U.S. troops
prepare to don
Kevlar body armorA Pentagon official visiting
Oahu bases says soldiers in
Iraq need extra protection
By the end of December, all U.S. Army personnel and contractors serving in Iraq will have Kevlar body armor, Les Brownlee, acting secretary of the Army, said yesterday at Wheeler Army Air Field.
Brownlee also said production of armored Humvees has been increased and vehicles are being moved from other locations to satisfy the need in Iraq.
A shortage of the high-performance Interceptor body armor and armored vehicles in Iraq has been a concern among families and Congress since first being reported in early October.
Schofield Barracks spokeswoman Capt. Kathy Turner said at that time that all deploying 25th Infantry Division (Light) soldiers will have the 16.4-pound vest before they leave Hawaii.
The Army has announced that 4,500 soldiers from the 2nd Brigade will deploy to Iraq in February and 3,500 from the 3rd Brigade will deploy to Afghanistan in April. In addition, up to three Hawaii-based National Guard units could be deployed.
Nationally, the lack of the Interceptor vests was such a concern that congressional delegates were being deluged with complaints from the parents of soldiers in Iraq, the New York Daily News reported. The paper said as many as 30,000 soldiers in the region were without the armor, instead using Vietnam-era flak jackets.
Congress approved $310 million in April to buy 300,000 more of the bulletproof vests, with 30,000 destined to complete outfitting of troops in Iraq.
Brownlee said that when troops were first deployed to Iraq, the Interceptor vests -- which are effective against small arms and shell fragments -- were allocated to soldiers on the front lines.
"The way the battlefield developed," he said, with frequent ambushes and attacks on American soldiers, "we decided all soldiers should be protected."
During a news conference at Wheeler, Brownlee praised the dedication of the 1.3 million members of the Army, whether active duty, National Guard, reserves or civilian workers.
Soldiers are "fighting terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq, on their home ground, so we don't have to fight them in the U.S.," Brownlee said, answering a question about whether part-time soldiers are being asked to do more than they expected when they signed up.
"Our soldiers 'get it,'" Brownlee said. "They knew when they joined the Army that this is not a leisurely lifestyle."
Whether the experience of serving a year in Iraq and Afghanistan slows the pace of re-enlistment remains to be seen, he said.
Brownlee called members of the National Guard "citizen soldiers that are dedicated, patriotic Americans" and said "we absolutely could not do what we're doing without them."
Replacing 60,000 Army troops in Iraq and Afghanistan between January and April next year will be a huge logistical challenge, Brownlee said. In the past, the Army has rotated individuals, rather than units, he said.
Logistical planning for the rotation is being approached "like the invasion of Normandy," he said.
Brownlee refused to speculate on how long the United States will be in Iraq, saying only "we'll be there as long as it takes. ... We're not going to cut and run."
Brownlee concludes a three-day visit on Oahu today, having met with top commanders and with rank-and-file soldiers preparing to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan. Yesterday, after meeting with the media, Brownlee was to speak to soldiers training in checkpoint procedures at Wheeler.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
