"BEN NELSON: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary, General, it's a pleasure to be able to recognize the men and women in the military and the wonderful job that they do. It's also a sobering experience for my colleagues and I to call the parents, the spouses of those who have been lost in Iraq or anywhere around the world. My question today is going to be a basic question. General Pace, last November I asked Acting Secretary of the Army Brownlee when every soldier in Iraq would be equipped with the most advanced body armor. I asked this question after a constituent called my office to complain that his son was conducting house-to-house searches in Iraq and still wearing Kevlar. Secretary Brownlee said that all troops in Iraq would have the advanced body armor by December. My question, of course, is, do you know if this is now the case? PACE: Sir, it is the case. In fact, it was January, last month, that 100 percent of DOD, military and civilians, in Iraq had been issued to them individually the advanced body armor. And as we rotate the force, before they go into Iraq, the new troops will have issued to them the new body armor. And thanks to the funding of Congress, we have been able to take the initial capacity of industry -- when this war began, it was still in the technology environment -- we were able to take that 1,600-set- per-month capacity and we have built it up now, thanks to your funding, to 25,000 sets per month. PACE: So we have met the objective and we will be able to ensure that everyone continues to have it as they enter this country. BEN NELSON: Well, I now hear that the 1057th Transportation Company, part of the 37th Theater Company, isn't outfitted with advanced body armor. They have some newer vests, but not the insert of the body armor. And their mission, as you may know, is the transportation of supplies and personnel into southern Iraq, which then also takes them into harm's way on a very regular basis. Do you know whether they have or can you look into that if you don't know whether they have it by now? PACE: Sir, I will find out specifically whether or not every soldier in that unit has currently that. I can tell you for a fact that there are sufficient sets in Kuwait and in Iraq to have every single servicemember and DOD civilian have their own personal set and it is the plan to -- as they rotate, to ensure that each gets a set before they go in. But I will find out on that unit. BEN NELSON: Well, I thank you. And I know that all of you are committed to the best protection for our men and women in uniform and so you can appreciate the fact that when a call comes in from a parent concerned about the safety of his son or daughter, that that's a matter of critical interest and as well it should be. So I'll communicate that information back to that very concerned parent. PACE: Thank you, sir.