amerykanscy zolnierze - sprzet wlasny (czesciowo)

IP: *.artcom.pl / 192.168.32.* 02.11.03, 20:22
Troops pay to get better gear

WASHINGTON — The U.S. soldiers who invaded Iraq went into battle with the
most modern and lethal equipment ever carried by an armed force. In some
cases, they paid for it themselves.

Combat soldiers interviewed by an Army investigative team after the capture
of Baghdad reported that they dipped into their own pockets to buy such
accessories as pistol holsters, rucksacks, boot soles, underwear, rifle
sights, global-positioning-system handsets and field radios, rather than use
Army-issue versions.

"Soldiers still spend too much of their own money to purchase the quality
packs, pouches, belts, underwear, socks and gloves they believe they need for
mission success and comfort," says a report drafted by Program Executive
Office Soldier, the unit in charge of developing equipment for Army combat
soldiers. A copy of the draft was obtained by USA TODAY.

While the Pentagon equips the military using regulation-bound procedures,
soldiers for years have bought equipment based on word-of-mouth advice about
what works best in combat. By interviewing troops just after the war, the
Army is tapping into that wisdom.

"You do better going to L.L. Bean," says retired Army colonel Kenneth Allard,
who headed a team that urged more off-the-shelf purchases back in 1994. "It
has been a scandal for so long because it takes so long to get Gore-Tex; it
takes so long to get everything the typical mountain-climbing expedition has
as a matter of course."

The draft report found that some of the government-issued gear performed
well. Body armor saved lives; sniper rifles were lethal at nearly a mile; the
M-4 rifle outperformed the Iraqis' AK-47s; and tools such as battle axes and
bolt cutters proved highly useful in urban combat.

But the report, written by Army Lt. Col. Jim Smith, cites example after
example of soldiers using their own money to buy gear they felt performed
better in combat than items provided at taxpayer expense.
Pełna wersja