SENATOR COLLINS QUESTIONS TOP COMMANDER IN IRAQ
Senator Susan Collins, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today questioned Army General George Casey during his confirmation hearing to become Army Chief of Staff, expressing her concern about the impact of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan on National Guard troops and reservists.
Citing the recent Department of Defense (DoD) policy shift concerning mobilization guidelines for National Guard and Reserve members, Senator Collins asked; “Aren’t we asking too much of our National Guard and reservists? Are you concerned about the long term impact on retention and recruitment of our National Guard members that this policy will have?” General Casey stated that he was concerned and that although recruiting and retention for National Guard and Reserve members remains high, that the Army will need to keep a close eye on those numbers.
In addition, Senator Collins also expressed her concern with a recent DoD Inspector General audit that found units deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan “experienced shortages of force protection equipment such as uparmored vehicles, electronic counter-measure devices, crew served weapons, and communications equipment. As a result, service members were not always equipped to effectively complete their missions.”
“I am very troubled by this report,” said Senator Collins. “I think it is simply wrong for us to send troops into harm’s way without fully equipping them. If this is a problem for troops serving right now, then I am terribly concerned that we are not prepared to fully equip the troops that will soon be on their way.”
In response, General Casey admitted to Senator Collins that he had not seen the report but said that he shares her concerns with its findings and he promised to “take a hard look at the report and find out what’s going on.”
The Administration nominated General Casey to become Army Chief of Staff to replace General Peter Schoomaker, who is retiring.
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