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| February 2, 2007 | ||
| Armed Services Subcommittees Question Military Equipment Levels for Iraq Troop "Surge"
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| Washington, DC -- House Armed Services Subcommittee Chairmen Neil Abercrombie (Air and Land) and Solomon Ortiz (Readiness) pushed Pentagon leaders for assurances on the military preparedness of U.S. Army and Marine Corps units being deployed to In a joint hearing this week, members of the two subcommittees questioned Thomas Mullins, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Plans, Programs and Resources, Major General Vincent Boles, Army Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, and other Army logistics and supply leaders over apprehension that units in Iraq are already experiencing shortages of vehicles, armor kits, communications equipment, certain weapons, and protection and countermeasure devices, and that adding 17,500 additional troops to the force will just make a bad situation worse. “Extended and continued deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, with nearly constant combat under unbelievably harsh conditions, has wreaked havoc on billions of dollars of warfighting and support equipment, and put terrible stress on our men and women in uniform,” said Air-Land Chairman Abercrombie (D-HI). “Military readiness, including the ability to supply and resupply units with everything they need — has suffered. Adding five additional combat brigades can only make the problem that more critical.” The Subcommittee members cited testimony in a committee hearing last week and a report issued on January 25th by the Department of Defense Inspector General indicating equipment shortages for combat units currently in Despite assurances from Brig. Gen. Charles Anderson, director of Force Development for Army G-8, who said, “They are going to be properly equipped,” legislators expressed their concerns. "As urgent as the problem is because of Iraq and Afghanistan, it has serious longer-term implications, as well," Ortiz said. "The readiness crisis facing the nation today means the United States is really rolling the dice. We are engaged in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and we face potential threats from Iran and North Korea. The damage done to our Army and the readiness of our force would prevent us from responding effectively should threats from either of these nations materialize. We simply are not ready." "This readiness crisis comes into particularly sharp focus now, with Congress being asked to approve a reported $100-billion Fiscal Year 2007 emergency supplemental appropriation request, which includes operational funds for President Bush's troop escalation," said Abercrombie. "The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been paid for through emergency supplemental requests - year after year. It shows that this Administration is determined to hide the real costs. The practice has led to critical repair and reset needs going unfunded, and has brought us to this sorry state of affairs." -30- |