Dear Mr. Secretary:
I write to express my concern that vast amounts of equipment used to support operations will be left behind as the U.S. military draws down its presence in Iraq.
I am particularly concerned that much of the equipment in Iraq is simply unaccounted for because it was purchased outside of the DOD or military services' supply chain. Such equipment has been termed "non-standard equipment".
During a recent visit to a unit in Balad, Iraq, I raised this subject with the battalion commander at a nearby FOB. He said that he set up an "Amnesty Day" for persons to turn in all unaccounted items. The commander said that a line of vehicles and equipment soon formed stretching approximately two miles in length. He and his soldiers were so overwhelmed with identifying and cataloguing this equipment that they extended the amnesty period for additional days in order to process all of the items brought to them. As the origin of many of these items is unknown, such equipment is termed "FOI" -- meaning "found on installation."
I strongly suspect that the account I described above is likely the rule, rather than the exception. We must do all that we can to identify and catalogue this equipment and then determine whether it is needed by our troops elsewhere in Iraq or Afghanistan. If not needed there, this excess equipment should be made available to the National Guard, other federal agencies, or state and local governments in the United States.
On May 5, 2009, Major General Raymond W. Carpenter, Acting Deputy Director of the Army National Guard, testified before the House Armed Services Committee's Air and Land Forces Subcommittee. In his testimony, General Carpenter stated that the National Guard need to "improve fill levels for a number of Combat Service Support items such as water purification systems, generators, material handling equipment, field feeding systems, tactical ambulances, aviation ground equipment and battle command systems." According to his statement, these systems are considered "Critical Dual Use" items - in that they are "critical to both domestic and war fighting missions."
General Carpenter further stated that while significant quantities of Critical Dual Use equipment has been provided to National Guard units, it is "chronically unavailable to Governors in the States and Territories due to continuing rotational deployments." he testified that the national average of Critical Dual Use equipment available to the nation's governors is 65 percent - an amount I find unacceptable.
As the U.S. Representative for the region hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina, I know firsthand how important it is that our National Guard troops have the equipment they need to carry out their state missions and provide support to civil authorities following a catastrophic event. When the 890th Engineer Battalion of the Mississippi National Guard returned from Iraq in 2003, they were required to leave all their equipment behind. When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, only 60 percent of the unit's equipment had been replaced.
I regret to say that something resembling Hurricane Katrina will happen again - whether man-made or an act of God, it is just a matter of time. Every effort should be made to ensure that the excess equipment in Iraq is available to address the National Guard's stateside shortfall in Critical Dual Use equipment.
In the case of non-lethal excess items that the National Guard doesn't need or want, such equipment should be available to other federal agencies or to state and local governments. While a considerable amount of this equipment may no longer be useful to the military, it may have significant value to state agencies or local communities which face considerable funding constraints in these difficult economic times.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. I stand ready to work with you on this important issue. I am available to discuss this issue with you at your earliest opportunity. Please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Gene Taylor
Member of Congress
I would not be surprised if we find enough equipment scattered around Iraq to completely fill National Guard equipment shortages, with plenty for state and local government left over. It would be quite irresponsible to leave behind billions and billions because of the difficulty in cleaning up after ourselves. This is likely a very hard job, but one that must be done.
And it should be considered a critical part of any war to clean up in the post conflict period.
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