Pentagon's Inspector General says US soldiers going without!

[michaz]

Without necessary weapons, armor, vehicles and equipment in Iraq and Afghanistan. What in the hell is wrong with these people. Damn, my son-in-law is in Afghanistan. Think Progress is reporting this.

[babylonsister]

1. This was posted yesterday:

Report: U.S. Troops Short On Crucial Supplies


http://kutv.com/topstories/topstories_story_030170745.h...

Hundreds of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have experienced shortages of key protective equipment including armored vehicles, roadside-bomb countermeasures and communications gear, a Pentagon survey released Tuesday shows.

The Defense Department Inspector General's Office polled roughly 1,100 service members and found they weren't always adequately equipped for their missions. The troops were interviewed in Iraq and Afghanistan last May and June.

Those surveyed reported shortcoming with vehicles outfitted with armor; "crew-served weapons," which are weapons it takes more than one person to handle, such as artillery or a large machine gun; electronic countermeasure devices, such as equipment designed to foil roadside bombs by interfering with cell-phone signals that may be used to detonate them; and communications equipment.

The survey found that those not getting needed gear include troops performing untraditional missions such as training, reconstruction, detainee operations and explosive ordnance disposal.

In some cases, they went ahead with the work anyway, used informal means to get what they needed or canceled or put off operations while waiting for equipment, the report summary said.

[Rosemary2205]

4. This seems to be perennial problem

My father was in WW2 and he has told me lots of stories about soldiers "stealing" or "horsetrading" what they needed from other units. I read someplace that George Washington's men had to supply their own weapons and ammo. The critical supplies are obviously different now but obviously the whole thing about supply shortages just never seems to go away.

[godless]

2. This has been the case since the 1st year of the occupation.

As RummyDumDum observed, "You go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you wish you had"! What he forgot to mention is that you spend the Pentagon's money on fancy high-tech gizmos instead of equiping the "Army you have". For the richest country on the planet to send soldiers into battle without stellar arms and equipment is so outrageous that it ought to be illegal. It's nothing short of an outrage!

[indepat]

3. Yes but those billions of dollars not going to support our soldiers can be sprinkled among

the Halliburtons of the world. :grr:

[EVDebs]

6. Web site list info on Iraq war profiteering

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=War_profiteering

[EVDebs]

5. OIG has been derelict in his duty to get to the bottom : WHY ?

who appointed Thomas Gimble ?

Gimble's bio
http://www.dodig.osd.mil/BIOs/gimble_bio.html

and bio of predecessor Joseph Schmitz ("...a member of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.")
http://www.defenselink.mil/bios/schmitz_bio.html

They can't account for 25% of what DOD already spends and NOW they're in full CYO mode !

""More money for the Pentagon, CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales reports, while its own auditors admit the military cannot account for 25 percent of what it spends. "According to some estimates we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions," Rumsfeld admitted.

$2.3 trillion — that's $8,000 for every man, woman and child in America. To understand how the Pentagon can lose track of trillions, consider the case of one military accountant who tried to find out what happened to a mere $300 million.""

War on Waste
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/01/29/eveningnews/main325985.shtml

[Postman]

7. You go to wars of choice with the army have, not the one you might want...

They don't give a tinkers damn about the troops.

[EVDebs]

8. Who do you think Patton would be smacking nowadays ?

Neocons, OSP, end-runners of truthful intell, a certain former pair of Nixon and Reagan era pols, 'the crazies in the basement' (of the WH)...