Walter Reed: Dems Step Up

By: Chris Guy
Published On: 2/20/2007 11:23:59 PM

See, this is why we have Freedom of the Press. Following several scathing articles from the Washington Post that have circulated throughout both the traditional and non-traditional media, Congress has stepped in. While Republicans continue to "support the troops" by refusing to even debate Vietnam II: Electric Boogaloo, aka Iraq, The Hill reports that Democratic Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) have introduced legislation that addresses the myriad problems facing Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

On the House side, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Chair of the House Rules Committee, has sent a letter to Defense Sec. Robert Gates asking for an explanation (OK, I'm not as optimistic about the timely outcome of that one). Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) has also expressed concern about the reports and with his close working relationship with Speaker Pelosi, hopefully the wheels are in motion.

Comments



And on the battlefield, the troops are still unequipped (PM - 2/21/2007 12:23:35 AM)
http://www.strausnew...
This is an LTE from a New York state small town paper:
(hat tip to Americablog)


Body armor for our Marines

To the Editor:

I have a son going to Iraq this summer. I was able to afford to buy state-of-the-art body armor for his protection. Unfortunately there are many parents that are not able to afford this body armor.

My son's outfit has 24 Marines. Two parents, including myself, have purchased this armor. Five others have been sponsored. The families of all the Marines in the unit have banded together to raise the additional money for the other 17 Marines.

The military has body armor available, but it's heavy and not state-of-the-art. There is a company called Pinnacle Armor, out of California, that sells armor called Dragon Skin. This is what we have chosen for our sons. We need to raise $102,000 to outfit these 17 Marines. It's approximately $6000 per Marine.

Any and all donations are welcome.***



And the Humvees still aren't fully armored (PM - 2/21/2007 12:31:01 AM)
Remember John Kerry bringing this up in the 2004 debates? 

Thousands of Army Humvees Lack Armor Upgrade

By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, February 12, 2007; A01

The Army is working to fill a shortfall in Iraq of thousands of advanced Humvee armor kits designed to reduce U.S. troop deaths from roadside bombs -- including a rising threat from particularly lethal weapons linked to Iran and known as "explosively formed penetrators" (EFP) -- that are now inflicting 70 percent of the American casualties in the country, according to U.S. military and civilian officials.

The additional protection is needed for thousands of U.S. reinforcement troops flowing into Baghdad, where these devastating weapons -- used primarily by Shiite fighters -- are particularly prevalent, the officials said.

U.S. Army units in Iraq and Afghanistan lack more than 4,000 of the latest Humvee armor kit, known as FRAG Kit 5, according to U.S. officials. The Army has ramped up production of the armor, giving priority to troops in Baghdad, but the upgrade is not scheduled to be completed until this summer, Army officials said. That is well into the timeline for major operations launched last week to quell violence by Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias, which the U.S. military now views as the top security threat in Iraq.***



But the Repubs had more important work to do than support the troops (Andrea Chamblee - 2/21/2007 10:35:35 AM)
They needed to subpeona Terri Schaivo and investigate baseball players. They were too busy to look into the conditions at the Hospital around the corner.  I'm sure all those amputees who served their country understand.