WASHINGTON — Troops are being sent to war zones without proper training and suitable gear, according to two senior Democratic lawmakers who say they’ve been told by soldiers about problems that include their backpacks and rifles.
In a Dec. 10 letter to the Pentagon’s top leaders, Rep. Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Solomon Ortiz, who heads the subcommittee on military readiness, said they are “greatly troubled” by what they learned.
Soldiers are being issued a rucksack made of plastic that is not comfortable or effective in combat situations, Skelton and Ortiz wrote.
Troops carry heavy loads on their backs and the plastic straps cut off circulation to their hands and arms, “making it virtually impossible to fire their weapons,” they told Mullen and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
Skelton and Ortiz said many of the soldiers they talked to are using their own money to buy better packs from commercial suppliers.
The M4 carbine, a shorter, lighter version of the M16 rifle, was also criticized. “Even though these weapons routinely rank lower than other military weapons in testing, they are still being issued as the Army’s weapon of choice,” the letter said.
D.C. council votes to allow gay marriage
Same-sex marriage supporters got a victory Tuesday with the City Council’s vote to legalize gay marriage in the District of Columbia.
Gay couples could begin tying the knot in the district as early as March. The only hurdles left to clear are the city’s mayor, who has promised to sign the bill, and Congress, which has final say over laws in the nation’s capital.
Arizona: DNA clears man after 28 years
A man who spent 28 years behind bars for a rape and murder he said he didn’t commit walked out of a federal prison in Arizona on Tuesday with $75 and a bus ticket to Ohio after DNA testing showed he was innocent. The conviction of Donald Eugene Gates, 58, was based largely on the testimony of an FBI forensic analyst whose work later came under fire and a hair analysis technique that has been discredited.
Britain: Will buy 22 Chinook choppers from Boeing Co.
Britain will buy 22 Chinook helicopters from Boeing Co. as part of a $1.5 billion investment in new equipment for troops in Afghanistan, the government announced Tuesday. The first 10 of the new orders are expected to be deployed to Afghanistan by 2013.
From Herald news services
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