Posted on 12/08/2004 7:11:44 AM PST by areafiftyone
CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait (AP) -- Disgrunted U.S. soldiers complained to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Wednesday about the lack of armor for their vehicles and long deployments, drawing a blunt retort from the Pentagon chief.
"You go to war with the Army you have," he said in a rare public airing of rank-and-file concerns among the troops.
In his prepared remarks earlier, Rumsfeld had urged the troops - mostly National Guard and Reserve soldiers - to discount critics of the war in Iraq and to help "win the test of wills" with the insurgents.
Some of soldiers, however, had criticisms of their own - not of the war itself but of how it is being fought.
Army Spc. Thomas Wilson, for example, of the 278th Regimental Combat Team that is comprised mainly of citizen soldiers of the Tennessee Army National Guard, asked Rumsfeld in a question-and-answer session why vehicle armor is still in short supply, nearly two years after the start of the war that ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
"Why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to uparmor our vehicles?" Wilson asked. A big cheer arose from the approximately 2,300 soldiers in the cavernous hangar who assembled to see and hear the secretary of defense.
Rumsfeld hesitated and asked Wilson to repeat his question.
"We do not have proper armored vehicles to carry with us north," Wilson said after asking again.
Rumsfeld replied that troops should make the best of the conditions they face and said the Army was pushing manufacturers of vehicle armor to produce it as fast as humanly possible.
And, the defense chief added, armor is not always a savior in the kind of combat U.S. troops face in Iraq, where the insurgents' weapon of choice is the roadside bomb, or improvised explosive device that has killed and maimed hundreds, if not thousands, of American troops since the summer of 2003.
"You can have all the armor in the world on a tank and it can (still) be blown up," Rumsfeld said.
Asked later about Wilson's complaint, the deputy commanding general of U.S. forces in Kuwait, Maj. Gen. Gary Speer, said in an interview that as far as he knows, every vehicle that is deploying to Iraq from Camp Buehring in Kuwait has at least "Level 3" armor. That means it at least has locally fabricated armor for its side panels, but not necessarily bulletproof windows or protection against explosions that penetrate the floorboard.
Speer said he was not aware that soldiers were searching landfills for scrap metal and used bulletproof glass.
During the question-and-answer session, another soldier complained that active-duty Army units sometimes get priority over the National Guard and Reserve units for the best equipment in Iraq.
"There's no way I can prove it, but I am told the Army is breaking its neck to see that there is not" discrimination against the National Guard and Reserve in terms of providing equipment, Rumsfeld said.
Yet another soldier asked, without putting it to Rumsfeld as a direct criticism, how much longer the Army will continue using its "stop loss" power to prevent soldiers from leaving the service who are otherwise eligible to retire or quit.
Rumsfeld said that this condition was simply a fact of life for soldiers at time of war.
"It's basically a sound principle, it's nothing new, it's been well understood" by soldiers, he said. "My guess is it will continue to be used as little as possible, but that it will continue to be used."
In his opening remarks, Rumsfeld stressed that soldiers who are heading to Iraq should not believe those who say the insurgents cannot be defeated or who otherwise doubt the will of the military to win.
"They say we can't prevail. I see that violence and say we must win," Rumsfeld said.
This article, like the CNN article about this subject, really really edits out a lot of what Rumsfeld said. Both articles are designed to make him sound dismissive.
I have seen clips on Fox and CNN and he expounds much more than is indicated here.
Who said they shouldn't?
This is an AP hit-piece people! Nothing to see here, move along...the AP is trying to stir up the usual crock.
Never mind---I see who!
I agree with you, they are entitled to ask questions if they are in good faith.
Why is that any surprise. You know the MSM motive. Especially CNN..
No surprise, just pointing it out.
When WWII began, there were no B17 G's...
And let not forget the free traders that sent all or manurfactoring to China, now it appears we can not product the armor our guys need. Way to go free traitors.
I assume you referred to the fight on Omaha Beach because there was a Guard outfit in it, the Stonewall Brigade? They sure got one hell of a welcome to WWII. Made old Stonewall proud, I'm sure.
You all say it, but it sounds like you do not live up to your words when you say you support our troops.
BUMP
Hey great impression of a Kerry-backing screaming Liberal.
Do you do any other impressions?
Then Rummy should have kept the Q&A session private. You can't blame the troops for his poor security.
What this administration knows about warfighting is causing Patton to spin in his grave<<
What more than a few posters on this forum know about warfighting. . . .
I am sorry. Did I break a commandment by questioning the wisdom of your hero GWB. What is it, Thou shalt not question this administration?
I don't know about you guys but I didn't care much for some of the answers that Rumsfeld gave to the troops. I really feel bad for them, they put their lives on the line for this country and Rumsfeld acts like it's no big deal. Does Rumsfeld care at all for these soldiers?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.