you can't control fraud or deception on the Internet, you can take action to recognize it, avoid it and report it. Here's how.

1. Use a secure browser - software that encrypts or scrambles the purchase information you send over the Internet - to help guard the security of your information as it is transmitted to a website. Be sure your browser has the most up-to-date encryption capabilities by using the latest version available from the manufacturer. You also can download some browsers for free over the Internet. When submitting your purchase information, look for the "lock" icon on the browser's status bar, and the phrase "https" in the URL address for a website, to be sure your information is secure during transmission.

2. Check the site's privacy policy, before you provide any personal financial information to a website. In particular, determine how the information will be used or shared with others. Also check the site's statements about the security provided for your information. Some websites' disclosures are easier to find than others - look at the bottom of the home page, on order forms or in the "About" or "FAQs" section of a site. If you're not comfortable with the policy, consider doing business elsewhere.

3. Read and understand the refund and shipping policies of a website you visit, before you make your purchase. Look closely at disclosures about the website's refund and shipping policies. Again, search through the website for these disclosures.

4. Keep your personal information private. Don't disclose your personal information - your address, telephone number, Social Security number, bank account number or e-mail address - unless you know who's collecting the information, why they're collecting it and how they'll use it.

5. Give payment information only to businesses you know and trust, and only when and where it is appropriate - like an order form. Never give your password to anyone online, even your Internet service provider. Do not download files sent to you by strangers or click on hyperlinks from people you don't know. Opening a file could expose your system to a computer virus or a program that could hijack your modem.

6. Keep records of your online transactions and check your e-mail for contacts by merchants with whom you're doing business. Merchants may send you important information about your purchases.

7. Review your monthly credit card and bank statements for any errors or unauthorized purchases promptly and thoroughly. Notify your credit or debit card issuer immediately if your credit or debit card or checkbook is lost or stolen, or if you suspect someone is using your accounts without your permission. 

Report Problems Immediately

The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) and Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) establish protections against lost or stolen credit or debit cards, and procedures for resolving errors on credit and bank account statements that can include:

 

- Credit charges or electronic fund transfers that you - or anyone you've authorized to use your account - have not made;

- Credit charges or electronic fund transfers that are incorrectly identified or show the wrong amount or date;

- Computation or similar errors;

-A failure to properly reflect payments or credits, or electronic fund transfers;

- Not mailing or delivering credit billing statements to your current address, as long as that address was received by the creditor in writing at least 20 days before the billing period ended; and

- Credit charges or electronic fund transfers for which you request an explanation or documentation, because of a possible error. 

To take advantage of these consumer protections for errors on your account, write to the creditor at the address given for "billing inquiries," not the address for sending your payments. Include your name, address, account number and a description of the billing error. Send your letter so that it reaches the creditor within 60 days after the first bill containing the error was mailed to you. And if you send your letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, you'll have proof that the creditor received it. Include copies (not originals) of sales slips or other documents that support your position. Keep a copy of your dispute letter.

The creditor must acknowledge your dispute in writing within 30 days after it is received, unless the problem is resolved within that period. The creditor must con-duct an investigation and either correct the mistake or explain why the bill is believed to be correct, within two billing cycles (but not more than 90 days), unless the creditor provides a permanent credit instead. You may withhold payment of the amount in dispute and any related finance charges and the creditor may not take any action to collect that amount during the dispute.

For More Information

Your financial institution, local consumer protection agency and law enforcement agencies like the Federal Trade Commission or your state Attorney General are among the many organizations working to help consumers understand electronic commerce and new online payment options.  Visit my consumer resources website for more information.

IN BRIEF ....

Jobless Claims Continue to Trend Downward, from the Joint Economic Committee

Jobless claims, unemployment, insurance

ON THE FLOOR ....

3/17/2004: Randy on Logistics Warriors

Requires Windows Media Player

ON THE HILL ....

Current Floor Proceedings

Bills Coming Up This Week

Monthly Whip Calendar

IN YOUR TOWN ....

April 2:
Isle of Wight Office Hours

April 2:
Suffolk Office Hours

April 8:
Franklin Office Hours

April 8:
Greensville Office Hours

OFFICE LOCATIONS ....

307 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202.225.6365

505 INDEPENDENCE PKWY, SUITE 104
Chesapeake, VA 23322
757.382.0080

2903 Boulevard, Suite B
Colonial Heights, VA 23834
804.526.4969

425 H. South Main Street
Emporia, VA 23847
434.634.5575

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