United States troops on their way to Iraq peppered the Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, with complaints on Wednesday, claiming they were heading into the conflict zone with pieces of scrap metal for armour.
During a frank exchange at a base in Kuwait, about 20km from the Iraqi border, Rumsfeld was asked why armour was not available for vehicles travelling to northern Iraq and how long the so-called ”stop-loss” policy, which prevents soldiers from leaving the service, would be applied.
Speaking from the audience, Thomas Wilson asked: ”Why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to up-armour our vehicles?”
Hundreds of troops applauded and when Rumsfeld appeared not to hear, Wilson said: ”We do not have proper armoured vehicles to carry with us north.”
Rumsfeld responded that the problem was a logistical one and not due to a lack of funding.
”You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want,” he said, adding: ”You can have all the armour in the world on a tank and a tank can [still] be blown up.”
Another soldier asked about the stop-loss programme, dubbed the backdoor draft by critics.
”My husband and myself both joined a volunteer army,” said the unidentified soldier. ”Currently, I’m serving under the stop-loss. I would like to know how much longer you foresee the military using this programme.”
Rumsfeld said the policy ”is something you prefer not to have to use in a perfect world … My guess is it will continue to be used as little as possible, but that it will continue to be used”.
US army officials said that about 7 000 soldiers had been affected by the order.
Another soldier complained that regular troops got priority over reservists for the best equipment. Rumsfeld said the army was ”breaking its neck” to ensure there was no discrimination. – Guardian Unlimited Â