One of the Navajo Nation's questions Rumsfeld
- From: wolfbat359a@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: 18 Aug 2006 18:32:35 -0700
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By Marley Shebala
Navajo Times
One of the Navajo Nation's finest received national attention and
applause from his comrades when he recently asked Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld why the latest technology for detecting IEDs can be
found in New York City, but not on the streets of Iraq.
Marine Cpl. Arthur King, originally from St. Michaels, Ariz., was among
five soldiers selected to ask Rumsfeld questions during a televised
meeting with troops at Balad Air Base, Iraq, on July 12.
King is a member of Bravo Company, 110th Engineer Battalion, Missouri
National Guard.
King framed his question by first telling Rumsfeld that his unit, which
looks for IEDs (improvised explosive devices), is working with "one
of the oldest pieces of equipment in country."
He said his unit had ordered the latest version of an IED detector,
called a Buffalo, three months earlier, but it had yet to arrive.
King said his unit did spot one brand new state-of-the-art IED detector
- on display in downtown New York City - while watching TV
recently.
"We just wondered why that was," King asked Rumsfeld.
Rumsfeld quickly responded that New York City has its own budget and
can buy what it wants.
Visibly swelling with pride, he noted that his department's $3.6
billion budget "dwarfs" that of New York City.
The new Buffalo on display in New York is owned by the U.S. military,
not the city. The military put it on exhibit to show the public an
example of the advanced equipment being used by U.S. troops in Iraq.
Except that the troops in King's unit are still waiting for theirs.
Rumsfeld stuttered through an explanation about how Gen. Monty Meigs
was brought back (from retirement) to work on the "IED problem" in
Iraq.
"As the nature of the IED problem has migrated and evolved, they have
put enormous effort on it," he added.
Rumsfeld then admitted that he couldn't explain why King's unit was
still stuck with an outdated piece of equipment, and said Gen. George
Casey Jr. probably had an answer.
Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, did not have an answer.
"I'll find out what the story is and when your new one is due in
here, and we'll get back to you on that," Casey told King.
"And by the way, thank you for what you do, going out there, the
courage it takes to go out there every day and finding IEDs. It's
remarkable," he added.
IEDs are responsible for the vast majority of casualties suffered by
the U.S. military and coalition forces in Iraq, accounting for more
than 2,000 of the nearly 3,000 deaths that have occurred to date,
according to a Feb. 10 report by the Congressional Research Service.
Between July 2003 and July 2006, 912 U.S. troops died from IEDs in
Iraq, according to the Department of Defense.
IEDs are the preferred weapon of the insurgents, and uniquely hard on
soldiers' nerves because they are so hard to detect.
King's unit goes out into the Iraqi streets every day and uses its
Buffalo to try and find newly planted IEDs before they explode and
claim more victims.
Touching on the issue King raised, report author Clay Wilson, stated,
"A recent GAO (Government Accountability Office) report indicates
that acquisition delays may have increased the vulnerability of U.S.
forces to the IEDs threat."
Fast track unused
Wilson stated that the Defense Department created a special Rapid
Fielding Initiative to speed the latest technology to soldiers on the
frontlines.
Wilson reported that the RFI has made it possible to supply needed
equipment within days or weeks, rather than months.
Three days after the Rumsfeld media event, however, King said in a July
15 email from Iraq that his unit still had not received its new IED
detector.
"But I am sure we will hear something back from General Casey
sometime soon," he stated. "I don't think he would have said he
would get back to me and not mean it."
On Wednesday, the Navajo Times contacted the Department of Defense to
ask about the status of the IED detector ordered by King's unit.
The Times spoke with two public information officers and left messages
with two commanders, but there was no response as of press time.
To view the transcript of the July 12 town hall meeting with Rumseld
and troops in Balad, Iraq, go to:
http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2006/tr20060712-13452.html.
.
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