April 25, 2007
Washington, D.C.—Congressman Christopher P. Carney has introduced bipartisan legislation recognizing the critical contributions and tremendous potential of military ground robotics. “I have seen first hand the kind of conditions in which military robotics save lives, and I proud to introduce this resolution on behalf of the hundreds, potentially thousands of combatant lives that have been saved because of the use of unmanned ground robotics,” said Congressman Carney.
In Iraq and Afghanistan alone, ground robotics have performed 30,000 missions to diffuse or dismantle improvised explosive devices (IEDs), saving the lives of our servicemen and women by allowing a safe stand off distance from this danger. IEDs are responsible for 2,100 combat deaths thus far, and the increased use of these ground robotics could ensure that such numbers are far less as we move forward with the global War on Terror.
“While the uses of these ground robotics are well documented and heralded for their life saving abilities, the potential for such robotics in the future is far more impressive. Robots with sniper detection, robots for wounded extraction, robots suitable for urban terrain and robots mounted with weapons systems are only a few of the ideas currently in development,” said Carney.
Joseph Toth, Congressman Carney’s Military Legislative Aide and a Noncommissioned Officer in the PA National Guard spent a year in Iraq from 2004-2005. Toth said that military ground robotics play a huge role in saving soldiers’ lives. “I was a gunner on an unarmored HUMVEE in 2004 in Baghdad, Iraq,” Sergeant Toth said. “While conducting security for a 20 vehicle convoy we were stopped by Military Police who suspected an IED had been placed by the side of the road ahead. When a robot went to disable the IED it discovered five more 155mm rounds daisy chained to the first. The robot was able to quickly dismantle and destroy the IED’s and no one was hurt or placed in unnecessary danger. This is just one of thousands of examples that demonstrate why we need more IED seeking robots in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Congressman Carney introduced this legislation, H Con Res 113, with Congressman Walter Jones, a Republican from North Carolina.
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